Dominique Ansel's Banana Bread

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Dominique Ansel’s Banana Bread is rich and flavorful, with a perfect crumb. If you take banana bread seriously, this is the loaf for you.

Two slices of dominique ansel's banana bread on a white plate, with a second plate of the bread in the background.

Who is Dominique Ansel?
What makes Dominique Ansel’s banana bread special?
How do you ripen bananas faster?
How to make Dominique Ansel’s banana bread
Optional cinnamon-sugar topping
Recipe FAQs
Dominique Ansel’s Banana Bread Recipe

Okay, I’ll admit, when my friend Amber first insisted I make this recipe, I was dubious. There’s a lot of butter.

Like, a lot a lot.

I am here to tell you it’s worth every single solitary calorie. This is some fantastic quick bread.

I’ve had some really great banana bread in my time, but I am here to tell you that my husband is beyond obsessed. He’s asked me to make it three times in the last two weeks.

And since I often fancy it up with a crackly cinnamon-sugar top (an addition I highly recommend), he just can’t get enough.

You know what no one wants? Banana bread with the top eaten off of it.

Do you know what I have? Three loaves of it.

Why? He can’t stop cutting the top off and eating it.

I’ve even used this banana bread recipe as a base for others, including cranberry banana bread, brown butter banana bread, and banana nut bread.

But I come back to the original recipe time and time again because it’s just. that. good.

Several slices of dominique ansel's banana bread scattered on a piece of parchment paper.

Who is Dominique Ansel?

Dominique Ansel is the genius behind the Cronut. If you’ve never had one, it’s a donut made from croissant dough.

It’s usually filled with some type of cream or jelly – I’ve had key lime curd and vanilla bean before – and it put his bakery on the map in New York City.

Since this recipe is from the same chef, I knew going in that this recipe would be pretty phenomenal.

When Amber told me about it, I knew it had to be pretty major because she normally isn’t a huge fan of banana bread. But when she said she couldn’t stop making this one with her boys, I knew I had to try it and share it with you.

Two slices of banana bread stacked on a white plate. A bite has been taken from the corner of the top slice.

What makes Dominique Ansel’s banana bread special?

So what exactly is so special about this recipe?

The added butter and eggs, plus an extra banana compared to the usual recipes, makes for an all-around richer quick bread.

This bread would easily stand up to grilling, like grilled pound cake, and even topping with ice cream, if you want to go crazy.

Or use it to make banana bread french toast and thank me later.

Even if you don’t have bananas going brown right now, I implore you to toss them in the microwave and get this bread going.

How do you ripen bananas faster?

If your bananas aren’t quite ripe enough and you’re craving this banana bread, try one of these three tricks for ripening bananas quickly:

Use a brown paper bag. Closing it tightly over the bananas will allow the ripening process to quicken because you’re trapping the ethylene gas bananas emit as they ripen. It will speed up the entire process if it has nowhere to escape.
Bake them, unpeeled, in the oven on a cookie sheet. Use a 300°F degree oven and bake them for 15-30 minutes, just until the skins of the bananas turn black. Allow them to cool, then mash and use as normal.
Microwave them (this is the quickest option). Poke the banana all over with a fork, then place on a paper towel and zap for 30 seconds at a time until your banana reaches the desired tenderness. I would not do multiple bananas at a time, as the heating can be inconsistent.

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Loaf of dominique ansel's banana bread cut into slices.

How to make Dominique Ansel’s banana bread

Even though this recipe is so much more delicious and decadent than other banana bread recipes, it’s not any more difficult to make!

Ingredients you’ll need

For this banana bread, you will need:

2 cups granulated sugar
2 cups all-purpose flour
¾ teaspoon baking soda
¾ teaspoon nutmeg
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
3 eggs
2 cups of mashed ripe bananas, from about 4 bananas
14 tablespoons melted butter

Ingredients for dominique ansel's banana bread arranged on a marble countertop.

Now listen, I already warned you about the butter in this recipe. But again, I promise it’s worth it! Please follow the recipe and make it with the full amount of butter – you’ll be glad you did.

Most banana bread recipes use 2 or 3 bananas. This one uses 4 bananas, which will give you 2 cups of mashed banana.

If you ask me, the nutmeg in this recipe is another one of the secrets to why it is so great. The nutmeg doesn’t overpower the flavor of the bananas; instead, it complements them perfectly.

Making this recipe

This recipe makes one 10×5-inch loaf, so start by greasing a 10x5x3.5-inch loaf pan.

I know that isn’t a super common loaf pan size, but I promise you will get tons of use out of it. Use it to make this recipe, brown butter pumpkin bread, zucchini banana bread, and more.

Whisk together the flour, sugar, baking soda, nutmeg, salt, and baking powder in a large bowl. Set this aside.

Dry ingredients for dominique ansel's banana bread whisked together in a bowl.

Mashed banana and eggs whisked together in a bowl.

Separately, whisk the eggs and the mashed bananas together. Don’t add the butter yet!

Pour the eggs and bananas over the dry ingredients and mix until just combined. Now add the melted butter; stir until fully incorporated.

Batter for dominique ansel's banana bread in a white mixing bowl.

Batter for dominique ansel's banana bread in a loaf pan, ready to go in the oven.

Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake at 350℉ for about 1 hour and 10 minutes. The banana bread is done when the top is golden brown and a cake tester inserted into the center comes out clean.

Optional cinnamon-sugar topping

My family’s favorite way for me to make Dominique Ansel’s banana bread is when I add a crackly cinnamon-sugar topping to it.

This is totally optional, but I encourage you to try it at least once.

Simply take some cinnamon sugar and sprinkle it generously over the bread batter before it goes in the oven. I usually use a couple tablespoons because we love it so much.

Overhead view of slices of dominique ansel's banana bread arranged on a piece of parchment paper.

Recipe FAQs

What if I don’t have a 10×5-inch loaf pan?

If you don’t have the right size loaf pan for this recipe, try making it into muffins instead. Divide the batter between about 24 lined muffin cups and bake for 20-24 minutes.
I have also had readers bake it in a 9×13-inch cake pan or bundt pan instead.

Can I make this recipe dairy free?

If you need to make a dairy-free version of this recipe, you will need to swap out the butter. You can use your favorite vegan butter substitute instead.