Three-Ingredient Banana Bread

Ripe bananas, self-rising flour, condensed milk. That is the whole recipe.

Prep Time10 mins
Cook Time45 mins
Total Time55 mins
Yield1 loaf (9 slices)
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Before You Start

The three-ingredient banana bread that keeps reappearing online earns the hype: mash, stir, pour, bake. No butter to soften, no sugar to measure separately, since the condensed milk covers both sweetness and moisture. It comes out dense, moist and genuinely good, which is the whole reason it will not stop going viral.

Instructions

  1. 1

    Heat the oven to 175°C / 350°F and line a loaf tin with baking paper.

  2. 2

    Mash the bananas until mostly smooth, a few small lumps are fine.

  3. 3

    Stir in the condensed milk, then fold in the self-rising flour just until no dry streaks remain. Don't overmix, or the loaf turns tough.

  4. 4

    Pour into the tin and smooth the top. Bake for 40 to 45 minutes, until a skewer in the centre comes out clean and the top is deep golden.

  5. 5

    Cool in the tin for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a rack to cool fully before slicing.

💡 Baker's tips

  • The spottier and blacker the bananas, the sweeter and more banana-forward the loaf.
  • If the top browns too fast, tent loosely with foil for the last 10 minutes.

🔀 Make it your own

  • Fold in a handful of chocolate chips or chopped walnuts with the flour.
  • No self-rising flour? Mix 1½ cups all-purpose flour with 2¼ tsp baking powder and ¼ tsp salt.

📦 Storing & freezing

Airtight at room temperature for 3 days, or fridge for a week. Freezes sliced for 3 months.

Frequently asked

Can I use regular flour instead of self-rising?

Yes, mix 1½ cups all-purpose flour with 2¼ tsp baking powder and ¼ tsp salt as a substitute. Self-rising flour already has both built in.

Why is my banana bread dense?

This loaf is meant to be denser and more moist than a classic banana bread, since there is no butter or egg for lift. Overmixing the flour makes it gummy rather than just dense, so fold gently.

Baking in a different unit? Use the cups ↔ grams converter or the recipe scaler to halve or double this recipe.

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