Name: 3-Ingredient Banana Bread
Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: 45 min
Total time: 1 h 20 min
Yield: 12
Cuisine: Southern
Ingredients: 265 to 290 grams ripe banana (without peels); 14-ounce can sweetened condensed milk; 1.25 to 2 cups self-rising flour

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Let’s be honest – some days, just getting everyone fed feels like a win. If you’re anything like me, you love the idea of baking. But when a recipe has 12 steps, 14 bowls, and one obscure ingredient you’ll never use again? Hard pass. Enter this magical, no-nonsense 3-ingredient banana bread.

loaf of three-ingredient banana bread with 3 slices on a white platter

No eggs, no oil, no drama. Just ripe bananas, sweetened condensed milk, and self-rising flour. That’s it. No mixer, no fancy gadgets, no pretending you’re on a cooking show while small humans scream in the background.

This recipe is perfect for those bananas turning brown on your counter and your desire to feel like a baking rockstar without actually trying that hard. It’s moist, sweet, ridiculously easy, and kid-approved. So grab a bowl, a spatula, and some questionable bananas. Let’s make something warm, delicious, and deceptively impressive. You deserve a win today!

Ingredients Needed

Very Ripe Bananas

The riper, the better! Brown and smushy is best, but try to use bananas that at least have some brown spots. You can always put them in a paper bag with an apple to help them ripen faster, too.

I used four fairly small bananas, so if yours are more medium-sized, you’ll only need three. The weight (without peels) should total about 265-290 grams of mashed banana.

Sweetened Condensed Milk

A 14-ounce can of the generic stuff at Walmart works just fine. Use any brand you prefer!

Self-Rising Flour

It’s easy to find this kind of flour at any grocery store, but if you don’t feel like going out, don’t despair! You can make your own with some baking powder and all-purpose flour. For every one cup of flour that you use, add 1.5 teaspoons of baking. powder and blend together well.

How to Make 3-Ingredient Banana Bread

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Add 3-4 peeled, very ripe bananas to a medium mixing bowl and mash until no large chunks remain. Small chunks will still be visible.
Mix in an entire 14-ounce can of sweetened condensed milk into the mashed banana. Scrape the sides of the can with a spatula to get it all.
Gently fold 1.25 to 2 cups of self-rising flour into the banana mixture until no dry clumps remain. Do not over-mix.
Spray a loaf pan with baking spray (or use cooking spray, then dust with flour). Pour your batter into the pan, using a spatula to spread the batter evenly across the pan.
Bake, uncovered, for 45 minutes to an hour. It will be done when the top is a deep golden-brown color and a toothpick inserted through the center comes out mostly clean.
Leave the loaf in the pan on an elevated cooling rack for 10 minutes.
After 10 minutes, carefully flip the pan onto the cooling rack to release the loaf – it will still be very hot. Allow the loaf to cool further before plating and slicing, at least 20 minutes. You can let it cool completely if you prefer, which will take 1-2 hours.
Once cooled, wrap in plastic wrap to keep the sliced loaf from drying out. It can be left on the counter for up to three days or in the refrigerator for a week.

Choosing the Right Amount of Flour

It’s pretty much impossible to mess this recipe up. The banana bread is going to taste great no matter what! But how much self-rising flour you use will have a big impact on the height and texture of your loaf.

If you like a ton of banana flavor and don’t mind a short, chewier loaf, use as little as 1.25 cups of self-rising flour. If you’d rather have a more traditional loaf that is taller and fluffier with a moderate banana flavor, about 2 cups ought to do the trick. Your batter will be much thicker than in the video above, and that is okay!

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Printable Recipe Card

12 slices

3-Ingredient Banana Bread

Prep Time: 5 minutes

Cook Time: 45 minutes

Additional Time: 30 minutes

Total Time: 1 hour 20 minutes

No cake mix? No problem! You can still make a fast, easy, delicious banana bread with only three ingredients.

Ingredients

265 to 290 grams ripe banana (without peels)
14-ounce can sweetened condensed milk
1.25 to 2 cups self-rising flour

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Add 3-4 peeled, very ripe bananas to a medium mixing bowl and mash until no large chunks remain. Small chunks will still be visible.
Mix in an entire 14-ounce can of sweetened condensed milk into the mashed banana. Scrape the sides of the can with a spatula to get it all.
Gently fold 1.25 to 2 cups of self-rising flour into the banana mixture until no dry clumps remain. Do not over-mix.
Spray a loaf pan with baking spray (or use cooking spray, then dust with flour). Pour your batter into the pan, using a spatula to spread the batter evenly across the pan.
Bake, uncovered, for 45 minutes to an hour. It will be done when the top is a deep golden-brown color and a toothpick inserted through the center comes out mostly clean.
Leave the loaf in the pan on an elevated cooling rack for 10 minutes.
After 10 minutes, carefully flip the pan onto the cooling rack to release the loaf - it will still be very hot. Allow the loaf to cool further before plating and slicing, at least 20 minutes. You can let it cool completely if you prefer, which will take 1-2 hours.
Once cooled, wrap in plastic wrap to keep the sliced loaf from drying out. It can be left on the counter for up to three days or in the refrigerator for a week.