Can You Freeze Banana Bread?

Banana bread is the savior of super ripe, black bananas everywhere, and is a tasty snack, breakfast food, and dessert that can be made unique with chocolate chips, peanut butter, dried fruit and so much more.

With lots of ripe bananas comes lots of banana bread, and just as we didn’t want to waste those delicious bananas, neither do we want to waste our beautiful banana bread.

Instead of throwing it in the trash because you made too much, you should freeze it!

Banana bread freezes easily, and as long as it is frozen properly and defrosted with care, it can be just as delicious as the freshly baked version you made a few weeks ago. 

How to freeze banana bread

Freezing banana bread is simple. All you need is a secure, resealable freezer bag, some food wrap and aluminum foil, a freezer, and of course, the all-important banana bread itself.

Freezing banana bread does come with the risk of freezer burn, but as long as the slices are wrapped really well, this shouldn’t be an issue.

When you have the banana bread all sliced and ready to go, you can start wrapping. For this, we would recommend using plastic food wrap such as Saran wrap. Ensure that there are a few layers around each piece so that it is fully covered.

 You should then grab a piece of that aluminum foil we talked about that is bigger than the piece of banana bread and wrap that tightly around the plastic-wrapped slice. You should ensure it is secure, and you can use more than one layer of this if you wish.

 When you have finished wrapping it with aluminum foil, pop the wrapped piece into a freezer bag that is resealable, taking care to squeeze out all of the air before sealing it. You should then label it and put on the date on the front of the bag. You should use it within four months of freezing.

If you are wrapping multiple slices of banana bread, follow the above instructions but because they are all wrapped separately they can be put in the same resealable freezer bag if you wish. 

For a larger amount of banana bread, you can freeze up to half a loaf using the above method, but be aware that the defrost time and method may change slightly.

How to defrost banana bread

Defrosting banana bread is super simple, and there are a few different methods you can try. You can of course do it the classic way, removing it from the freezer, unwrapping it, and letting it defrost at room temperature until it’s ready.

We recommend an hour at least but this does depend on the thickness of your slice. A whole loaf will take around four hours and a half a loaf around two hours. 

Another defrosting method to try, especially if you like warm, moist banana bread is to pop it into your microwave. This method works best for individual slices.

To do this, fully unwrap it, place it on a microwavable plate or dish. Cover it loosely with a microwave safe cover or a loose layer of plastic wrap, and set the timer for 30 seconds. Voila, banana bread that tastes fresh from the oven. 

Lastly, you could even pop thin slices of banana bread in your toaster! Make sure it is fully unwrapped first of all, and then pop it into your toaster as you would do with a slice of bread or toaster pastry.

Keep the toaster on low and keep checking it as it cooks. This gives it a crispy outside and is super tasty.

Factors to consider before freezing banana bread

There are a number of factors to consider when you are planning to freeze banana bread. First, you should take due care to ensure that the banana bread you plan to freeze is fresh. By fresh we mean checking it hasn’t turned rancid or gone bad.

To check for this, keep your eyes out for telltale mold or decay in the banana bread at all. If it is soft and mushy and has a funny smell or taste, you should throw it in the trash, or else you risk becoming sick.  

A little dryness in the banana bread may be fine, but do know that the freezer may dry it further. Likewise, banana bread can sometimes be moist, too. This is normal, though, and shouldn’t be mistaken for the soft and mushy texture that comes with decayed food.

On the other end of the scale, banana bread that is just baked is only suitable after a certain amount of time. Before you even think about freezing your banana bread, you must first ensure that the banana bread in question is completely cooled.

A banana bread that you have just taken out of the oven will be extremely hot, and therefore freezing it in this state will quickly turn the bread bad. The temperature of the banana bread should be room temperature and should be left to cool completely for a number of hours after it has come out of the oven. 

Banana bread should ideally be kept at room temperature until you plan to freeze it, but you must ensure it is wrapped and kept in a tin or storage book to stop flies and other pests from getting to it.

A banana bread that has been touched by a fly should not be frozen and certainly should not be eaten.

Summary

Clearly, there is no excuse to be wasting that delicious banana bread! As you can see, it freezes easily and is just as glorious after it has been safely and properly defrosted.

Remember to wrap it well following our instructions above, and ensure the banana bread in question is safe to eat first, in other words, ensure it has not gone bad!

Defrost using one of the methods we have listed, and make sure it is thoroughly defrosted before eating – there is nothing worse than accidentally biting into a still frozen piece of banana bread!