The Ingredient Swap That Will Majorly Upgrade Your Banana Bread

At this point, it feels like we've done everything with banana bread that could be done, but have we really? Banana bread was the talk of the town during boredom-filled months of quarantine and for good reason. According to Delish, banana bread is a classic case of high reward for very little risk and effort, making the usually strict world of science-like baking accessible to all. Relatively hassle-free to make, banana bread rarely ever goes wrong and offers in return a warm and sweet slice of comfort.

In times of distress, we may very well turn to the good ol' loaf of fruit bread once again. Which is why, having a little handbook of tricks to upgrade your banana bread will go a long way in sprucing the basic bread up. 

This chocolate chip banana bread recipe for example, only takes 10 minutes of prep and gives in return a slightly sweet, mildly bitter, and absolutely moist banana bread. But the ingredient that upgrades this banana bread even further? Olive oil instead of butter. Butter is usually the only dairy ingredient used in banana bread, and by swapping it with olive oil, the recipe becomes entirely dairy-free. But that's not all — recipe developer Sher Castellano thinks that there are other perks to consider as well.

According to recipe developer Sher Castellano, olive oil makes banana bread taste better. Banana bread lends itself well to nuts. And when it comes to any baked recipe where nuts usually belong, olive oil adds a boost of flavor. "I think the nutty [flavor] of the olive oil lends perfectly to a baked good that is used to having nuts in it," says Castellano. And she isn't the only one to think so.

There's an assumption that butter makes cakes taste better than olive oil could. But Epicurious finds that isn't the case in recipes that have spices, nuts, or veggies. In fact, olive oil makes certain cakes taste better, particularly anything with chocolate in it. Besides, not only is oil far more convenient to use than butter which often requires melting, but it also improves the texture of bakes ten-fold (via The Washington Post). If you want your banana bread to be wonderfully moist, tender, and fluffy each time, olive oil is your answer.

Butter also beings to make baked goods drier and drier as they are left out. Olive oil, on the other hand, not only keeps the bakes soft and moist, but it also intensifies their flavors and textures over time, much like fine wine. So when you're using a banana bread recipe like this one, which can be made ahead of time and stored on the counter for up to three days, consider swapping the butter with olive oil.