Jake and Maggie Gyllenhaal’s Banana Bread

Name: Jake and Maggie Gyllenhaal’s Banana Bread
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 1 h 50 min
Total time: 2 h
Yield: 8 to 12 servings
Cuisine: American
Ingredients: ½ cup/113 grams unsalted butter, softened, plus more for greasing the pan; 1½ cups/192 grams all-purpose flour; 2½ teaspoons baking soda; ½ teaspoon fine salt; ⅔ cup/134 grams sugar, plus more for sprinkling; 2 large eggs; 1 teaspoon vanilla extract; 1¼ cups/280 grams mashed ripe banana (from 2 ½ large); ½ cup/110 grams sour cream; 1 cup/100 grams chopped toasted walnuts and pecans

Recipe from Jake Gyllenhaal and Maggie Gyllenhaal

Adapted by The New York Times

Published March 12, 2026

Jake and Maggie Gyllenhaal’s Banana Bread — Rachel Vanni for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Spencer Richards.

Total Time: 2 hours
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 1 hour 50 minutes
Rating: 5(443)
Comments: Read comments

Maggie Gyllenhaal and Jake Gyllenhaal, both longtime fixtures of film and theater, warmly recall the banana bread that their mother, Naomi Foner, would often have waiting for them when they returned home from school. Over the years, and after many baking sessions, some of the written measurements in that recipe (saved from a Sunbeam recipe booklet) have been obscured. Now, the siblings make the banana bread to suit their own tastes. Their version has less sugar, twice as many nuts and a touch more baking soda than the original, resulting in a tender loaf that has a subtle sweetness and plenty of crunch. —The New York Times

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Ingredients

Yield:8 to 12 servings

½ cup/113 grams unsalted butter, softened, plus more for greasing the pan
1½ cups/192 grams all-purpose flour
2½ teaspoons baking soda
½ teaspoon fine salt
⅔ cup/134 grams sugar, plus more for sprinkling
2large eggs
1teaspoon vanilla extract
1¼ cups/280 grams mashed ripe banana (from 2 ½ large)
½ cup/110 grams sour cream
1cup/100 grams chopped toasted walnuts and pecans

Ingredient Substitution Guide

Preparation

Make the recipe with us

Step 1
Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9-by-5-by-3-inch loaf pan.
Step 2
In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda and salt.
Step 3
In a large bowl, using a hand-held electric mixer on medium-high speed (or by hand with a spatula or wooden spoon), beat the butter and sugar until smooth and creamy, about 1½ minutes, stopping and scraping the sides of the bowl as needed. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, then the vanilla. Beat in the banana and sour cream until well blended.
Step 4
Add the flour mixture to the wet ingredients. Beat on low just until blended, scraping the side of the bowl as necessary, then stir in the nuts.
Step 5
Transfer the batter to the prepared pan; sprinkle the top lightly with sugar. Bake 55 to 65 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
Step 6
Let the bread cool slightly in the pan, then loosen and remove from the pan and transfer to a wire rack to cool. Let cool thoroughly before serving. Wrap leftover banana bread in foil and store at room temperature for up to 4 days.