CHARLOTTE, NC - It’s hard to find someone who doesn’t like banana bread. Internet search interest in banana bread has grown steadily since 2004, hitting a high in 2020 when it ranked as the most-searched recipe in the U.S.

Of the millions of banana bread loaves baked annually, most are made with the traditional Cavendish banana, those ubiquitous bright yellow beauties found in every U.S. supermarket.

But what if you switched-out the tried-and-true Cavendish for some lesser-known varieties to determine which banana makes the best-tasting banana bread?

Melanie Marcus, MA, RD, nutrition, wellness and communications manager for Dole Food Company and an expert on banana bread, did just that. In anticipation of Banana Bread Day on Feb. 23, Marcus replaced the regular Cavendish bananas in Dole’s Loaded Banana Bread recipe with ripe Manzanos (a short, sweet and tart banana), ripe Red Bananas (a chunkier, fragrant banana with a red skin that turns a dark purple when ripe) and extra-ripe Plantains (a larger and starchier, cooking banana) and tested the results on dozens of her colleagues at Dole offices in Charlotte.

One of the world’s largest providers of fresh fruits and vegetables, Dole was recently ranked by U.S. shoppers as America’s most-trusted brand in Fresh Fruit and Salad Kits in the 2025 BrandSpark Most Trusted Awards Presented by Newsweek.

“Banana bread is much more than just a way to use extremely ripe bananas,” said Marcus. “For many Americans, it conjures up special tastes, smells and memories of baking fresh loaves and enjoying the results with family, friends, neighbors and even work colleagues.”

“And though many are unaware, there are hundreds of edible banana varieties. So, for this year’s National Banana Bread Day, we wanted to see if there’s a different variety that banana bread lovers have been missing—and secretly craving—all these years. The blind taste test results are in—and it’s not an exaggeration to say that they surprised everyone.”

The Set-Up

As a press release explained, Marcus made four identical versions of the Loaded Banana Bread Recipe using a different Dole banana variety. Everything else about the recipe—the ingredients, 65-minute baking time, and 10-minute cooling time—remained the same.

One of the most downloaded recipes in Dole’s vast online recipe library, Marcus’ Loaded Banana Bread combines ripe bananas with flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, eggs, yogurt, buttery spread and vanilla extract.

The four banana bread loaves included the following:

• Cavendish Bananas (Control) - The loaf made with Cavendish bananas was predictably sweet, moist, and balanced. As the benchmark for banana bread, it set the standard for flavor and texture.
• Manzano Bananas - Known for its apple-like sweetness and hint of tartness, the Manzano brought a subtle fruity undertone to the loaf. The texture was slightly denser, and tasters noted a lighter banana flavor.
• Red Bananas - With its creamy, raspberry-like sweetness, Red Bananas contributed to a loaf that was super moist and fragrant. Tasters appreciated the depth of flavor.
• Extra-Ripe Plantains - The plantain loaf was the wildcard. Plantains are starchier than typical dessert bananas, and often treated similarly to a vegetable or tuber, but once extra-ripe, they become sweet enough for baking. The resulting bread was hearty and less sweet than the others, with a hint of caramelized richness. Many tasters likened it to cornbread, the perfect earthy and slightly sweet compliment to savory meats. It divided the tasters. Some loved it, while others missed the sweet profile of the Cavendish.

The Taste Test Results

More than two dozen Dole employees tasted the four unlabeled loaves of banana bread and were asked to rank each on flavor, texture, and overall enjoyment. Here are the results:

1. Red Banana Bread: The clear winner! The unique flavor and moist texture wowed the panel.
2. Cavendish Banana Bread: A reliable crowd-pleaser that is still hard to beat.
3. Manzano Banana Bread: A surprising favorite for those who enjoyed a fruity twist.
4. Plantain Banana Bread: A love-it-or-leave-it option with a hearty, rustic appeal.

To see Marcus’ ten favorite banana bread recipes, go to her just-published. “Bananas for Banana Bread” blog post. For scores of other fruit and vegetable recipes, serving suggestions, nutrition tips and other ripe insights, visit www.dole.com. Or, follow Dole on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and Pinterest.