Best Sour Cream Banana Bread Recipe

Ultra-moist and full of flavor, this Sour Cream Banana Bread combines sweet ripe bananas, tangy sour cream, and crunchy walnuts for a perfectly tender crumb. Easy to make and impossible to resist, it’s a delicious treat for breakfast, brunch, or dessert. And your kitchen will smell amazing while it bakes!

If you’re on the hunt for the best sour cream banana bread recipe, you’ve found it. This recipe makes either one large loaf or three smaller ones, with easy baking time adjustments listed for you below.

Make this sour cream banana bread your own by adding warm spices, chocolate chips, shredded coconut, or bits of other fruit for extra texture and flavor. Want to dress it up? Drizzle the cooled loaf with a simple vanilla icing or frosting.

What is sour cream banana bread?

Sour cream banana bread is a moist, sweet loaf that works beautifully as a comforting treat or a delicious breakfast snack. It pairs the bold flavor of ripe bananas with tangy sour cream and crunchy walnuts, resulting in a soft, tender crumb and an irresistible golden crust. With its delicate sweetness, it’s perfect on its own or spread with butter, jam, or whipped cream.

Why you’ll love sour cream banana bread

• The recipe guides you with sufficient detail to bake either one large loaf or three smaller loaves, depending on your needs.
• This sour cream banana bread freezes beautifully, making it a convenient make-ahead snack you can pull out and serve whenever needed.
• It takes classic banana bread and instantly elevates the flavor with the simple addition of sour cream. No fancy techniques or hard-to-find ingredients required!

Ingredients needed to make sour cream banana bread

• Butter: Unsalted butter will give you better control of the level of salt in this recipe, but you could use salted butter instead. Allow the butter to soften at room temperature for easy mixing.
• Sugar: Feel free to use only granulated sugar or a combination of granulated sugar (for sweetness and a delicious crust on the top of the banana bread) and brown sugar (for moisture and a caramel-like flavor). 
• Eggs: Allow your eggs to reach room temperature before beating. For an egg-free bread, use 1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce per egg.
• Flour: My go-to flour for this sour cream banana bread is all-purpose flour. For a lighter texture, substitute 1 cup with cake flour.
• Baking soda: Reacts with the sour cream’s acidity for the perfect rise.
• Salt: Enhances the flavors in this bread. Omit when using salted butter. 
• Mashed bananas: Use 3 ripe bananas for this banana bread. The riper the better for a deliciously sweet and moist bread with stronger banana flavor. 
• Sour cream: Provides moisture to the bread batter and offers a lovely tang to balance the sweet flavors. You could use Greek yogurt instead.  
• Vanilla extract: For added depth of flavor. Add 1/2 teaspoon of almond extract for nutty notes, if desired. 
• Walnuts: The perfect addition to any banana bread recipe, offering delicious crunch and nutty flavor throughout. 

How do you make this sour cream banana bread? 

Prepare the batter:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour a 9-inch loaf pan. 
2. In a large bowl, cream the butter and sugar, then mix in the eggs. 
3. In a separate bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, and salt. Combine with the butter mixture. 
4. Add the sour cream, mashed potatoes, and vanilla. Stir well. 

Bake the banana bread:

1. Pour the batter into the prepared pan so that the pan is ¾ full and bake for 50-55 minutes.  

Cool and slice:

1. Cool the baked bread for at least 10 minutes in the pan before turning out on a rack. 
2. Slice and serve!

Serving

Serve your sour cream banana bread with regular butter or Sweet Spiced Apple Butter, homemade or store-bought jam, or whipped cream for a bit of decadence! 

This moist and comforting banana bread also makes the ideal addition to your breakfast spread, alongside a bowl of Coconut Almond Granola, this Breakfast Fresh Fruit Yogurt Platter, a mug of hot coffee or a cozy Pumpkin Spice Latte.

Sandy’s tips and substitutions:

• Storage: Store leftover sour cream banana bread in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 4 days or in the fridge for up to 7 days. 
• Freezing: Wrap individual slices of this banana bread in foil and then transfer them to a Ziploc bag. Your banana bread will last for up to 3 months and can be thawed later at room temperature before serving as is or lightly toasted.  
• Don’t overmix: Be careful that you don’t overmix the bread batter or you will create an overly dense bread loaf. 
• Test for doneness: Insert a toothpick into the center of the loaf. It should return clean. If you see wet batter, return the pan to the oven and bake for an additional 5-10 minutes. 
• Cover with foil: If the top of your bread is browning too quickly in the oven, simply cover it with foil. 
• How to ripen bananas: To quickly ripen bananas for this sour cream banana bread, place them in a paper bag on a warm counter. The bag traps the natural ethylene gas the fruit emits, which significantly speeds up the ripening process.

Variations:

• Spices: For a touch of warmth, add a mixture of cardamom, ginger, and nutmeg to the banana bread batter. 
• Sour cream banana bread muffins: Make muffins by baking the batter in muffin molds. You will need to reduce the baking time to about 20-25 minutes at the same oven temperature. 
• Loaf pan size: You can either bake one large banana bread in a standard 9-inch loaf pan for 50-55 minutes or three smaller loaves in small loaf pans at the same oven temperature for 35 minutes. 
• Fruity twist: Banana pairs well with a variety of fruit. Feel free to add in strawberries, pineapple, pears, dates, like I’ve done in my  Hawaiian Banana Bread, Strawberry Banana Bread, and Healthy Banana Bread with Dates. 
• Mix-ins: Chocolate chips, shredded coconut, and seeds are delicious additions to this sour cream banana bread. 
• Gluten-free: Use a 1:1 gluten-free flour blend, and add 1/2 teaspoon of xanthan gum if needed. 
• Add a sweet topping: For a sweeter option, top the baked and cooled sour cream banana bread with a simple vanilla icing/glaze or a luxurious frosting.

Don’t know what to do with excess ripe bananas? They promise to add moisture and rich flavor to an array of treats, including these Banana Popsicles, Banana Meringue Cookies, and Banana Breakfast Cake. 

More breakfast bread recipes you may want to try:

• Banana Lemon Bread
• Lavender Tea Bread
• Carrot Zucchini Pineapple Bread
• Orange Almond Scone Loaf Bread

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Recipe Card Title: Best Sour Cream Banana Bread Recipe

Recipe Card Summary: This Sour Cream Banana Bread is ultra moist and flavorful, blending sweet ripe bananas, tangy sour cream, and crunchy walnuts. Enjoy a slice for breakfast, a snack, or dessert!

Yields: 12 slices

Prep: 10 mins

Cook Time: 50 mins

Resting Time: 10 mins

Total Time: 1 Hr 10 mins

Ingredients:

• ½ cup (1 stick butter) butter, softened
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 1 ½ cups flour
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• ½ tsp. salt
• 1 cup mashed bananas, about 3
• ½ cup sour cream
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 1 cup walnuts, chopped (optional)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour one 9-inch loaf pan (or 3 small ones). Pan should be 3/4 full of batter.
2. In a large bowl, cream the butter with sugar until light and fluffy. Add the eggs and mix well.
3. Whisk together the flour, baking soda, and salt; combine with the butter mixture.
4. Add the sour cream, bananas, and vanilla; stir well.
5. Pour into prepared pans and bake for 50-55 minutes.
6. Cool for 10 minutes and then turn the loaf out onto a rack.

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This BEST ever Sour Cream Banana Bread recipe is delicious and moist. It’s truly the best ever recipe, so make a loaf and give it away!

Is there anything better than the smell of homemade bread baking in the oven? Sour Cream Banana Bread at its best? Okay, well maybe. You’ve got to try my Sour Cream Banana Cake Recipe with real banana frosting and toasted walnuts, too, made in the bundt pan. And friends, have you bought my new cookbook? Buy Big Boards for Families today! It’s “editor’s pick” on Amazon this month!

Sour Cream Banana Bread Recipe

For this recipe use sour creaam or Greek yogurt for the moistest texture! And what about the flavor? Not-too-sweet, banana-y, and the best banana coffee cake in the morning with you favorite cup of Jo!

What is the best banana bread recipe?

Use overripe bananas on the counter to bake this classic banana bread recipe, which gives the best “banana” flavor! That, and not over baking the bread, is the best banana bread.

You may also love my popular Zucchini Banana Cake with Maple Frosting–it’s amazing!

Banana Bread Recipe Ingredients

• Butter + sugar + eggs
• Flour + baking soda + salt
• Bananas
• Sour cream (you can substitute with Greek yogurt)
• Vanilla extract
• Walnuts (optional)

The kitchen is quiet as I pull from the oven several loaves of the BEST Sour Cream Banana Bread recipe!

Dinner dishes are done, everyone is scattered, the hum of the oven fan is buzzing in the background, the house smells so lovely.

Now, sitting quietly on my kitchen stool, I discover there are a few thoughts that come to mind when it comes to banana bread. Life has moved toward tender and lovely, as our family has changed and the kids have grown.

How do you make banana bread moist?

• We love to add sour cream.
• Do not overbake the banana bread.
• Use ripe bananans!

Do you have to put banana bread in fridge?

Nope, no need to refrigerate the Banana Bread, but it’s best if you you can keep it in an airtight container in a cool place. We also wrap the bread in plastic wrap, then a layer of foil, and we freeze the bread.

You never know when you’ll need it :)

Feeling the moment, open to what life hands me, feeling my feelings (even the painful ones), sensing the changes ahead in our life, doing new things, meeting new people, opening our lives to new people, sometimes moving on from past relationships—nothing seems to stay the same.

But there is one thing that hasn’t changed over the years.

Banana bread–oh, the comfort it brings–and my “banana bread list.”

BEST and beloved bread in our home over the years, I’d have to say, is banana bread. So much, that I’ve made a Banana Bread Giving List.

How to bake banana bread

I love to make this recipe in my favorite ceramic loaf pan. I slice it warm with this serrated knife and add a hunk of butter.

How to bake banana bread to perfection really depends on the size of your pan. You can bake this recipe in 1 loaf (which will take longer) or smaller loaves (which take less time).

Always check the bread in the middle with a toothpick to see if the loaf is done baking, before removing from the oven.

If the batter sticks to the toothpick, bake a little longer.

Sour Cream Banana Bread

Everyone loves it — perfect for a snack, to give away to a friend, neighbor, or teacher, to send in a care package, whip out of the freezer and serve for out-of-town guests at breakfast.

The banana bread list goes on and on.

Add in sour cream? It’s even moister, more flavorful, and delicious! You can even substitute the sour cream with Greek yogurt.

So moist and sweet, this yummy recipe goes hand in hand with memories of years past. Pulling the same loaves from the oven, little kids underfoot.

Activity and lots of chitter-chatter, chins up against the countertop just waiting for that first bite.

I am a huge fan of my stand mixers or hand mixer for these types of recipes!

More Banana Bread Recipes

• Banana Cookie Bread Recipe {RE}
• Low-Fat Banana Nut Bread {Skinnytaste}
• Whole Wheat Banana Blueberry Bread {RE}

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