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 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.
Amanda and Jan said, “This is definitely the best banana bread recipe I’ve come across! I used gluten free flour and the bread was still remarkably moist, even in the few days after I baked it. Thanks so much for sharing this!” And … “Best Banana Bread recipe! I have tried many different banana bread recipes but this one is a keeper. So moist and flavorful.”
What is sour cream banana bread?
This quick 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
- Have excess bananas? Instead of throwing away food (and money), banana bread transforms overripe fruit into something delicious, and this recipe is proof of that.
- It freezes beautifully, making it a convenient make-ahead snack you can pull out and serve whenever needed.
- The addition of sour cream instantly elevates flavor by adding moisture, activating baking soda for a better rise, and using its acidity to amplify the banana taste while cutting through the sweetness.
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. Chopped pecans also work great according to a reader who tried this recipe!
How do you make this sour cream banana bread?
Prepare the batter:
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour a 9 × 5 × 2.5–3 inches loaf pan.
- In a large bowl, cream the butter and sugar, then mix in the eggs.
- In a separate bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, and salt. Combine with the butter mixture.
- Add the sour cream, mashed bananas, and vanilla. Stir well.
PRO TIP: Be careful that you don’t overmix the bread batter or you will create an overly dense bread loaf.
Bake the banana bread:
- Pour the batter into the prepared pan so that the pan is ¾ full and bake for 50-55 minutes.
PRO TIP: If the top of your bread is browning too quickly in the oven, simply cover it with foil.
Cool and slice:
- Cool the baked bread for at least 10 minutes in the pan before turning out on a rack.
- 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 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.
- 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.
- How to ripen bananas: To quickly ripen bananas for this 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.
- Muffins: Make regular or jumbo 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 fruity bread.
- Gluten-free: Use a 1:1 gluten-free flour blend, and add 1/2 teaspoon of xanthan gum if needed. The bread still comes out remarkably moist according to one of my readers!
- Add a sweet topping: For a sweeter option, top the baked and cooled 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
Get the Recipe:
Sour Cream Banana Bread Recipe
Ingredients
- ½ cup 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)
Equipment
- Large bowl (These glass bowls are so handy for baking)
- Hand mixer (I like that this Cuisinart mixer has 5 speeds)
Instructions
- 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.
- In a large bowl, cream the butter with sugar until light and fluffy. Add the eggs and mix well.
- Whisk together the flour, baking soda, and salt; combine with the butter mixture.
- Add the sour cream, mashed bananas, and vanilla; stir well.
- Pour into prepared 9 × 5-inch loaf pan or about 4 mini loaf pans that are about 5¾ × 3 inches, and bake for 50-55 minutes (large) or about 25-30 minutes for the mini.
- Cool for 10 minutes and then turn the loaf (loaves) out onto a rack.
Notes
Sandy’s tips for best banana bread:
- Storage: Store leftover 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.
- One standard 9 × 5-inch loaf (about 8 cups of batter) typically fills 4 mini loaf pans that are about 5¾ × 3 inches.
- 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. Every one bakes differently!
- How to ripen bananas: To quickly ripen bananas for this 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.
-
Hello and welcome to my home and table!
I’m Sandy—lover of food, family, cooking, THE BIG BOARD, travel, and bringing people together. Through great recipes and connection around the table, we become better, stronger, and more courageous people. Feasting on Life is real, and every time we do it, we grow a little more. Read more...
We loved this. Thanks for the great recipe!
This recipe was great!!! One question though
How many calories is it per loaf??
This is so delicious! My kids were all fighting over the last piece and begging me to make another loaf! Well done!
Sour cream in banana bread! I never thought of that but I already know it’s good!
Banana bread is one of my many weaknesses. I love the addition of sour cream, makes it so moist and delicious.
I love this take on banana bread! I am sure the sour cream makes it super moist and delish!
This is the same recipe that I got from an old Junior League cookbook over 20 years ago. It’s been my go-to recipe for a long time. I usually cut the sugar amount a little and sometimes add some shredded coconut. It is always a hit with my husband, kids and friends!
Great idea to add coconut! YUM!
I used 3/4 cup unfiltered honey in place of the 1 Cup granulated sugar and I used King Arthur’s bread flour instead of AP flour. It took about 60 minutes (I live at high altitude). Something else I did has more to do with the way I prepared the bananas. I had ripe bananas. But not mushy bananas. I put them in the oven at 350 degrees for 25 minutes. The bananas were not only soft, there was a lot more natural water/juice, that really added to the flavor, texture and the moisture content in the final product. Great recipe.
HOw is this recipe with cake flour?
I haven’t tried cake flour.
haven’t made it yet but soon I want to swirl chocklate through how much should I use?
I’ve never tried that. Let me know if it turned out?! :)