This easy banana bread recipe is filled with the big banana  flavor thanks to lots of bananas, cinnamon and vanilla.  It’s made with sour cream so it’s super moist – plus there’s no mixer needed. This is the best banana bread recipe I’ve ever made – and I know you’ll love it too!
I love banana bread. And having leftover bananas is the perfect excuse to bake.
If you’re anything like me, you come back from grocery shopping only to realize you have 2 cartons of eggs, no butter, 3 bags of chocolate chips and nothing to make for supper. No matter how organized I try to be, I always forget something and buy something I didn’t need.
Recently, we’ve been over buying bananas – so now there’s a stock pile overripe bananas in our freezer. Which is a pretty delicious predicament to be in – since the solution is making banana bread.
This particular banana bread is a classic. It’s so moist, springy, big on banana flavor and has the softest crumb. Sometimes I find banana bread can taste bland, or be tough. But not this recipe. It’s all the kinds of delicious that banana bread should be.
The secrets to its moist texture and tender crumb are quite simple. First, there’s 2 eggs and it’s a banana bread with sour cream. Eggs are great for adding moisture and sour cream acts as the ultimate shield against dry baked goods.
Then to keep the crumb tender and not tough, Â be VERY careful not to over mix your batter. Have all your ingredients at room temperature so they’re easier to combine.Then when you add your dry ingredients to your wet, fold them in very gently with a large rubber spatula or wooden spoon until just mixed – a few lumps are totally ok.
Now for the big flavor? First lots of bananas – the more ripe the better. I also use just brown sugar to give a deeper, caramel-y taste. Then lots of vanilla, cinnamon and nutmeg. The vanilla and spices complement the banana so well without turning the recipe into a spice cake. Â There’s so much flavor that I didn’t miss having chocolate chips, nuts or fruit one bit. The banana bread really shines on its own.
The only downside of banana bread is that you’ll have to wait awhile for it to bake – 50 minutes to 1 hour – sigh. Mine took exactly one hour. If you notice the top getting too brown as it’s baking, you can tent a piece of aluminum foil to cover the top for the last 10-15 minutes. Your kitchen will smell absolutely DIVINE as you’re waiting. Seriously delicious.
This easy banana bread recipeis a definite classic – big banana taste, super moist, not the least bit tough. I love it for breakfast, mid day snack or dessert!
If you love banana bread – make sure to try these favorites too!
- Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins
- Double Chocolate Banana Bread
- Banana Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting
- Double Chocolate Banana Muffins
Easy Banana Bread Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 ½ teaspoons baking soda
- 1 ½ teaspoons cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon nutmeg
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- â…“ cup unsalted butter , melted
- ½ cup packed brown sugar , light or dark (I used dark)
- 2 large eggs , room temperature
- 2 teaspoons vanilla
- ¼ cup sour cream , room temperature
- 3 very ripe bananas , about 1 and ½ cups mashed
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350F degrees. Grease and flour a 9 x 5 inch loaf pan.
- In a medium bowl whisk together the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt. Set aside.
- In a large bowl whisk together the butter and sugars. Add in the eggs and vanilla and continue whisking until combined.
- Using a large rubber spatula or wooden spoon, fold in the sour cream and mashed bananas. Then carefully fold in the flour mixture until just combined.
- Pour the batter into your prepared loaf pan and bake for 50 minutes to 1 hour. The edges should be just starting to pull away from the sides and an inserted toothpick should come out clean. If the top is starting to brown too much before its finished, cover loosely with aluminum foil and continue baking.
Notes
Nutrition
It smells amazing. I have this very recipe in the oven now. I just didn’t have any nutmeg, so I used what I had, cinnamon and… cardamom. It’s a lovely recipe, and I can already tell that it’s going to be amazingly moist and delicious. Thanks for sharing your recipe!
That sounds delicious with the cinnamon & cardamon – glad to hear you like the recipe!
Fiona, if I don’t have unsalted butter, could I use salted butter and then not add the salt that the recipe calls for? Or adjust the amount? I guess I don’t know, scientifically, what the difference would be to the recipe …
Thanks.
For this recipe, I’d just remove the 1/4 teaspoon salt. Since there isn’t too much butter in the recipe and banana bread isn’t too fussy as far as ingredients – you shouldn’t have a problem! I hope you like it!
Thanks, Fiona
I did as you suggested – my work folks were very appreciatve – keep those yummy recipes coming ….
My go-to banana bread recipe! Perfect every time 🙂
Baking in my oven now! Smells delish!