This Sour Cream Banana Bread recipe, made with brown sugar and sour cream, creates a sweet and moist bread. It can be made with nuts or other add-ins, but its best taste is from overripe bananas.
Use Overripe Bananas for Sour Cream Banana Bread
There are many recipes for banana bread, but I like the flavor brown sugar gives this bread. When paired with sour cream, this bread is hard to beat! To get the most banana flavor in this bread, use bananas that have lots of dark spots and are well past their freshness peak for eating. Although some people use black bananas in their bread, I prefer heavily spotted bananas. There seems to be a sweet spot in ripening bananas–very sweet but not too fermented.
Sour Cream in the Batter
This recipe also uses sour cream to help keep the bread moist after baking. It is many bakers’ favorite ingredient for cake mixes, sweet bread, and cornbread because it creates delicious baked goods. However, bring sour cream to room temperature before using it because cold ingredients can affect how well the batter mixes and the baking time.
Add Nuts to Sour Cream Banana Bread
The recipe for this banana bread includes a note for adding nuts. Add one cup of chopped nuts to the batter when adding the sour cream. You can add raw or toasted nuts. I have made this bread with pecans and walnuts, but feel free to add other nuts you prefer, such as chopped hazelnuts, brazil nuts, and macadamia nuts. Just be careful not to chop the nuts too fine, or you might miss their nutty crunch!
Other Add-Ins
Enhance the taste of your banana bread with add-ins such as chocolate chips, dried fruit, and toasted coconut flakes. You can also add spices. For instance, add 1/2 to 1 teaspoon of cinnamon to give your bread a spicy flavor. Other spices you might consider are nutmeg and allspice.
Mixing the Batter for Sour Cream Banana Bread
When you add the dry ingredients to the batter, be careful not to over-stir it. Over-stirring causes gluten to develop, making bread dense and chewy. And while that is desirable in some things like a pizza crust, it is not something you want in banana bread. The texture of banana bread should be soft and tender. When you add the dry ingredients, stir to moisten the batter–and no more.
Use a 9 x 5-inch loaf pan to bake this banana bread. A greased nonstick pan will produce the best results.
Other Banana Recipes
Here are other banana bread recipes you might like:
Sour Cream Banana Bread
Ingredients
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup salted butter, softened
- ¾ cup brown sugar, packed
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 2 large eggs, room temperature
- 1 ½ cups ripe banana, mashed and packed (about 3 bananas)
- ½ cup sour cream, room temperature
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 9 x 5-inch loaf pan.
- Whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt, and then set aside.
- In a mixing bowl, beat the butter, sugar, and vanilla until creamy. Then beat in the eggs.
- Add the banana and beat until combined.
- Stir in the sour cream until mixed.
- Add the flour mixture and stir by hand or at the lowest mixer speed until mixed, taking care not to overmix.
- Add the batter to the prepared pan.
- Bake for 50-55 minutes until golden brown or an inserted toothpick comes out clean. Check the bread after 40 minutes. If the top is brown enough, add a sheet of aluminum foil (sprayed with cooking spray) to the top of the pan.
- Cool the pan on a cooling rack for 10 minutes. Use a knife to loosen the bread from the sides of the pan. Then turn the bread on the cooling rack for a few minutes before slicing it.