PREP TIME: 15 mins | COOK TIME: 55 mins | TOTAL TIME: 1 hr 10 mins | SERVINGS: 12
Moist and delicious banana bread that you can easily make at home. Fluffy and packed with banana flavor without being too dense! This is the ultimate banana bread recipe!
Ingredients
2 large eggs
1 c. mashed ripe banana 9 oz., about 2 and ½ medium bananas
½ c. butter 1 stick, softened
½ c. brown sugar, packed
½ c. granulated sugar
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp baking soda
2 & ½ tsp baking powder
1 c. all-purpose flour spooned and leveled
½ c. old-fashioned oats blended into a powder
¾ tsp kosher salt
½ c. sour cream
½ to ¾ c. toasted pecans or walnuts, optional
¼ tsp cinnamon, optional
⅛ tsp nutmeg, optional
⅛ tsp cloves, optional
How to make the Best Banana Bread Recipe with Sour Cream
Step 1: Set your oven’s temperature to 350 degrees F. Spray or line a 9-by-5-inch loaf pan with nonstick spray or line with parchment paper. I like to use paper because it makes it easy to take the bread out.
Step 2: If you’re going to add nuts, you should toast them now so they can cool down. Add ½ to ¾ cup chopped nuts to a dry baking sheet. I like walnuts or pecans. Bake for 5–7 minutes at 350 degrees, stirring every two minutes. When they smell very good, you’ll know they’re done. Put away to cool down.
Step 3: In a large mixing bowl or stand mixer, cream the butter until creamy, scraping down the sides as needed. Mix ½ cup of brown sugar and ½ cup of white sugar. Beat for about 2 minutes, scraping the sides and bottom of the bowl, until it is fluffy.
Step 4: Mix in 2 eggs and 2 tablespoons of vanilla extract. Beat well, scraping the sides, until everything is mixed.
Step 5: Using a fork or a potato masher, mash about 2 and ½ very ripe bananas in a small bowl. The amount should be about 1 cup. No matter how many bananas you use, you will still get banana bread. (More banana=more dense. Less banana does not result in less moist banana bread.) For me, 1 cup is the magic number. Mix the mashed banana into the butter mixture until it is all mixed in.
Step 6: 1 cup flour should be added to the bowl, but not stirred yet. (The dry ingredients can be mixed in a separate bowl, but I’m too lazy to do that.)
Step 7: Put ½ cup old-fashioned oats in a blender or food processor. Blend the ingredients until they turn into a powder. It’s okay if there are still some lumps. Put the oat flour in the bowl without stirring.
Step 8: Mix 1 teaspoon of baking soda, 2 ½ teaspoons of baking powder, and ¾ teaspoons of kosher salt into the flour with a small spoon. You don’t want salt or baking soda to get stuck together in your bread.
Step 9: Add ¼ teaspoon of cinnamon and ⅛ teaspoon each of cloves and nutmeg at this point. Even if you don’t add the spices, this bread is still really good.
Step 10: Mix the dry ingredients into the wet, scraping the sides and bottom of the bowl as you go.
Step 11: Last, but not least, mix in the ½ cup of sour cream.
Step 12: If you want to add nuts, now is the time to fold them in. (Perhaps next time I’ll set aside a quarter cup to use as a final topping on the bread before baking. Just a thought!)
Step 13: Pour the batter into the pan that has been prepared and level the top.
Step 14: Bake for 55-65 minutes at 350 degrees. Insert a toothpick in the center of the bread. Once it comes out clean the bread is done. Note that the bread will continue to cook a little once removed from the oven so do not worry about very moist crumbs. Once the bread is done, it should have a nice brown top and easily pulls away from the sides of the pan.
Step 15: Let the bread cool completely (okay, at least for 20 minutes) on a cooling rack before cutting it.
Step 16: Cover and keep at room temperature for up to 2 days; if there is any left over, refrigerate.
Step 17: Banana bread is great to freeze. You can wrap a whole loaf in foil, put it in a ziplock bag, and freeze it (let it thaw on the counter while the bag is still sealed), or you can cut it up, wrap it in foil, and freeze individual pieces for quick meals. Set the sealed container on the counter to thaw. To remove excess moisture, toast thawed slices for a minute in the toaster.
Notes:
I like banana bread with 1 cup of mashed banana, but you can add up to 2 cups (18 ounces) of mashed banana without changing anything else in the recipe and it will still be fine. “Fine” means too thick and sticky, in my opinion.
If desired, you can use half a cup of all-purpose flour in place of oats.
Nutrition Facts:
Serving: 1slice | Calories: 257 kcal | Carbohydrates: 32g | Protein: 3g | Fat: 14g | Saturated Fat: 7g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 5g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 53mg | Sodium: 414mg | Potassium: 125mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 19g | Vitamin A: 346IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 81mg | Iron: 1mg