Sour Cream Banana Bread {One-Bowl!}
This one-bowl sour cream banana bread recipe is amazingly popular for good reason! Super moist and fluffy, it is crazy delicious and so easy to make!
One of the best banana bread recipes ever, this bread has been a tried-and-true favorite for over a decade.
And you don’t have to take my word for it! With over 1,000 five-star reviews, it’s popularity speaks for itself.
Easy Banana Bread Batter
In this recipe, the wet ingredients get mixed up first:
- granulated sugar
- oil or melted butter
- eggs
- mashed bananas
- sour cream
- vanilla
Then the flour, baking soda and salt are added. No need to mix them first in another bowl.
This is a one-bowl batter, and it’s brilliantly easy.
Don’t Over Mix
As with all good quick bread recipes, one important key to this recipe is to mix just until the dry ingredients are incorporated.
Over mixing the batter could mean death to a lovely, soft, moist loaf of perfect banana bread.
Easily Doubled
This recipe makes one loaf of banana bread. But it is easily doubled, and I highly encourage you to do so.
In fact, I often buy several bunches of bananas just to let them ripen in destruction on my kitchen counter to prepare for this amazing recipe.
What Causes the Speckles in Banana Bread?
Have you ever wondered why some banana bread has dark speckles and others don’t?
I’ve done a lot of reading and testing (I’m telling you, NERD, and proud of it) to figure out why some banana bread loaves have a light-colored crumb and other recipes produce the dark speckles like you see in these pictures.
The reason? Baking soda.
Banana bread recipes that have a larger amount of baking soda and less baking powder usually have a darker, more speckled crumb. This sour cream banana bread has a full teaspoon of baking soda and no baking powder…and it clearly results in darker speckles.
This much lighter buttermilk banana bread only has 1/8 teaspoon baking soda (and a teaspoon of baking powder).
Classic Sour Cream Banana Bread
For a classic, traditional, perfect banana bread recipe, you can’t go wrong with this sour cream banana bread.
If you take a quick glance through the comments, you’ll easily see that many, many, many of you have fallen in love with this banana bread over the years. This recipe has over 500 5-star reviews!
No surprise! It is so easy – one bowl! So delicious – supremely moist and tender!
It really is one of the best banana bread recipes out there.
Sour Cream Banana Bread FAQs
Many readers over the years have done just that. They’ve reported back with good results. The recipe will yield about 17-20 muffins (bake them at the same temp in the recipe and check them around 17-18 minutes).
Buttermilk can be used in place of the sour cream (the batter will be thinner, but that’s ok). Subbing in dairy milk or non-dairy milk for the sour cream may affect the texture and overall end result of the bread because the recipe needs the acidity of the sour cream (or buttermilk) to turn out correctly.
Yes, that works great! Toss them in with the flour (just remember not to over mix!).
Sour Cream Banana Bread
Ingredients
- 1 cup (212 g) granulated sugar (see note to reduce the sugar)
- ½ cup oil (see note)
- 2 eggs
- 1 cup (227 g) mashed ripe bananas, about 3 ripe bananas
- ½ cup (113 g) sour cream
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 ½ cup (213 g) all-purpose flour (see note)
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
- Grease and flour a 9X5-inch loaf pan (or several mini loaf pans).
- In a large bowl, whisk together the sugar and oil. Add the eggs, bananas, sour cream and vanilla; blend well.
- Add the flour, baking soda and salt; stir just until dry ingredients are moistened. Spread the batter evenly in the prepared pan.
- Bake for 50-60 minutes until toothpick inserted in the center of the loaf comes out clean.
- Cool for five minutes in the pan. Gently turn out onto a cooling rack and cool completely. Store covered at room temperature (the bread also freezes great).
Notes
Recommended Products
Recipe Source: adapted slightly from Leigh Anne at Your Homebased Mom
Recipe originally posted June 2009; updated with new pictures, recipe notes, and commentary.
Hi, Mel! I love your site! I have tried a few of your recipes already and they all have been big hits! This banana bread recipe is no exception. I had a bunch of ripe bananas at home and decided to bake something with them. This recipe fit the bill perfectly, as I happened to have exactly 1/2 cup of sour cream in the fridge too! I made it into muffins. The recipe produced exactly 12 regular size muffins and 12 minis. The regular muffins were done in 22 minutes and the minis in 14- perfection! The only changes I made was adding 1 tbsp flaxseed meal and 1/2 cup chopped walnuts. They were terrific! My kids and husband loved them so much that there was pretty much nothing left in about an hour (I may or may not have had about 3-4 minis myself:)). So, since I had more bananas left to use up, I decided to make another batch! This time, I had no more sour cream, so I used plain yogurt instead- they turned out just as moist and delicious! I really had a hard time telling the difference- the taste and the texture were the same. The second batch I made into all minis and the recipe yielded 42. I made 1 dz plain (without adding anything, as in your original recipe) and t o the rest of the batter I put 1/3 cup mini chocolate chips. My daughter loved them, and so did my coworkers today. Rave reviews, including requests for the recipe! This will be my go-to banana bread recipe from now on! Thank you so much, Mel, for all these fabulous recipes! I can’t wait to try more! I will be linking back to your great site when I post on my blog!
Hi there…I think you meant it makes 24 minis? Thanks for posting the muffin information as I was looking for just that variation this afternoon with this recipe! Thanks!
Melissa,
Sorry I just saw your comment here. This recipe actually does yield about 42 minis, not 24. 🙂 Of course, you most probably found that out already. 🙂 It’s a great recipe!
Hey There. I found your blog using msn. This is a very well written article.
I will make sure to bookmark it and come back to read more
of your useful information. Thanks for the post.
I will definitely return.
Was looking for recipe using sour cream in banana bread when you post was you were moving to Wi. I have lived in Wisconsin all my life. How to you like our state? Will try you r bread today.
I’ve made this bread before and loved it! lately, my 2 year old will eat almost anything in mini muffin form so I tried that route. They came out amazing and most! I also did a mini loaf for a gift. Thank you for all your hard work you put into this blog. It is definitely worth it! I am always using your recipes and they never let me down!
This had become my go-to banana bread recipe! I make lots of substitutions depending on what’s on hand… I use whole wheat flour, greek yogurt for the sour cream, I’ve added flax seed meal, pumpkin, coconut oil, molasses and I’m sure others! Thanks so much for a great recipe! I’ve tried at least 15-20 of your recipes since finding your site a year ago. I’d say your site is also my go-to for solid recipes and new ideas. Thanks!!!
Just put this bread in the oven, looks super yummy!!! I have tried several of your recipes and I have loved them all!!!
thank you for your nice post.avid mastering,
So I made this with all the possible adaptions others asked about substituting…
applesauce for oil; plain yogurt for sour cream; and even used 1/2 cup wheat flour.
It was delicious! Thank you for a great recipe that will always work with what is on hand. So moist and yummy. Glad we had enough bananas to double it!
This was truly an amazing recipe!!! The only things I did differently was omit the oil and replace with applesauce and 2tsp of coconut oil. Added flaxseed oil for extra nutrition and used low-fat sour cream… Delicious!!! Thanks for the awesome recipe!! A definite must try for banana bread lovers 🙂 !
I just made this! I love this recipe! I like that they come out light and fluffy and not too dense and dark. I doubled this and made three pans of mini muffins and one loaf. I like to use banana bread muffins or zucchini bread muffins in my kids lunches for school! They love them too! Thanks!
My family loves this bread! Great for breakfast on busy mornings.
I just made these as mini muffins (30 minutes of baking or less), and they are wonderful and moist.
Always enjoy your buttermilk banana bread, but tried this one today – oh my! It is wonderful, too!!
Was looking for a new banana bread recipe and found this one..looks delicious!
I used this recipe to make muffins this past weekend and were awesome! I have really struggled to make a good moist banana bread and this one was amazing! Thank you!!! You are awesome!
Oh hey, I’m back to comment on this delicious bread again. With some new “recommendations” from my doctor during my second pregnancy, I substituted whole wheat flour for the white flour and 1/2 of the sugar for Splenda (she doesn’t so much recommend artificial sweetener so much as I REALLY wanted some banana bread, but I’m supposed to avoid sugar!). 🙂
It’s delicious as ever! Thanks!
Very good! I wanted to try a new banana bread recipe today. This is delicious!!
This was ok, not bad but not my favourite banana bread.
Maybe it was because I used 1 stick of butter instead of the oil.
I definitely preferred the buttermilk banana bread. That was awesome!
Did anyone ever make this recipe with butter instead of the oil? Is there a difference in the outcome of the bread?
Also, is oil or butter the “healthier” option?
Thanks for any responses!
Can I use canola oil in this recipe or is vegetable oil recommended?
n92 – yes, by all means, use canola. That’s actually what I use most of the time!
This was so delicious! I accidentally added way too much sour cream (my kids were helping me…I was a little distracted), so it turned out extra super moist. But, it was still awesome! Next up is your buttermilk banana bread recipe…=)
Suzanne – it sounds like too much sour cream isn’t a bad thing. Moist is good!
Made this today and LOVED IT!! It was so easy, had all the ingredients on hand and was delicious!!
Can’t wait to try the buttermilk recipe!
Thanks, Sara!
I made this recipe the other day to save a couple of over-ripe bananas from ending up in the trash. It came out great. I put it on the toaster oven and then topped it with some Nutella, which was even more tasty! The recipe was quick and easy to make. I will have to try the buttermilk banana bread recipe as well, but for now this one is definitely going on my “go to” list. Thanks for the recipe!
Ruchita – (thanks for all of your comments!) – love the idea of topping with Nutella! Glad you liked this.
While I’ve publicly proclaimed my love for your Buttermilk Banana Bread (http://meandtheredhead.blogspot.com/2010/04/letters.html), I have to say that this is pretty darn good as well! My buttermilk was spoiled, so I decided I’d try this one. And while the Buttermilk Banana Bread is our all time favorite, this is different and delicious.
As always, much thanks!
Shauntel – glad to know this filled the void of buttermilk-gone-bad. They are both delicious recipes and I’m glad you liked this one, too!
I love that your blog is my go to for recipes! I have some bananas slowly turning to mush on my counter so I thought I’d try my hand at banana bread. I knew if I searched your blog I’d find a recipe, but I didn’t count on three! I have that many bananas so I think I may try all three! Thanks a ton!
Tasha – thanks for your comment! It was so nice…I hope one of the banana bread recipes works out for you!
I tried this recipe this morning and I think that it replaced my old recipe as a family favorite. I added walnuts and choc. chips. Thank you! I will try more of your recipes for sure!
micheleidaho – I’m so glad you liked this recipe! Thanks for taking the time to let me know – walnuts and chocolate chips sound like the perfect addition to this bread, by the way.
debbie – I’ve never tried it that way but I know that plain yogurt is interchangeable for sour cream in many recipes, so there is a good chance it should work out just fine. Let me know if you try it that way!
I have some plain yogurt and was wondering if I can use that in place of the sour cream?
I was a little skeptical about a “new” banana bread recipe, since banana bread is so common. However, this recipe proved again that not all banana bread recipes are created equal. This was really, truly amazing. We loved it. Definately our favorite b-bread recipe, and going forward, I see no need to ever try a new recipe after having this and the other buttermilk b-bread recipe you posted. It was super delicious.
Jennie – the sprinkling of brown sugar sounds amazing. I’ll have to try that for sure!
Anonymous – I hear you on trying new banana bread recipes – how many can there really be? But I am convert to the buttermilk and sour cream banana bread recipes and don’t know if I’ll ever try another! I’m glad you liked these also. Thanks for letting me know!
Good luck with your move! Gotta love a Midwestern summer (that was loaded with sarcasm!)…I’m in IL.
i was just thinking about what to do with those 2 over-ripe bananas on my kitchen counter…
Good luck!! Utah will be a little less tasty now that you have left. 🙁 But Wisconsin is in for a treat!
Thanks for the b bread recipe, sounds terrific. can’t wait to try!
and PS- “hello cupcake” has been a big hit!!! thanks again, i love it! and because this comment seems to be lacking in exclamation points, here are a few more!!!!!!
How long did you cook the muffins?
Good luck with your move to Wisconsin! This banana bread looks fab! Yummie!
This looks similar to my MIL’s recipe for banana bread- it’s so moist and delicious!Your picture is fantastic!
Happy moving!
Good luck with the move!
Banana bread is so comforting to me.
Good luck with the move! This bread does look like a keeper!
Good luck with the move, we’ll miss you while you’re busy!
best of luck with the move, melanie–here’s hoping you get to your new location with everything and everybody. 🙂
great bread, by the way–it looks super moist, which is the most important quality of banana bread to me.
Good luck moving. I’m already dreading the moving/packing process and I don’t have a house and would be staying in the same city.
The banana bread recipe definitely sounds worthy of a shot. I have some sour cream to use up too (if it’s not already past due).
This looks so delicious and comforting! Good luck with your move!
Anonymous – three times on the lemon cake? Awesome! So glad you like the recipe.
Good luck with the cross-country trip! and thanks for the banana recipe, I was just about to go on a search for banana recipes 🙂
I’ve been looking for the “perfect” banana bread recipe – trying a new one each time for the past 6 months. Your buttermilk one is in the top two of my family’s favorites. we’ll have to try this next time. thanks! one thing we really like is to sprinkle a little brown sugar on top before you bake it – it makes a really yummy crust.
good luck with the move!
Melanie, good luck with your move! I’ll be waiting for you to come back and start posting these delicious recipes again!
I have really enjoyed your posts. Thanks for the info about the perfect lemon cake. I have made it three times since. Good luck on your move and I will look forward to more posts.
Good luck with your move to Wisconsin! Say hi to the old home state for me!!