Peanut Butter Banana Bread
This easy one bowl peanut butter banana bread recipe is soft, fluffy, and crazy delicious! Banana bread + PB = best combo ever.
Oh hello there, January doldrums. Anyone else feeling this? January isn’t my favorite month, and I don’t know about you, but I’m glad I finally said that out loud.
But. There is banana bread to get us through. And even better: there’s peanut butter banana bread.
Hold me.
You guys, this peanut butter banana bread is insanely delicious…and it’s a one bowl wonder, which makes it even more loveable.
What does peanut butter do for banana bread?
Well, I’m awfully glad you asked.
Not only does peanut butter add rich flavor, it also makes banana bread ultra-soft. Like, unbelievably soft and velvety.
The texture is amazing.
All of the ingredients get thrown into one bowl and mixed together like a good quick bread. Meaning, don’t over mix. Just stir until those little dusty dry streaks disappear.
Chocolate Chips: Yay or Nay?
Chocolate chips are completely appropriate and optional in this peanut butter banana bread. The bread is delicious either way.
My lil’ disclaimer is that while I’m never going to say no to chocolate chips, they do slide to the forefront of the flavor stage and the peanut butter flavor isn’t quite as prominent.
What to do, what to do?
If you want a stronger peanut butter flavor: leave out the chocolate chips.
If you are ok with a bit of flavor sharing and love a good pb + chocolate combo: throw them in.
Also, I don’t want to encourage anyone to go outside of their moral boundaries, but I think since we can all agree that banana bread isn’t exactly health food, someone should explore the idea of ditching the chocolate chips and adding in mini or chopped peanut butter cups. Whoa. That someone should probably be me. Today.
Let’s Talk About Loaf Pans
One of the greatest struggles in life is baking a loaf of banana bread or other quick bread all the way through without it over browning or sinking or refusing to bake through in the center.
There are a lot of reasons why this can happen: elevation, oven temperature (every oven differs a bit in exact temp), how many times you open the oven to check on your bread (resist the urge), and on and on.
One of the foremost factors for quick bread success is pan type.
In my experience, dark-coated pans and glass bread pans do not bake as evenly as light colored nonstick loaf pans. They tend to bake the outside of the bread quickly leaving the inside gooey and underdone.
If you have a dark-coated or glass pan, consider reducing the oven temp by 25 degrees (or, even better, putting some light-colored nonstick loaf pans on your wish list). This is the pan I have {aff. link} and use and love.
Smaller Loaf
This peanut butter banana bread makes a very substantial loaf.
If you want a smaller loaf, you could repurpose some of the batter for a few muffins or a mini loaf.
In fact, if you live at high elevation, you might want to go ahead and do this as I’ve heard from some of you that cakes and quick breads tend to overflow at higher elevations?
(FYI: I live at about 2,500 feet and the full amount of batter bakes wonderfully in a 9X5-inch loaf pan.)
Let it Rest
One last important note before I just.stop.talking and let you make this bread already.
The peanut butter flavor develops and gets better with time. Warm out of the oven (come on, I can’t resist sometimes!), there’s no question that this bread is delicious.
But the peanut butter flavor might appear a bit underwhelming if you dig in right away. Let the bread cool completely (it’s even better the next day!) and it is a whole different peanut butter ball game.
My kids can eat an entire loaf of this peanut butter bread upon re-entry from the school day; we’ve been making it nonstop. It’s so good!
One Year Ago: Easy Flaky Buttermilk Drop Biscuits
Two Years Ago: Quick and Easy Pork {or Chicken} Mediterranean Orzo Skillet
Three Years Ago: Sheet Pan Balsamic Chicken + Veggies Dinner {30-Minute Meal}
Four Years Ago: 7-Minute Spaghetti Squash {Instant Pot/Pressure Cooker}
Five Years Ago: Browned Butter Vanilla Rice Krispie Treats
Six Years Ago: White Chocolate Oatmeal Craisin Coconut Cookies
Seven Years Ago: Vanilla Bean White Chocolate Mousse Cheesecake
Eight Years Ago: Cinnamon Roll Sugar Cookies
Peanut Butter Banana Bread
Ingredients
- 1 cup (227 g) mashed ripe bananas (about 3 medium bananas)
- ½ cup (106 g) granulated sugar
- ½ cup (106 g) light brown sugar
- ½ cup (113 g) melted butter or oil (see note)
- ½ cup (113 g) sour cream
- ½ cup (128 g) peanut butter (see note)
- 2 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 ½ cups (213 g) all-purpose flour (see note for whole wheat)
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup (170 g) chocolate chips (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. For dark-coated pans, reduce oven temperature to 325 degrees. Lightly grease a 9X5-inch loaf pan. You can also line the bottom with parchment paper (with overhangs on the long edges) for easy removal.
- In a large bowl, add the bananas, granulated sugar, brown sugar, butter or oil, sour cream, peanut butter, eggs, and vanilla. Whisk until well-combined.
- Add the flour, baking soda, salt and chocolate chips (if using) and stir until just combined and no dry streaks remain. Don’t over mix.
- Spread the batter in the prepared pan and bake for 50-60 minutes until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean or with moist crumbs (but not wet batter).
- Let the bread cool for 10-15 minutes. Gently remove from pan to a cooling rack to cool completely. (The peanut butter flavor of this bread is better when the bread is cool – or even the next day.)
Notes
Recommended Products
Recipe Source: from Mel’s Kitchen Cafe (adapted from this favorite sour cream banana bread recipe)
Phenomenal. I used extra banana at the start because my bananas were quite large, so I waited until everything was mixed, decided based on the consistency of the batter to omit the sour cream, and it turned out excellent! Will 100% try it again with smaller bananas and sour cream, since sour cream tends to give a nice tangy undertone to breads. Thanks for the recipe!
I adored this recipe. Unfortunately I only had this jar of powder peanut “butter”. It’s basically the consistency of a flour so I used it anyway as well as a few tweaks.
*=Small edits
Here’s my version:
– 1 cup mashed bananas
[I had lightly freckled/speckled ones over bright yellow (ripe)]
*1/3 cup (white) granulated sugar
*1/3 cup Light brown sugar
-1/2 cup Grape Seed Oil
-1/2 cup sour cream
*1/2 cup dried peanut “butter” powder
(I put it in the ingredient bowl with the flour dry, no mixing with water as it suggested on the jar)
-2 large eggs
-1 teaspoon vanilla extract
-1 1/2 cup A.P. flour
(I followed the notes suggestion and used 1 cup A.P. flour with 1/2 cup whole wheat flour)
-1 teaspoon baking soda
-1/2 teaspoon salt
*1/4 cup 72% or 75% bittersweet chocolate bar … Chopped
I first divided the bar in 3rds and only used one block (chopped) into the recipe. The rest will be used in other things.
In general I perfer breaking up a chocolate bar over buying uniformed chocolate chips for some reason.
A delicious surprise! I entered this recipe in two county fairs this summer and WON BEST BANANA BREAD at each fair! Thank you Mel!
Pamela, I’m loving all your fair entries. Way to go!
So I had to improvise a bit, I mill my own flour and am running low on eggs and also had no sour cream. I live at a 6400 altitude as well. I subbed 1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce for one of the eggs, as well as 1/2 cup sourdough discard instead of sour cream. I used all fresh milled flour for the recipe without sifting. I did my hard red soft white 1/2 and 1/2 blend. Also used natural peanut butter and grass fed butter. This came out spectacular!!!!! I didn’t adjust the baking soda at all! Baked at 350 for 50 minutes and it’s great! I used 6 cupcake liners in a pan to scoop the extra into so I could avoid the chance of the bread going crazy and overflowing!
Amazing & totally Delishious
I only changed one item … Apple
Sauce for Oil
This will now be a favorite recipe I make again & again.
Can you freeze the loaf ??
Yes, it can be frozen.
I forgot to rate it earlier
Love this recipe! Made it four times already. Used dark chocolate chips as it’s getting warmer and more humid in Tokyo.
not sure what I did wrong…………………..Heavy banana brick, not anything close to what a loaf bread would look or taste like.
any chance you added too much flour? or something? I’m not trying to be rude, but it would have to be something that happened when you made it, because I make this bread all the time and it’s some of the best banana bread ever. I was juts coming on here to comment and say that!
Maybe they left out the baking soda? Without a leavening agent this would be a “brick” as they describe.
Delicious!! I look forward to sharing the mini-muffins made from your recipe when my 3-year-old grandson visits next month. (I think his 38-year-old bachelor uncle will appreciate a few as well.) Adjustments made included subbing 1/4 cup applesauce for 1/4 cup melted butter and using mini-chocolate chips because the muffins are small. I have always loved the banana bread recipe I learned to bake while a 4-H club member (60+ years ago) but this may become the new favorite. So glad I found it on your well-done website!
Mel,
You noted “you could repurpose some of the batter for a few muffins” – I’d like to make muffins instead of a loaf. Would appreciate your recommendations re: time to bake the muffins vs the loaf.
Thank you!
Felecia
Felicia,
I baked only muffins at 350 for about 25-27 minutes (I checked them at 20 and 25 because I wasn’tsure on the time). It worked out great.
Totally love this recipe ! I followed the recipe exactly and It’s soooo good !
Question – I love to bake but hate hate sifting flour … Should I start and does it make a difference in the taste ? Thanks !
Hi May, I rarely sift flour unless it is very clumpy or if the recipe specifically states to do so.
May, use a fine mesh strainer to sift flour into your bowl; it’s super easy and fast!
Was very yummy! I only used 2 TBS of granulated sugar but all the brown sugar. Mixed milk and semi sweet chips. Was delicious!!
I subbed 1:1 GF flour and it turned out so well!! The peanut butter flavor is subtle but that’s how we like it! I also made non dairy substitutions and it didn’t affect taste or texture.
not yet! but I’m excited about making it. my question is this. How is the stored? in the fridge, countertop? do I use saran or foil to store the bread?
thank you in advanced,
Becky
I store the cooled bread in a gallon ziploc bag at room temperature or in the fridge (if storing for longer than a day or two).
I made the bread with completely omitting all of the sugar and I used coconut oil half a portion and unsweetened apple souse instead of other half the oil and the bread came out delicious and sweet enough just from the bananas and chocolate chips. I also used kefir instead of sour cream.
Thank you for the recipe,
Nela
This recipe made some of the tastiest banana bread I’ve ever made! I didn’t realize that I only used 1 cup of flour (AP) until after I had made it, but it still turned out great.
I had so much batter that I doubted if my loaf pan could hold it, so I used my glass bundt pan, which is about 1/4 smaller than the typical metal bundt pan, and it finished baking in 40 minutes.
Maybe this is a miracle cake considering the missing flour and it baked in a bundt pan, but the taste is fantastic and the texture is moist with just the right amount of tenderness as well.
I used dark chocolate chips and they compliment the rest of the ingredients. All the flavors worked very nice together – no competing to be the dominant flavor.
I feel a recipe is truly a winner when it still comes out tasting great and has very good texture even though there are a few modifications by the baker. I was so proud of it I even took pictures. My husband said it’s the best banana bread/cake he’s ever eaten. Thanks for a great (and forgiving) recipe!
I forgot to mention that I used bananas that were frozen and then thawed. I freeze overly ripe bananas and use them for smoothies and now for delicious banana peanut butter bread. And, I used crunchy peanut butter. It worked great as well.
This is truly a forgiving recipe and I plan on making it again soon. Thank you for a recipe that isn’t fussy, but rather forgiving and definitely delicious!
This recipe is so good I’ve made it so many times that I have it memorized and I don’t even like banana bread.
1.5 cups of flour is not 213 grams. It’s 180 grams. At most 187. I was excited to make this, i have had success with one of Mel’s other recipes. But when the measurements are not accurate I wonder if the recipe will be a dud. Making it anyway, but reducing the sour cream and oil a bit out of concern it will be too wet since I am adhering to 180 grams for the flour.
Hi Nicole, the measurements are actually correct. I test all of my recipes using 142 grams of flour per cup. So 1 1/2 cups of flour is indeed 213 grams. It’s really important not to convert weight measures in tested recipes to weight measures the recipe hasn’t been tested with. There is no one standard amount of flour per cup – it all depends on how the recipe is tested. For instance, King Arthur Flour (a reputable baking resource) uses 120 grams of flour per cup, America’s Test Kitchen (another reputable baking resource) uses 140-142 grams of flour per cup, etc. You’ll see various weights per cup of flour all over the internet. The most important factor is if a recipe has been tested – and if it has been, it’s important to stick with the measurements given in that particular recipe. I can assure you that this recipe is not a dud…although I don’t know how it will turn out if you reduced the flour (it might be gummy/wet in the middle).
I don’t think I can go back to regular banana bread after eating this!
Absolutely delicious. So moist and fluffy. I will be making this for quite awhile.
My neighbor gave me ALOT of bananas and I’m always baking banana bread for people. He was talking about PB and banana sandwiches, so I started looking at PB and banana breads, with chocolate chips of course. I REALLY wanted to try this one but didnt have the sour cream or even yogurt, so I looked up alternatives and found that you can use evaporated milk (at the same amount as sour cream, so I tried it.
I made 6 ( 5 and 3/4 really) mini loafs and they were done after 32 minutes (I tented foil over them for the last 8 minutes). The bottoms were a tad brown on a few of them so I think 30 minutes would have worked.
I gave them to my neighbors and a had a couple for myself. OMG these are the bomb!!! My one friend is very picky and she loved them. Thanks for a yummy yet dangerous recipe as I can eat a whole loaf at once!!
It’s by far the best kind of banana bread I have ever eaten. My friends and I simply love it!!!
If you haven’t tried it, you’re missing out on the very best there is to me, thus far….
YUM! Moist and delicious! I used nonfat Greek yogurt in place of the sour cream and half whole wheat flour.
Best ever!! Even made it gluten free and did muffins with a cook time of 35-40 min. This is my favorite and now only go to banana peanut butter recipe. Thank you!!
Do you think almond flour can be used?
I haven’t tried it, but it’s worth experimenting!
Made this exactly as is, omitting the chocolate chips. It’s delicious! I have a smaller pan so I used the extra batter to make some muffins. I think I like the muffin version best!
Whole family loved this banana bread. I did use all natural peanut butter (just peanuts and salt) and also partial whole wheat flour as mentioned in the notes. I used coconut sugar for the brown, just because that’s what I had. Only other modification I made was making the loaf into muffins for easy freezing.
Delicious
LOVE this recipe!!! I made it for a few of my friends, and they agree, it is the best ever! I used a little less banana so that the PB flavor came out more, and I used half the oil and replaced it with applesauce as suggested. It came out so moist and delicious! This is a keeper for sure. In fact, I made some the other day and kept them for myself…LOL! I say “they” because I made oversized muffins. Thanks Mel for another fabulous recipe!
Delish! Love it toasted with some jelly!
I did sub 1/2 cup oat flour in the recipe & added some chocolate peanut butter protein powder, and totally forgot to add the butter but it was still so good.
Great recipe, very moist quick bread. Didn’t have choc. chips but tried it with English choc toffee chips and very good also. Thanks
We made this for Christmas breakfast, and have devoured the loaf! I do need a new lighter pan though!! Next Christmas…. Thanks for the great recipe!!
Made 4 mini loaves and 2 muffins. I did use the chocolate chips. DELICIOUS!!
Best Banana Bread EVER!! I doubted it would be better than the perfect slice I had fresh from the oven, but it was better the next day. I’ve never had a recipe from Mel I did like, but this goes in the top 5.
Wow! Thanks, Diane! So happy you loved this one!
Delicious and extremely easy to put together. I made mine in a 9″ x 5″ dark baking pan. It was still wet in middle after 50 mins so I left it in for 5 more. Still too wet so I dropped temp to 300 degrees for 13 more minutes so sides and bottom would not brown too much. It came out perfectly baked and very moist. Great, soft texture but holds together nicely. Will definitely make again. Next time I will throw in chocolate chips.
Really good. Hubby prefers muffins so that’s what I made. Left out the chips since I have never been a fan of chocolate and banana. This is definitely a keeper
I accidentally omitted the butter (found it in my microwave the next morning, I had completely forgotten to put it in the bread) and it actually baked up really well despite my mistake! Great texture, great flavour, I can only imagine it’s even better when you remember the butter. I did bake this in a 9×9 aluminum pan for a slightly more “snack cake” vibe.
MAKE THIS BREAD. I’m 55 years old and I’ve been making the same banana bread forever. Good recipe, too. But THIS bread OMG. My only regret was not mixing in chocolate chips-I only put them on top. Get off the computer, go to your kitchen, and make this bread NOW.
I made this over the weekend and it’s amazing! It makes a LOT of batter so I put most of it in the 9×5 loaf pan and made four muffins; and I still thought it was going to overflow, but thankfully it didn’t! I think I might’ve liked the muffins better too. Either way, it was delicious! This is now mine and my husband’s favorite banana bread. Also, I substituted plain nonfat greek yogurt for the sour cream as that’s all I had at home and it was great.
Totally amazing! I was trying to use up some really ripe bananas and was searching for recipes. I came across one using the powdered peanut butter and it gave me the idea of searching further to find one that used real peanut butter. I came across this one and since it used melted butter and not room temp butter (didn’t want to want for the butter to thaw and come to room temp) decided to try it. I am so glad I did. I think this is the best quick bread I have ever made. And I have made quick bread using about every fruit out there. My husband loved it. It is delicious as is, but maybe one time I will try adding some nuts to give it a little crunch.
Yum! I used all wheat flour, vegan butter and sour cream, natural peanut butter, and applesauce instead of eggs. Moist a delicious and the added PB flavor is joyful!
This is delicious! Only had two bananas so I added 1/2 cup of unsweetened applesauce, used canola oil instead of butter. I live at 7200 ft, worried about overflow in the loaf pan so I turned it into bars and baked in a 9×13. So so tasty and easy to grab and go.
The gram measurements are incorrect. I measured them with cups and weighed them as well –
Sugars – 100 g
I used yogurt instead of sour cream but it came out to 128 g
PB (Jiffy) – 113 g
Flour – 180-190 g, depending on measurement used
I followed the recipe using these measurements and used canola oil and half wheat flour and it turned out great! Nice and moist and you could taste the peanut and the banana. I would say that the peanut flavor could maybe be a bit stronger, but I think a peanut butter glaze might fix that.
Hi Emily, thanks for including your weight measures…weight measures for ingredients can be variable depending on the source (for instance across many internet sites, you’ll find that some people/chefs/companies use upwards of 160 grams per cup of flour while others use 120 grams per cup of flour). All of my recipes are tested using the weight measures given in the recipe (I use 142 grams per cup of flour, 212 grams per cup of sugar, 255 grams per cup of peanut butter, 227 grams per cup of sour cream). People measure ingredients differently. Some spoon flour into the measuring cup while others scoop the flour and level with a knife. That’s why it’s easy to get different weight measures per cup of flour (and for other ingredients). It’s great the recipe turned out using different weight measures for you – but that doesn’t mean the weight measures in the recipe are incorrect. I encourage readers to use the weight measures given in a recipe if they know the recipe has been tested that way. Hope that helps!
This is the best banana bread I have ever had- it must be the chocolate! Actually, I made mini loaves, two with chocolate and one without. I used natural crunchy peanut butter. You must divide into four loaves if you do this as mine overflowed into the bottom of my oven and I live at 1,000 ft of elevation. It baked for much longer than I thought it would. I would love to know how long it should bake as I set it for increments of 5 minutes repeatedly. Thank you for this delicious recipe!
I’m excited to try this on Sunday. Your website if my first go to spot for all my recipes and has been for the last 7 years or so. Thanks for all of your amazing recipes over the years! I’m wondering what spread you put on top of the bread. Was it just peanut butter? THANKS!
Yes! Creamy peanut butter.
Anybody have a problem with it overflowing out of the pan? It is the correct size pan and correct ingredients – so strange
Hey Jenny, do you live at high elevation? That can cause some issues baking (and over flowing).
I just made this over the weekend. It does make A LOT of batter. The 9×5 loaf pan looked very full before I even got all the batter in so I filled four muffin tins with extra. I still thought it was going to overflow in the oven but thankfully it didn’t!