One Bowl Sour Cream Banana Bread

This is the best sour cream banana bread I've ever had! Moist, rich, and so easy to make! This recipe uses brown butter, overripe bananas, and sour cream to yield the best result.

Why you'll love this recipe

Ingredients for the Best Banana Bread

I've tried many combinations of ingredients over the years and have proven many times that having these make the best banana bread ever!

Sour Cream

My best recommendation. You need fat to add moisture and creaminess to the cake.

Brown Butter

Not softened nor melted. it must be browned, more on this later. Use pure butter, the best that you can find. 

Browned butter has a rich nutty taste and has the best buttery smell! Ever since I first made it for one of my cake recipes, I've been obsessed–always finding recipes it will be good for. Of course, banana bread is just the perfect candidate and the result was a whole new level of deliciousness.

Cornstarch

Softens the protein of flour which makes the bread/cake soft and tender. A small amount does wonders to the overall texture of the cake.

Overripe Bananas

Yields the most delicious and deeply flavored banana cake that you won't get from just using yellow bananas. So put those brown-looking soggy bananas to good use instead of throwing them away.

Brown Sugar vs White Sugar

Many banana bread recipes use either brown sugar or white sugar and sometimes both. But does it matter which one you use?

Yes, if you're making cookies. But for banana bread, you can definitely use both interchangeably.

Banana bread made with brown sugar will be dark brown in color and denser compared to that made of white sugar. If you want it to have a slightly brown color, use both. Adjust measurement depending on the color you want to achieve.

How to Make It

And here's how to make banana bread:

A few things to note:

Let the brown butter cool completely before adding to the rest of the ingredients. Hot butter can cook the eggs thus ruining the entire recipe!

To properly dissolve the sugar, whisk it with the wet ingredients along with the mashed overripe bananas. This is what I always do when making cakes and muffins.

Sift the dry ingredients directly into the wet ingredients. There's no need for a separate bowl. Fold in nuts or chocolate chips (optional) after partially stirring the batter.

To remove air pockets in the batter, tap the loaf pan one to two times on your kitchen counter before baking.

Tips for a successful Banana Bread

• Use room temperature ingredients, including sour cream and eggs. Bring it out from the fridge 1 hour before baking. Using cold ingredients can result to a flat and dense cake.
• Do not overmix the batter. Overmixing can result in a denser, chewy cake.
• To avoid overbaking, test doneness of the cake at around 50mins. If skewer doesn't come out clean, bake for a couple of more minutes. Mine was done at about 53 minutes. Let it cool completely before removing from the loaf pan.

Banana Bread Variations

• Make it into muffins. This recipe yields 12-14 muffins. Line the muffin tin with liners or wipe/spray with vegetable oil before pouring the batter. Bake for 20-25 minutes at 350f/180c.
• Make it into a round cake for birthdays or special occasions. Grease a 9 inch round cake pan with vegetable oil and line with a parchment paper. Bake for 50-60 minutes at 350f/180c. Let it cool then frost if preferred. Try it with my small batch cream cheese frosting. It will be so good!
• Add walnuts or semi-sweet chocolate chips. Fold it in the batter or sprinkle on top.

What's a good substitute for Sour Cream

A good substitute for sour cream is unsweetened yogurt (plain/greek) and buttermilk (store-bought or homemade). Use full fat for a moist cake texture.

For homemade buttermilk: combine ⅓ cup full-fat fresh milk and 1 teaspoon vinegar or lemon. Let it sit for 10 minutes while it curdles.

Storage and Shelf-life

Place in an air-tight container or cover with foil or plastic wrap to prevent drying out. Banana bread is good for 1 day at normal room temperature and 1 week in the fridge if properly stored.

Frequently asked questions

Recipe Video

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Complete Recipe

One Bowl Sour Cream Banana Bread

This recipe makes moist and rich banana bread. The secret? Sour cream, brown butter, and overripe bananas. You can make the batter in one bowl. No mixer needed.

prep 10 mins

cook 55 mins

5 from 7 votes

author: Mella

Servings 8 -10 slices

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Ingredients

 

Cups - Metric

1x2x3x

• ▢ ⅓ cup unsalted butter
• ▢ 1 ½ cup - 1 ¾ cup overripe bananas (3-4pcs) (mashed)
• ▢ 2 eggs
• ▢ ¾ cup sugar (brown or white, see note 1)
• ▢ ⅓ cup sour cream (see note 2)
• ▢ 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• ▢ ¼ teaspoon salt
• ▢ 1 ½ cup all-purpose flour
• ▢ 1 teaspoon baking soda
• ▢ 2 tablespoon cornstarch

Add-ins (see note 6):

• ▢ ½ cup - 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips (optional)

Instructions

• Pre-heat oven to 350f/ 180c. Grease loaf pan with oil or butter.
• Place butter in a lightly-colored pan over medium heat. Once melted, lower the heat. Swirl and stir as it cooks to release the bubbles. Watch it carefully until color turns to a toasty brown. Immediately transfer to a heat-proof bowl and let it cool.
• Place the bananas in a large bowl. Mash with a fork until slightly smooth. Add sugar and eggs then whisk to combine. Pour brown butter, vanilla, salt, and sour cream. Stir until everything is combined.
• Sift flour, cornstarch, and baking soda onto the wet mixture. Stir until just combined. Fold in nuts or chocolate chips if using. DO NOT OVERMIX.
• Pour the batter into your prepared loaf pan. Tap in the kitchen counter to remove air pockets.
• Bake for 50 minutes to 55 minutes until a skewer inserted into the center comes out clean. Mine took exactly 53 minutes to get done. Let it cool for 15 minutes before removing it from the pan. Slice and serve. Enjoy!

Recipe Notes and Tips:

1. Sugar: use brown or white interchangeably or both. If using both, I suggest using ½ cup brown sugar and ¼ cup white.
2. Sour cream substitute:  Use plain full-fat or Greek yogurt or buttermilk–store-bought or homemade (see note 3).
3. For homemade buttermilk: combine ⅓ cup full-fat fresh milk and 1 teaspoon vinegar or lemon. Let it sit for 10 minutes until it curdles.
4. All ingredients should all be at room temperature including the eggs and sour cream to get the best result.
5. Make it into muffins. This recipe yields 12-14 muffins. Line the muffin tin with liners or wipe/spray with vegetable oil before pouring the batter. Bake for 20-25 minutes at 350f/177c.
6. Make it into a round cake for birthdays or special occasions. Grease a 9 inch round cake pan with vegetable oil and line with parchment paper. Bake for 50-55 minutes at 350f/177c. Let it cool then frost if preferred. Try it with my small batch cream cheese frosting.
7. Other add-ins: chopped walnuts or pecans.
8. Storage/Shelf-life: Place in an air-tight container or cover with foil or plastic wrap to prevent drying out. Banana bread is good for 1 day at normal room temperature and 1 week in the fridge if properly stored.
9. Calorie serving is per slice, excluding the chocolate chips.

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Course : Snack

Cuisine : Western

Keyword : best banana bread recipe, sour cream banana bread

Nutrition Facts

One Bowl Sour Cream Banana Bread

Amount per Serving

Calories

406

% Daily Value*

Fat

 

19

g

29

%

Saturated Fat

 

11

g

69

%

Cholesterol

 

77

mg

26

%

Sodium

 

237

mg

10

%

Potassium

 

269

mg

8

%

Carbohydrates

 

54

g

18

%

Fiber

 

3

g

13

%

Sugar

 

28

g

31

%

Protein

 

5

g

10

%

Vitamin A

 

501

IU

10

%

Vitamin C

 

4

mg

5

%

Calcium

 

33

mg

3

%

Iron

 

2

mg

11

%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

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