Classic Sour Cream Banana Bread

This is the banana bread you make when you have three overripe bananas staring at you and no time for anything complicated. One bowl, no mixer, no rise time – just a loaf so moist it barely needs butter, thanks to a scoop of sour cream folded right into the batter.

Why You’ll Love It

• Ready in about two hours, start to finish, with only 15 minutes of hands-on time
• Sour cream keeps the crumb moist for days, not just the day you bake it
• Uses up bananas that are too ripe for anything else
• One bowl, no mixer, no special equipment
• Freezes beautifully, sliced or whole

Ingredients

Volume measurements are included for convenience, but weighing your flour on a kitchen scale will give you the most consistent loaf.

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• Very ripe bananas, mashed (340 g / about 3 medium): the more brown spots, the better
• Unsalted butter, melted (113 g / 8 Tbsp)
• Light brown sugar (150 g / ¾ cup, packed)
• Granulated sugar (50 g / ¼ cup)
• 2 large eggs
• Sour cream (120 g / ½ cup): full-fat, for the moistest crumb
• Vanilla extract (10 g / 2 tsp)
• All-purpose flour (300 g / 2½ cups)
• Baking soda (7 g / 1½ tsp)
• Fine sea salt (5 g / ¾ tsp)
• Ground cinnamon (3 g / ½ tsp)
• Chopped walnuts or pecans (100 g / 1 cup), optional

Equipment

• Kitchen scale: for weighing ingredients – the most reliable way to get a consistent loaf
• 9×5-inch loaf pan: the standard size for this batter
• Large mixing bowl: for combining the batter
• Whisk: for beating the wet ingredients together
• Rubber spatula: for folding in the dry ingredients and scraping the bowl clean

Sample Schedule (Same Day)

Classic Sour Cream Banana Bread

A moist, one-bowl banana bread made extra tender with sour cream — no mixer, no rise time, just a loaf that disappears fast.

Print Recipe

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Prep Time 15 minutes mins

Cook Time 1 hour hr

Cool Time 1 hour hr

Total Time 2 hours hrs 15 minutes mins

Servings: 10 slices

Course: Breakfast, Dessert

Cuisine: American

Calories: 265

Ingredients Equipment Method Notes

Ingredients

  

• 340 g (about 3 medium) very ripe bananas, mashed
• 113 g (8 Tbsp) unsalted butter, melted
• 150 g (¾ cup, packed) light brown sugar
• 50 g (¼ cup) granulated sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 120 g (½ cup) sour cream, full-fat
• 10 g (2 tsp) vanilla extract
• 300 g (2½ cups) all-purpose flour
• 7 g (1½ tsp) baking soda
• 5 g (¾ tsp) fine sea salt
• 3 g (½ tsp) ground cinnamon
• 100 g (1 cup) chopped walnuts or pecans optional

Heads up: Some of the links below are affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. This means if you click and make a purchase, I may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you.

Equipment

• Kitchen scale
• 9×5-inch loaf pan
• Large mixing bowl
• Whisk
• Rubber spatula

Method

 

1. Prep. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Butter a 9×5-inch loaf pan, or line with parchment.
2. Mix the wet ingredients. In a large bowl, whisk the mashed bananas (340 g), melted butter (113 g / 8 Tbsp), brown sugar (150 g / ¾ cup), and granulated sugar (50 g / ¼ cup) until smooth.
3. Add the eggs and sour cream. Whisk in the eggs, sour cream (120 g / ½ cup), and vanilla (10 g / 2 tsp) until fully combined.
4. Add the dry ingredients. Sprinkle the flour (300 g / 2½ cups), baking soda (7 g / 1½ tsp), salt (5 g / ¾ tsp), and cinnamon (3 g / ½ tsp) over the batter and fold just until no dry streaks remain — a few lumps are fine.
5. Fold in the nuts. If using, fold in the walnuts or pecans (100 g / 1 cup).
6. Bake. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake 55–65 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with a few moist crumbs, not wet batter.
7. Cool. Let the loaf cool in the pan 15 minutes, then turn out onto a rack and cool at least 1 hour before slicing.

Notes

This is the recipe I hand to anyone who says they ‘can’t bake.’ It’s nearly impossible to mess up, and it always gets requested again.

Sour cream is the one ingredient I won’t swap out. Plain yogurt works in a pinch, but sour cream’s fat content is what keeps this loaf moist three days later.

If your bananas are only just ripe, add an extra tablespoon of brown sugar – very ripe bananas bring more natural sweetness on their own.

How to Make It

Tips & Troubleshooting

• Batter looks lumpy: that’s fine – overmixing is what makes banana bread tough and rubbery, not a few lumps.
• Top browning too fast: tent loosely with foil after 35-40 minutes if the top is browning faster than the center is cooking.
• Bananas not ripe enough: bake unpeeled bananas at 300°F for 15-20 minutes until soft and blackened to speed-ripen them.
• Sinking in the middle: your oven may run cool – check the temperature with an oven thermometer, and make sure the baking soda is fresh.

How to Store

To store: wrap tightly and keep at room temperature up to 4 days, or in the fridge up to a week.

To freeze: wrap the cooled loaf (whole or sliced) tightly in plastic then foil, and freeze up to 3 months. Thaw at room temperature.

Nutrition

Per slice, based on 10 slices. Estimated from the ingredients used – provided for convenience and not a substitute for a precise calculation.