When I use the title of “Best Ever Banana Bread”, I do not bander these words around lightly. This super moist, banana bread is truly the best I have ever made or tasted!
This extraordinary, Best Ever Banana Bread is so amazing because I don’t stop with just creating your standard banana bread. I have an incredible streusel topping to up the delicious flavor factor.
Why this Cream Cheese Banana Bread Recipe Works
No matter how tasty a recipe is, you have it can come out dry and very unappealing. For this reason, I add cream cheese to my Best Ever Banana Bread. This addition keeps the Banana Bread moist and creamy tasting.
How to Make Best Ever Banana Bread – Step by Step
- Mix Soft Ingredients: Start by using and electric mixer, beat butter and cream cheese until creamy.
- Slowly add sugar and vanilla, beating until light and fluffy. Next, add eggs, one at a time until incorporated.
- Combine Dry Ingredients: Next, combine flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a separate bowl. While mixer is on low-speed, slowly add flour mixture to cream cheese mixture until just combined.
- Stir in mashed bananas. Then, if adding chocolate chips, combine chips and flour in a separate bowl then fold into batter.
- Spoon batter evenly into greased loaf pans. Stir Next, together all ingredients for streusel topping. Then sprinkle streusel mixture evenly over each.
- Finally, bake for one hour or until a cake tester inserted into the center comes out clean. Then, to prevent over browning, you may need to cover loaves with foil for the last 15 minutes of baking. Lastly, cool pans on wire rack for 10 minutes. Then remove from pans.
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Recommendations for Making the Homemade Banana Bread
The secret to the best banana bread is, of course, ripe bananas. let them sit out on the counter until they are very brown, this makes them super sweet and mushy. Alternatively, you can make this Best Ever Banana Bread by looking in the seconds bin at your local grocery store. They usually are selling over ripe bananas very cheap!
If you do not want to wait here are a few tips for ripening bananas faster. Place bananas in a brown paper bag with either an apple or an already overly ripe banana or for a super quick fix, bake unpeeled bananas at 300°F until black, about 15 to 20 minutes. Then just let the bananas cool.
Tips for Making the Best Ever Banana Bread
To have a really moist banana bread, you have to think about the fat you are adding to your bread. I use Cream cheese because of the texture that it impacts to the the bread it is one of the reasons that it is the Best Ever Banana Bread.
However, you can all alternatives for your moisture. Sour Cream, apple sauce or oil can also be used.
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Expert Tips for Making the Best Ever Banana Bread
- Chocolate Chips: Are a great addition. Alternatively, how about butterscotch or Peanut Butter Chips. Yum!
- Go a Little Nutty: Try adding Walnuts to this delicious banana bread.
- Top it off: Try a drizzle of caramel sauce on top of the bread and you will be in heaven.
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- Mixer
- Loaf Pan
- Measuring Spoons
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Best Ever Banana Bread
Ingredients
Bread
- 3/4 cup butter softened
- 1 8 oz package cream cheese, softened
- 2 cups sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1-1/2 cups mashed bananas about 4 medium
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 cup chocolate chips optional
- 6 Tbs flour
Streusel Topping
- 1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar
- 1 Tbsp flour
- 1 Tbsp melted butter
- 1/8 tsp ground cinnamon
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour two 8×4 inch loaf pans.
- Using and electric mixer, beat butter and cream cheese until creamy. Slowly add sugar and vanilla, beating until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time until incorporated.
- Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a separate bowl. While mixer is on low-speed, slowly add flour mixture to cream cheese mixture until just combined. Stir in mashed bananas. If adding chocolate chips, combine chips and flour in a separate bowl then fold into batter.
- Spoon batter evenly into greased loaf pans.
- Stir together all ingredients for streusel topping. Sprinkle streusel mixture evenly over each.
- Bake for one hour or until a cake tester inserted into the center comes out clean. To prevent over browning, you may need to cover loaves with foil for the last 15 minutes of baking. Cool pans on wire rack for 10 minutes. Remove from pans. Cool an additional 30 minutes before slicing.
Video
Expert Tips
Expert Tips for Making the Best Ever Banana Bread
- Chocolate Chips: Are a great addition. Alternatively, how about butterscotch or Peanut Butter Chips. Yum!
- Go a Little Nutty: Try adding Walnuts to this delicious banana bread.
- Top it off: Try a drizzle of caramel sauce on top of the bread and you will be in heaven.
Estimated Nutritional Information
The nutritional information provided are estimates. To learn more about how I calculate this information go to www.itisakeeper.com/about-its-a-keeper/privacy-disclosure-policies/
Sheila says
Absolutely delicious, will be making this many times!
Christina Hitchcock says
Thank you for your feedback! So glad you enjoyed it!
johne says
Banana Bread with Streusel topping…YUM!
Christina says
I second that! Thanks for stopping by! 🙂
thea says
I made this bread years ago and lost the recipe. I love it, my family loves it, my friends love it. It’s my favorite banana bread recipe. I swear, every six months I’m searching the internet to find this recipe again because I either give it away or misplace it or am just too lazy to go through my recipe stack. Thank you for sharing it with the world!
Christina says
You’re so very welcome! 🙂 Thanks for stopping by!
Russell says
OMG. I love anything with good streusel on it, and the thought of banana bread brings me back to my childhood, my great-grandmother always made “too much” and gave it to several family members and took them to church potlucks. My best friend and her mom recently in past few years started calling me “Streuseler” (a play off my name russell i guess). at first i hated it, so they called me that just to annoy me, but then it just stuck so i always answer to it lol
Christina says
Trust me…you won’t be disappointed with this recipe! It’s FABULOUS! 🙂 Love the nick name too! 🙂
Bella Brotzman says
On Feb 9,2010 you had a blog giving the recipe for:
“Ultimate Banana Bread”. I was writing it down so I could make it (to hard to shlep my computer to the counter to read it)and realized in the directions that you never mentioned, at any point, adding in the vanilla. I was surprised in the comments that no one mentioned that. I’m sure everyone probably knew enough when to add it, but maybe as one reads thru the directions to make it, and being that it’s not there, omitted it without realizing it. Not a big deal, but just thought you might want to know. Haven’t made it yet, so I don’t have a comment on how it tasted yet. Bella
Christina says
Thanks for the heads up on the omission — I sincerely apologize. I went ahead and fixed the recipe. 🙂
Holly L says
Banana Bread with Streusel topping…YUM!
Jenny @ Embellishing Life says
I made this a couple days ago and it was absolutely delicious! 🙂
Jerri says
This looks really yummy! Thanks for linking up for Friday Favorites last week!