Cream Cheese Banana Bread
A moist banana bread swirled with rich cream cheese filling, made with ripe bananas, sour cream, and vanilla for a bakery-style treat right from your kitchen.
8 Servings
Ingredients
For the Banana Bread:
- ½ cup unsalted butter melted
- ½ cup light brown sugar
- ¼ cup white granulated sugar
- 1 large egg
- ¼ cup sour cream
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 ripe bananas mashed
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- Cooking spray for greasing the pan
For the Cream Cheese Filling:
- 1 4-ounce package cream cheese, softened
- 1 large egg
- ¼ cup white granulated sugar
- 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C). Prepare a 9x5-inch loaf pan by greasing it lightly with cooking spray.
Prepare the banana bread batter.
- In a large mixing bowl, combine the melted butter, light brown sugar, white sugar, egg, sour cream, and vanilla extract. Whisk the mixture until smooth. Mash the ripe bananas with a fork and add them to the wet mixture. Stir to incorporate. Add the all-purpose flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Mix gently until the ingredients are just combined. Do not overmix.
Prepare the cream cheese filling.
- In a separate medium bowl, combine the softened cream cheese, egg, sugar, and flour. Whisk or beat until smooth and fully blended.
Assemble the loaf.
- Pour half of the banana bread batter into the prepared loaf pan and spread evenly. Carefully spoon the cream cheese filling over the first layer, smoothing the surface. Top with the remaining banana batter, spreading gently to cover the cream cheese layer.
Bake the bread.
- Place the pan in the preheated oven and bake for approximately 50 minutes, or until the top is firm and springs back when touched lightly. A toothpick inserted near the center may come out with moist crumbs (due to the cream cheese layer).
Cool and serve.
- Allow the loaf to cool in the pan for about 5 to 10 minutes before transferring it to a wire rack. Let it cool completely before slicing.
Notes
To make this recipe gluten-free, substitute the all-purpose flour in both the banana bread and cream cheese filling with a 1:1 gluten-free baking flour blend. Ensure the blend includes xanthan gum for structure. All other ingredients remain unchanged. Be cautious with cross-contamination if baking for someone with celiac disease.