Sour Cream Chocolate Chip Banana Bread
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Never throw those bananas away again, make a giant loaf of this Sour Cream Chocolate Chip Banana Bread today! Tender, chocolatey, and better than your mama’s! There, I said it!
Dish Count :: 2 Mixing Bowls, 1 Loaf Pan

Someone in our house keeps asking me to buy bananas for his lunch, and only about half of them are getting eaten before they become black leathery slugs on our kitchen counter. And what I can tell you is that someone isn’t the dog. After they about five black dots on them, I tap out and won’t touch them for eating sake – I just let them languish on the counter biding my time until I can bust out some a serious loaf of banana bread. The only thing is…. this is my fourth loaf in as many weeks, it’s becoming a routine part of my diet – like last week when Ben had to work on a Saturday night and I had three slices and a glass of wine for dinner.
But let me tell you, this goes beautifully with an unoaked chardonnay.

I had a moment where I wasn’t sure if she was trying to offload so much garden fresh loot on us out of generosity or because she thinks I’m not feeding her son. I’ll go with the too-generous-for-her-own-good thing. Heart of gold, that one. And yes, I still feed Ben. It may be banana bread – but he’s getting fed.
Ingredients for the Best Banana Bread Recipe
- All Purpose Flour
- Sugar
- Baking Soda
- Salt
- Bananas – use overripe bananas here. The darker the better.
- Sour Cream – or use Greek Yogurt, plain or vanilla is fine.
- Eggs – room temperature is best.
- Vanilla Extract
- Butter – melted and then allowed to cool.
- Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips
- Sparkling Sugar – this is optional but oh so nice on top!

How to Bake the Best Banana Bread
- Preheat the oven in advance of baking to make sure that you can get the oven up to the proper temperature prior to putting your bread in the oven. Mix all the dry ingredients into a large mixing bowl and whisk together. Set it aside.
- In another large mixing bowl, using a hand mixer, beat together the wet ingredients from the bananas through to the butter until combined thoroughly. There may be some chunks of banana left, and that is okay!
- Fold the wet ingredients and the dry ingredients together until just combined. And lastly add in the chocolate chips, folding in just until they are evenly distributed.
- Spray a 5×9″ loaf baking pan with non stick spray, and line with a sling of parchment paper. Pour the batter into the pan, and then if desired – sprinkle with the sparkling sugar.
- Bake until a toothpick or cake tester inserted 2″ from the edge comes out cleanly. Set it onto a wire rack to cool completely. Allow it to cool at least 10 to 15 minutes in the pan prior to removing it and allowing it to cool on the wire rack.
- When cooled completely, you can slice and serve.
What else can you add into banana bread?
Are you in the mood to add more fixings to this super easy banana bread recipe? I can definitely help! Some common add ins are below!
- Cinnamon – even a half teaspoon would be a great addition!
- Cinnamon Chips
- Walnuts
- Zucchini – swap half of the banana with shredded zucchini
- Raisins – controversial, I know!

How to Ripen Bananas Fast
My favorite way to ripen bananas fast is just to put them in your freezer! Even a few hours, or overnight will do the trick. Thaw them on a plate on the counter in the morning you want to bake them and then you will be ready to go with bananas perfect for banana bread! Extra ripe bananas means a better banana flavor in your banana bread recipe.
Another common trick is to place bananas into a brown paper bag. This will seal in warmth, and carbon dioxide and will ripen them in just a day or two.
OR – you can even roast them! Yup! Roasting them right in their skins in the oven works. Place them on a baking sheet in the oven, and prick them with a knife so they can release some steam. Allow them to cool so you don’t burn yourself prior to handling them. Then use as needed for banana bread!

Inspired Homemade Recipes
Classic Homemade Banana Pudding
Double Chocolate Sour Cream Banana Bread
Banana Cake with Cinnamon Brown Sugar Buttercream
Tools to Make This Recipe
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Sour Cream Chocolate Chip Banana Bread
- Prep Time: 15 Minutes
- Cook Time: 55 Minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour 10 minutes
- Yield: 1 Loaf 1x
- Category: Baking
- Method: Oven
- Cuisine: American
Ingredients
- 2 cups Flour
- 3/4 cup Sugar
- 3/4 tsp Baking Soda
- 1/2 tsp Salt
- 3 VERY ripe Bananas, about 1 1/2 cups
- 1/4 cup Sour Cream, or Greek Yogurt
- 2 Eggs
- 1 1/2 tsp Vanilla
- 6 Tbsp Butter, melted and cooled
- 1 cup Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips
- 2–3 Tbsp Sparkling Sugar, optional
Instructions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
In one mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking soda and salt. Set aside.
In the other bowl, whisk together the eggs, bananas, sour cream, eggs, and vanilla extract. Whisk in the melted butter until mixed in evenly.
Create a well in the flour, and add in wet ingredients. Using a rubber spatula gently fold the two sets of ingredients together until the two are just combined, and a couple of small flour streaks remain. Let the mixture set for a couple of minutes and move to the next step.
Spray a standard size loaf pan with non stick spray. Line the bottom and two sides with parchment paper, creating a cradle of sorts. Spray the paper again with non-stick spray.
Just prior to adding the batter into the loaf pan, gently mix in the chocolate chips until evenly distributed. Scrape the batter into the prepared loaf pan. Bake on the middle rack for 50-55 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.
Let the loaf rest in the pan for 10-15 minutes, then using the parchment cradle, lift the loaf out of the pan and place on a wire rack to cool completely. Slice, serve, and devour.
How did you know that I was craving banana bread????? I want a slice right now!
Congrats on your third wedding anniversary! 🙂 Our first is coming up … it’s so crazy how the time flies. I swear a week does not go by where we don’t have bananas go bad. Thank goodness for banana bread! YUM!
This banana bread looks fantastic! I’m pretty sure my husband and I could finish off a whole loaf in about 2 days! So….since you got all that zucchini should I be expecting a zucchini banana bread soon? 😉
The perfect use for ripe bananas! This bread would disappear in a hurry at our house!
I love adding sour cream to banana bread! Your recipe is lovely!
My favorite banana bread recipe comes from my aunt, and it uses sour cream. I always add chocolate chips for extra good measure. I know your recipe would be a winner!
Full of chocolate chips, excellent 😉
Gorgeous loaf Megan! I would love a slice of this for breakfast!
The texture looks perfect and I’ll bet the sour cream makes it nice and moist with the perfect touch of tanginess!
This banana bread is gorgeous! I love banana bread in all forms but this one looks fantastic! LOVE IT!! Yum!
Such beautiful photos! This looks so perfect!
I see nothing whatsoever wrong with banana bread and wine for dinner! And you know what’s good for breakfast? Banana bread spread with whipped cream cheese! Your version is eerily similar to mine, and I love it!
Banana bread is one of the best things ever and you’ve made it even tastier with the addition of sour cream and chocolate chips. I’ll bet this is super moist and flavorful. Lovely recipe. Pinning.
I recently baked America’s Test Kitchen’s fussy banana bread…it was very good – yours is better!! Thanks for the recipe. I made my first loaf last week, two more today 🙂 Yummm
Now that IS a compliment!! I used one version of ATK’s banana bread for this recipe, making it less fussy – because there is no way I have time for that some days! I hope you enjoy this recipe for ages to come!!
I tried this recipe this afternoon with the following changes: replaced the butter with coconut oil, added 3/4 tsp cinnamon and 1/4 tsp nutmeg, and used 1/2 c chocolate chips and 1/2 c walnuts. The consistency is a little denser than I like but the taste is delicious! Love the slight tang of the sour cream. Thank you!
(Also, my bananas weren’t overly ripe, so it’s paler in colour, but I was too eager for banana bread to wait for them to ripen lol!)
I followed the recipe, but I found the cook time to be extremely inaccurate. Mine has been in the oven for 88 minutes now and is still raw in the middle.
Hi Bethany, I’m sorry you are having trouble. I have made this recipe several times with great success. I am wondering, do you have an oven thermometer? Maybe your oven is running cool? I would invest in a simple oven thermometer to see what temp your oven is really baking at, and it might be wildly different from what is said on the dial. I hope that helps, and that you give this recipe another shot.
I am SO relieved to read that someone else had this issue! I am in the same boat.
I’m so sorry you had the same issue with extended baking times. Please double check your oven’s temperature with an oven thermometer. Or, another possible culprit maybe the bananas themselves? If you have frozen your bananas they will thaw and release a lot of liquid that will make the batter softer? I’m so sorry you had issues. I make this bread so routinely I’m a little stumped what else may be the culprit!
I really want two loafs…..can this be doubled?
Yes, this is very easy to double. You may need to extend the baking time a minute or two if you bake them at the same time.
Thanks so much! Tried it last night because i had far too many ripe bananas. I hate my oven and have been avoiding baking since I moved to this apartment because the temperature is off AND it’s a fan one. Despite all that it worked perfectly! So good and so moist. It will definitely be joining my line-up of go-to favourites.
This bread was really good. It was very moist and love the chocolate chips in it. In the past i have always had a hard time getting my bread out of the pan in one piece. Using the parchment paper was the perfect solution. My bread came out perfect.
Just made this last night, and my family and I loved it. Very easy, very moist, with just the right amount of chocolate chips. it’s got a permanent place in my recipe book. Thank you!
WOOOOO!!!! I’m so pleased you like it Meredith. I’m about to make another batch myself!
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I am always looking for new banana bread recipes! Love that sour cream!
This recipe looks so yummy!!! Unsalted or salted butter?
You can use either. I would recommend unsalted, but if salted is all you have, reduce the added salt by half.
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Can I make muffins with this recipe? Any idea on the cook time and if I need to change anything?
Hi Rachele, I haven’t tried these as muffins yet, so I am not sure what the adjustments in time would be. Based on this banana bread they may be more dense than a standard banana muffin, but super tasty! Give them a try and start with however long you bake your favorite muffin recipes and go from there as a reference. I hope that helps!
Perfect texture, colour and not heavy or oily. Love it! I added a teaspoon of pumpkin spice mixture but it doesn’t stand out. Really delicious. Great job!
Liz, I am so so pleased that you love this recipe! It’s a tried and true favorite in our house!! XOXO