Peanut Butter Banana Bread

By Elizabeth Waterson // Mar 7, 2024 (Updated Jun 9, 2025) // Leave a Comment

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Enjoy this moist and tender peanut butter banana bread loaded with chunks of peanut butter. The peanut butter adds a wonderful flavor to the bread.

hand holding a slice of peanut butter banana bread up to the camera.

Banana bread is one of my love languages, it's a perfect snack anytime of day. And I adore that you can make so many versions of it, check out some of my favorite banana bread recipes. As of late I have been really into peanut butter and felt a peanut butter banana bread recipe was missing, so I developed this. The first time I made it I forgot to put the butter in, oops! LOL, but rest assured if you make the recipe as written you end up with a tender, moist, banana bread with lots of peanut butter flavor.

up close of slices of peanut butter swirl banana bread on a white plate on a light grey surface with an orange linen.

Let's get to the recipe

Ingredients Needed

3 Large Ripe Bananas. The riper the bananas, the sweeter they are, so spottier the better!
Sour Cream. This moisture bomb helps create a tender, soft crumb. You could substitute full-fat Greek yogurt if you wanted.
Sugar. I love doing a combination of white and brown sugar in my banana breads but you could use all white sugar if you wanted.
Unsalted Butter. Your butter needs to be melted and slightly cooled.
Large Eggs. Your eggs should be at room temperature to evenly incorporate into the rest of the ingredients.
Pure Vanilla Extract. The warmth of vanilla pairs nicely with peanut butter.
Peanut Butter. The peanut butter will be added to the wet ingredients and also will be swirled throughout the batter.
All-Purpose Flour. When mixing in the flour mix only until just combined, over mixing will overdevelop the gluten creating a tougher banana bread.
Salt. This little star ingredient helps enhance all the flavor profiles of all of the other ingredients.
Baking Soda. This chemical leavening agent is activated by the sour cream and brown sugar. The baking soda helps the banana bread brown and rise as it bakes.

If you wanted another aspect of peanuts you could try folding in a ½ a cup of chopped roasted peanuts to the batter. Walnuts would be great too or for a chocolate swirl add ½-1 Cup of chocolate chips to the batter.

ingredients in small bowls for peanut butter banana bread on a light grey surface.

For ingredient quantities please reference the recipe card below. On the recipe card there is a button for US or M (Metric) measurements.

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350F/180C and spray a 9X5 loaf pan with nonstick cooking spray or butter the pan.

In a large bowl add the ripe bananas and use a potato masher or fork to mash the bananas down. To the mashed bananas add the sour cream, melted butter, sugars, vanilla extract, and ¼ cup (2oz) of the peanut butter to the bananas. Whisk until fully combined. Then whisk in the eggs.

wet ingredients mixed together then eggs added in a large glass bowl on a light grey surface with an orange linen.

Stir in the dry ingredients; flour, salt, and baking soda then mix until just combined. Do not overmix.

dry ingredients added to wet ingredients and mixed in on a light grey surface with an orange linen.

Pour half of the batter into the prepared pan, then spoon half of the remaining peanut butter in heaping teaspoon size blobs on top of the batter and use a knife to swirl it. Top with remaining batter and repeat swirling of remaining peanut butter butter.

peanut butter dropped in spoonfuls on top of banana bread then swirled in with a butter knife on a light grey surface with an orange linen.

Bake for 55-65 minutes, or until fully cooked- you can check by inserting a knife and looking for any wet batter. If halfway through the top of your bread is browning too quickly place a piece of parchment paper over the top to prevent it from browning further. If you use an internal thermometer the temperature should reach 200F-205F.

peanut butter banana bread cooling on a wire rack on a light grey surface.

Let it cool completely on a wire rack before slicing, and store leftovers in an airtight container for up to 5 days in a cool environment.

banana bread slice and hand holding a piece up high.

Tips for Success

If your bananas aren't ripe you can ripen them quickly by baking them with the skin on. On a rimmed baking sheet bake at 350F/180C for 20 minutes The bananas will ripen, most likely turning black, let them cool before removing the skin.
When you mix in the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients gently fold to combine, don't over mix as you will activate the gluten creating a tougher banana bread.
Banana bread freezes beautifully. Bake the banana bread, let it cool completely then slice it and wrap each slice in plastic wrap tightly, twice. Then store in a freezer-safe bag to help prevent freezer burn. Thaw banana bread by placing it at room temperature for an hour or two depending on how thick your slices are.