About This Recipe
What is banana bread?
Banana bread is a type of sweet baked bread made with overripe, mashed bananas, which provide a natural moisture and sweetness to the bread. It is popular in North America, but has become a classic and beloved recipe in many households across the world.
What I love about this recipe:
Peanut butter adds a fun, deep flavor to an otherwise typical banana bread. The use of cream cheese in the base of this recipe helps contribute to a beautiful richness and depth of flavor. This recipe perfectly considers the effects of peanut butter and accounts for them (explained in the “Why This Recipe Works” section). In addition, this recipe can be made in a bundt pan, loaf pan, four mini loaf pans, or muffin tins, making it easy to bake and serve any way you like!
Why this recipe works
Noting the effects of Peanut Butter
The addition of peanut butter adds two things: oil and peanuts (which function like flour in the way that they bind the recipe together). To keep things balanced, these factors must be considered. Compared to my regular banana bread recipe, this recipe reduces the overall amount of added fat (butter, in this case) by half to accommodate for the oil in the added peanut butter. It also reduces the amount of added flour significantly to keep a good consistency in the batter and to prevent things from becoming too dry.
Overripe Bananas
Bananas can really never get too old. As bananas ripen, their starches are converted into sugars, contributing to the overall sweetness of the bread. In addition, the increased moisture content in ripe bananas helps with the overall moisture of the bread.
Cream Cheese
Cream cheese adds moisture and richness to the bread, and contributes to the overall flavor and texture of the final bake. I simply love this addition to the base, which functions similarly to adding yogurt or sour cream, and takes the place of an abundance of softened butter.
Reduced Sugar
I reduced the sugar in this recipe from my regular banana bread recipe. Since I use peanut butter without added sugar, this change is purely personal preference. Use up to one cup of sugar or eliminate it completely, depending on your personal sweetness preferences. If the peanut butter you are using has added sugar, I would recommend reducing the amount of sugar to one-half cup.
Leavening
This recipe uses a balance of baking powder and baking soda to leaven the bread, rather than the sourdough discard. This means the bread will puff up beautifully in the oven, and you can bake it right away. For a long-fermented loaf, add the leavening just before baking and let the dough sit in the fridge for up to three days or on the counter for up to twelve hours.
FAQs
What Kind of peanut butter should I use?
Any kind of peanut butter will work, with slightly different results.
I recommend a “no sugar added” peanut butter in order to have full control over the amount of added sugar. But, even if you use a peanut butter with sugar, you can still adjust the amount of sugar in the recipe. If this is the case, start with 1/2 cup of sugar and go from there.
When it comes to crunchy or smooth peanut butter, the decision is yours. Do you want little chunks of peanuts throughout the loaf? If so, choose a crunchy peanut butter. If not, choose a smooth one.
Can I long-ferment this recipe?
Of course! To long-ferment this recipe, skip the baking powder and soda during the initial mix of ingredients. Let the dough rest in the fridge for up to three days, or on the counter for up to twelve hours. Add the baking soda and powder just before baking.
Peanut Butter Banana Bread
Course: Breakfast, Dessert, SnackCuisine: UniversalDifficulty: Beginner15
minutes60
minutes1
loafBanana bread is a type of sweet baked bread made with overripe, mashed bananas, which provide a natural moisture and sweetness to the bread. It is popular in North America, but has become a classic and beloved recipe in many households across the world. This peanut butter variation is a fun twist with a deeper flavor. Chocolate chips mesh perfectly with the peanut butter and bananas to create a classic chocolate-peanut-butter-banana combination.
Ingredients
1 block (8 oz; 226 g) cream cheese, softened (or coconut cream)
⅔ cup sugar (160 g)
2 tbsp butter, softened (28 g)
1 cup peanut butter, no sugar added (about 250 g)
3 ripe, mashed bananas (about 1 cup or 250 g)
½ cup sourdough discard (100-113 g)
2 whole, large eggs (about 50 g each)
1 ½ cups all-purpose flour (180 g)
1 ½ tsp baking powder (7 g)
½ tsp baking soda (3 g)
¼ tsp salt (2 g)
1, 9 oz (225 g) bag chocolate chips (or just 1 cup)
Directions
Preheat oven to 350 F.
Grease a bundt pan and set aside. (You could also make this into muffins or mini loaves. See notes for baking modifications.)
To a large bowl, add cream cheese, sugar, and butter. Using a handheld or stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, mix until smooth.
To the same bowl, add peanut butter, mashed bananas, sourdough discard, and eggs. Mix, again, on a higher speed, until everything is incorporated and the mixture is whipped and pale brown in color. Set aside.
In a smaller bowl, add flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Whisk to combine.
Add the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients. Stir until almost completely incorporated.
Work in chocolate chips. Mix until everything is just incorporated.
Add all the batter to your bundt pan. Smooth the top out nicely, so that everything bakes evenly.
Bake in preheated oven for 60-70 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.
Cool 5-10 minutes in the pan, then turn out onto a wire rack to cool completely.
Enjoy!
Watch the Video
Notes
- For muffins: Bake at 350 F for 20-25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Makes about 24 muffins.
- For mini loaves: Bake at 350 F for 35-45 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Makes four mini loaves.
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