If you've ever wondered what to do with your leftover sourdough discard, this sourdough banana bread is your perfect solution. It's a moist, flavorful, and frugal recipe that turns aging bananas and starter into a breakfast or snack you'll crave.
Save This Recipe to Your Inbox
Enter your email and we’ll send this recipe straight to your inbox.
By signing up, you’ll join our email list and can unsubscribe anytime.
This sourdough banana bread is a cozy classic with a twist. Using sourdough discard for an added depth of flavor, it's easily become a go-to recipe in our home.
The natural tang from the starter pairs beautifully with sweet, ripe bananas, giving the loaf an irresistible depth of flavor. It's a fantastic make-ahead option and freezes well for later snacking.
This Sourdough Banana Bread also sneaks in some of your favorite kitchen staples like brown sugar, cinnamon, and sour cream for richness.
Want more sourdough discard ideas? Try my Rustic Sourdough Discard Bread, Sourdough Apple Muffins, or Sourdough Discard Banana Muffins.
Jump to:
- 💛 Why You'll Love This Recipe
- 🛒 Ingredients
- 🔀 Substitutions & Variations
- 🥣 Recipe Add-Ins
- 💰 Budget-Friendly Tips
- 🥄 Instructions for Sourdough Banana Bread
- 👩🏻🍳 Expert Tips
- ❄️ Storage, Reheating & Make Ahead
- 🥗 Side Dishes or Pairing Ideas
- ❓ Sourdough Banana Bread FAQs
- 🍽️ More Recipes You'll Love
- 📖 Recipe
- 💬 Comments
💛 Why You'll Love This Recipe
- Naturally Moist and Sweet: Moisture from ripe bananas keeps the bread incredibly tender and naturally sweet, allowing you to use less added sugar while still delivering rich banana flavor. The riper the bananas, the better the taste and texture.
- Flavorful and Low-Waste: Sourdough discard adds natural flavor and reduces waste, giving the loaf a subtle tang and extra depth without needing to activate or proof anything. It's a fantastic way to use up discard instead of throwing it out, perfect for frugal, low-waste baking.
- Quick and Easy Cleanup: One-bowl batter makes it quick and easy to whip up with minimal cleanup. No need for fancy mixers or multiple steps, just mash, mix, and bake. It's a great go-to for busy mornings or last-minute baking sessions.
🛒 Ingredients
Ripe Bananas. The blacker, the better! Overripe bananas add natural sweetness and plenty of moisture, making the bread soft and flavorful.
Sourdough Discard. Adds a tangy depth of flavor while helping to reduce food waste. It's an easy way to use up your starter between feedings.
Brown and White Sugar. Brown sugar adds warmth, moisture, and flavor depth, while granulated sugar keeps the crumb light and balanced.
Eggs. Help bind the ingredients and give the loaf structure. Don't have any on hand? You can skip them, just like we do in our popular Eggless Banana Bread.
See the recipe card below for full ingredients and instructions.
🔀 Substitutions & Variations
Butter: Vegetable oil or melted coconut oil can replace the butter for a dairy-free version. Oil will make the bread slightly softer.
Sour cream: Plain Greek yogurt or even regular yogurt can work here. Just aim for a similar consistency to keep the batter balanced.
Sugars: You can replace the combination of granulated sugar and brown sugar and simply use all of one instead (depending on what you have on hand).
🥣 Recipe Add-Ins
Want to level up your banana bread? Try mixing in:
- Chopped nuts - ½ cup of walnuts or pecans for crunch and richness.
- Chocolate chips - ½ cup of dark, milk, or white chocolate for a sweeter loaf.
- Dried fruit - ½ cup of raisins, cranberries, or chopped dates for natural sweetness and texture.
- Shredded coconut - ¼ to ½ cup for a tropical twist and added moisture.
- Spices - ¼ teaspoon of nutmeg, ginger, or cardamom for a cozy, warm flavor.
- Swirls - 2 tablespoons of peanut butter, Nutella, or cream cheese for extra flavor.
💰 Budget-Friendly Tips
Use overripe bananas: The browner, the better. They're sweeter and often discounted.
Stretch the butter: Swap half for oil to keep costs down.
Freeze for later: Slice and store individually to prevent waste and make grab-and-go breakfasts.
Multi-use ingredients: This Sourdough Banana Bread recipe shares many basics with your other baked goods, helping reduce grocery costs.
🥄 Instructions for Sourdough Banana Bread
Step 1: Preheat your oven to 350°F and lightly grease a 9x5-inch loaf pan.
Step 2: In a medium mixing bowl, add the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon. (Image 1). Whisk together to combine. (Image 2).
Step 3: In a large mixing bowl, mash the bananas until mostly smooth. Add the melted butter, brown sugar, white sugar, sour cream, eggs, vanilla, and sourdough discard. (Image 3). Stir until well combined. (Image 4).
Step 5: Add the dry ingredients to the wet mixture. (Image 5). Gently fold the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients until just combined, don't overmix! (Image 6).
Step 6: Pour the batter into the loaf pan and smooth out the top. (Image 7).
Step 7: Bake for 50-60 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. (Image 8).
Step 8: Let cool in the pan for 15 minutes, then remove and cool fully on a wire rack. Slice and Enjoy!
👩🏻🍳 Expert Tips
- Use a scale. If you have a kitchen scale, it's worth using here. Precise measurements lead to consistent results.
- Speed-Ripen Bananas. Craving banana bread but only have yellow bananas? You can ripen them quickly by placing unpeeled bananas on a baking sheet and baking at 250°F for about 30 minutes. They'll turn black on the outside and soft and sweet on the inside, perfect for baking.
- Avoid Overmixing. Be gentle when combining the wet and dry ingredients. Overmixing can lead to too much gluten formation, which may result in dense, tough banana bread instead of a tender loaf.
- Make It Muffins. This batter works beautifully as muffins! Simply divide into a standard muffin tin and bake at 350°F for 20-25 minutes. They're great for grab-and-go breakfasts or portion-controlled snacks.
❄️ Storage, Reheating & Make Ahead
Storage: Store leftover banana bread wrapped tightly at room temperature for up to 3 days, or refrigerate for up to a week. For longer storage, slice and freeze pieces individually, perfect for grab-and-go breakfasts.
Reheating: Microwave individual slices for about 15-20 seconds to bring back that just-baked softness. Add a little pat of butter for extra richness.
Make Ahead: You can make the batter the night before and store it covered in the fridge. Just give it a gentle stir before pouring it into the pan the next day.
🥗 Side Dishes or Pairing Ideas
Breakfast: Spread with butter or peanut butter and serve with coffee.
Snack: Pair with Greek yogurt or fruit for balance.
Dessert: Warm a slice and top with whipped cream or vanilla ice cream.
- Strawberry Blueberry Overnight OatsRecipe $1.64
- Scrambled Eggs with Spinach and TomatoesRecipe $2.25 / Serving $1.13
- How to Make Frozen HashbrownsRecipe $2.23 / Serving $0.56
- Breakfast Banana SplitRecipe $1.78 / Serving $0.89
❓ Sourdough Banana Bread FAQs
Yes! Active starter works just as well here since it's not being used for leavening. It may give a slightly stronger tang.
Yes, wrap it tightly in plastic wrap and foil, and freeze for up to 3 months.
Butter, Peanut butter or almond butter, Cream cheese, Honey or maple syrup, Greek yogurt and fruit, Coffee or tea
Very ripe, almost black. The more brown spots or fully black the peel, the sweeter and softer the banana, which makes for moist and flavorful banana bread.
🍽️ More Recipes You'll Love
- Apple Sourdough BreadRecipe $2.40 / Serving $0.15
- Cranberry Orange Sourdough BreadRecipe $3.09 / Serving $0.19
- Sourdough Apple MuffinsRecipe $5.09 / Serving $0.42
- Sourdough Discard Banana MuffinsRecipe $4.29 / Serving $0.36
🐝 If you tried this Sourdough Banana Bread, please leave a ⭐️ star rating and share your buzz in the 💬 comments below. I'd truly appreciate it!
📖 Recipe
Sourdough Banana Bread
Ingredients
- 8 tablespoons butter, melted, or ⅓ cup vegetable oil (113 g) - ($1.98)
- ½ cup brown sugar (100g) - ($0.24)
- ¼ cup granulated sugar (50g) - ($0.10)
- 1½ cups mashed ripe bananas, about 2 to 3 bananas - ($0.84)
- 3 tablespoons sour cream (45g) - ($0.25)
- ½ cup sourdough starter (125g) - ($0.22)
- 2 large eggs - ($0.66)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract - ($0.04)
- 1¾ cups all-purpose flour (210g) - ($0.22)
- 2 teaspoons baking powder - ($0.02)
- ½ teaspoon baking soda - ($0.01)
- 1 teaspoon salt - ($0.01)
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon - ($0.05)
Instructions
- Prep. Preheat the oven to 350°F and lightly grease a 9x5-inch loaf pan.
- Mix wet ingredients. In a large bowl, mash the bananas until mostly smooth. Stir in the melted butter, brown sugar, granulated sugar, sour cream, sourdough starter, eggs, and vanilla until combined.
- Add dry ingredients. Add the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon. Gently fold until just combined.
- Bake. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top. Bake for 50 to 60 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
- Cool. Let cool in the pan for 15 minutes, then remove and cool completely before slicing.
Notes
- Measuring. Weighing ingredients improves consistency, especially flour and bananas.
- Bananas. Very ripe bananas give the best flavor and texture.
- Mix gently. Overmixing can lead to dense bread.
- Muffin option. Bake in muffin tins at 350°F for 20 to 25 minutes.
- Storage. Store wrapped at room temperature up to 3 days or refrigerate up to 1 week.
Nutritional Information
Save This Recipe to Your Inbox
Enter your email and we'll send this recipe straight to your inbox.
By signing up, you'll join our email list and can unsubscribe anytime.
Nicole Durham says
This is one of our favorite ways to use up sourdough discard and ripe bananas!