This Strawberry Banana Bread is bursting with fresh flavor from juicy strawberries and ripe bananas. It's simple to make and perfect for a spring or summertime treat.
If you've got overripe bananas on the counter and a handful of strawberries in the fridge, this is the recipe to make. It's everything you love about classic banana bread, but with a fun strawberry twist.
This quick bread is just sweet enough to pass as dessert, but simple and wholesome enough for grab-and-go breakfast.
This Strawberry Banana Bread Is...
- Easy to make!
- Made with simple pantry ingredients.
- A fruity quick-bread recipe.
- Freezer-friendly.
- Drizzled in a homemade strawberry glaze.
quick tips
Let your bananas get really ripe - the spottier, the better. They'll mash more easily and add more sweetness and flavor to the bread. The bananas you were just about to throw out? Those are the perfect bananas for banana bread.
If your bananas are not ripe enough, here is a trick you can use. Place the bananas on lined cookie sheet. Bake at 200°F for 20-30 minutes or until the peels turn black. Allow them to cool 10-15 minutes before handling. Then mash and use the baked bananas in the recipe as you would pre-ripened bananas.
Dice the strawberries small so they don't sink to the bottom of the batter or make the loaf too soggy. You want little bits spread throughout the batter, not big soggy patches.
Cheat with frozen strawberries! If you prefer, you can substitute frozen berries for fresh. You can even mix them right into the batter frozen, without desfrosting, as long as the pieces are small.
Check for doneness with a toothpick in the center. If it comes out with just a few crumbs, it's ready. If it's still wet, give it a few more minutes.
Let the bread cool completely before slicing. It holds together better and gives the flavors a chance to settle.
Tent the bread to prevent browning. If you find your bread is getting too brown on top, but still needs a good amount of time to bake, tent your bread. This is done by placing aluminum foil over the bread in a... well... tented shape. Making a foil tent prevents the top of your bread from browning too much but still allows hot air to get into the bread to cook it.
Variations
Swap the Berries: Try using blueberries, raspberries, or chopped cherries for a completely different take on this fruity bread.
Add Some Crunch: Stir in a handful of chopped walnuts or pecans for texture and a nutty twist.
Chocolate Fix: Fold in chocolate chips for a richer, dessert-style bread. Dark chocolate, milk chocolate, or even white chocolate - they all work. In fact, white chocolate would be a great match for the strawberries!
Go Whole Grain: Sub in whole wheat flour for half (or all) of the all-purpose flour if you want a heartier loaf. It'll be a little denser but still very tasty.
Storing & Freezing
To store: Keep the bread in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days. You can also store in the refrigerator if you prefer. Just let it come to room temp before serving for the best texture.
To freeze: Wrap the whole loaf or individual slices tightly in plastic wrap, then place in a freezer bag. It'll keep for up to 2 months. Thaw on the counter or warm up a slice in the microwave when you're ready to eat. It does freeze best without the glaze.
More Tasty Ideas
If you like this Strawberry Banana Bread, check out these other delicious recipes:
- Strawberry Cake Mix Cookies
- Strawberry Blondies
- Quick Banana Oat Bread
- Maple Bourbon Sweet Potato Bread
Recipe
Strawberry Banana Bread
Equipment
- electric mixer
Ingredients
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 large egg room temp.
- ¼ cup oil
- 1 teaspoon banana extract
- ¼ cup sour cream
- 2 medium bananas extra ripe, mashed
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
- 2 cup all-purpose flour
- 4 oz cream cheese softened
- ⅔ cup granulated sugar
- 3 tablespoon all-purpose flour divided into 2 tablespoon and 1 tbsp
- 1 cup strawberries diced
Strawberry Icing
- ½ cup powdered sugar
- 4 tablespoon butter softened
- 1 teaspoon strawberry extract
- red food coloring
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F.
- Spray bottom of 9×5-inch loaf pan with a non-stick cooking spray. Cut a piece of parchment paper the width of the pan and large enough to extend over the short ends of the pan by 4-inches on each end. (This parchment paper will help to lift the loaf out of the pan after it is baked.) Place the paper in the pan.
- In a large bowl, mix together egg, sugar, oil, sour cream, and banana extract. Add mashed banana and mix well. Set aside.
- In a separate bowl combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
- Combine the wet and dry ingredients together.
- In a large mixing bowl, use your electric mixer to combine the cream cheese and sugar until creamy. Add two tablespoons of the flour and mix until smooth.
- Add the remaining one tablespoon of flour to the strawberries and fold the strawberries into the cream cheese mixture.
- Pour half of the bread batter into the prepared pan.
- Spread the cream cheese mixture on top of the batter. Top with the remaining bread batter. Even out gently.
- Bake for about 50 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
- Remove pan to a cooling rack and allow to cool completely.
For the icing:
- Mix powdered sugar, butter, strawberry extract, and 1-2 drops of red food coloring (as desired) until smooth. Pipe with a #5 decorating tip across the bread or drizzle with a fork.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition details are an estimate, per serving.
Sarah says
Love this. So simple and pretty. We eat it as a dessert!