Easy Strawberry Banana Bread
Strawberry Banana Bread is a fun twist on banana bread; it’s moist and flavorful and looks so pretty! Strawberries add color to an otherwise brown bread – and they brighten up the flavor, too.
I love that this is a one bowl recipe. Aside from mashing the bananas and slicing the fresh strawberries, the whole recipe is just dumping things into a bowl and mixing. You’ve got this!
Choosing Ingredients
As with any banana cupcakes, muffins, or cookies, the bananas are the most important part of the recipe. The more ripe they are, the sweeter the bread will be. Wait for banana skins to be almost black for the best results!
If you don’t have overripe bananas, peel and microwave your ripe bananas in a microwave-safe bowl for about one minute to bring out their sweetness prior to mashing them.
They should mash super easily, but there will still be some lumps and that’s totally OK.
When selecting strawberries for inside of the bread and the topping, always choose fresh, ripe strawberries. Frozen strawberries have much more moisture than fresh strawberries. Don’t substitute frozen strawberries as they will be too wet.
Baking Tips
I bake this bread in a 9.25 x 5.25 loaf pan [paid link]. If your loaf pan has different dimensions, be sure to keep a close watch on the bake time. A smaller pan that is filled higher may take longer to bake.
Tip: After adding the batter to the pan, bang the loaf down on your counter a few times to even out the batter.
Arrange sliced strawberries on the top of the loaf. You can place them in any pattern you like. I do them as shown below.
Because strawberry banana bread is so moist, it doesn’t last as long as some other desserts. Keep it on the counter for up to three days or in the refrigerator for a week. If you seal the strawberry banana bread in a freezer-safe airtight container or wrap tightly in plastic wrap and foil, you can keep it in the freezer for months! Slice it before you freeze if you want to be able to grab some for breakfast – simply toast and eat!
Variations
This banana and strawberry bread can easily be made as strawberry banana muffins. Just bake them in muffin tins and adjust the bake time to 20 minutes. I topped the muffins above with Greek yogurt frosting.
- Another variation that I love is to add chocolate chips and/or nuts to the recipe! Play around and see what you like.
- Blueberry banana bread is another fantastic variation. You can even combine the blueberries with strawberries to make a patriotic and summery banana bread.
- Lastly, if you slap some strawberry cream cheese frosting on your banana bread, you could definitely call it a cake.
FAQs
This is likely due to a mistake in the ratio between flour and banana. Too much flour can cause your bread to be too dry.
On the other hand, if you add too much banana to your bread, you’ll end up with a loaf that’s too moist and may not stay together well.
Baking soda tends to be the preferable option, as it will naturally balance out the acidity of some of the other ingredients such as the bananas and sour cream.
Related Recipes
Strawberry Banana Bread
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter room temperature
- 1/2 cup white sugar
- 1/2 cup light brown sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 1/2 cup full-fat sour cream
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 cup mashed ripe bananas about 2 bananas
- 1 cup finely chopped strawberries about 7 strawberries
- 6 strawberries Slice vertically into about 6 slices per strawberry. The bread looks best if you snack on the really small slices and only use the larger ones.
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 F.
- In the bowl of an electric mixer, cream butter and white and brown sugars until light and fluffy, about three minutes.
- Mix in eggs, sour cream, and vanilla until fully combined.
- Mix in flour and baking soda a little bit at a time until just combined.
- Mix in mashed bananas.
- Fold in chopped strawberries with a spatula until evenly distributed in the batter.
- Transfer batter to a greased 9.25 x 5.25 inch loaf pan.
- Use the sliced strawberries to decorate the top of the loaf, placing them flat on top of the cake in rows of four going down the entire loaf.
- Place the loaf pan on the center rack of your oven. After 60 minutes, check to see if the top of the cake looks like it is getting to be a dark brown. If so, to prevent burning, cover the banana bread loosely with foil. Continue to bake for another ten minutes and test for doneness. If it’s done, a skewer inserted into the center of the loaf will come out clean. If the skewer has crumbs on it, continue to bake, checking every five minutes for doneness.
- Let the strawberry banana bread sit in the loaf pan on top of a cooling rack for ten minutes, then turn out onto the cooling rack.
- Once cool, slice and serve.
Notes
- Use very ripe bananas. The riper the banana, the sweeter the end result will be.
- Be careful not to overmix the batter. Overmixed cakes can become gummy.
- The end pieces of the bread will always be a little more dry than the center pieces. Keep that in mind when serving the bread to guests.
- You can replace the sour cream with yogurt or Greek yogurt and not notice any difference at all.
- If your pan is a different size than mine, watch the bake time closely as a smaller pan filled higher may take longer to bake.
Nutrition
i loved this recipe! instead of vanilla extract i used one half teaspoon of almond extract. it made it unique and delicious!
Sounds great!
I made this a few days ago and it’s very delicious!
Oh man, I’d love a slice of that right now to go with this cup of tea. It would be dangerous for me to make this because I’d eat the whole thing…but it looks gorgeous and tasty, and I won’t deny that treat to my family. Tomorrow is going to be a snow day and therefore the perfect opportunity to give it a whirl.
Oh we are HUGE fans of banana bread around here, my kids are asking for it all the time. Love the addition of the strawberries to change things up and add a gorgeous pop of color, how fun!
Well, you made an ordinary bread extraordinary! Love the addition of strawberries to banana bread…brilliant…and unique…and who doesn’t LOVE the strawberry banana combo? Great recipe – thanks!
Ooooh! Strawberry banana is such a classic combo and one of my favorites! My kiddo would seriously eat this entire loaf. I love how you added the strawberries along the top of the loaf. :)
Oooh, I love the addition of strawberries to banana bread (cake – whatever we’re calling it these days! :) ). It looks so pretty and the flavors go so well together. Next I need to make this with the chocolate chips. That’s an excellent idea for a variation!
This is the prettiest banana strawberry bread I’ve ever seen! I love the intricate design going on on the top. And I mean, banana and strawberries are such a killer combo. It doesn’t get much better than this.
What a stunning bread! I want a slice right now with my morning coffee. Whenever my bananas get to that over ripe/black stage, I throw them into the freezer for just such an occasion. I think the occasion is now! We’re having company this weekend and this is the perfect breakfast treat to serve. Thank you for the recipe and inspiration!
What a beautiful loaf of banana bread. I love what you did with the strawberries. It looks so fresh and inviting! I haven’t seen the use of strawberries with bananas — we really like the berries. This is one banana bread recipe I’ve got to make.
You are right, this looks so pretty! I love your definition of cake vs. bread, I guess frosting makes the difference. This looks like a pretty little hostess gift, saving this little gem. Thank you!
Strawberry and banana is one of my favorite flavor combinations. How brilliant to put it together in bread–or cake. I’m going to slather on the frosting and call it cake!
This strawberry banana bread looks fantastic! I love how you layered the strawberries on top. I have a ton of ripe bananas sitting on my counter top so I’m going to have to give this yummy looking bread a go!
I cannot wait for fresh berry season. Love all those slices on top. What a great bread to take along to a friends house for afternoon tea.
im only 11 but i think that your website is great and you have officaily inspired me!
Wow the hubby and son would love these!
OMG!!!!!!!!!!!! I just made these cupcakes and i must say they are to die for. I didn’t make the yogurt icing but i decide to make strawberry banana icing instead but boy oh boy was it good
Hey, just made these Strawberry Banana Cupcakes and they are amazing! Made the Greek yogurt icing too…mmm mmm good!
these look so cute and delicious.
Yumm. I love strawberry banana too. I made some banana muffins awhile ago and replaced part of the banana with strawberry. But I also thought the banana was still dominant. Maybe some sort of strawberry filling…
And I love the greek yogurt frosting idea. I’ve been on a huge greek yogurt kick lately (just finished my morning bowl of fruit, yogurt, and cereal) and I had been thinking lately that it would be good for frosting. Glad to see it works!
These sound fabulous! Might hit my strawberry craving sweet spot too. Wonder if there is a strawberry frostine (w/o yogurt)…I’ll go for full on sugar buzz at this point!
Yum! These look very good! I am especially curious to try the Greek yogurt frosting…
adorable liners!
the recipe looks good, too. I have yet to make a banana cupcake, but I’ve been craving things banana lately. I may have to give this one a whirl!