Cream Cheese-Filled Banana Bread — 🍌🍞🎉 This is the BEST homemade banana bread recipe! This cream cheese banana bread tastes like it has cheesecake baked in! Soft, fluffy and tastes ahhhh-mazing and it’ll be your new FAVORITE banana bread recipe! A total winner that will impress your friends and family!
Table of Contents
This cream cheese banana bread is soft and moist, and the cream cheese filling is like having a layer of cheesecake baked into the moist banana bread. No complaints here!
It’s an easy, no mixer recipe that goes from bowl to oven in minutes.
The big river of cream cheese is a thick, bold, unmistakeable layer. It really makes this bread out of this world.
Love Cream Cheese-Filled Desserts?
If you love this cream cheese-filled banana bread, then you’ll definitely love my Cream Cheese-Filled Pumpkin Bread as well!
I use melted coconut oil so there’s no butter to cream and no mixer to dirty. Oil keeps bread softer and springier than butter, and I prefer the taste.
And a little sour cream (or Greek yogurt) is extra insurance for a soft, springy, bouncy, fluffy loaf. Using sour cream, Greek yogurt, or buttermilk in quick bread and muffin recipe ensures more tender results.
This banana cream cheese bread has been a reader favorite that went viral in 2014 when I first posted this recipe. The recipe and photos have been stolen and copied over the years, but that goes with the territory with viral recipes.
Most importantly, it’s been adored by thousands of people and those are the comments and feedback I love reading!
Ingredients Needed
After taking a bite of this banana bread, you’ll regret to having made a loaf using cream cheese sooner!
For the banana bread:
- Egg
- Brown sugar
- Granulated sugar
- Coconut oil
- Sour cream
- Vanilla extract
- Ripe bananas
- All-purpose flour
- Baking powder and baking soda
- Salt
For the cream cheese filling:
- Egg
- Softened cream cheese
- Granulated sugar
- All-purpose flour
Note: Scroll down to the recipe card section of the post for the ingredients with amounts included and for more complete directions.
How to Make Cream Cheese Banana Bread
Don’t let the cream cheese filling fool you into thinking this is a tough banana bread recipe to make — it’s not! This is an incredibly easy homemade banana bread recipe.
- Make the batter: Whisk together the egg, sugars, coconut oil, sour cream, and vanilla before stirring in the mashed bananas and the rest of the dry ingredients.
- Turn about two-thirds of the batter into a greased loaf pan and smooth out the top with a spatula or the back of a spoon.
- Make the cream cheese filling: Stir together the ingredients for the filling and carefully pour over the banana bread batter.
- Smooth out the top once more before pouring the remaining banana bread batter over the cream cheese layer.
- Bake the cream cheese banana bread until the top is domed, golden, and the center is set, and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Note that the toothpick test isn’t the most accurate because the cream cheese never gets totally solid.
Baking Tip
Once the bread is out of the oven, let it cool completely before slicing and serving. The cream cheese center needs time to set fully, and if you slice it too soon it’ll just ooze out.
Recipe FAQs
For this recipe, you need to use brick-style cream cheese (not the whipped kind in a plastic tub). I used full-fat cream cheese, but lite cream cheese will also work so long as it’s the type that comes in a brick. Set the cream cheese on your counter to soften (this will take about an hour, maybe more). I don’t recommend softening the cream cheese in the microwave, as that can make it too soft.
Coconut oil adds a nearly imperceptible undertone that’s sweeter and more fragrant than canola or vegetable oil, but substitute with them if you’d like or if you’re very sensitive to coconut flavors.
I make this banana bread recipe in a 9×5-inch loaf pan, and this bread is a large loaf. I think an 8×4-inch pan would be too small, and the batter may run over the sides. This is the exact pan I use!
No, because the cream cheese filling is baked it’s safe to leave out at room temperature. Bread will keep airtight at room temperature for up to 1 week.
For the best tasting cream cheese banana bread, you’ll want to use really ripe bananas that have plenty of black spots on them.
Tips for Making This Recipe
Measuring the mashed banana: You need to actually measure out the mashed banana to see if it’s 1 cup, because your idea of two “large bananas” may be different than mine, and you want to add the exact right amount of banana to this bread.
Mixing the batter: Once you add the flour to the banana bread batter you should continue mixing the batter until everything is just combined. You do NOT want to over mix the batter, otherwise your homemade banana bread will be a little tough.
Baking times: Tent the pan with a sheet of foil draped over it at the 30 minute-mark if you feel the tops and sides of the cream cheese-filled banana bread will become too browned before the center cooks through.
Baking times will vary based on moisture content of bananas, cream cheese, climate, and oven variances. You need to bake this moist banana bread until done — watch your bread, not the clock.
Storage Instructions
Room temp: Store the banana cream cheese bread in an airtight container for up to 1 week on your counter.
Freezer: Wrap tightly and freeze for up to 3 months. When ready to eat, thaw overnight in the fridge.
Video Tutorial
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Cream Cheese-Filled Banana Bread
Equipment
Ingredients
Bread
- 1 large egg
- ½ cup light brown sugar, packed
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
- ¼ cup liquid-state coconut oil, canola or vegetable may be substituted
- ¼ cup cup sour cream, lite is okay Greek yogurt may be substituted
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 cup mashed ripe bananas, about 2 large bananas
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- pinch salt, optional
Cream Cheese Filling
- 1 large egg
- 4 ounces brick-style cream cheese, softened lite is okay
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
- 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F. Spray one 9×5-inch loaf pan with floured cooking spray, or grease and flour the pan; set aside.
- Make the Banana Bread
- In a large bowl, add the egg, sugars, coconut oil, sour cream, vanilla, and whisk to combine.
- Add the bananas and stir to incorporate.
- Add 1 cup flour, baking powder, baking soda, optional salt, and fold with spatula or stir gently with a spoon until just combined; don’t overmix; set aside.
- Turn about two-thirds of the batter out into the prepared pan, smoothing the top lightly with a spatula and pushing it into corners and sides as necessary; set aside.
- Make the Cream Cheese Filling
- In a large bowl, add all ingredients and whisk to combine. Alternatively, mix with a hand mixer.
- Evenly pour filling mixture over the bread, smoothing the top lightly with a spatula and pushing it into corners and sides as necessary.
- Top with remaining batter, smoothing the top very lightly with a spatula as to not disturb cream cheese layer and pushing batter into corners and sides as necessary.
- Bake for about 48 to 50 minutes or until the top is domed, golden, and the center is set, and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, or with a few moist crumbs, but no batter. Note this is tricky because the cream cheese never gets totally solid so the toothpick test isn’t the most accurate.*
- Allow bread to cool in pan for about 15 minutes before turning out on a wire rack to cool completely before slicing and serving.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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More Easy Banana Bread Recipes:
ALL OF MY BANANA BREAD RECIPES!
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Brown Sugar Blueberry Banana Bread – Blueberry coffee cake meets super soft banana bread.
Six-Banana Banana Bread – Six bananas in one loaf of bread means an extremely soft, moist, and richly flavored bread.
Zucchini Banana Bread — This Zucchini Banana Bread is so soft, tender, uber-moist, dense enough to be satisfying, but still light!
The BEST Strawberry Banana Bread — This strawberry bread is packed with fresh, juicy strawberries in every bite! This is an easy, no-mixer quick bread recipe you’re going to love!
Carrot Banana Bread — EASY, no-mixer, super soft banana carrot bread that reminds me of carrot cake but healthier!! Great Easter brunch idea or spring baked good!
Averie you can Bake !! I love the playing w the ingred !! finally some1 like me. But most all it taste out of this world.
bake sales for raising money for childrens cancers went crazy for the breads I made. Thank You so much
Where I used to work years ago they sold this delicious banana bread recipe. It was Fruit and Salad Co. People were crazy about it… Now I have this recipe to share with my sister. We use to work in the same place and we enjoyed eating it. Thanks for the recipe it brings so many good memories.
Where I used to work years ago they sold this delicious banana bread recipe. It was Fruit and Salad Co. People were crazy about it… Now I have this recipe to share with my sister. We use to work in the same place and we enjoyed eating it. Thanks for the recipe it brings so many good memories.
Thanks for the 5 star review and glad you can share the recipe with your sister too!
Thank you for sharing this amazing recipe! This is one of my favorites. The taste was extremely delicious!! The combination of cream cheese and banana was perfect! You deserve to get 5 stars. God bless!
Thank you for sharing this amazing recipe! This is one of my favorites. The taste was extremely delicious!! The combination of cream cheese and banana was perfect! You deserve to get 5 stars. God bless!
Thanks for the 5 star review and for saying it’s one of your favorites!
Followed instructions to the Tee cream cheese is too soft once completely cooled
I made this yesterday and two of us have already eaten a half of it! Thank you for the recipe, it’s delicious!
I made this yesterday and two of us have already eaten a half of it! Thank you for the recipe, it’s delicious!
Thanks for the 5 star review and glad that you’ve already halfway through it :)
Ummm wow – this has to be some of the best banana bread I’ve ever tasted. The sour cream and coconut oil really made this soooo soft and wonderful. And the cream cheese!?!?! WOW. Do you have other breads made with sour cream?? So impressed with this. Thank you!
Thanks for the 5 star review and glad it’s the best banana bread you’ve ever tasted!
Lots of my quickbread recipes include sour cream/Greek yogurt. https://www.averiecooks.com/category/bread/quickbread/ You can poke through them at your leisure.
Discovered this recipe a few months ago and my kids ask for it every couple of weeks! Thank you!
Thanks for the 5 star review and glad it has been on repeat for you and your kids!
I made this today and followed your recipe perfectly. I doubled everything for double the delight. I added my daughters favorite…chocolate chips and my favorite chopped walnuts. There is a lot of goodness going on here. Moist and sweet who can resist! Thank you.
Thanks for the 5 star review and glad that it was great with the choc chips and walnuts!
Back in 2015 I made this while pregnant with my first baby and since then, this recipe is my go to pregnancy food to beat first trimester nausea! Best recipe I’ve ever found for banana bread. 💜
Thanks for the 5 star review and I am glad this has become your go-to recipe!
I just wanted to let you know, that this receipe has killed my getting-ready-for-summer diet, lol! It just tastes sooo good! Thank you for this and no thanks! :) haha
Thanks for the 5 star review and sorry to kill your beach body diet :)
Thank you for the delicious cream cheese filled banana bread recipe. I give you 5 stars. Thank you.
Thanks for the five star review and glad this turned out deliciously!
This recipe was Amazing! I had to make two of them and there was nothing left! They were devoured by my family I had in town. It will definitely be a recipe I keep handy for the future. Thank you for sharing!
Thanks for the 5 star review and I’m glad that your two loaves were devoured and you will make it again!
Averie you can Bake !! I love the playing w the ingred !! finally some1 like me. But most all it taste out of this world.
bake sales for raising money for childrens cancers went crazy for the breads I made. Thank You so much
Glad to hear this was a bit hit at the bake sale!
Question. Trying to print and there are so many pop up ads that it wouldn’t print correctly. The ad printed through the directions so I couldn’t read it.
Not sure what to say…it prints fine for me when I click the big PRINT button.
This recipe it the BEST! We could have eaten the whole cake in one day, but wanted some for breakfast the next day.
Today I am going to double it (hope I don’t run into trouble) and make cupcakes, so I can share with friends.
Thank you, Averie
Thanks for the 5 star review and glad it was so good that you’re going to make it again and double it!