This easy Banana Bread with Cream Cheese Frosting is sweet and incredibly moist. This is how you make the most of overripe bananas.

This is the banana bread my mom used to make, and I still make it the same way.

With one small exception.

I had some leftover cream cheese frosting from making red velvet brownies and decided to try it here. It was a good call.

The tangy cream cheese balances the sweetness of the bananas, and its creaminess pairs beautifully with the soft, tender crumb.

It’s the banana bread I grew up with, now with a little extra on top.

Key Ingredients

Cream + Vinegar: Most recipes call for buttermilk or sour cream, but I do what my mom says, which is a mix of cream and vinegar. It’s our go-to buttermilk substitute. Even when I can get buttermilk, I stick to this method. Not going to fix what isn’t broken.

Bananas: They need to be super ripe. Think dark brown, heavily spotted, almost too far gone. That’s when they’re the sweetest and give the deepest banana flavor.

Butter: Make sure it’s at room temperature. Soft butter creams properly with sugar and helps create a smooth batter.

Eggs: Room temperature eggs blend more evenly into the batter. Cold eggs do not incorporate as smoothly and can affect texture.

Granulated Sugar

Vanilla

All-Purpose Flour: Spoon the flour into your measuring cup and level it off with a knife. Do not scoop directly from the bag, or you’ll pack in too much and end up with dense bread.

Baking Powder and Baking Soda

How to Make Banana Bread with Cream Cheese Frosting 

1. Prep. Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease loaf pans and line them with parchment paper.
2. Cream butter and sugar. Beat butter until fluffy, about 2 to 3 minutes. Add sugar and beat until creamy.
3. Add eggs and bananas. Mix in eggs one at a time. Stir in vanilla and mashed bananas.
4. Mix dry ingredients. Sift together flour, baking powder, and baking soda.
5. Combine everything. Add dry ingredients to the wet mixture, alternating with the buttermilk. Begin and end with dry ingredients. Fold gently with a spatula just until no streaks of flour remain. The batter will be thick. Divide batter among the prepared pans.
6. Make the cinnamon sugar topping. Mix brown sugar and cinnamon. Sprinkle over batter.
7. Bake the loaves. For 8×4 pans, bake for about 60 minutes. For 9×5 pans, bake for about 50 to 55 minutes.
8. Cool completely. Let bread cool in pans for 10 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack.
9. Make the frosting. Beat cream cheese until smooth. Beat in butter. Add powdered sugar gradually until creamy.
10. Frost and serve. Spread over completely cooled bread. Slice and enjoy!

Tips for the Best Banana Bread

• Use room temperature eggs and butter. Room temp ingredients mix together much more easily. If they’re cold, they won’t blend properly and your batter can turn lumpy or uneven.
• Use peak ripe bananas. You want them brown and heavily spotted. The riper the banana, the deeper the flavor and the moister the bread.
• Buttermilk hack. We don’t typically have buttermilk in the Philippines, so my mom has always used this substitute when making banana bread. Mix 1 tablespoon vinegar for every 1 cup of cream and let it sit for a few minutes before using.
• Don’t overmix. Once you combine the wet and dry ingredients, ditch the mixer. Use a rubber spatula to fold everything together until combined.  Overmixing leads to a dense, tough loaf.
• Don’t frost hot bread. Unless your goal is melted cream cheese sliding everywhere. Let the loaf cool completely before adding the cream cheese frosting so it sets beautifully.
• Mix-in options. Chopped nuts, raisins, dried cranberries, or chocolate chips all work well. That said, I personally love banana bread without all the extras. This recipe stands on its own.

Can I freeze ripe bananas?

Absolutely! If your bananas hit peak ripeness and you’re not ready to bake, place them unpeeled in a zip-top bag and freeze for up to 3 months. 

When ready to use, thaw completely and drain off any excess liquid before mashing.

How to Store Banana Bread

Store unfrosted banana bread at room temperature for up to 3 days. 

If frosted with cream cheese, refrigerate in an airtight container for up to 5 days, and bring to room temperature before serving.

Freezing Instructions

Banana bread freezes beautifully.

For best results, slice the loaf before freezing. This makes it easy to grab one piece at a time instead of thawing the entire loaf. 

Wrap each slice individually in plastic wrap, then place them in a freezer-safe bag or airtight container. Freeze for up to 3 months.

To Reheat:

Thaw frozen slices overnight in the refrigerator or at room temperature for about 30 minutes.

For a quick option, microwave a slice for 15-20 seconds until just warmed through. 

Can I Freeze Banana Bread with Cream Cheese?

Yes, you can, but the frosting may become a bit grainy after thawing. For best results, freeze the banana bread plain and add frosting after thawing.

If freezing it frosted, freeze individual slices for 1-2 hours until the frosting firms up. Once solid, double wrap each slice tightly in plastic wrap and foil to protect it from freezer burn.

Thaw the slices in the refrigerator overnight before serving.

Banana Bread with Cream Cheese Frosting

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Prep 15 minutes mins

Cook 1 hour hr

Cooling Time 19 minutes mins

This easy Banana Bread with Cream Cheese Frosting is sweet and incredibly moist. This is how you make the most of overripe bananas.

Servings 30 slices

Course Breakfast, Dessert

Cuisine American

Ingredients

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For the Banana Bread:

• ▢ 1 cup heavy cream mixed with 1 tablespoon vinegar
• ▢ 300 grams (about 6) very ripe bananas
• ▢ 1 cup butter room temperature
• ▢ 1 ½ cups granulated sugar
• ▢ 2 eggs room temperature
• ▢ 1 teaspoon vanilla
• ▢ 3 cups all-purpose flour
• ▢ 2 teaspoons baking powder
• ▢ 2 teaspoons baking soda

For the Topping:

• ▢ 4 tablespoons brown sugar
• ▢ 1 teaspoon cinnamon

For the Cream Cheese Frosting:

• ▢ 4 ounces (1/2 block) cream cheese softened
• ▢ ¼ cup (1/2 stick) butter softened
• ▢ 1 to 1 ½ cups powdered sugar

Instructions

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1. Preheat your oven to 350°F. Grease 3 (8×4)-inch loaf pans or 2 (9×5)-inch loaf pans, then line them with parchment paper.
2. In a small bowl, stir the vinegar into the cream and let it sit for about 5 minutes to create your buttermilk substitute.
3. Mash the very ripe bananas until mostly smooth. Set aside.
4. In a large mixing bowl, beat softened butter until light and fluffy, about 2 to 3 minutes. Add the sugar and continue beating until creamy, about 1 to 2 minutes. Add the eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Stir in the vanilla, then mix in the mashed bananas. Set aside.
5. In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, and baking soda.
6. Gradually add the dry ingredients to the wet mixture, alternating with the cream mixture, beginning and ending with the dry ingredients. Fold gently with a spatula just until no streaks of flour remain. Do not overmix. The batter will be thick.
7. Divide the batter evenly among the prepared pans.
8. In a small bowl, mix the brown sugar and cinnamon. Sprinkle evenly over the tops of the batter.

Nutrition

Serving1 sliceCalories233 kcalCarbohydrates28.7 gProtein2.2 gFat12.4 gSaturated Fat7.6 gPolyunsaturated Fat0.5 gMonounsaturated Fat3.5 gTrans Fat0.3 gCholesterol48 mgSodium126 mgPotassium63 mgFiber0.6 gSugar18.3 gVitamin A382 IUVitamin C0.9 mgCalcium11 mgIron0.5 mg