Cream Cheese-Filled Banana Bread — This is the BEST homemade banana bread recipe! The banana bread tastes like it has cheesecake baked in thanks to the luscious cream cheese filling! Soft, fluffy, easy and tastes ahhhh-mazing!!
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. But you can give it a try if that’s what you have on hand! Just keep in mind that you’ll likely need to bake the bread for longer as well.
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
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.
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!
Flour’s Banana Bread — Made with Flour Bakery’s famous recipe to see if it lives up to the hype. Verdict? Totally fabulous! Make it!!
Cinnamon Sugar Streusel Banana Bread – Super SOFT tender banana bread that’s impossible to resist!! The crispy, crumbly, streusel topping makes a good thing even BETTER!!
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!
Made these as gifts for girls’ dinner night at my home. It was a huge hit!!!
Oh how nice of you to make these for your girl’s night out dinner (at home) – love those! :) I am glad it was a huge hit! You have lucky friends :)
Your bread recipe calls for 1/4 C granulated sugar, but it is not mentioned again in the directions. Does the bread actually use brown and granulated sugar?
Thanks,
Caitlyn
It does use both and I just updated the recipe to reflect it to say ‘sugars’ in the directions. Thanks and enjoy the bread!
Hi
I just baked the banana bread with cream cheese. I used the pasteurized cream cheese, is that okay? The bread was okay but the cream cheese filling was dry and i can’t taste it with the bread. Did i do something wrong? Thanks for the recipe and help.
There are so many brands of cream cheese that it’s hard to say exactly if your brand maybe wasn’t the best suited or not…but it sounds like it wasn’t. I use Trader Joe’s brand or Philadelphia and don’t have issues with either. Thanks for trying the recipe.
The banana cream cheese bread was AWESOME!!!!!
Best recipe in this category I have ever made. Be sure to use full boat cream cheese. It makes a difference
Glad it’s the best banana bread you’ve ever made! Great to hear!
I cannot have wheat gluten. Has anyone tried to make it with gluten-free flour? If so, did it work?
I haven’t tried GF flour with this but you could try your fave blend, i.e. Bob’s, Arrowhead, etc. and see what happens!
I just made this for the first time and it tastes and looks wonderful!! Thank you for sharing this recipe with us. I will definitely make this again. Yum!
Glad it came out great for you and that you’ll make it again!
Averie, this loaf was such a success in my house. And thats saying a lot because the number one recipe I make from your site is the brown-butter soaked Banana bread. <–I've made that AT LEAST 15 times since you've posted it last year. No jokes.
I found this one a lil less sweet but still yummy. And of course it has to be topped off with a bit of nutella on it. :)
And FINALLY our summer heat will leave. I think even down there in La Jolla it'll start being cool! Have a great wknd
Thanks for trying this one Iram and after making the browned butter version 15+ times, you’ve made it way more than me :) I think this one is probably a little less sweet since the cream cheese is probably better suited to a slightly less sweet dough. Glad you love it tons though and with Nutella, mmmm! And finally, yes, it’s cooled down here! Have a great weekend!
I just made this and it is one of the best things I have ever made!!! Thanks for sharing!
That’s such high praise and glad it’s a huge hit for you!
I put too much batter in the bottom half of the pan, so I hid the top with streusel topping. I regret nothing! Thanks for the recipe. :)
Streusel is the perfect cover-up AND on top of it…how amazing did THAT taste with the banana bread, the cream cheese, mmmm, a happy accident!
Hello!
Great recipe, turned out amazingly. Thank you!
But I was wondering if there was a way to modify it with a little bit of pumpkin purée to go with the season?
Would I simply follow a banana/pumpkin bread recipe and incorporate the cream cheese or did you have one in the works?
I looked but I didn’t see one listed, hopefully I didn’t miss it.
Thank you again!
Ana
https://www.averiecooks.com/2014/08/cream-cheese-filled-pumpkin-bread.html Your wishes have already been granted! Glad you loved the banana version!
This looks SO good! I’m totally loving cream cheese right now. Just wanted to let you know I’ve included this in my list of cream cheese recipes at RecipeChatter.com! https://www.recipechatter.com/recipes-with-cream-cheese/
Thanks for the great recipe!
Thanks for the linkup!
Hey I am about to make this bread now, but I noticed a misprint in your directions. The first part. 2. Bread…you have brown sugar listed twice? Im thinking one of them is supposed to say banana. Hopefully. Or else Im making it wrong? LOL
Fixed! Thanks for saying something. This post has been pinned almost 400k times! and no one has ever said anything! Yes, I did have brown sugar written twice, but you only add it once! Enjoy :)
Your welcome! Just doing what I would want someone to do for me!! Getting ready to take it out of the oven now. Im 8 months pregnant so Im very excited about this!!! :D
If you’re 8 mos pregnant, someone should be MAKING YOU some banana bread rather than you being on your feet! Take care and enjoy the bread!
Can I ask can I do this without the sour cream in it? I have never baked banana bread with sour cream in it… Was just wondering how it would work out?
You could omit it I guess…but it add SO MUCH moisture! If you haven’t been baking cakes, quickbreads, muffins, etc. with either sour cream or Greek yogurt, you have been missing out your whole life, trust me!
Made the cream cheese filled banana bread this morning & it’syummy. Might have to cut back on the sugar because my overripe bananas are sweet.
Glad you enjoyed it and yes if you have very ripe (over-ripe) bananas that are naturally quite sweet, you can always cut back the added sugar.
Hi! I had made the blueberry yogurt cake before and now decided to try this cream cheese banana bread! Just wanted to tell you jt came out really amazing and i’m really happy! My family love it alot! Thank you so much for sharing your awesome recipes :) I will tag the photos on instagram soon!! :) Would love you to see the bakes :)
Thanks for trying this recipe and others! I am so glad you and your family loved it and thanks for the tags :)
Would substituting the oil for more banana and/or yoghurt work?
It would probably ‘work’ in a pinch but it wouldn’t taste as good, be as moist, and I wouldn’t recommend it.