This sourdough banana bread recipe is soft, egg-free, flavorful, and comes with the tangy twist of sourdough – making it a delightful change from your usual banana bread. As someone who bakes sourdough bread regularly, I make this recipe with ripe starter or 1-2 day old sourdough discard as a cozy, quick bread solution that’s just as good for breakfast as it is for dessert.
👩🏽🍳 Why You Should Make This Recipe
This isn’t your average banana bread—it’s moist, fluffy, and filled with rich banana flavor while using your sourdough starter discard in the most delicious way.
- No Waste, All Flavor – Turn your sourdough discard into a tender loaf of goodness.
- Perfect Texture – The combination of bread flour and sourdough yields a soft yet slightly chewy crumb.
- Make It Your Way – Easily adapt it into sourdough banana muffins, make it vegan, or add chocolate chips or nuts.
- Healthier Option – With less sugar than traditional recipes and the option to use whole wheat flour, this can be your go-to healthy sourdough banana bread.
- Egg free sourdough banana bread – this recipe is egg free and yet so tender and delicious.
🧂 Ingredient Notes
Let’s talk about the real stars of this banana sourdough bread and how you can adapt them to your needs:
- Sourdough Starter or Discard
Use active sourdough starter for more rise or fresh sourdough discard for a rich, tangy flavor. Avoid using very old discard unless you enjoy an intense sour flavor. This is a great base for all your sourdough discard recipes. - Whole Milk
You can substitute with any plant-based milk like oat, soy, or almond for a vegan sourdough banana bread. Just ensure it’s unsweetened to control overall sweetness. - Oil
Neutral oils like canola, sunflower, or avocado work well. Coconut oil can add a lovely aroma. You may even use melted butter or vegan butter for added richness. - Brown Sugar
Both light brown sugar and dark brown sugar work. It provides moisture and depth of flavor. Coconut sugar or maple sugar can be used for healthier versions. - Ripe Bananas
This recipe shines when your bananas are heavily speckled or completely brown. The riper the banana, the sweeter the loaf. You can freeze ripe bananas in advance too. - Bread Flour
Provides great structure and elasticity. You can also use all-purpose flour or whole wheat flour for a heartier version of sourdough banana bread healthy. - Baking Powder + Baking Soda
These leavening agents help the loaf rise since discard doesn’t have the same power as active starter. - Salt
A small pinch enhances flavor and balances sweetness.
🔪 Step By Step Instructions
Now, let’s make this delicious banana bread using sourdough discard! Follow these simple steps to create a loaf you’ll want to bake again and again.
Step 1: Preheat the oven and prepare your loaf pan
Begin by preheating your oven to 350°F (175°C). This is important—starting with a hot oven ensures the bread rises properly and bakes evenly. While the oven heats up, prepare your baking pan.
Take a standard 9x5-inch loaf pan and either grease it lightly with oil or butter, or line it with parchment paper. Lining with parchment makes it super easy to lift the bread out once it’s baked. Set the pan aside.
Tip: Don’t skip this prep—banana bread is soft and moist, and sticking is common if the pan isn’t properly lined.
Step 2: Mash the ripe bananas
Peel your ripe bananas and place them in a large mixing bowl. Use a fork or potato masher to mash them until they’re smooth and creamy. A few small lumps are okay and add nice texture to the finished loaf.
Why this matters: The riper the bananas, the sweeter and more flavorful your banana bread sourdough will be. Overripe bananas are naturally higher in sugars, which add depth of flavor and natural sweetness to your bread.
Step 3: Add the wet ingredients
To the mashed bananas, add the sourdough discard or active sourdough starter, brown sugar, oil, and milk. Mix everything together until the mixture becomes thick, creamy, and well-blended.
You can use a hand whisk for this step, or even a hand mixer on low speed. The mixture should be smooth with a uniform texture.
Important note: If you’re using discard straight from the fridge, let it sit at room temperature for about 15–20 minutes so it mixes in more easily.
Step 4: Mix the dry ingredients separately
In another medium-sized bowl, sift or whisk together your bread flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
Mixing these dry ingredients separately ensures your baking soda and baking powder are evenly distributed throughout the batter, preventing uneven rise or bitter spots.
Tip: You can also swap in whole wheat flour for part of the bread flour to make a heartier, healthier sourdough banana bread.
Step 5: Combine the wet and dry ingredients
Now, add the dry ingredients to the wet mixture in 2–3 batches, gently folding the flour mixture into the banana mixture using a spatula or wooden spoon.
Mix just until you no longer see streaks of flour. The batter will be thick but should still be scoopable and moist.
Don’t overmix! Overworking the batter at this stage can lead to a tough or dense loaf, which we want to avoid. A light hand creates a tender, airy crumb.
Add optional mix-ins (if using)
At this point, you can fold in any optional ingredients like mini chocolate chips, chopped walnuts, or pecans if you’re making sourdough banana nut bread or sourdough banana bread chocolate chip. Gently mix until they’re evenly dispersed throughout the batter.
Step 6: Pour and Bake
Transfer the banana bread batter into your prepared loaf pan. I used a 9x5-inch Loaf pan. Use a spatula to spread it evenly and smooth the top.
Optional step: For a rustic bakery-style look, you can slice a banana lengthwise and place it on top of the batter before baking.
Place the pan on the center rack of your preheated oven. Bake for 55 to 65 minutes, or until the top is golden brown and a toothpick or cake tester inserted into the center comes out clean.
If the top starts browning too quickly before the center is cooked through, loosely tent the loaf with foil for the last 10–15 minutes of baking.
Reminder: Every oven is a little different, so keep an eye on your loaf during the last 10 minutes. You’re looking for a fully set top and no gooey batter when you test the center.
Step 7: Cool before slicing
Once baked, remove the loaf from the oven and let it sit in the pan for about 10 to 15 minutes. Then carefully lift it out using the parchment or turn it onto a wire rack to cool completely.
Don’t slice while hot! Slicing banana bread too early can cause it to fall apart. Cooling allows the crumb to set and the flavors to develop.
💭 Recipe Notes & Tips
- For a sourdough banana bread with honey, substitute ½ of the sugar with honey and reduce the liquid slightly.
- Add mini chocolate chips, walnuts, or pecans for texture and flavor.
- For sourdough banana muffins, divide the batter into muffin tins and bake for 20–25 minutes.
- You can prepare this as an overnight sourdough banana bread by mixing the wet ingredients (minus leavening) and letting them ferment at room temperature overnight. Add the baking powder/soda in the morning before baking.
- This recipe can be easily made vegan by swapping out milk with plant-based milk and using vegan chocolate or nuts.
- If your discard is older than a week, consider feeding it or mixing it with fresh starter for a milder flavor.
🔗 More recipes using sourdough
- Sourdough Zucchini Bread
- Sourdough Monkey bread
- Sourdough Cornbread
- Sourdough chocolate chip bread
- Sourdough Granola
- Pumpkin Sourdough
This sourdough banana bread is the perfect way to use up your starter discard and overripe bananas in a cozy, healthy, and flavorful loaf. Whether you're making it plain, studded with mini chocolate chips, or adding nuts, it's a banana bread recipe you’ll keep coming back to.
If you try this recipe, please rate it below and leave a comment—I’d love to hear how it turned out!
sourdough banana brea
Ingredients
Wet Ingredients
- 3 Ripe bananas
- 1 cup Sourdough Starter or fresh discard 160 g
- ⅓ cup Whole milk (room temp.)
- ½ cup Oil
- 1 ½ cups Brown sugar (loosely packed)
Dry ingredients
- 3 ¼ cups All Purpose Flour 400 g
- 2 teaspoon Baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon Baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon Salt
Instructions
Preheat Your Oven & Prepare the Pan
- Preheat oven to 350°F (175°C). Lightly grease or line a loaf pan with parchment paper. This ensures the bread doesn't stick and bakes evenly.
Mash the Bananas
- In a large mixing bowl, mash your ripe bananas until smooth. You can leave small chunks for texture or make it silky smooth depending on preference.
Mix Wet Ingredients
- Add the sourdough starter or discard, oil, milk, and brown sugar to the mashed bananas. Whisk everything until the mixture is well combined and slightly fluffy. This base ensures a moist and flavorful crumb.
Combine Dry Ingredients
- In a separate bowl, whisk together the bread flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. This avoids clumps and ensures even distribution of leavening agents.
Combine Wet and Dry Mixtures
- Gradually add the dry mixture to the wet, folding gently with a spatula. Avoid over-mixing to prevent a dense loaf. You should end up with a thick but pourable batter.
Pour and Bake
- Pour the batter into the prepared loaf pan, smoothing out the top. Bake at 350°F for 55–65 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. If the top browns too fast, tent with foil.
Cool Before Slicing
- Let the bread cool in the pan for 10–15 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Slicing too early can cause it to crumble.
Notes
- Using sourdough discard vs. active sourdough starter: Both will work beautifully in this recipe. If you're discard banana bread, make sure it smells pleasant (slightly tangy is okay) and hasn’t been sitting for too long in the fridge. If your discard is over a week old, it’s best to refresh it or use fresh discard. For a more lifted texture, you can use active sourdough starter at peak fermentation.
- Substituting the flour: This recipe uses bread flour for structure and chew, but you can substitute all-purpose flour if needed. Want to make it healthier? Swap up to 50% of the flour with whole wheat flour for a heartier, more wholesome loaf. If you're experimenting with gluten-free flours, note that the texture will vary significantly—start by using a trusted 1:1 gluten-free baking blend.
- Oil alternatives: Neutral oils like canola or sunflower are great for keeping the banana bread moist, but if you’d like a richer flavor, feel free to use melted butter or coconut oil. For a vegan sourdough banana bread, stick with plant-based oils and non-dairy milk.
- Milk options: You can use any kind of milk—whole milk, oat, almond, or soy. Just avoid thin or watery alternatives as they can affect the texture of the batter.
- Sweetener swaps: This recipe uses brown sugar for that deep molasses flavor. You can substitute part of it with coconut sugar, maple syrup, or honey (if you’re making sourdough banana bread with honey). However, replacing all the sugar with liquid sweeteners will alter the moisture content, so reduce the milk slightly in that case.
- Don’t overmix: This is the golden rule for all quick bread recipes. Once you add your dry ingredients, mix gently. Overmixing can activate gluten in the flour, leading to a dense and rubbery texture.
- Banana readiness: Always use ripe bananas—the spottier and softer, the better. They’re not only sweeter but also easier to mash and integrate into the batter. If you're short on ripe bananas, pop them in a 300°F oven for 10–15 minutes or microwave for 30–40 seconds to soften them.
- Loaf not cooking in the middle? This is usually a result of underbaking or a too-hot oven. Make sure to preheat the oven properly and check the doneness with a skewer or toothpick. If the top browns too quickly, loosely cover the loaf with foil during the final 15 minutes.
- Making muffins instead of a loaf? This banana bread batter also makes fantastic sourdough banana muffins or sourdough discard banana muffins. Just pour the batter into a greased muffin tin and bake for 20–22 minutes at 350°F. You can even make mini sourdough banana muffins by reducing the time to 12–14 minutes.
- For chocolate lovers: Add a handful of mini chocolate chips or chopped dark chocolate for a decadent sourdough banana bread chocolate chip version. Just remember to dust them lightly with flour before folding them in to prevent sinking.
- Overnight option: Want to prep ahead? This recipe works well as an overnight sourdough banana bread. Mix the batter at night and refrigerate it (covered) in the pan. Bake it straight from the fridge in the morning, adding an extra 5–7 minutes to the cook time.
Nutrition
🫙🔥Storage and Reheating Instructions
Store this sourdough banana bread discard loaf in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days. For longer storage, refrigerate for up to a week, or freeze slices for up to 3 months—just wrap individually.
To reheat, microwave a slice for 15–20 seconds or toast lightly for a warm, bakery-style treat. If frozen, thaw at room temperature before reheating.
❓ Frequently Asked Questions
Absolutely. If your discard is not older than a week and doesn't have any off-smell or mold, you can use it directly from the fridge. Cold discard will slightly thicken the batter, so let it sit for a few minutes after mixing to adjust. Using chilled discard also helps keep this a quick bread without extended prep time. For recipes sourdough discard like this one, flavor is enhanced with aged discard, but texture is better with fresher batches—balance is key.
Yes! To make this gluten-free, substitute with a 1:1 gluten-free baking blend, preferably one that includes xanthan gum. For a whole wheat version, swap half or all of the bread flour with whole wheat flour. Expect a denser texture and slightly nuttier flavor. Be mindful to increase the moisture slightly (a splash of milk or mashed banana) if using 100% whole wheat to keep the bread soft.
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