Coffee Banana Bread
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This coffee banana bread is rich, moist, fluffy, and flavorful. It's a mash-up between a coffee cake with streusel and coffee-flavored banana bread, and it tastes incredible. It's also easy to make, and it's ready in just over an hour!
If you like banana bread as much as we do, you'll love our tried-and-true favorite banana bread recipe, peanut butter banana bread, and poppy seed lemon banana bread.
This coffee banana bread is a cross between two of our favorite treats: coffee cake with streusel and banana bread. It's moist and rich, with lots of sweet banana flavor and the subtle yet distinct taste of coffee. If you like banana bread and coffee, you'll love this recipe!
It's perfect for using up the morning's leftover coffee and those spotty bananas you've been eyeing on the counter all week long.
It's really easy to make and most of the prep time is hands-off baking time in the oven. Start by mixing together the streusel ingredients. Then, mix together the dry and wet ingredients separately and then fold the dry ingredients into the wet ones.
With quick bread like this, it's really important not to over-mix the batter to keep it light and fluffy. Pour it into the loaf pan, top it with streusel, and bake it until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. We know it will be hard to wait but make sure the loaf cools completely before slicing into it.
This coffee cake banana bread is a delicious anytime treat, and it's completely acceptable to eat it as a quick breakfast on the go. It also freezes beautifully, and makes a wonderful food gift for a friend or neighbor!
Coffee banana bread ingredients
Here's everything you need to make the banana bread coffee cake:
- All-purpose flour ā any all-purpose flour works great. Use an all-purpose gluten-free flour if needed.
- Granulated sugar and brown sugar ā we've experimented with different sugars and found that the mix of granulated and brown sugar gives the loaf the best texture and sweetness.
- Baking soda + sea salt + vanilla
- Instant coffee ā instant coffee gives this loaf a bolder coffee flavor. If you don't have any, you can omit it.
- Ripe bananas ā grab those spotty bananas and mash them up!
- Eggs ā if you have time to bring your eggs to room temperature, it does help with the baking process, helping the dough rise more easily.
- Sour cream ā using sour cream makes this loaf more moist and rich. You can also use full-fat Greek yogurt.
- Coffee ā we like a strong brewed dark roast coffee for this recipe for maximum coffee flavor. Make sure it's not hot or it will cook the eggs! You can also use decaffeinated coffee if you prefer.
- Melted butter + oil ā real butter gives the loaf richness and combined with the oil, keeps things nice and moist.
Here's what you need to make the easy streusel topping:
- Rolled oats ā regular rolled oats are what we use, or certified gluten-free if necessary.
- All-purpose flour ā a bit of all-purpose flour helps to bind the ingredients. Use gluten-free here as well if needed.
- Brown sugar + sea salt ā for that sweet and salty combo.
- Softened butter ā if you use salted butter, you can skip the salt.
How to make coffee banana bread
This banana bread coffee cake with streusel topping is the perfect anytime treat and goes great with a cup of coffee or tea. Here's how to make it in a few easy steps:
- While your oven preheats, mix together the streusel ingredients.
- Next, mix together the dry ingredients, including the instant coffee if you're using it.
- In a separate large bowl, mix together the wet ingredients. Make sure your coffee isn't hot or it will cook the eggs!
- Then you know how it goes: add the dry ingredients to the wet ones and don't over-mix!
- Pour the batter into your loaf pan and top with streusel.
- Bake your banana bread until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Allow it to cool completely before slicing into it.
Recipe FAQS
Can I freeze banana bread?
Yes, banana bread freezes beautifully. Store it in a container or reusable silicone bag and it will keep in your freezer for up to 2 months!
How long does it last on the counter?
Banana bread will stay fresh at room temperature for 2-3 days. If you don't think you'll eat it all within that time, wrap it up and freeze it for later.
Can I add chocolate chips or nuts to it?
Of course! We always find chocolate and coffee to be a great combo. For a nice crunch, toasted chopped walnuts are our nut of choice.
Do I really need to let it cool before eating it?
It's the hardest thing to do, but it's best to let banana bread cool completely before you slice it. It will firm up the crumb so that you'll get cleaner slices and the flavor will improve. If you want that hot-out-of-the-oven experience, pop a slice into your microwave for about 20 seconds.
When to serve coffee banana bread
In our humble opinion, there's no wrong time to enjoy a slice of this coffee banana bread. It makes a great breakfast on the go and will satisfy those mid-afternoon sweet cravings. It's perfect for packing into lunches, taking on hikes, or nibbling on after a nice meal.
If you're a fan of coffee cake, also try our healthy cranberry coffee cake!
Coffee Banana Bread Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- Ā½ cup granulated sugar
- Ā½ cup brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- Ā½ teaspoon sea salt
- 1 tablespoon instant coffee (optional ā see notes)
- 1 Ā½ cups mashed ripe bananas
- 2 large eggs
- Ā¼ cup EACH: sour cream, coffee, melted butter, and oil
- 1 tablespoon vanilla
Streussel Topping
- Ā¼ cup rolled oats
- 2 tablespoons EACH: flour, brown sugar, and softened butter
- 1 pinch salt
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Grease a 9"x5" loaf pan. Make the streusel topping in a small bowl by mixing the oats, flour, brown sugar, softened butter, and salt.Ā¼ cup rolled oats, 2 tablespoons EACH: flour, brown sugar, and softened butter, 1 pinch salt
- In a medium-sized bowl, whisk the flour, granulated sugar, brown sugar, baking soda, salt, and if using the instant coffee.2 cups all-purpose flour, Ā½ cup granulated sugar, Ā½ cup brown sugar, 1 teaspoon baking soda, Ā½ teaspoon sea salt, 1 tablespoon instant coffee
- In a large bowl, whisk the mashed bananas, eggs, sour cream, coffee (not hot), melted butter, oil, and vanilla.1 Ā½ cups mashed ripe bananas, 2 large eggs, Ā¼ cup EACH: sour cream, coffee, melted butter, and oil, 1 tablespoon vanilla
- Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix just until they come together. DO NOT overmix the batter.
- Pour the batter into your loaf pan and then top with the streusel.
- Bake for 60-70 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Let the banana bread cool for 15 minutes in the pan and then remove it and let it cool completely on a wire rack.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
We have thoroughly tested this recipe for accuracy. However, individual results may vary. See our full recipe disclosure here.
If you love banana bread as much as we do, make sure to check out all of ourĀ banana bread recipes!
