Buttermilk Banana Bread

Buttermilk Banana Bread that is perfectly moist and full of buttery, soft, banana flavor.  This Buttermilk Banana Bread recipe makes three loaves, perfect to freeze or gift!

I have a love-hate relationship with banana bread.  It’s one of those recipes like Chocolate Chip Cookies where I feel like I will always be in pursuit of the “perfect” recipe.  This Buttermilk Banana Bread recipe below is the current winner. 

Bananas are one of my favorite fruits; I love to eat them plain or add them into smoothies.  Two of my kiddos love bananas and two of them can’t stand them, but we still manage to go through a bunch of them every few days.  They are perfect to me when they start to ripen and have just a few brown “freckles” on the peel.  No green bananas here.

Since we do go through them so quickly, we don’t have too many that turn brown before we get a chance to eat them.  That wasn’t the case last week though, and we had five get way too ripe before we were able to eat them.  I also happened to have a half gallon of buttermilk in the fridge that needed to be used up too after making these Buttermilk Drop Biscuits. 

Buttermilk and banana bread are a match made in Heaven.  This Buttermilk Banana Bread was so moist, and the flavor was perfect — not too sweet, not overly strong banana — just right!

What’s in This Buttermilk Banana Bread? 

This banana bread made with buttermilk turns out perfectly moist and flavorful every time! Here’s what you’ll need to make this banana bread recipe with buttermilk:

• Butter
• Granulated sugar
• Eggs
• Mashed bananas
• Buttermilk
• Vanilla extract
• All-purpose flour
• Baking powder
• Baking soda

What is Buttermilk? 

Buttermilk is a slightly sour milk with less fat content.  Whole milk has 3-5% milk fat and buttermilk has less than 1%.  It was traditionally the liquid left behind after churning butter, but today it’s cultured using lactic acid. Even though it’s lower in fat than whole milk, the lactic acid makes it more viscous (thicker).

How to Make Banana Bread with Buttermilk 

1. Cream together the butter and sugar. 
2. Mix in the rest of the wet ingredients. 
3. Add the dry ingredients, then stir until just combined. 
4. Turn the batter into three loaf pans. 
5. Bake until done. 

Can I Use a Buttermilk Substitute?

Absolutely! We rarely keep buttermilk on hand, so I typically use a buttermilk substitute. For each cup of buttermilk, you can use 1 tablespoon of white vinegar or lemon juice plus enough milk to measure 1 cup.  Stir, then let stand for 5 minutes.  

You can also use 1 cup of plain yogurt or 1-3/4 teaspoons cream of tartar plus 1 cup milk.  I don’t typically keep lemons handy either, unless I’m making these Blueberry Buttermilk Pancakes, so I almost always use vinegar.

Tips for Making Buttermilk Banana Bread

You can likely add mix-ins to this super moist banana bread made with buttermilk. Think: chopped nuts, chocolate chips, peanut butter chips, and so forth. Just keep in mind that mix-ins will bulk up the batter even more, so you may wind up needing more than three loaf pans. 

If the center of your buttermilk banana bread doesn’t appear to be done near the end of the bake time, try loosely tenting your loaves with foil. This will prevent the tops from browning too much and will give you some extra time to allow the centers to set up. 

If you want to freeze a loaf or two of buttermilk banana bread, let it cool completely on your countertop before wrapping in plastic wrap and foil (or freeze in a heavy duty freezer bag). To thaw, simply set on your counter overnight. 

More Banana Breakfast Recipes: 

• Banana Bread Cobbler
• Strawberry Banana Breakfast Skewers
• Chocolate Chip Banana Bread Muffins
• Oatmeal Raisin Banana Muffins
• Strawberry Banana Muffins

This post was published September 4, 2014 and updated August 21, 2019.