Breads/ Cake/ Muffins & Pastries

Cream Cheese Banana Bread

Cream cheese replaces the butter used to make this classic banana bread recipe, giving the slight twang of flavor that compliments the sweetness of the bananas.  You are only four ripe bananas away from two freshly baked loaves of sweet, moist, banana-y bread topped with a crunchy Cinnamon Toast Crunch cereal crumb topping.

Banana bread is one of those recipes that everyone knows and recognizes.  I have a couple versions of banana bread here on the blog that I love, but with some leftover cream cheese sitting in the fridge and four ripe bananas in the freezer, I figured I might as well do a little refrigerator clean-out and marry the two together.  This is such an easy recipe AND it makes two loaves.  One for you and one to give away.  Because who wouldn’t want a fresh, homemade loaf of banana bread?!

I usually always have a ziplock bag of ripe bananas in my freezer.  I just add to it whenever I find one lonely overripe banana in the pantry that isn’t going to get eaten.  Once I have enough bananas stored up, it’s bread time!

And then there was also that almost empty bag of Cinnamon Toast Crunch cereal in  the pantry…I thought why not use the cereal to add a nice crunchy, crumb topping to my banana bread.  And yessssss….best idea EVER!  The topping can be optional though.  This banana bread recipe is good all on its own too.

Cream Cheese Banana Bread with Cinnamon Toast Crunch Crumb Topping

Print Recipe
Serves: 2 Loaves Cooking Time: 50-55 minutes

Ingredients

  • 1/2 cup cream cheese, room temperature
  • 1/4 cup canola oil
  • 1/3 cup milk, room temperature (I used unsweetened almond milk)
  • 2 cups white granulated sugar
  • 1 tablespoon vanilla extract (I used Rodelle Gourmet Vanilla Extract)
  • 4 eggs, room temperature
  • 4 large, over ripe bananas, peeled and mashed
  • 4 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
  • 1 tablespoon cinnamon (I used Rodelle Ceylon Ground Cinnamon)
  • 1 tablespoon baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • CINNAMON TOAST CRUNCH CRUMB TOPPING:
  • 5 tablespoons cold butter, cubed
  • 2 cups of Cinnamon Toast Crunch fine crumbs

Instructions

1

Preheat oven to 350-degrees. Line two 9x5-inch loaf pans with foil and spray the bottoms and sides of the pans with baking spray. Set aside.

2

In the bowl of your stand mixer, affixed with the paddle attachment, beat the cream cheese on medium-high speed until creamy. Add the oil and sugar to the butter and beat until combined and fluffy. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed. Add the milk to the mixer, mixing until combined. Add the vanilla extract. Add the eggs one at a time to the wet ingredients. Beat each egg in completely before adding the next egg. Add the bananas to the wet ingredients and mix until combined.

3

Change the mixer to low speed and slowly add the flour, nutmeg, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda and salt to the wet ingredients. Mix until barely combined. Remove the bowl from mixer, and gently finish mixing the batter with a rubber scraper, until all ingredients are incorporated. Pour batter into prepared pans, evenly distributing the batter between both pans.

4

PREPARE CINNAMON TOAST CRUNCH CRUMB TOPPING: In a bowl add the cubed cold butter and Cinnamon Toast Crunch crumbs and use a pastry blender or two forks to work the butter into the crumbs, until the mixture resembles coarse sand. Evenly spread the topping on top of both loaves of banana bread and gently press the topping into the batter.

5

Bake both loaves together in 350-degree oven for 50-60 minutes. Mine took 56-minutes to bake. Banana bread is done when toothpick inserted into the middle comes out with raw batter on it. A few crumbs are okay. You do not want to over bake the bread. Remove the loaves from the oven and use the excess foil to remove the loaves from the pan and transfer to a wire rack to cool.

6

Once banana bread has cooled completely, cut into desired sized slices.

And only the highest quality of ingredients used in this banana bread….Rodelle Ceylon Ground Cinnamon and Rodelle Gourmet Vanilla Extract!  It’s the good stuff!!

XOXO,

Kelly

PS- I have linked this recipe up at the following link parties: Meal Plan Monday, Foodie Friday and more!

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17 Comments

  • Reply
    Ashika | Gardening Foodie
    April 25, 2019 at 1:41 PM

    This cream cheese banana bread looks great Kelly. I would love a few slices ( or the whole loaf 🙂 for breakfast.

    • Reply
      Kelly
      May 1, 2019 at 7:57 AM

      Hehehehe thanks Ashika!! XOXO

  • Reply
    Katherine | Love In My Oven
    April 25, 2019 at 1:56 PM

    Such a great idea to use cream cheese, Kelly! I would love to serve this up for breakfast, maybe even turn it into french toast!! 🙂

    • Reply
      Kelly
      May 1, 2019 at 7:58 AM

      Oooooh I love the idea of using this for french toast!!! YUM!!!

  • Reply
    Kim Lange
    April 25, 2019 at 3:03 PM

    I’d eat the whole loaf. Dangerously addicting banana bread with a cream cheese swirl baked in? Nice surprise!

    • Reply
      Kelly
      May 1, 2019 at 7:58 AM

      Very addicting!! The cream cheese isn’t swirled in though! I used cream cheese to replace the butter I would have normally used 🙂

  • Reply
    Maria | kitchenathoskins
    April 26, 2019 at 12:02 AM

    Love the texture of this banana bread! Cream cheese is such a delicious addition, I really wanna try this recipe soon:)

    • Reply
      Kelly
      May 1, 2019 at 7:59 AM

      Thanks Maria!! Nothing beats a fresh loaf of banana bread! 🙂 XOXO

  • Reply
    Julie @ Back To My Southern Roots
    April 27, 2019 at 9:17 AM

    Oh my goodness, this looks Ah-mazing! Yum!

    • Reply
      Kelly
      May 1, 2019 at 7:59 AM

      Thank you Julie!! XOXO

  • Reply
    Kelsie | the itsy-bitsy kitchen
    April 27, 2019 at 6:08 PM

    Nothing beats good banana bread! I love the addition of cream cheese!

    • Reply
      Kelly
      May 1, 2019 at 8:00 AM

      I totally agree Kelsie!! XOXO

  • Reply
    heather (delicious not gorgeous)
    April 28, 2019 at 11:42 AM

    oh wow never thought of replacing butter with cream cheese! love that you use cinnamon toast crunch as the streusel.

    • Reply
      Kelly
      May 1, 2019 at 8:01 AM

      Thanks Heather!! You know how much I love cereal hehehe 😉

  • Reply
    Laura
    April 29, 2019 at 11:30 AM

    Love that crunchy top! I’ve used cream cheese to partially replace butter, but have never tried replace all of the butter. Nice job here, it looks so good, I can almost smell that great banana bread aroma!

    • Reply
      Kelly
      May 1, 2019 at 7:56 AM

      Thanks Laura! Nothing better than the smell of banana bread baking in the oven, right?!?!

  • Reply
    Foodie Friday Link Party 88 - Back To My Southern Roots
    May 3, 2019 at 7:26 AM

    […] Cream Cheese Banana Bread from Kelly Lynn’s Sweets and Treats […]

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