Banana Pear Bread – An Easy and Delicious Recipe

The best of both worlds collide in this easy banana pear bread recipe!

stack of banana pear bread slices on a gray plate

This moist and tender loaf of banana pear bread has hints of these two classic fruits, making for a delicious breakfast or snack!

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Quickbreads are a snack time staple in our family. They’re easy to make, can be a great way to use up old produce, and taste so good!

Plus, they can double as breakfast (or dessert!), which is always a win in my book. 🙂

Sour cream banana bread and best ever pear bread are a couple of our family’s favorites, so I thought–why not combine the two?

The reality is, I love all forms of banana bread, and the best banana breads are the ones that are easy to make and disappear fast.

Some of my favorites include pistachio banana bread, strawberry banana bread, pumpkin banana muffins, Instant Pot banana bread, Bisquick banana muffins, and chocolate banana bread.

If you love banana bread, you’re going to love this banana pear bread!

Want a cake instead? Try my spiced banana pear cake recipe!

loaf of banana pear bread on a cutting board, with several slices cut

What Kind of Pears to Use in Banana Pear Bread

You can make this easy banana pear bread with fresh pears OR canned pears. I’ve used both over the years, and both work just fine.

If you’re using fresh pears, I highly recommend using very ripe pears. Like, super soft and juicy. That’s what I prefer to use in my old-fashioned pear cake, pear muffins, homemade pear cobbler, and pear butter recipe, too.

Sometimes you can find overripe pears in the discount bin at your grocery store–those work great, too.

If you don’t have fresh pears handy, just use canned! The recipe calls for one can of peaches, or for fresh, you’ll want about 1 cup of fresh diced pears.

For another dessert using canned pears, try my cake mix pear cobbler recipe.

How to Make Banana Pear Bread

It’s really easy to make this simple quickbread!

stack of banana pear bread slices on a gray plate

Ingredients You’ll Need:

  • Butter
  • Sugar
  • Sour Cream
  • Eggs
  • Mashed bananas
  • Diced pears
  • Vanilla extract
  • All-purpose flour
  • Baking powder
  • Salt
  • Baking soda
  • Cinnamon
  • Nutmeg
Sliced pear banana loaf on a cutting board

How to Make It:

(Full printable recipe is available below)

Cream butter and sugar. First, you’ll use an electric mixer to beat together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the eggs and mix well until combined.

butter, sugar, and eggs mixed together for banana pear bread

Add more wet ingredients. Next, you’ll add in the sour cream, bananas, pears, and vanilla extract, mixing well to combine (baking with sour cream gives your finished product a softer, richer texture–I also use it in my Amish cinnamon bread!).

Add dry ingredients. Add in the dry ingredients and mix on low speed just until combined.

Bake. Pour the batter into a prepared loaf pan.

loaf pan filled with banana pear bread batter in the oven

Bake for 60-65 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean (because nobody wants underbaked bread!). Cool before slicing.

freshly baked loaf of banana pear bread still in the pan

Notes and Adaptations:

  • This banana pear bread can be frozen if desired. Simply cool completely and double wrap with plastic wrap before freezing.

Recommended Equipment:

  • Stand mixer (I have a KitchenAid Classic model that I love!)
  • Loaf pan ( love this USA loaf pan)
Yield: 1 loaf

Banana Pear Bread

stacked slices of banana pear bread on an appetizer plate

Spiced banana pear bread is a moist and tender loaf--perfect for breakfast or a snack!

Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 1 hour 5 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 15 minutes

Ingredients

  • 1/2 cup butter, softened
  • 1 cup granulated sugar
  • 2 eggs
  • 4 Tbsp sour cream
  • 1/2 cup mashed bananas (approx. 1 large or 2 small bananas)
  • 15-oz can sliced pears in juice, drained and chopped
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 1/8 tsp baking soda
  • 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
  • 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 350F and grease an 8x4" loaf pan.
  2. In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat together butter and sugar. Add eggs and mix well until combined.
  3. Mix in sour cream, bananas, pears, and vanilla extract, mixing well.
  4. Add in dry ingredients and mix on low speed just until incorporated.
  5. Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake for 60-65 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
  6. Cool before slicing. Enjoy!

Notes

  • If you prefer to use fresh pears, you'll want about 3/4-1 cup of peeled and diced very ripe pears.
  • This bread can be frozen--simply cool completely and wrap well with plastic wrap before freezing.

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

10

Serving Size:

1

Amount Per Serving: Calories: 311Total Fat: 11gSaturated Fat: 7gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 4gCholesterol: 64mgSodium: 226mgCarbohydrates: 49gFiber: 2gSugar: 29gProtein: 4g

Nutrition information is automatically calculated and is not guaranteed for accuracy.

Want more delicious recipe ideas?

Check out even more mealtime inspiration on my Pinterest boards!

Be sure to check out our favorite banana sheet cake recipe for another banana dessert!

sliced loaf of pear banana bread on a cutting board

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14 Comments

  1. Connie Taggart says:

    What size loaf pan?

    1. Chrysti Benner says:

      Hi Connie! I use an 8×4″ pan. I’ll add that into the recipe. 🙂

  2. This was delicious, even subbing oil and yogurt for the butter and sour cream because it’s what I had. Did 1.5 recipe, heavy on the banana, used slightly less than the amount of sugar called for, and threw in a soft peach. 9×13 pan for 38 minutes was perfect for me, love the little chunks of pear and peach in there.

    1. Chrysti Benner says:

      Thanks so much for sharing your tweaks, Kelly! So happy to hear that you enjoyed it! 🙂

  3. Can these be made into muffins?

    1. Chrysti Benner says:

      That should work fine, K! You’ll need to decrease the baking time, though–maybe start checking them around 20-25 minutes? Enjoy! 🙂

  4. Thank you for the recipe. I made it just as described except prep time took me forever because I couldn’t find the baking soda and had to substitute more baking powder. It still turned out great and everyone who had some said it was really good! 🙂

    1. Chrysti Benner says:

      I’m so glad you enjoyed it, Maria! Good thinking to make adjustments based on what you had on hand! 🙂

  5. Munna, Kathleen says:

    Can I use butter milk instead of sour cream and if so how much?
    Should any other ingredients be adjusted?
    Thank you Kathleen

    1. Chrysti Benner says:

      Hi Kathleen! That should work fine–I’d recommend using 1/4 cup of buttermilk instead of the sour cream. Enjoy! 🙂

  6. This bread is amazing. Would have never thought of pears in bread! This will be my go to bread.

    1. Chrysti Benner says:

      Thank you so much, Chris! I’m glad you enjoyed it! 🙂

  7. Made a double batch, with a dozen as cupcakes and a pan of 8 mini sized loaves. Delicious!

    1. Chrysti Benner says:

      Thank you, Teri! I’m so glad to hear you enjoyed them (and what a great idea to make them as cupcakes!).

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