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Banana Bread with Streusel Topping

banana bread with streusel topping with a golden, crunchy cinnamon blanket over a moist, smooth banana crumb. Easy banana loaf bakes until the streusel turns crisp while a toothpick test confirms the center is set.
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Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 1 hour 5 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 20 minutes
Servings: 10 servings
Course: Breakfast, Snack
Cuisine: American
Calories: 310
Ingredients Equipment Method Notes

Ingredients
  

Banana bread base
  • 3 bananas Use very ripe bananas for best mashable sweetness.
  • 0.5 cup butter Melted for the batter.
  • 0.75 cup sugar
  • 2 eggs Large.
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1.5 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • 0.5 tsp salt
  • 0.5 tsp cinnamon
Streusel topping
  • 0.33 cup all-purpose flour
  • 0.33 cup brown sugar
  • 1.5 tsp cinnamon
  • 0.25 tsp salt
  • 3 tbsp butter Cold and cubed.

Equipment

  • 1 sheet pan

Method
 

Prep
  1. Preheat oven to 350°F and grease a 9x5 loaf pan. Set the pan up so the batter can go in right after mixing.
  2. Make streusel by mixing all-purpose flour, brown sugar, cinnamon, and salt together, then cut in cold butter until large crumbles form. Refrigerate the streusel while you mix the batter.
Make the batter and assemble
  1. Whisk melted butter, sugar, eggs, and vanilla into mashed bananas until smooth. This should look glossy and thick like a pourable banana custard.
  2. Fold in all-purpose flour, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon until just combined. Stop mixing as soon as no dry streaks remain.
  3. Pour batter into the pan and top generously and evenly with all the streusel. Make sure the entire top is covered for a full crunchy blanket.
Bake
  1. Bake for 60–70 minutes at 350°F until the streusel is golden and a toothpick inserted in the center of the loaf comes out clean. If the top darkens early, loosely tent with foil to prevent over-browning.

Notes

Pro tip: Refrigerate the streusel so the butter stays cold; it yields larger, crunchier crumbs after baking. Store airtight at room temperature up to 3 days or refrigerate up to 5 days. Freezing is yes—wrap slices individually and freeze up to 2 months. For a dairy-free swap, use a 1:1 vegan butter substitute (cold cubed for streusel and melted for batter) to keep the streusel texture.