Chai-Spiced Banana Bread
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Infused with cardamom, cinnamon, ginger and allspice, this chai-spiced banana bread is a lovely twist on basic banana bread.
Chai is the actual word for tea in many countries but when we say chai in the States, we’re usually referring to Masala chai, which is a smooth and calming beverage made of black tea, milk, and fragrant Indian spices. Its flavor goes beautifully with banana bread, so I’ve taken one of my favorite banana bread recipes and subtly infused it with warm chai spices like cardamom, cinnamon, ginger, and allspice.
Table of Contents
“This is my favorite banana bread recipe on your site! I think the spices and the sour cream really make it great! I served it at a get together and got so many compliments on it…Yum!”
What You’ll Need To Make Chai-Spiced Banana Bread
As with all banana bread recipes, use very ripe bananas for the most intense banana flavor and a texture that mashes easily.
Step-by-Step Instructions
Begin by creaming the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time.
Incorporating well after each addition.
In a separate large bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, salt and spices.
Whisk well.
Add the dry mixture to the butter mixture.
Mix to blend.
Add the mashed bananas, sour cream and vanilla.
Mix well.
Transfer the batter to a greased 9 x 5 x 3-inch loaf pan.
Bake for 60-70 minutes. Let cool in the pan for about ten minutes.
Then turn out onto a wire rack to cool completely. Enjoy!
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Chai-Spiced Banana Bread
Infused with cardamom, cinnamon, ginger and allspice, this chai-spiced banana bread is a lovely twist on basic banana bread.
Ingredients
- 1 stick (½ cup) unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs, room temperature
- 1½ cups all-purpose flour, spooned into measuring cup and leveled off with a knife
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ¾ teaspoon ground cardamom
- ¾ teaspoon cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon ground ginger
- ¼ teaspoon allspice
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup mashed very ripe bananas, from 2-3 bananas
- ½ cup sour cream
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- ½ cup chopped walnuts (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 F degrees. Grease a 9 x 5-inch loaf pan with non-stick cooking spray.
- In a large bowl or electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Beat in eggs one at a time, incorporating well after each addition. Scrape down sides of bowl as necessary.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, cardamom, cinnamon, ginger, allspice, and salt. Add to the butter mixture and beat gently until just combined. Add bananas, sour cream and vanilla and mix on low speed until just combined. Gently stir in nuts if using.
- Pour batter into prepared loaf pan and bake until deep golden brown and cake tester inserted into center comes out clean, 60-70 minutes. Let rest in pan for about 10 minutes, then turn out onto rack to cool completely. This bread is best enjoyed warm out of the oven or toasted.
- Freezer-Friendly Instructions: The bread can be frozen for up to 3 months. After it is completely cooled, wrap it securely in aluminum foil, freezer wrap or place in a freezer bag. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator before serving.
Nutrition Information
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- Per serving (12 servings)
- Serving size: 1 slice (without nuts)
- Calories: 232
- Fat: 11g
- Saturated fat: 6 g
- Carbohydrates: 32 g
- Sugar: 19 g
- Fiber: 1 g
- Protein: 3 g
- Sodium: 271 mg
- Cholesterol: 56 mg
This website is written and produced for informational purposes only. I am not a certified nutritionist and the nutritional data on this site has not been evaluated or approved by a nutritionist or the Food and Drug Administration. Nutritional information is offered as a courtesy and should not be construed as a guarantee. The data is calculated through an online nutritional calculator, Edamam.com. Although I do my best to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures should be considered estimates only. Varying factors such as product types or brands purchased, natural fluctuations in fresh produce, and the way ingredients are processed change the effective nutritional information in any given recipe. Furthermore, different online calculators provide different results depending on their own nutrition fact sources and algorithms. To obtain the most accurate nutritional information in a given recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe, using your preferred nutrition calculator.
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This banana bread is excellent. Perfect as written. I opted not to add nuts. I might try to reduce the sugar a little next time for a better nutrition profile. Super moist even the next day. I wanted to eat the whole thing myself.
This is the best banana bread I’ve ever had and everyone I feed it to agrees. I already had a garam masala spice mix, so I used that (a lot) and it was perfect. I suggest this for those who don’t normally use or buy a lot of spices, it is sold at most grocery stores. I have made it a few times with both sour cream and Greek yogurt, and the only difference I found was that sour cream gave a better rise. This isn’t my new secret recipe. Thanks!
How do you use garam masala? It doesn’t come out savory? I will have to try that!!
Thanks so much was wondering the same thing…$15 for cardomman spice…no thanks! Have to make it to our local Indian grocery store to see what they have!
Outstanding banana bread, I’m not fond of banana bread, but do love cardamom which I may increase next time. Subtle flavors, soft texture, any time of day delicious.
This was heavenly, even with old cardamon…can’t wait to try it with a new bottle. Added the walnuts which I think are a must, At 55 minutes the top was perfectly browned, but it needed another few minutes, so I covered it with foil. At 60 minutes a perfect bread. Lately, some of my breads have been testing done, but have not been thoroughly baked in the middle,,,why? This has been so frustrating. Saveur is having a contest for the best food blog of 2018. Threw Once Upon a Chef into the mix. Anyone who reads this, go there and make your voice heard!
Hi Carol, Thanks for nominating me on Saveur!! ❤️ Interesting that you’re just recently having a problem with your breads browning on top but not being done in the middle. If this is a new problem, it makes me wonder if you need to check your oven to determine if the temperature is accurate. Here are some tips on how to check it. Also, you may want to try lowering the oven temp by 25 degrees and give it a little more time. (And as you’ve been doing, cover it with a piece of foil if it starts to brown on top before being done in the middle.)
Used an oven thermometer, right on target. The mystery to me is why is my cake tester coming out clean when it’s not done. It’s a skinny skinny metal tester. Is there another kind that you recommend?
Hmmm… that is a bit of a mystery. I don’t really use a thermometer much for baking but I really like this thermometer which can be used for meat and baking.
I made this recipe for me because I love chai tea. My kids ate it all up! We loved the flavor and the texture was perfect.
I’m not a fan of banana anything, but the choice of spices for this recipe made me want to try it. It turned out perfect and friends and family loved it. I’ve already shared the recipe with another friend. The first time through a recipe I make it as directed. When I make it again, I’ll be doubling at least the cardamom. Mine was fresh ground and still very faint to my palate. I recommend it — even this non-banana lover managed a slice!
Best unchocolate banana bread ever. This is my go-to breakfast banana bread. It has a lovely Swedish flavor thanks to the cardamon. I double all the spices to intensify the taste. Rich and moist and keeps well for days. Love it!
(My husband eats it for dessert with whipped cream.)
Hi Jennifer. Denise O’Callaghan here again from South Africa. Do you have a foolproof and fail proof recipe for tiramisu?
Loved your chai banana bread! Banana Bread can be as boring as Carrot Cake sometimes unless there’s a little extra oomph! By the way, how do you keep so slim after testing all those awesome delights? thanks.
Hi Denise, Glad you enjoyed the banana bread! I do have a tiramisu! You can find the recipe here. 🙂
This is, hands down, the best banana bread recipe I’ve ever come across. The flavours and deep and nuanced. The texture is perfect. I’ve made it many times.
This is the best banana bread I have had.
I think the spices really make the bread!
Thank you.
We LOVE this bread. Tonight though I doubled the recipe and used 3/4 cup maple syrup and 3/4 cup sucanat instead of white sugar and used 1-15 oz can of pumpkin instead of banana. YUM! Thanks for a great recipe.
(recipe rated as written originally)
I can’t eat dairy products. Do you think this delicious-sounding banana bread would work with a soured milk substitute, such as coconut milk or almond milk?
Sure, Margaret. But I’d add 2 teaspoons of lemon juice as well.
Thanks. When I want one cup of “sour milk,” I do it by putting a tablespoon of vinegar in the measuring cup, and adding coconut milk to make one cup. Now to try the banana bread!
With a banana-loving kid off to college, I had a chance to make this today. Delicious! But some tips for other bakers:
– I had only salted butter at home, so based on some online research, reduced the salt in recipe by 1/2 tsp. Probably should have been 1tsp after tasting.
– my Cardamom was old! This is a spice I don’t use much. Check yours if you are thinking of making this.
– This overflows a DeMarle scalloped flexi loaf mold. I used the overflow to taste, but could have put it in a mini-load pan.
This is one of my daughter’s favorite, so when she comes to visit I always make it for her. My husband likes it warm with butter, I like it just the way it is warm or cold. This is the only banana bread recipe I use.
This is how banana bread should always taste! My go-to recipe.
Perfect! This recipe is absolutely spot on and the result was an amazingly moist and flavorful tea bread. This is a keeper!
This recipe was so good! I had to make some substitutions (based on what I had available/ wanted to use up). Used half the amount of sugar. Used 4 frozen bananas which I thawed and drained. Used plain natural yogurt made from light milk (ie not full cream) instead of the sour cream. Did not add walnuts.
It was so so tasty. I could probably have added the full cup of sugar and a bit more of the spices because I love chai. What a great recipe, loved it. Thank you for sharing!
Once again, Jenn, you have the BEST recipe for something that I’ve already been making for years! This is an incredible banana bread, and although I didn’t have sour cream on hand, a little splash of buttermilk was a perfect sub. BTW, I was the same gal who raved about your white cupcakes (and asked for your chocolate equivalent which I haven’t made yet) and I would love to send you a photo of what I did at Easter using your recipe! If you send me your email address you can decide if you’d like to share the picture! Thanks again for helping me be a great baker!!!
Whoops – forgot to rate this a 5 out of 5!
So glad you enjoyed the banana bread! And I’d love to see a photo of your Easter recipe- you can email it to jennifer@onceuponachef.com.
This is my favourite banana bread recipe! I want to start making muffins instead. At what temperature should I cook them and for how long?
Hi Kelly, Glad you like it! For muffins, I’d keep the temp the same and bake them for 20 – 25 minutes.
So good! you can also use chai to make a frosting on this or any of her other delicious goods!
Jenn, again another perfect recipe! Thank you for sharing it with us! This bread tastes so good and it’s perfectly soft.
Everyone in the family likes it.
I couldn’t wait to try this mixture of not banana bread and chai spice. I haven’t been disappointed in a recipe so far and this one was no exception. It was perfectly balanced and moist. So yummy!
Made this recipe today. My family loved it. Really nice flavour – even my kids enjoyed. I followed the instructions & was perfect!!! I didn’t add walnuts since our kids aren’t fans at this point :).
Does anyone know if this bread can be frozen? I baked 3 loaves this morning, only to learn that the event I was bringing them to has been postponed by 2 weeks. Thanks in advance! (By the way–this bread is AMAZING! Better than any other banana bread I’ve ever had! I added 1/8 teaspoon of ground cloves–because I always add cloves to my masala chai–but everything else I do as written, and it’s perfection.)
Perfectly fine to freeze — and glad you like it!
Thank you for the kindness of a reply! I truly do love this bread as well as so many other recipes from your site. When people compliment one of my dishes, I often have to direct them to OUAC because it’s usually your doing, not mine. Wishing you even greater success! Iraida
☺️
Great banana bread! The flavor is amazing and next time I will add the optional nuts for texture.
Made this a second time using chopped walnuts. Doubled the recipe, and made into muffins. Yielded 30 muffins.
Hey Jen, love this recipe, but I used butter to grease my tin and unfortunately the whole bottom of the bread stuck. I rested the loaf for 10 mins as suggested. Aside from using spray is there anything else you could suggest to stop it sticking? Thanks!
Hi Louise, sorry to hear the bread stuck to the pan! Did you butter and flour it? If you didn’t use flour as well, I’d suggest that next time (or you could use a cooking spray with flour like this one.
Thanks Jen, will try that! Do you flour the tin after the butter?
Yep!
I had done minicakes with your French apple cake recipe (delicious!) after baking the cake itself multiple times and have done the same with the chai banana bread. One word: amazing. I love making minicakes (with minicupcake or minimuffin tins) because it makes it super easy to bring to work and share without the fuss of cutting. Plus mini cakes also mean more crust! and the crust on this is delicious! If you want to try it as minicakes cut the baking time to 30 min. 1/2 the recipe makes for 18 minicakes.
I finally made this delicious bread after Thanksgiving. It’s moist, nutty and the subtle chai spice flavor is amazing. I used Greek yogurt instead of sour cream mainly because we had some on hand but also for the reduced calories. So good! I will make it again and again — always with Greek yogurt. Thanks for another winning recipe, Jennifer!
HEAVEN on earth!
What more can I say, except….AGAIN another wonderful basic recipe tweaked to a level that makes EVERYONE want the recipe!!
So delicious from oven, cooled (if u can wait) and the next day (but it won’t last). Better double this recipe!!
Would you have any high altitude adjustments or suggestions for this bread? I’m at 8,500 feet.
Thank you! Once Upon a Chef is my absolute favorite and first go-to – never disappoints.
Hi Susan, so glad you enjoy the recipes! I don’t have any experience with high altitute baking but these conversion tips may be helpul. Hope you enjoy the bread!
WOW!! I followed this recipe almost exactly (doubled it to use up my bananas and then made four mini loaves). The flavor is awesome!! The banana flavor is subtle, but definitely there, and melds nicely with all the spices. Mine had flat tops rather than domed ones, but that may be because when my frozen bananas gave off a fair amount of water as they defrosted. I tried to soak it up, but I think next time if I use frozen bananas, I’ll defrost them in a strainer. DEFINITE keeper!!
This is one of the recipes that got me hooked onto Jenn’s website (the first was her cornbread recipe!). Instead of a loaf, I make mini muffins, and I include the chopped walnuts. The bake time is around 13 minutes. The muffins are soft, moist, and have the perfect hint of chai spices.
My mom, who has never had a sweet tooth, always asks me to make these for her and insists that they’re her favourite “in the whole wide world” (her words!). She loves having them for breakfast, while I have them as my mid-morning or afternoon snack. Highly recommended!
I forgot to add that I also half the sugar and find that it’s sweet enough for me!
Excellent and truly delicious variation on a classic sweetbread. It smelled divine while baking and tasted even better. I like to make smaller cakes and give them as gifts. This recipe is just enough to make three smaller breads.
Delicious – served this at a brunch today. Made the batter last nite per one reviewer’s suggestion – great prep ahead! Subbed 1.5 T of cinnamon since I didn’t have cardamon, came out with a chewy exterior and very tender, moist crumb. Awesome recipe, its a keeper! thank you, Jenn!
So glad you enjoyed it, Maria!
I LOVED the Chai Banana Bread. Normally I end up adding more spice to recipes, but no need here. It was perfect!
Amazing!! So moist and flavorful. The absolutely best banana bread I’ve ever made. So looking forward to trying many more of your recipies.
Thanks,
Diana from the other Washington.
I don’t buy sour cream. Would plain or Greek yoghurt work as a substitute?
Hi Nan, Yes, Greek yogurt will work well (but definitely use low fat or full fat).
I just made the Chai-Spiced Banana Bread using pumpkin instead of banana. It turned out delicious. I LOVED the original recipe. This time I had some pumpkin left over and decided to try it. The spices are a bit more delicate, but still super yummy! Thanks again for a great recipe.
Hello,
I am a 8 year old girl who has recently started learning how to program with Scratch. Could I use this Chai Banana Bread recipe in a Scratch how-to? I think it is a very good recipe….my mother makes it for me all the time and I love it 🙂
( http:scratch.mit.edu )
Thanks
-Alison
Sure, Alison. I am so impressed! Good luck 🙂
https://scratch.mit.edu/projects/72357308/
😉
Thanks so much Jennifer!! I was just googling a banana bread recipe, and came upon yours 😀 I am so glad I did, because the flavours are fabulous!! So easy to make, and I can’t wait to try some of your other recipes. I am thinking next time I might try adding raisins, which I think might add a nice texture (I did not add walnuts), what do you think?
Hi Laura, I think raisins would be delicious. Please let me know how it turns out 🙂
I was curious as to the average calories in a slice of this banana bread? Btw I already made it and it tasted amazing. thank you!!
Hi Faith, So glad you enjoyed the banana bread. I’ve added the nutritional info beneath the recipe. Hope it helps!
Well Jenn, I finally bought the “right” kind of green cardamom and made your great chai banana bread last night. Perfect! Many thanks!
This banana bread is fantastic! I gave it a try because Chai tea latte was one of my favorite drinks and normal plain banana bread wasn’t my favorite, I’m glad I made this one! Very nicely spiced flavor and it wasn’t too much at all. My picky 2 year old (BTW, is there any two year old out there who’s not a picky eater ?) loved this bread, too!
I made this batter a day before and kept in the air tight container in the fridge, then baked the next morning for breakfast. I like freshly baked ones but never have enough time to make from the beginning in the morning, so I tried doing this way and it turned out just as good. Also I baked in the muffin pan to reduce baking time (it took about 20 mins), it made 12 regular sized muffins. Thanks for great recipe!
OH MY GOODNESSSSS! I made this in muffin form today and it was AMAZING! I used 3/4 cup of granulated sugar as opposed to 1 cup and didnt use cardamom since I didnt have it. Sooooo good with walnuts. I had a question though. Can I refurgerate, freeze these or store at room temp? Again thanks. Made this for my son and my friend’s elderly father. They were a hit!
Hi Linda, Store the muffins at room temperature; or they freeze beautifully.
AMAZING. Normally I carefully convert US measures to metric and weight things out gram by gram, but I just winged it and the result was perfect. Will be making this again!
I’ve made 4 of the very top-rated banana bread recipes, and this one was my personal favorite. It’s still good with cinnamon only, and tastes more like a traditional banana bread. It’s also very forgiving and you can use melted butter and it will STILL turn out amazing and moist. Thank you for this. I love your blog and none of your recipes have failed me so far.
This Chai Spiced Banana Bread is the best! I have a work friend who begs me to make it as often as I can! It is such a simple and delicious bread. I made it one morning before work. I pre-mixed the dry ingredients and had all the wet measured out and in the fridge. It worked out nicely baking while I was showering for work.
I have made it with butter and margarine (I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter) and it works with either. The margarine actually made it taller and fluffier.
One of the best on the site!
I was a little hesitant to buy the spices necessary to bake this until I found all in the bulk section at our local health food store. I purchased only the amounts I needed and it was very economical. The bread was absolutely delicious! Will be baking again and again!
This banana bread recipe looks great…how can I make it gluten free?
Thanks
Cynthia
Hi Cynthia, You’d have to use a gluten free flour mix.
Can you suggest ingredients for a complementary glaze for this loaf? I love to bake quick bread in small loves to give as gifts and love the decorative look of a glaze drizzled on top. Thanks!!
Hi Gina, Check out the glaze on my cinnamon buns or oatmeal maple scones — I think either will work well.