Last Updated on June 1, 2025 by Nico
Ready in under 1 hour, this sourdough discard banana bread is delicious and simple to make. Sourdough discard is combined with overripe bananas, honey, vanilla, and a few other ingredients to create healthy and tasty banana bread.
When you’re first starting your sourdough starter, it can feel wasteful to discard half of the flour and water mixture every day.
But there are plenty of delicious ways to use sourdough discard instead of tossing it into the garbage. And one way is to make this sourdough discard banana bread. (You could also try this naturally sweetened sourdough discard apple cake or make these sourdough banana muffins using discard.)
Remember – if you’re sensitive to gluten, sourdough discard recipes might not be the best fit for you. This is because sourdough discard does not have the full fermentation benefits as mature sourdough starter.
But you can still avoid wasting discard by making sourdough discard recipes for your loved ones if they do not have a sensitivity. And in my experience a sourdough starter only takes about 5 days to get up and running. While you wait, you can peruse what you will make once your starter is mature
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Ingredients
Dry Ingredients:
Organic all purpose flour
Baking soda
Pinch of salt
Wet Ingredients:
Sourdough discard – you can substitute mature sourdough starter as well.
To learn how to long ferment this recipe, see instructions under FAQ
Ripe and browning bananas
Eggs
Honey – raw and local if possible!
Vanilla – a splash
Butter
Coconut sugar – brown sugar as works
For complete measurements, see the printable recipe card below.
Instructions
Pre-heat your over to 350 degrees Fahrenheit or 180 degrees Celsius.
Grease your baking tin with butter or coconut oil.
Use a fork to mash the bananas.
Combine flour, baking soda, and salt.
Cream together room temperature butter and coconut sugar. Brown sugar would also work.
One by one, add the eggs into the butter and sugar mixture.
Using a wooden spoon, mix the sourdough discard into the eggs, butter, and sugar.
Finally, add the honey to the other wet ingredients and combine well.
Next, slowly incorporate the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients.
Add the mashed bananas into the sourdough discard banana bread batter until just combined.
Add the mixture into your loaf tin. You can slice a banana length-wise and add it to the top of the batter to make the bread a little special!
Pop your tin into the oven and bake for about 45 minutes. I like to dip a knife into the centre of the bread after it has been baking for 35 minutes to make sure it’s not already finished.
Once it’s baked, pull it out and let it sit for about 30 minutes. This is the goal anyway, but I do not usually wait so long!
You can sprinkle cinnamon on the top of the loaf after it comes out of the oven if you like the taste as well.
Slice, and enjoy!
How To Enjoy This Recipe
My favourite way is straight out of the oven with lots butter.
If you’ve had it on your counter for a few days, you could put a slice into the oven for 5-7 minutes until it is slightly toasted, and then add butter and peanut butter to the top.
Or if you are craving something sweeter, once the bread is toasted and you’ve added butter, you could sprinkle cinnamon and sugar on top!
Variation Ideas
Peanut butter: You could add about 1/3 cup of peanut butter to the batter to make this a banana peanut butter bread.
Nuts and seeds: You can add 1/3 cup of any nuts or seeds of your choice. Pumpkin seeds, sesame seeds, or chopped walnuts are all delicious choices. But anything would work.
Chocolate chips or chunks: Of course you can toss in 1/3 cup of chocolate chips to the batter to sweeten up the bread if you like!
FAQ
Yes there are two options.
1. You can simply substitute the 1 cup of sourdough discard for 1 cup of active starter and bake right away.
2. Or you can long ferment the banana bread. To do this, combine the honey, sourdough starter, butter, and flour in a bowl. Cover the bowl and let it sit out on the counter for 12-24 hours.
The next day add the remaining ingredients and bake.
Sourdough starter and sourdough discard use the same ingredients – flour and water. The difference is that a mature sourdough starter has more wild yeast than a new sourdough starter. Sourdough discard is generated as you build up a mature starter. Especially on days 0-3 a new starter has less wild yeast than a mature starter does, which means that it will have less power to rise baking applications like bread.
It will last about 4 days in an airtight container on the counter.
Yes. It will last about 5 months in an airtight container in the freezer.
Try These Other Simple Sourdough Discard Recipes
Crunchy Sourdough Discard Granola
The Simplest Einkorn Banana Bread
Dark Chocolate Chip Sourdough Oatmeal Cookies
Naturally Sweetened Sourdough Apple Muffins
Simple Sourdough Starter Pancakes
Easy and Delicious Sourdough Discard Apple Cake Recipe
If you make this recipe and enjoy it, please consider giving it 5 stars. Find me on Instagram @documentingsimpleliving and show me what you’ve made!
Quick & Tasty Sourdough Discard Banana Bread
delicious and simple to make. Sourdough discard is combined with
overripe bananas, honey, vanilla, and a few other ingredients to create healthy and tasty banana bread.
Ingredients
Method
- Pre-heat your over to 350 degrees Fahrenheit or 180 degrees Celsius.
- Grease your baking tin with butter or coconut oil.
- Use a fork to mash the bananas – set aside.
- Combine flour, baking soda, and salt.
- Cream together room temperature butter and coconut sugar. Brown sugar would also work.
- Add the eggs into the butter and sugar mixture, one-by-one.
- Using a wooden spoon, mix the sourdough discard into the eggs, butter, and sugar.
- Add the honey to the other wet ingredients and combine well.
- Slowly incorporate the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients.
- Add the mashed bananas into the sourdough discard banana bread batter until just combined.
- Add the mixture into your loaf tin. You can slice a banana length-wise and add it to the top of the batter to make the bread a little special!
- Bake for about 45 minutes.
- Optional – you can sprinkle cinnamon on the top of the loaf after it comes out of the oven if you like the flavour.
- Slice, and enjoy!
Nutrition
Video
Notes
chocolate chips to the batter to sweeten up the bread if you like! FAQ How Long Does Sourdough Discard Banana Bread Last? It will last about 4 days in an airtight container on the counter. Can I Freeze Sourdough Discard Banana Bread? Yes. It will last about 5 months in an airtight container in the freezer. Can I Use Mature Starter To Make This Banana Bread? Yes there are two options. 1. You can simply substitute the 1 cup of sourdough discard for 1 cup of active starter and bake right away. 2. You can long ferment the banana bread. To do this, combine the
honey, sourdough starter, butter, and flour in a bowl. Cover the bowl
and let it sit out on the counter for 12-24 hours. The next day add the remaining ingredients and bake. What Is The Difference Between Sourdough Starter And Discard? Sourdough starter and sourdough discard use the same ingredients – flour and water. The difference is that a mature sourdough starter has more wild yeast than a new sourdough starter. Sourdough discard is generated as you build up a mature starter. Especially on days 0-3 a new starter has less wild yeast than a mature starter does, which means that it will have less power to rise baking applications like bread.
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