Brown Butter Banana Bread

This Brown Butter Banana Bread recipe takes a regular banana bread recipe to a even more delicious level…just by browning the butter!

It creates an ultra moist banana bread with a buttery rich caramelized flavor. It is so delicious and also super easy to make!

Making banana bread with brown butter

This is my personal favorite banana bread recipe and it is the one I make over and over again in my kitchen.

Once you start making banana bread with brown butter, there is really no turning back.

Brown butter simply means slowly browning butter under low heat on a skillet until brown specs are formed (and right before it burns).

By browning butter, we are reducing the moisture in the butter so that solids in the butter caramelized, creating a complex, toasty and nutty flavor.

Brown butter is commonly used in gourmet cooking and baking. It pairs well with both sweet and savory dishes. Some of my favorites include Brown Butter Sage Pasta and Brown Butter Rice Krispie Treats.

Because of the magic of brown butter, this banana bread recipe is rich, incredibly moist, with a hint of caramel and brown sugar flavor.

We combine the power of browned butter with sweetness of ripe bananas and touches of warm vanilla…and the product is simply out-of-this-world magical.

Lastly, don’t let the thought of browning butter scare you! It is a fairly straight forward process, and only takes a couple of extra minutes. It is well worth the effort, I promise!

Ingredients

Here is the short list of ingredients you will need to make this brown butter banana bread recipe:

• ripe bananas – it is important to use bananas that are ripe-to-overripe because they are the sweetest and moist. If your bananas are not ripe, try this oven method to ripen bananas quickly before mashing it and using it in this recipe. I like to also top my banana bread with bananas so that you can actually bite into chunks of bananas that aren’t meshed up. Yum!
• butter – you will be melting butter and browning it…more to that in the instructions. I prefer to use unsalted butter so we can control the salt content. We will be adding more salt to this bread, so if you are using salted butter, reduce the amount of salt in the recipe.
• granulated sugar – plain white granulated sugar is used to sweeten this banana bread other than the natural sweetness from ripe bananas.
• eggs – this helps bind the bread and bring everything together.
• vanilla extract – use pure vanilla extract for best taste.
• flour – all purpose flour is used in this recipe.
• baking soda – a rising agent that gives banana bread it’s traditional quick bread texture
• salt – a pinch of salt helps open up the flavors of whatever you are baking.

How to make it

We are making the BEST brown butter banana bread, and it starts by browning the butter.  This can be done a few hours ahead or even a day before making the banana bread if you choose to do so.

Use a stainless steel or light colored skillet to brown the butter. You’ll want to be able to see the process of the butter browning, so avoid using a dark colored skillet.

How to brown butter

1. Melt cubes of unsalted butter in skillet under low heat.
2. Let butter melt and come to a gentle boil.
3. Butter will transition through several different phases. First you will see white foam bubbling up on the surface, then light brown specs will build up at the bottom of the skillet.
4. Those light brown specs will turn darker. We want to avoid burning the butter, and that happens when the dark brown specs turn black in color. You’ll know it’s done when you smell a toasted, nutty scent. That’s when you’ll want to remove from heat immediately. The smell typically surfaces when when the specs are dark brown.

Banana Bread Mixture

Bring together the wet ingredients for the batter by combining brown butter (along with the brown specs, because that’s where all the flavor is!) with sugar, eggs, vanilla extract, and smashed bananas. 

After mixing the wet ingredients, bring in the dry ingredients including flour, baking soda and salt, and mix everything together.

If you have a stand mixer or hand mixer, it does help make this whole process much quicker and with less efforts, but you can make brown butter banana bread without them very easily too.

Once the batter is mixed together and there are no more clumps, pour that yummy batter into a greased 9’x5′ loaf pan.

Slice another ripe bananas lengthwise and place it the top of the batter to give the brown butter banana bread more chunky banana flavor – I love biting into the banana chunks!

Bake it in the oven for one hour at 350℉, and you’ll have yourself the dreamiest loaf of brown butter banana bread.

After baking, brown butter banana bread should be removed from the loaf tin and allow to come to a cool on a wire rack, either partially or entirely before slicing.

Serving and storage Instructions

Banana bread is best served warm. Serve with softened or honey-butter, nut butters or your favorite fruit preserves. Highly recommend a cup of hot coffee or tea with it as well!

To store: wrap banana bread in plastic wrap or aluminum foil after it comes to a complete cool. Keep in room temperature up to 3 days, or refrigerator up to 7 days.

Variations

Here are a few ingredients to add to jazz up your brown butter banana bread:

• chocolate chips or chocolate chunks
• nuts such as walnuts or pecans
• spices such as cinnamon or cardamom

Tips and Tricks

• Use Overripe Bananas: The best banana bread starts with overripe bananas. The more ripe and blackened your bananas are, the more pronounced the banana flavor will be in the bread.
• Browning Butter Techniques: Brown butter is essentially butter that has been slowly melted, causing the milk fats to brown and create a nutty aroma and flavor. Be sure to do this on low heat and constantly stir the butter to prevent it from burning. When it starts to smell nutty and turns a caramel color, it’s done.
• Don’t Overmix the Batter: Avoid overmixing your batter as it develops gluten in the flour and can result in a tougher bread. Mix only until the ingredients are combined.
• Test for Doneness: To check if the bread is done, insert a toothpick or a skewer into the center. If it comes out clean, or only with a few crumbs but no batter, your banana bread is done.
• Cool Completely: Allow your banana bread to cool completely in the pan on a wire rack. This will make it easier to slice and serve, as well as help with the overall texture and flavor development.

Frequently Asked Questions

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