Brown butter banana bread loaf sliced on a wooden board

Brown Butter Banana Bread

Ultra-moist, caramel-rich banana bread with a crackly top and tender crumb. Browned butter gives this loaf a deeper, nuttier flavor without adding complexity.

Yield1 loaf
Prep15 min
Bake55–65 min
DifficultyBeginner

Ingredients

  • 300g very ripe bananas • 1¼ cups
  • 113g unsalted butter • ½ cup
  • 150g light brown sugar • ¾ cup
  • 100g large eggs • 2 large
  • 60g sour cream or Greek yogurt • ¼ cup
  • 5g vanilla extract • 1 tsp
  • 210g all-purpose flour • 1¾ cups
  • 5g baking soda • 1 tsp
  • 4g fine sea salt • ¾ tsp
  • 3g ground cinnamon • 1 tsp

Optional Mix-Ins

  • 113g chopped walnuts or pecans • ¾ cup
  • 113g semisweet chocolate chips • ¾ cup

Method

  1. Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C) and line a 9x5-inch loaf pan.
  2. Brown the butter until golden and nutty. Cool for 10 minutes.
  3. Mash bananas, then whisk with brown butter, sugar, eggs, sour cream, and vanilla.
  4. Whisk flour, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon separately.
  5. Fold dry into wet just until combined. Add mix-ins if using.
  6. Bake 55 to 65 minutes, tenting lightly if the top darkens too fast.
  7. Cool 15 minutes in the pan, then fully on a rack before slicing.

Henry's Tip

Mostly black bananas are the sweet spot. If yours aren't ready, bake them unpeeled at 300°F (150°C) for 15 to 20 minutes until the skins darken, then cool and mash.
pantry.bakinggreatbread.com/recipes/banana-bread/one-sheet