We love the rich, toasty, caramel flavor of this brown butter banana bread! It’s become my favorite banana bread recipe; we just can’t get enough of its soft, moist texture and delicious flavor!
Brown Butter makes the Best Banana Bread
Lately I’ve been making this brown butter banana bread instead of my usual Banana Bread recipe and I have no regrets. Brown butter lends a rich, nutty, toffee-like flavor to this banana bread. If you’ve never browned butter don’t worry, I’ll teach you how! It’s so simple and takes just an extra two minutes or so after you melt the butter.
I love this brown butter banana bread for breakfast, a snack, or even dessert! It has the best soft, moist texture. Sometimes I add chocolate chips or toasted walnuts to the batter, but most of the time I enjoy this banana bread as is. It really doesn’t need any extras!
How to Brown Butter
- To brown butter, start by melting the butter in a pan on the stove over medium heat. I recommend using a light colored pan, so that you can easily see when the butter has browned.
- After the butter has melted, you will start to see the white milk solids separate from the butter.
- Stir or whisk the butter constantly as you continue heating it. You will begin to see brown flecks in the butter. As soon as you see lots of browned bits of butter on the bottom of the pan and smell the browned butter’s toasted, nutty aroma, immediately remove the pan from the heat, then continue stirring for 30 seconds. Butter can go from browned to burnt very quickly. Your sense of smell is the best way to tell when it’s done.
- When you transfer the brown butter to your mixing bowl, be sure to scrape in the brown butter solids as well. That’s where the best flavor is!
I LOVE this recipe! The brown butter just makes it so good. Last time I made it as muffins (the recipe made 12 muffins) and baked for about 20-25 minutes and they were delicious.
Marisa
Brown Butter Banana Bread Ingredients
How to Make Brown Butter Banana Bread
Here’s an overview of the recipe steps. Find the full recipe with ingredient amounts in the recipe card below.
I always recommend mixing the batter for quick breads, such as banana bread, and muffins by hand. Using an electric mixer could create a dense or spongy bread. Mixing by hand will give you the best texture!
Brown the butter. Melt the butter in a pan on the stove, then continue whisking until brown flecks appear and the butter smells nutty and toasted.
Make the batter. Whisk together the mashed banana, brown sugar and brown butter. Then whisk in the egg and vanilla. Add the cinnamon, baking soda and salt to the bowl and whisk until well combined. It’s important to mix well at this point so you don’t end up with any clumps of baking soda in the batter. Finally, gently mix in the flour using a rubber spatula, just until combined.
Bake the banana bread at 350° F for 45-55 minutes, until a tester inserted in the center comes out clean. Let the bread cool in the pan for 15 minutes and then remove it to a wire rack to cool completely.
Recipe Tips
- Use very ripe, brown-spotted bananas for the best banana bread flavor. Extra-ripe bananas add more sweetness and a richer flavor.
- Watch the butter carefully and stir constantly as you brown it. As soon as you see brown flecks and smell a nutty, toasted aroma, remove the pan from the heat and continue stirring for 30 more seconds to prevent burning.
- Don’t over-mix when mixing in the flour. Mix just until the flour is incorporated. The batter may be lumpy.
- Be careful to not over-bake your banana bread. It’s done when a tester inserted into the center of the loaf comes out with a few moist crumbs attached. You can cover the banana bread after 35-40 minutes to prevent the top from over-browning.
- You can make this brown butter banana bread with whole wheat flour, all-purpose flour, or a combination of the two.
More Quick Bread Recipes:
Brown Butter Banana Bread
Ingredients
- ⅓ cup unsalted butter
- 1 ½ cups mashed ripe banana, about 4 medium bananas
- ½ cup light brown sugar
- 1 egg
- 1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 ½ cups white whole wheat flour, or all-purpose flour
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350° F. Spray a 9 x 5-inch (or 8.5 x 4.5-inch) loaf pan with baking spray (I used coconut oil spray) or grease with butter.
- Brown the butter: Melt the butter in a small saucepan over medium-low heat. Bring to a low boil, stirring constantly with a rubber spatula. Continue stirring until the butter turns golden and small brown flecks appear. Be careful to watch the butter closely as it can go from browned to burnt quickly. Immediately remove the pan from the heat and continue stirring for 30 seconds longer. Set aside to cool slightly.
- In a large mixing bowl, combine the mashed banana, brown sugar and brown butter. Whisk until well combined. Whisk in the egg and vanilla.
- Add the cinnamon, baking soda and salt to the bowl and whisk until well combined.
- Add the flour and stir with a rubber spatula until just combined. Pour the batter into the prepared baking pan.
- Bake for 45-55 minutes, until a tester inserted in the center comes out clean. (Try not to over-bake.) Let bread cool in the pan for 15 minutes and then remove to a wire rack to cool completely.
Notes
- Use very ripe bananas for the most sweetness and the best banana bread flavor.
- Check on the banana bread after 35-40 minutes and cover it loosely with foil if needed to prevent the top from over-browning.
- Recipe update 9/28/24: This recipe used to call for 1/4 teaspoon of ground nutmeg but I have since omitted it because I prefer the flavor of this banana bread without nutmeg.
I originally shared this recipe in June 2013. Post updated January 2019 and January 2025.
Brilliant touch using brown butter!
Great recipe! The taste of nutmeg really comes through! The use of brown butter (ghee as we call it in India) is interesting!
I’m so glad you enjoyed this bread, Deepa! Thanks for taking the time to let me know!
Banana bread is a classic! Love the idea of changing it up a bit! Pinning!
Thanks, Karly! The brown butter adds another flavor dimension!
In the instructions it says to add cloves but in the list of ingredients it doesn’t list cloves (?) What kind of cloves are supposed to be added? I already put everything together & I don’t have any cloves. (Yikes! Now what?)
Also, are you using a 9×5 bread pan?
Thank you for catching that! I updated this recipe a while back and took the cloves out of the ingredients, but forgot to remove them from the instructions. It’s delicious without the cloves. 🙂 Yes, I use a 9×5-inch bread pan.
Moist and full of banana spice flavors, this bread is a tasty addition to breakfast.
Is using bread flour making a big difference in the texture?
It shouldn’t make too much of a difference.
I LOVE this recipe! The brown butter just makes it so good. Last time I made it as muffins (the recipe made 12 muffins) and baked for about 20-25 minutes and they were delicious.