Brown Butter Banana Bread
Every slice of this brown butter banana bread features a moist crumb, banana flavor, and rich, nutty notes. This easy recipe requires no special equipment, and the brown butter elevates it into a bakery-worthy treat!
Equipment
Ingredients
Banana Bread Batter
- 12 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour *See notes below for measuring*
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 3/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 1/2 cups mashed ripe banana about 3-4 bananas
- 1/2 cup light or dark brown sugar packed
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs room temperature
- 1/3 cup sour cream room temperature
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
Brown Butter Glaze
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 3 tablespoons reserved melted brown butter from above
- 2 tablespoons whole milk
- 1/4 teaspoons vanilla extract
Instructions
- Before you start. Preheat the oven to 350 F/180 C. Line a metal 9x5 loaf pan with parchment paper to hang over both sides.
- Brown the butter. Cook the butter in a stainless steel pan until it smells nutty and has amber-colored milk solids. Immediately scrape the browned butter into a heatproof bowl, reserving 3 tablespoons for the glaze. Chill the remaining brown butter in the freezer while measuring the other ingredients (aim for warm but not scalding hot butter for the batter).
- Whisk together the dry ingredients. Whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon. Set aside.
- Whisk together the wet ingredients. Whisk together the mashed banana, brown sugar, and granulated sugar. Then whisk in the eggs, sour cream, vanilla extract, and brown butter.
- Whisk the wet and dries together. Whisk the dries into the wet until just combined.
- Bake the banana bread. Pour the batter into the prepared loaf pan and drag a butterknife through the center in a straight line. Bake for 50-60 minutes, or until a skewer inserted into the center comes out covered in a few moist crumbs.
- Cool the loaf. Let the pan cool on a wire cooling rack for 20 minutes, then lift the parchment to remove it from the pan. Let it continue cooling completely on the rack while you make the glaze.
- Make the brown butter icing. Whisk together the powdered sugar, reserved brown butter (if it has solidified, gently warm it in the microwave for 10-20 seconds until liquid), milk, and vanilla extract until smooth.
- Pour the icing over the banana bread. Once completely cool, pour the brown butter glaze over the loaf. Let the glaze set for 15-20 minutes, then cut into 9-10 slices with a serrated knife. Enjoy!
- You can add 1/2 cup of chocolate chips or chopped nuts to the batter before baking if desired! Store leftover slices in an airtight container for up to 1 week in the fridge. If stored at room temperature, the glaze will start to melt after 1-2 days which is why I recommend storing it in the fridge. To freeze, wrap each slice in plastic wrap then store them in an airtight container in the freezer for up to 1 month.
Video
Notes
*Measure your dry ingredients properly. This is my #1 baking tip! Do not ever scoop a measuring cup into your flour as this always leads to using too much flour. Instead, use the spoon-level method. This means fluffing the flour first, then spooning it into your measuring cup/spoon. For the BEST results, use a kitchen scale!*
Use ripe bananas. Aim for them to be brown and spotted, but not black and mushy.
Make the brown butter head of time.You can make it up to 5 days in advance and store it in the fridge. When you are ready to use it, gently warm it in the microwave for 30-60 seconds until melted.
