Brown Butter Banana Bread Recipe

Ingredients

• 8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 cup white whole wheat flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon Diamond Crystal kosher salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/8 teaspoon ground allspice
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• ~5 tablespoons dark brown sugar, packed
• 4 large, very ripe bananas, mashed well
• 3 large eggs
• 1/2 cup full-fat plain Greek yogurt
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 3/4 cup toasted walnuts, chopped (optional)
• Turbinado sugar, for topping (optional)

Brown the Butter

First, preheat your oven to 350F and grease a 9×5 inch loaf pan.

Melt the butter in a light-colored saucepan over medium heat. Continue to cook, swirling the pan frequently, until the milk solids at the bottom turn a deep brown and the butter smells intensely nutty. This should take ~5-7 minutes.

Immediately pour the browned butter into a small bowl to stop the cooking process. Let it cool slightly.

Mix the Batter

In a large bowl, whisk together both flours, the baking soda, salt, all the spices, and both sugars.

In a separate medium bowl, whisk together the mashed bananas, eggs, Greek yogurt, and vanilla extract. Stir in the slightly cooled brown butter.

Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients. Use a rubber spatula to fold everything together until just combined. A lumpy batter is what you want; do not overmix. If using, fold in the toasted walnuts.

Bake the Bread

Scrape the batter into your prepared loaf pan and spread the top evenly. If you want a crunchy top, sprinkle it generously with turbinado sugar.

Bake for 55-65 minutes. A toothpick inserted into the center should come out clean or with a few moist crumbs attached. If the top is browning too quickly, tent it loosely with foil for the last 10-15 minutes of baking.

Let the bread cool in the pan for at least 20 minutes before turning it out onto a wire rack to cool completely. The flavor is even better the next day.

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Brown Butter Banana Bread

This isn’t your average banana bread. Browning the butter is the key step that adds a deep, nutty flavor, and a mix of flours gives it a more complex character without being heavy. The final texture is incredibly moist, almost custardy.

Prep Time 20 minutes minutes

Cook Time 1 hour hour 5 minutes minutes

Cooling Time 1 hour hour

Total Time 2 hours hours 25 minutes minutes

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Ingredients

• 8 tablespoons unsalted butter 1 stick
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 cup white whole wheat flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon Diamond Crystal kosher salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/8 teaspoon ground allspice
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• ~5 tablespoons dark brown sugar packed
• 4 large very ripe bananas, mashed well
• 3 large eggs
• 1/2 cup full-fat plain Greek yogurt
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 3/4 cup toasted walnuts optional, chopped
• Turbinado sugar optional, for topping

Method

• Preheat oven to 350F. Grease 9×5 inch loaf pan.
• Brown butter in light-colored saucepan over medium heat until deep brown and nutty, 5-7 minutes. Pour into bowl to cool.
• Whisk flours, baking soda, salt, spices, and sugars in large bowl.
• Whisk mashed bananas, eggs, yogurt, and vanilla in separate bowl. Stir in cooled brown butter.
• Fold wet ingredients into dry until just combined. Fold in walnuts if using.
• Pour batter into pan. Sprinkle with turbinado sugar if desired.
• Bake 55-65 minutes until toothpick comes out clean. Tent with foil if browning too quickly.
• Cool in pan 20 minutes, then remove to wire rack to cool completely.

Notes

Flavor improves next day.

Do not overmix batter – some lumps are good.