This brown butter banana bread features a soft crumb and ultra-moist texture with rich, nutty brown butter flavor. The caramelized brown butter enhances the natural sweetness of overripe bananas in the best way. If you love classic banana bread, this version takes it to the next level. You only need three overripe bananas!
Pro Tip: Use sour cream or Greek yogurt—it adds moisture and balances the richness of the brown butter, making the softest banana bread you’ll ever bake!
Table of Contents
The base of this recipe comes from my favorite classic banana bread recipe, the same one I use for Nutella banana bread and apple banana bread. It’s a tried-and-true recipe you can print, get dirty, and pass on to your family for years. You may even memorize it.
Why Use Brown Butter in Banana Bread?
By toasting the milk solids in the butter, we pull out even more nutty, caramel-like flavors that make this banana bread unforgettable. Dare I say this is the best banana bread recipe? Maybe even better than the original?
Why You’ll Love this Brown Butter Banana Bread
- One-bowl recipe – No hand mixer needed!
- Deep, nutty brown butter flavor – A game-changer in banana bread.
- Perfectly moist and tender – Thanks to ripe bananas and sour cream.
- Customizable – Add nuts, chocolate chips, or even a cinnamon swirl!
- Freezes beautifully – Great for meal prep and make-ahead baking.
Love brown butter? Try brown butter oatmeal cookies, brown butter blueberry coffee cake, and brown butter toffee cookies.
Ingredients You Need
Here’s what you’ll need for this easy banana bread recipe. Skip to the recipe card for exact measurements.
- Bananas: use ripe bananas that are brown are brown and spotty for sweeter flavor.
- Unsalted butter: using unsalted butter let’s you control the amount of salt in the recipe. Use quality butter for best results.
- Flour: all-purpose flour or 1:1 gluten-free flour (like Bob’s Red Mill) work well.
- Baking soda and baking powder: the mixture of baking soda and baking powder help the banana bread rise. Make sure they’re not expired!
- Salt and vanilla extract: for flavor.
- Brown sugar: you can use light brown sugar or dark brown sugar, which plays well with the rich flavors of the butter.
- Granulated sugar: for more sweetness
- Eggs: to bind the bread together. I’ve swapped these for 1/2 cup of applesauce and it worked well.
- Sour cream: the acid in sour cream brings moisture back into the bread that was lost when browning the butter. Because sour cream is a good substitute for yogurt in baking, you can also use plain yogurt here.
📌 Tip: Weigh your bananas for accuracy! 1 ½ cups mashed = ~345g.
How to Make Brown Butter Banana Bread
Here are the simple steps, with photos, to make this caesar salad chicken pasta. Skip to the recipe card for the printable version.
Step 1: Brown the Butter
Slice butter into equal pieces for even melting. Heat it over medium heat, in a small saucepan. Around 5 minutes in, the milk solids will toast, turning a golden brown color and smelling nutty and caramelized.
Step 2: Mix Dry Ingredients
Whisk together flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl.
Step 3: Mix Wet Ingredients
Mash bananas and measure 1 ½ cups (345g) into a large bowl. Stir in brown butter, eggs, sour cream, both sugars, and vanilla extract.
Step 4: Combine & Bake
Gently mix the dry ingredients into the banana mixture until just combined. Pour the batter into a greased 9x 5-inch loaf pan. Bake at 350°F for 50-60 minutes, until the top is golden brown and a toothpick comes out clean.
Ripen Bananas Quickly
No ripe bananas? No problem! Try these quick ripening methods:
🔥 20-minute method: Bake unpeeled bananas at 250°F for 20 minutes.
📦 Overnight method: Place bananas in a paper bag with an apple to speed up ripening.
FAQs and Quick Tips
Browning butter toasts the milk solids, creating a deep, nutty aroma and richer flavor.
Overmixing the batter develops too much gluten, making the bread dense and gummy. Stir until just combined!
The best bananas for banana bread are deeply spotted and fragrant. If they’re completely black and smell fermented, they may be too far gone.
If it’s gooey, it’s underbaked! Stick a toothpick in the center—it should come out with just a few moist crumbs.
How to Store & Freeze Banana Bread
Room Temperature: Store in an airtight container for up to 2 days.
Fridge: Keeps fresh for up to 5 days.
Freezer: Wrap tightly and freeze for up to 4 months. Thaw overnight and warm before serving.
More Banana Bread Recipes
If you love this recipe, leave a ⭐️ star rating below and tag me on Instagram so I can see! Happy baking! 🍌
Brown Butter Banana Bread
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Ingredients
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter cut into equal slices
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 1/2 cups very ripe mashed bananas (about 3 large bananas) plus an additional banana for topping
- 2 large eggs
- 1/4 cup sour cream or greek yogurt
- 1/4 cup of granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup light brown sugar packed
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Spray a 9×5-inch loaf pan with nonstick spray and line the center with a piece of parchment paper.
- Brown the butter: Melt butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Swirl to melt and continue to stir until it bubbles and foams. Some bubbles will subside around the 5-minutes and the milk solids will toast and turn a golden brown. It should smell buttery and nutty. Immediately remove it from the heat to a separate bowl.1/2 cup unsalted butter
- Mix dry ingredients: while the butter is cooling, whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl and set aside.2 cups all-purpose flour, 1/2 teaspoon baking soda, 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder, 1/2 teaspoon salt
- Combine wet ingredients: Mash the banana with a fork and measure out 1 1/2 cups or weight (345g) it for best results. Mix it with the brown butter, eggs, sour cream, granulated sugar, brown sugar, and vanilla. and whisk well until combined and all of the lumps are gone. It's okay to have some lumps of bananas.1 1/2 cups very ripe mashed bananas, 2 large eggs, 1/4 cup sour cream or greek yogurt, 1/4 cup of granulated sugar, 1/2 cup light brown sugar, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Combine the batter: Stir the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients and use a wooden spoon or spatula to mix until completely combined. Be careful not to over mix.
- Bake: Pour the batter into the prepared loaf pan. Slice another ripe banana down the center lengthwise and add it to the top. Bake in the preheated oven for 50-60 minutes, until the top and sides are golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with a few moist crumbs. Tent with aluminum foil if it looks to brown.
- Cool and serve: Allow the bread to cool in the loaf pan for 15 minutes. Use the parchment paper to pull it out of the pan then transfer it to a wire rack to cool completely. Slice and serve plain or with butter.
Notes
Video
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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I’ve made this several times now and it always turns out perfectly. Recipe is easy and delicious!
So glad you love it Hannah. Thanks!
I just made this and it was so good!! I almost didn’t make it since I love my banana bread recipe but, the brown butter got to me. Thank you!!
So glad you liked it, Diane!
The best banana bread recipe I’ve tried! The whole house always smells amazing after baking it and no crumbs are left behind!
Thank you, Lisa!! Such a compliment!