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Brown Butter Banana Bread

Brown butter banana bread with deep caramelized butter flavor and moist banana crumb. Baked until a toothpick comes out clean and finished with optional coarse sugar for a lightly crisp top.
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Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 1 hour
cooling 10 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 30 minutes
Servings: 10 servings
Course: Breakfast, Snack
Cuisine: American
Calories: 340
Ingredients Equipment Method Notes

Ingredients
  

unsalted butter
  • 0.5 cup unsalted butter brown until golden with nutty aroma
ripe bananas
  • 3 ripe bananas mashed
all-purpose flour
  • 2 cup all-purpose flour
baking soda
  • 1 tsp baking soda
baking powder
  • 0.5 tsp baking powder
salt
  • 0.5 tsp salt
ground cinnamon
  • 1 tsp ground cinnamon
ground nutmeg
  • 0.5 tsp ground nutmeg
light brown sugar
  • 0.75 cup light brown sugar
granulated sugar
  • 0.25 cup granulated sugar
large eggs
  • 2 large eggs
vanilla extract
  • 2 tsp vanilla extract
sour cream
  • 0.5 cup sour cream
chopped toasted walnuts
  • 0.5 cup chopped toasted walnuts optional
coarse sugar
  • 2 tbsp coarse sugar optional

Equipment

  • 1 sheet pan
  • 1 cast iron skillet
  • 1 Dutch oven

Method
 

Prep and brown the butter
  1. Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C).
  2. Grease a 9×5-inch loaf pan and line with parchment paper.
  3. Melt the butter in a saucepan over medium heat until golden brown with a nutty aroma, about 5–8 minutes.
  4. Cool the browned butter for 10 minutes.
Mix the batter
  1. Whisk together the all-purpose flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, ground cinnamon, and ground nutmeg in a bowl.
  2. Whisk together the browned butter, light brown sugar, granulated sugar, large eggs, vanilla extract, mashed ripe bananas, and sour cream until smooth.
  3. Fold the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients until just combined.
  4. Fold in the chopped toasted walnuts if using.
Bake
  1. Pour the batter into the prepared loaf pan and sprinkle with the coarse sugar if using.
  2. Bake at 350°F (175°C) for 55–65 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
  3. Cool the loaf for 15 minutes.
  4. Transfer to a wire rack, then slice and serve warm with butter if desired.

Notes

For the richest flavor, brown the butter until it turns deep golden and smells nutty, then cool exactly 10 minutes so the eggs don’t scramble. Store wrapped at room temperature up to 3 days or refrigerated up to 5 days. Freeze sliced banana bread for up to 2 months; thaw overnight in the fridge. For a slightly lighter option, use plain Greek yogurt in place of sour cream.