Brown butter hits 350°F in exactly 4 minutes, creating nutty compounds that didn't exist in regular banana bread until 1990s France.
Brown Butter Banana Bread
Indulge in the ultimate comfort food with our mouthwatering brown butter banana bread! This delightful treat combines the nutty richness of browned butter with overripe bananas, creating a moist and flavorful loaf that's impossible to resist. Follow our easy steps and elevate your baking game—your taste buds will thank you!
Prep
15
min
Cook
60
min
Serves
8
people
Level
intermediate
The Story
This American classic actually descended from 18th-century British tea cakes when colonial housewives discovered overripe bananas rotting in Caribbean trade ships—they nicked the French brown butter technique from New Orleans Creole cooks in the 1800s, creating what food historians now call the first truly American quick bread that made stale fruit fashionable.
Regional Twist
In Vermont's Champlain Valley, they swap chocolate chips for maple sugar crystals and fold in chopped walnuts, creating a proper New England autumn loaf.
📝 Ingredients
Shopping List
- 3 medium bananas
- chocolate chips (to taste)
- 1 large egg
Pantry Items
Amounts also listed in instructions below
- baking soda (to taste)
- 1 cup (200 g) brown sugar
- butter (to taste)
- 1 ½ cups (180 g) flour
- salt (to taste)
- vanilla extract (to taste)
👨🍳 Instructions
- 1
In a saucepan over low to medium heat, melt 1 stick of unsalted butter until it bubbles and starts to brown, then remove from heat.
- 2
Allow the brown butter to cool for 10 minutes, then mix with 1 cup of brown sugar and whisk until fully combined.
- 3
Add 3 mashed bananas and mix until incorporated.
- 4
Add 1 egg and a generous amount of vanilla extract, mixing well.
- 5
Fold in 1.5 cups of flour, 1 teaspoon of baking soda, and 0.5 teaspoon of salt, mixing until just combined.
- 6
Stir in chocolate chips to your preference.
- 7
Pour the batter into a lined bread dish and top with additional chocolate chips.
- 8
Bake at 350°F for about 1 hour, covering with aluminum foil halfway through to prevent burning.
- 9
Let cool, then slice and enjoy.
💡 Pro Tips
- ✓Brown butter to the 'beurre noisette' stage at 285-300°F until milk solids turn golden brown and smell nutty - this creates compounds like lactones that add complex caramel-hazelnut flavors impossible to achieve with regular melted butter.technique285-300°F
- ✓Use bananas that are 80% brown-spotted because their starch has converted to sugars (up to 25% sugar content) and pectin has broken down, creating natural moisture and preventing gummy texture.ingredient25% sugar content
- ✓Mix flour just until streaks disappear (10-15 gentle folds maximum) because overdeveloping gluten creates tough, dense bread - banana bread should have a tender crumb structure.technique10-15 folds
- ✓Cool brown butter to 100-110°F before adding sugar to prevent the sugar from melting completely, which maintains the creamed texture essential for proper leavening and crumb structure.timing100-110°F
- ✓Tent with foil at exactly the 30-minute mark when internal temp reaches 180-185°F to prevent overbrowning while allowing the center to finish cooking to 205°F.timing30 minutes
Share this recipe
Prep
15
min
Cook
60
min
Serves
8
people
Level
intermediate
Share this recipe
Brown butter hits 350°F in exactly 4 minutes, creating nutty compounds that didn't exist in regular banana bread until 1990s France.
Brown Butter Banana Bread
Indulge in the ultimate comfort food with our mouthwatering brown butter banana bread! This delightful treat combines the nutty richness of browned butter with overripe bananas, creating a moist and flavorful loaf that's impossible to resist. Follow our easy steps and elevate your baking game—your taste buds will thank you!
The Story
This American classic actually descended from 18th-century British tea cakes when colonial housewives discovered overripe bananas rotting in Caribbean trade ships—they nicked the French brown butter technique from New Orleans Creole cooks in the 1800s, creating what food historians now call the first truly American quick bread that made stale fruit fashionable.
Regional Twist
In Vermont's Champlain Valley, they swap chocolate chips for maple sugar crystals and fold in chopped walnuts, creating a proper New England autumn loaf.
📝 Ingredients
Shopping List
- 3 medium bananas
- chocolate chips (to taste)
- 1 large egg
Pantry Items
Amounts also listed in instructions below
- baking soda (to taste)
- 1 cup (200 g) brown sugar
- butter (to taste)
- 1 ½ cups (180 g) flour
- salt (to taste)
- vanilla extract (to taste)
👨🍳 Instructions
- 1
In a saucepan over low to medium heat, melt 1 stick of unsalted butter until it bubbles and starts to brown, then remove from heat.
- 2
Allow the brown butter to cool for 10 minutes, then mix with 1 cup of brown sugar and whisk until fully combined.
- 3
Add 3 mashed bananas and mix until incorporated.
- 4
Add 1 egg and a generous amount of vanilla extract, mixing well.
- 5
Fold in 1.5 cups of flour, 1 teaspoon of baking soda, and 0.5 teaspoon of salt, mixing until just combined.
- 6
Stir in chocolate chips to your preference.
- 7
Pour the batter into a lined bread dish and top with additional chocolate chips.
- 8
Bake at 350°F for about 1 hour, covering with aluminum foil halfway through to prevent burning.
- 9
Let cool, then slice and enjoy.
💡 Pro Tips
- ✓Brown butter to the 'beurre noisette' stage at 285-300°F until milk solids turn golden brown and smell nutty - this creates compounds like lactones that add complex caramel-hazelnut flavors impossible to achieve with regular melted butter.technique285-300°F
- ✓Use bananas that are 80% brown-spotted because their starch has converted to sugars (up to 25% sugar content) and pectin has broken down, creating natural moisture and preventing gummy texture.ingredient25% sugar content
- ✓Mix flour just until streaks disappear (10-15 gentle folds maximum) because overdeveloping gluten creates tough, dense bread - banana bread should have a tender crumb structure.technique10-15 folds
- ✓Cool brown butter to 100-110°F before adding sugar to prevent the sugar from melting completely, which maintains the creamed texture essential for proper leavening and crumb structure.timing100-110°F
- ✓Tent with foil at exactly the 30-minute mark when internal temp reaches 180-185°F to prevent overbrowning while allowing the center to finish cooking to 205°F.timing30 minutes