Banana bread is a great treat. Browned Butter Banana Bread is it even more special. Keep it on hand in the freezer to eat when you like.
Do you set New Years resolutions? I don't, and haven't for quite awhile. I'm not opposed to them - the New Year is a great time to think about goals you might like to work on over the year to come. And it's quite obvious that resolutions are still very popular. The yoga class I went to over the past weekend was the busiest I've ever seen!
While many people set resolutions involving diet, fitness, or weight loss, it can be a good time to think about goals that involve other aspects of self-care. Perhaps making more time for yourself or meditating.
Along the theme of New Year's resolutions, the recipes that are usually published on food blogs in January are often "healthy" recipes - veggie bowls, salads, low calorie/vegan/low carb etc. This Browned Butter Banana Bread does not really fit in with these "January" meals.
However, since I believe in following a healthy, balanced diet and allowing yourself treats in moderation all year long, I'm rebelling against the January "healthy" food trend and posting this recipe anyway. After all, all foods fit!
I love having Banana Bread for breakfast, and often have a loaf pre-sliced, waiting for me in the freezer. I like to lightly toast a slice and top it with a thin layer of nut butter. Usually, I make my banana bread with chopped nuts, but if I'm making it as an extra special treat, I'll add a few chocolate chips instead.
How to Make Browned Butter Banana Bread:
Compared to making most other banana bread recipes, this one involves the extra step of first browning, then cooling the butter. This takes only a few extra minutes, and the difference in flavor is worth it. The browned butter lends an extra rich, toasty flavor to the banana bread and you won't regret spending a little bit of extra time.
Once that butter is browned, making this banana bread is much like making many other quick breads: whisk the dry ingredients together in a large bowl, and whisk the wet ingredients together in another bowl.
Stir the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients, then add any mix-ins. I usually add some chopped nuts (walnuts or pecans work well) or chocolate chips. However, you can skip the mix-ins completely if you want.
Pour the batter into a greased loaf pan (or turn them into muffins if you like) and bake (note that baking time will be slightly less for muffins).
Let the loaf cool completely before slicing. If you're not going to eat it all within a couple of days, place the slices on a parchment-lined baking sheet and freeze. Once they're frozen, transfer the slices to a freezer bag and pull out one or two slices as needed. Reheat in the microwave or a toaster oven.
Browned Butter Banana Bread Ingredients:
- Unsalted butter
- All-purpose flour
- Whole wheat flour: You can replace this with an equal amount of all-purpose flour if you don't have any whole wheat flour, or don't want to use it.
- Baking soda
- Salt
- Very ripe bananas, mashed or pureed: Pro-tip: keep your over-ripe bananas in the freezer (either sliced or whole, still in the peel) so that they're ready to use whenever the urge to make banana bread or any other banana-based baked goods hits
- Brown sugar
- Eggs
- Vanilla extract
- Buttermilk or plain yogurt: or use powdered buttermilk
- Walnuts or pecans, toasted and coarsely chopped: you can also use chocolate chips, or a mixture of nuts and chocolate chips, or skip the mix-ins altogether.
Want more Banana recipes?
Browned Butter Banana Bread Nutrition Notes:
While browned butter banana bread may seem like a great snack (and it is), it's not necessarily the healthiest choice. For those who are watching their calorie intake, one slice of banana bread is definitely going to be a splurge.
I like to eat mine for breakfast with a little nut butter. The above nutrition info is for a recipe using walnuts. Using chocolate chips instead will increase the sugar content of the recipe.
Browned Butter Banana Bread
Equipment
Ingredients
- 6 Tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1 cup all purpose flour
- 1 cup whole wheat flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 3 very ripe bananas, mashed or pureed (thawed frozen bananas are fine)
- ½ cup lightly packed brown sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ¼ cup buttermilk or plain yogurt
- ½ cup walnuts or pecans, toasted and coarsely chopped (or chocolate chips - optional)
Instructions
- Melt butter in a small skillet over medium heat. Continue cooking butter until it turns golden brown and becomes fragrant, about 5 minutes. Pour into a medium heatproof bowl to cool.
- Move oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 350°F. Lightly grease an 8x5" loaf pan and set aside.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the all purpose flour, whole wheat flour, baking soda and salt.
- Add the bananas, brown sugar, eggs, vanilla and buttermilk to the bowl with the browned butter, and stir. Gently fold the banana mixture into the flour mixture and stir until just barely mixed (you may still see little bits of dry flour). Fold in the walnuts (if using) and mix until just incorporated. Don't overmix.
- Pour batter into the prepared loaf pan and spread with a spatula. Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, 45-55 minutes. Cool in pan for 10 minutes, then remove from pan and continue cooling on a wire rack. Cut and serve. Store leftovers in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 days, or freeze.
Nutrition
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