Ingredients

For the Banana Bread:

• 3 very ripe bananas, mashed
• 1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup light brown sugar, packed
• 2 large eggs
• 1/3 cup Greek yogurt or sour cream
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 tbsp neutral oil, like vegetable or canola
• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp kosher salt
• 3/4 cup pecans, chopped

For the Frosting:

• 1/2 stick (1/4 cup) unsalted butter
• 4 oz cream cheese, at room temperature
• 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• Pinch of salt

Brown the Butter

It’s easiest to brown all the butter for the bread and the frosting at once. Place 1 1/2 sticks of butter in a light-colored saucepan over medium heat.

The butter will melt, then foam and sputter. Keep stirring. As the sputtering subsides, you’ll see golden-brown specks forming on the bottom and it will start to smell nutty.

Once you see this, pull the pan off the heat so it doesn’t burn.

Pour the butter, including all the brown bits, into a heatproof bowl. Pour about 1/3 of it (for the frosting, which is ~1/4 cup) into a separate small bowl and set it aside to cool and solidify at room temperature. The remaining 2/3 (~1/2 cup) will be used for the bread batter.

Make the Banana Bread

Set your oven to 350F and line a 9×5 inch loaf pan with parchment paper.

In a large bowl, whisk together the liquid brown butter with the granulated and brown sugars.

Add the mashed bananas, eggs, Greek yogurt, vanilla, and oil. Whisk until everything is just combined.

Using very ripe, almost black bananas is key; they provide more sweetness and a stronger banana flavor.

In a separate bowl, mix the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix until just combined, being careful not to overmix the batter.

Fold in the chopped pecans.

Pour the batter into your prepared loaf pan and bake for ~55-60 minutes. The bread is done when a skewer inserted into the center comes out clean.

If the top starts to get too dark before the center is cooked, you can loosely tent it with aluminum foil for the remainder of the baking time. Let the bread cool in the pan for about an hour before moving it to a wire rack to cool completely.

Make the Frosting and Finish

Once the reserved brown butter has cooled and solidified, take the small bowl and add the room temperature cream cheese. Beat them together until smooth.

Sift in the powdered sugar, then add the vanilla and a pinch of salt. Mix on low speed at first, then increase to high and beat for another minute until the frosting is light and smooth.

Spread the frosting over the top of the completely cooled banana bread.

Print Pin

Brown Butter Banana Bread

This banana bread uses browned butter in both the batter and the cream cheese frosting, which gives it a nutty, toasted flavor that complements the banana. The crumb is moist and dense, as you’d expect from a good banana bread.

Prep Time 30 minutes mins

Cook Time 1 hour hr

Cooling Time 2 hours hrs

Total Time 3 hours hrs 30 minutes mins

Ingredients

For the Banana Bread:

• ▢ 3 very ripe bananas mashed
• ▢ 1 stick unsalted butter 1/2 cup
• ▢ 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• ▢ 1/2 cup light brown sugar packed
• ▢ 2 large eggs
• ▢ 1/3 cup Greek yogurt or sour cream
• ▢ 1 tsp vanilla extract
• ▢ 1 tbsp neutral oil like vegetable or canola
• ▢ 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• ▢ 1 tsp baking powder
• ▢ 1/2 tsp baking soda
• ▢ 1/2 tsp kosher salt
• ▢ 3/4 cup pecans chopped

For the Frosting:

• ▢ 1/2 stick unsalted butter 1/4 cup
• ▢ 4 oz cream cheese at room temperature
• ▢ 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
• ▢ 1 tsp vanilla extract
• ▢ Pinch salt

Instructions

• Brown 1.5 sticks butter in saucepan over medium heat until golden specks form and nutty aroma develops.
• Pour 1/3 of browned butter into separate bowl for frosting, reserve remainder for bread.
• Heat oven to 350F and line 9×5 inch loaf pan with parchment.
• Whisk remaining brown butter with granulated and brown sugars in large bowl.
• Add mashed bananas, eggs, yogurt, vanilla, and oil; whisk until combined.
• Mix flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in separate bowl.
• Fold dry ingredients into wet mixture just until combined.
• Stir in pecans.
• Pour into prepared pan and bake 55-60 minutes until skewer comes clean.
• Cool in pan 1 hour, then transfer to wire rack until completely cool.
• Beat solidified brown butter and cream cheese until smooth.
• Add powdered sugar, vanilla, and salt; mix until light and fluffy.
• Spread frosting over completely cooled bread.

Notes

Use very ripe bananas for best flavor. Tent with foil if top browns too quickly.