Brown Butter Banana Nut Bread with Cinnamon

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

• Super-moist crumb thanks to brown butter, ripe bananas, and a touch of sour cream.
• Toasted walnuts add deep, nutty crunch in every bite.
• Warm cinnamon and vanilla perfume the loaf without overpowering the banana flavor.
• Fabulous fresh from the oven with a swipe of salted butter.

Grocery List

• Produce: 3 very ripe bananas
• Dairy: Unsalted butter, sour cream, eggs, salted butter (for serving)
• Pantry: All-purpose flour, dark brown sugar, granulated sugar, walnuts, vanilla extract, baking soda, baking powder, ground cinnamon, fine sea salt, demerara sugar (optional), parchment or nonstick spray

Full Ingredients

Banana–Nut Bread

• 1/2 cup (113 g) unsalted butter
• 3 large very ripe bananas, mashed (1 1/2 cups / 340 g)
• 3/4 cup (150 g) packed dark brown sugar
• 1/4 cup (50 g) granulated sugar
• 2 large eggs, at room temperature
• 1/3 cup (80 g) full-fat sour cream
• 2 tsp pure vanilla extract
• 1 3/4 cups (220 g) all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 3/4 tsp fine sea salt
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1 cup (110 g) walnut halves, toasted and chopped

For the Pan and Topping

• Softened butter or nonstick spray, for the pan
• 1 tbsp demerara or turbinado sugar (optional, for a crunchy top)

To Serve

• Salted butter, room temperature

Step-by-Step Instructions

Step 1: Heat the oven and prepare the pan

Preheat the oven to 325°F (165°C) with a rack in the center. Grease a 9×5-inch loaf pan and line it with a parchment sling, leaving overhang on the long sides for easy lifting. Lightly grease the parchment as well.

Step 2: Toast the walnuts

Spread walnuts on a baking sheet and toast in the preheated oven for 8–10 minutes, until fragrant and a shade darker. Cool completely, then chop into pea-size pieces. Toasting keeps the nuts crunchy in the moist loaf.

Step 3: Brown the butter

Add the butter to a light-colored saucepan over medium heat. Melt, then cook, swirling often, 4–6 minutes until the butter foams, the milk solids turn deep golden brown, and it smells nutty. Immediately scrape into a heatproof bowl to stop the cooking and cool 5–10 minutes until warm, not hot.

Step 4: Mix the wet ingredients

In a large bowl, mash the bananas until mostly smooth (a few small lumps are fine). Whisk in the brown sugar and granulated sugar until glossy. Whisk in the eggs one at a time, then the sour cream and vanilla. Slowly drizzle in the cooled brown butter while whisking to emulsify.

Step 5: Combine dry ingredients and bring the batter together

In a separate bowl, whisk the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon. Add the dry ingredients to the banana mixture and fold gently with a spatula just until a few streaks of flour remain. Fold in the toasted walnuts. Do not overmix; the batter should be thick and slightly lumpy.

Step 6: Bake

Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top. Sprinkle with demerara sugar if using. Bake 60–70 minutes, rotating the pan once at 45 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out mostly clean (a few moist crumbs are okay) and the internal temperature reads 200–205°F (93–96°C). If the top is browning too quickly, tent loosely with foil for the last 10–15 minutes.

Step 7: Cool, slice, and serve

Cool in the pan for 10–15 minutes to set the crumb, then lift out using the parchment and cool another 20 minutes on a rack. Slice while still pleasantly warm and serve with salted butter. The flavor deepens after several hours, but it is irresistible warm.

Pro Tips

• Use very ripe bananas with lots of brown spots; they mash smoother and taste sweeter. If yours are pale, roast whole bananas on a sheet at 300°F (150°C) for 15–20 minutes, cool, and proceed.
• Weigh ingredients for best consistency. Flour compacts easily; 1 3/4 cups equals 220 g.
• Brown butter should be warm, not hot, before adding to the batter to avoid scrambling eggs.
• For a neat slice, cool at least 30 minutes. For a gooey, bakery-style slice, go warm and use a serrated knife.
• Check doneness with internal temperature: 200–205°F in the center gives a moist but set crumb.

Variations

• Chocolate-Chip Banana Walnut: Fold in 3/4 cup (130 g) semisweet chocolate chips with the walnuts.
• Maple Pecan: Swap walnuts for pecans and replace 1/4 cup (50 g) sugar with 1/4 cup (60 ml) pure maple syrup; bake 5–10 minutes longer if needed.
• Gluten-Free: Use a 1:1 gluten-free baking flour by weight (220 g). Let the batter rest 10 minutes before baking.

Storage & Make-Ahead

Cool completely, then wrap tightly. Store at room temperature up to 3 days. For longer storage, slice and freeze with parchment between slices in a zip-top bag for up to 3 months; thaw at room temp or toast from frozen. Make-ahead components: toast nuts up to 3 days in advance; brown butter and refrigerate up to 5 days (re-melt gently and cool before using). Mix dry ingredients and keep sealed at room temperature up to 1 week.

Nutrition (per serving)

Approximate per slice (1/10 loaf, without serving butter): 380 calories; 20 g fat (7 g saturated); 44 g carbohydrates; 2 g fiber; 23 g total sugars; 6 g protein; 325 mg sodium.