Browned Butter Chocolate Chip Banana Bread

This browned butter chocolate chip banana bread gets lots of flavor from the browned butter in the batter. 

The secret ingredient for this bread is browned butter. Browned butter is pretty amazing. 

You take some butter and cook it until the water cooks off and the butter begins to brown and concentrate. The butter foams up at first, and then becomes clear. 

Next, the butter begins to darken and develop brown bits. The trick is to know when to remove the butter from the heat and pour it into a bowl before it becomes burned (see photo below). 

This was just right. Another minute and I'd probably have to start over. 

The butter adds a concentrated caramelized buttery flavor to the bread. Be sure to try this with other baked recipes that call for butter. I've used browned butter in chocolate chip cookies, sourdough chocolate chip cookies, snickerdoodles, and even in a carrot and cauliflower side dish with delicious results. 

It's pretty hard to slice this Browned Butter Chocolate Chip Banana Bread without smearing chocolate all over the slices, especially when the bread is still warm. I don't think that's a bad thing. 

My youngest grandson likes it toasted in the toaster oven so that the chocolate chips get all melty. I'm with him!

It's kind of difficult looking at these photos knowing that there still are a few pieces of this bread calling my name. I'm normally not a big fan of banana bread, but with browned butter and chocolate chips, this one is pretty special.

Ingredients: 

Besides the browned butter, make sure your bananas are nice and ripe. I usually go to the "singles" section where there are orphan bananas that have been separated from their bunch. 

You will also need all purpose flour (I used unbleached), granulated sugar, one egg, baking soda, salt, vanilla extract, and cinnamon. 

For the chocolate chips, you can use your favorite. I used large bittersweet chips, but you can use semi-sweet or milk chocolate chips too. 

You may have noticed the lemon juice in the recipe. It actually doesn't add any flavor to the bread, but the acid in the juice helps the baking soda leaven the bread. 

Equipment You May Need:

Immersion Blender: This is a great tool to make sure your bananas are fully pureed. After mashing them with a fork, give them a whirl with this blender to remove any chunks. 

8-inch by 4-inch Loaf Pan: This pan is slightly smaller than a one-pound loaf pan. If you don't have one, you can use a pan that is slightly larger. 

Heavy Duty Parchment Paper: I love the Reynolds and King Arthur brands. You will find so many uses for this, especially for baking bread or pizza. 

This bread is fabulous for breakfast, dessert, and for a quick snack. It stays pretty fresh and moist for a couple of days in an airtight container. After that, it's amazing toasted or made into French toast. 

You can freeze this bread whole for later or in individually wrapped slices. 

Originally published May, 2015 and updated August, 2023. 

Happy National Banana Lover's Day! Check out the rest of the Sunday Funday recipes featuring bananas:

• Banana Chip Cookies with Melted Caramel from Faith, Hope, Love, & Luck Survive Despite a Whiskered Accomplice
• Banana Mousse from Culinary Cam
• Banana Pecan Caramel Sauce from Food Lust People Love
• Banana Zucchini Cake from A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Browned Butter Chocolate Chip Banana Bread from Karen’s Kitchen Stories
• Chocolate Coated Banana from Mayuri's Jikoni
• Double Chocolate Whole Wheat Banana Bread from Cook with Renu
• Frozen Peanut Butter Banana Pretzel Bites from Amy’s Cooking Adventures
• Sourdough Banana Appe from Sneha’s Recipe

Browned Butter Chocolate Chip Banana Bread

Yield: 16 Slices

Author: Karen's Kitchen Stories

Prep time: 20 MinCook time: 45 MinTotal time: 1 H & 5 M

This browned butter chocolate chip banana bread gets lots of flavor from the browned butter in the batter.

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup unsalted butter
• 1 cup mashed ripe bananas (about 2 large bananas)
• 1 large room temperature egg
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
• 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1 2/3 cups (235 g) unbleached all purpose flour
• 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 3/4 cup chocolate chips (I used bittersweet)

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F and line a 8 inch by 4 inch loaf pan with parchment paper so that it hangs over the long sides. Spray the pan and parchment with spray oil.
2. To brown the butter, cook it over medium heat in a small saucepan, stirring constantly. Watch it very closely. It will foam up and then reduce. Watch for it to get golden and be speckled with little brown bits. Remove it from the heat and pour it into a bowl the minute it gets to this point. Let it cool to the point that it won't cook the egg when mixed.
3. In a mixing bowl, mash the banana with a fork. If the banana is still chunky, use a food processor or immersion blender to puree the banana.
4. Whisk in the browned butter, egg, sugar, lemon juice, and vanilla extract until fully mixed.
5. Whisk the flour, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon together, and add it to the banana mixture. Fold the ingredients together until combined. Gently fold in the chocolate chips.
6. Pour the batter into the pan and bake for 45 to 55 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean. Mine took about 52 minutes.
7. Cool on a wire rack, in the pan.

Nutrition Facts

Calories

178.04

Fat (grams)

8.64 g

Sat. Fat (grams)

5.28 g

Carbs (grams)

23.87 g

Fiber (grams)

0.62 g

Net carbs

23.23 g

Sugar (grams)

12.28 g

Protein (grams)

1.9 g

Cholesterol (grams)

26.88 mg

https://www.karenskitchenstories.com/2015/05/browned-butter-chocolate-chip-banana.html

Karen's Kitchen Stories

banana

dessert, quick bread

American

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