Brown Butter Banana Bread — No Vegetable Oil, Better Than Any Recipe You've Tried

By Savannah Ryan — The Foodie Kitchen

↓ Jump to Recipe

Banana bread is one of the most searched recipes in America every single month — and almost every recipe calls for vegetable oil or canola oil. The switch to brown butter does two things simultaneously: it eliminates the seed oil and it makes the banana bread dramatically better. Browned butter has a toffee, hazelnut flavour that amplifies the banana and the warm spices in a way that neutral vegetable oil is physically incapable of. This recipe takes 5 extra minutes to brown the butter and produces a banana bread that tastes like it came from a serious bakery.

Brown Butter Banana Bread — The Recipe

Ingredients

• 3 very ripe bananas — the blacker the better, 300g peeled weight
• 115g unsalted butter
• 150g light brown sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 180g plain flour
• 1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
• Half teaspoon fine salt
• Half teaspoon cinnamon
• Quarter teaspoon nutmeg
• Optional: 80g dark chocolate chips or walnuts

Method

1. Preheat oven to 175C. Grease a 22cm x 12cm loaf tin with butter and line with baking paper.

2. Brown the butter: place the butter in a light-coloured saucepan over medium heat. It will melt, then foam, then the foam will subside — watch carefully at this point. Small brown specks will appear on the bottom of the pan and the butter will smell of toffee and hazelnuts. This takes 4 to 5 minutes. Remove from heat immediately and pour into a large mixing bowl. Do not walk away during this step.

3. Allow the brown butter to cool for 5 minutes. Add the brown sugar and whisk until combined. Add the eggs one at a time, whisking well after each. Add the vanilla.

4. Mash the bananas separately with a fork until almost smooth — some small lumps are fine and add texture. Add to the butter mixture and stir to combine.

5. Add the flour, bicarbonate of soda, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg. Fold gently with a spatula until just combined — do not overmix. A few streaks of flour are acceptable. Overmixing develops gluten and produces a dense, tough loaf.

6. Fold in chocolate chips or walnuts if using. Pour into the prepared tin and smooth the top. Optional: slice one banana in half lengthways and press onto the surface of the batter.

7. Bake for 55 to 65 minutes until a skewer inserted in the centre comes out with only moist crumbs — not wet batter. If the top browns too quickly, cover loosely with foil after 40 minutes. Cool in the tin for 10 minutes before turning out.

🖶 Print Recipe

Find more seed oil free baking in the cookies and baking collection. For 30 butter and coconut oil baking recipes — Savor Cookies by Savannah Ryan.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I use butter instead of vegetable oil in banana bread?
Yes — and you should. Butter produces a richer, more flavourful banana bread than vegetable oil because its milk solids contribute flavour compounds that neutral oil lacks entirely. Browning the butter first amplifies this further by caramelising those milk solids before they go into the batter.

What makes banana bread moist?
Very ripe bananas — the blacker the better — are the primary source of moisture in banana bread. The natural sugars in ripe bananas also help retain moisture during baking. Avoid overbaking and overmixing, both of which drive out moisture and toughen the crumb.

Can I freeze banana bread?
Yes. Cool completely, then wrap individual slices in baking paper and freeze in a sealed bag for up to 3 months. Thaw at room temperature for 1 hour or toast directly from frozen. The brown butter flavour intensifies slightly after freezing and thawing.

Why is my banana bread dense?
Dense banana bread is caused by overmixing the batter, which develops gluten and produces a tough crumb, or by too much banana, which adds excess moisture. Fold the dry ingredients in until just combined — visible flour streaks are fine at this stage.

Is banana bread healthy without vegetable oil?
Replacing vegetable oil with butter removes the polyunsaturated linoleic acid that oxidises in the oven during baking. Butter's saturated fat is stable at baking temperatures and provides fat-soluble vitamins A, D, E and K2 that vegetable oil entirely lacks.

More Recipes You Will Love

Brown butter chocolate chip cookies. All baking recipes. 30-minute recipes on Wix.

Follow The Foodie Kitchen at All Links — Instagram @theefoodiekitchen — X @foodiekitchenok.