Sourdough Banana Bread with Browned Butter and Sour Cream

I know I say this a lot, but this recipe really is my favorite kind of kitchen win—it uses up those sad black bananas your family swore they’d eat this week and tackles that bubbling jar of sourdough starter that’s been giving you side-eye every time you open the fridge. It’s no secret I typically loathe bananas and anything banana-flavored (banana Laffy Taffy? Hard pass), but this sourdough banana bread is the one exception. The browned butter and sour cream work some kind of sorcery to make this loaf rich, tender, and just the right amount of sweet. It’s nostalgic and elevated, with the kind of cozy smell that will have everyone wandering into the kitchen asking, “Is that banana bread?” Yes. Yes it is. And it’s a good one.

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Yield 17 slices

Author SALUD! Team

Prep time

20 Min

Cook time

55 Min

Total time

1 H & 15 M

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Sourdough Banana Bread

Kill two birds with one stone with this recipe, using up you overripe bananas and sourdough starter

Ingredients

Wet Ingredients

• 3 over-ripe bananas
• 4 T butter, browned
• 100 g brown sugar
• 100 g suger
• 2 eggs
• 45 g light sour cream
• 125 g active, fed sourdough starter
• 1 t vanilla extract or paste

Dry Ingredients

• 240 g flour
• 2 t baking powder
• 1/2 t baking soda
• 1 t salt

Instructions

1. Preheat your oven to 350 F, and grease a loaf pan
2. In a small pot over medium low heat, melt your butter and let simmer until it starts to turn brown. This will take 7-8 minutes, and it will smell nutty. Let cool for 5-10 minutes
3. While that's cooling, in a medium bowl, whisk together all dry ingredients. In a separate bowl, mash your 3 bananas.
4. Add all remaining wet ingredients to the banana bowl, also adding your slightly cooled brown butter, stirring with a spatula until smooth.
5. Gently mix your dry ingredients into the wet (only pouring 1/3 of the dry at a time, this will help you to not over-mix).
6. Pour the batter into your prepared loaf pan, bake for 50-60 minutes (or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean)
7. Once done baking, allow the banana bread to cool in the loaf pan for 15 minutes. Then, gently run a knife around the edge of the pan to help release the loaf. Carefully transfer the loaf to a wire rack to finish cooling.

Notes

• Store in your fridge for up to 1 week wrapped in plastic wrap, placed in a bag or tupperware container
• Store in your freezer for up to 3 months, tightly wrapped in plastic and foil

Nutrition Facts

Calories

135

Fat

4 g

Sat. Fat

2 g

Carbs

23 g

Fiber

1 g

Net carbs

22 g

Sugar

8 g

Protein

3 g

Sodium

264 mg

Cholesterol

27 mg

The nutrition information is based on estimates and is not definitive.

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A Banana Bread Even Banana-Haters Will Love
Listen, I need to confess something up front: I hate bananas. Always have. Something about the texture, the flavor, the fact that they turn brown in 24 hours no matter how many promises your family makes to eat them "this time"... just, no. But banana bread? This banana bread? It’s the one exception to my long-standing banana vendetta.

This recipe is the perfect solution for two kitchen dilemmas that seem to pop up on a weekly basis: 1) the bunch of bananas slowly dying on your counter, and 2) the ever-multiplying jar of sourdough starter that’s silently judging you every time you open the fridge. If you’re into killing two birds with one loaf, this one’s for you.

Let’s talk about what makes this banana bread better than all the rest. First, browned butter. I said what I said. Taking the time to toast your butter into that rich, nutty, caramelly liquid gold gives your bread depth and flavor that regular melted butter just can't match. Second, sour cream. It brings moisture, a gentle tang, and richness that gives this bread that perfect, tender crumb. Those are the two "secret" ingredients—but the rest is simple and approachable.

We’re working with your standard banana bread suspects: brown sugar and white sugar (because balance), a couple of eggs, vanilla extract, all-purpose flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Oh, and the aforementioned sourdough discard. You’ll mix your dry ingredients in one bowl, wet in another—then here comes my pro tip: always add the dry mixture into the wet, not the other way around. It makes it easier to combine without overmixing, which means your banana bread stays soft and moist, not dense and chewy. I like to add my dry in thirds, mixing just enough each time to incorporate everything smoothly.

As for baking: I use a loaf pan because that’s what my husband prefers, but growing up, we always baked banana bread in a bundt pan. Either way works. You’re looking at roughly the same bake time—around 50–60 minutes—but always check with a toothpick to make sure the center comes out clean. And yes, I know it smells incredible and you want to slice into it the second it comes out of the oven, but don’t. Let it rest in the pan for 15 minutes, then move it to a wire rack to cool completely. The patience will pay off, promise.

So, whether you're a banana bread loyalist or a banana-hater like me who has finally found their one true loaf, this recipe’s going to win you over. It’s nostalgic and elevated all at once—homey enough to remind you of childhood, but just upgraded enough to feel a little fancy. Best of all, it’s efficient: your bananas and your sourdough starter both find their higher calling in this golden, deeply-flavored loaf.

Make it on a Sunday, wrap up a few slices for the freezer, and enjoy a week of not feeling guilty every time you see those brown bananas or that bubbling jar of starter.