October 2, 2019

Blueberry Banana Bread

Browned butter banana bread filled with fresh blueberries and a hint of lemon. This Blueberry Banana Bread is a delicious breakfast or snack!

Bananas

My kids go through phases where where they request a specific food over and over again. They’ll request said food nonstop until they get sick of it, and then move on to a new request. Bananas frequently make it into their rotation.

We’ll have weeks where 10 bananas won’t make it through Wednesday, and then have weeks where all the bananas are untouched for days on end.

And then of course they can be quite specific with their requests. For example, they will not eat bananas with brown spots. All that to say, I frequently have my fair share of over-ripened bananas.

Banana Bread

Whenever I have over ripened bananas around, I actually get a little excited. It means I have a good excuse to make banana bread.

A couple of weeks ago was an off-banana week in my house, meaning my children were not eating them; so I had my opportunity to make banana bread. I asked my kids what what type of banana bread I should make, and they suggested Blueberry Banana Bread. It seemed like a good idea.

Blueberry Banana Bread

I made a delicious banana bread that was eaten in just a few days. I photographed it and wrote down the recipe. But then, I decided I didn’t like the photos, and couldn’t remember exactly how long I baked the bread. I wasn’t sad though, that just meant I got to make it again.

Making new recipes multiple times is never a bad thing because it gives me ample opportunity to improve them.

Brown Butter Bread

One of the big changes I made the second go around was browning the butter. This gave the bread a nutty, extra-delicious taste.

The recipe does work if you don’t brown the butter, but you will have to bake it for a few minutes longer as it will have slightly more liquid. I do recommend you brown the butter, it’s worth it.

Pan Size

I unintentionally experimented with loaf size for this bread. This recipe makes a large loaf that needs to be baked in a 9×5 loaf pan. If you use a smaller pan it will overflow and make a mess in the bottom of your oven.

If you use an 8×4 loaf pan you should only fill it about 2/3 of the way full, and reduce the cooking time by about 5 minutes (you can check with a knife around 45 minutes and if it’s wet, put it back in for about 5 minutes more).

Fresh versus Frozen Blueberries

As the blueberries are baked, I do not taste a big difference between using fresh versus frozen. So, go with whatever you have.

This Blueberry Banana Bread is a quick and easy breakfast or afternoon treat!

Blueberry Banana Bread

Browned butter banana bread filled with fresh blueberries and a hint of lemon. This Blueberry Banana Bread is a delicious breakfast or snack!

No ratings yet

Course: Bread

Prep Time: 20

Cook Time: 1

Servings: slices

Calories: 285

Pin Recipe for Later

Ingredients

1/2 cup unsalted butter
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 large eggs
3 large bananas crushed
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
juice of 1 medium lemon
zest of 1 medium lemon
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup blueberries

Instructions

In a small sauce pan over medium heat, melt butter. Stir continuously until butter has turned an amber color and has a nutty aroma, about 10 minutes. Remove from heat. Let harden to the consistency of soft butter by placing the browned butter in the refrigerator for about an hour, and stirring every 15 minutes.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Use butter or cooking spray to grease the inside of a 9×5 loaf pan.
Using an electric mixer with paddle attachment to beat butter, sugar and brown sugar until lightened, about 2 minutes.
Beat in eggs, one at a time, scraping down sides as needed.
On low speed, mix in crushed bananas, vanilla extract, lemon juice and lemon zest, until well combined.
In a small bowl, stir together flour, salt, and baking soda. Gradually mix into banana mixture
Fold in blueberries.
Bake for 50-60 minutes, or until knife inserted into center of bread comes out with just crumbs.