Brown Butter Sweet Potato Banana Bread

How to Make the Best Sweet Potato Banana Bread

Banana bread is forgiving, which means it’s easy to make a fine one and harder to make a great one. These are the things that take this loaf from fine to the one people text you about.

• I brown the butter. Regular melted butter is fine. Browned butter is better. Those toasted milk solids add a nutty, caramel flavor you can taste in every slice, and it only costs you five extra minutes.
• I roast the sweet potatoes. A full hour at 400°F, until they are completely soft all the way through. Roasting drives off water and concentrates the sugar. Boiled sweet potatoes hold onto that water, and it has nowhere to go but into your crumb.
• I blend the purée completely smooth. No strings, no lumps — I run it in the blender until it is silky, almost whipped. You want the sweet potato to disappear into the batter so you taste it without biting into it.
• I use cake flour alongside the all-purpose. The lower protein keeps the crumb tender instead of chewy. It’s a small swap that makes a real difference in texture.
• I mix my own sweet potato pie seasoning. Two parts cinnamon to one part each nutmeg and ground cloves. It is warmer and less sweet than pumpkin pie spice, and it lets the sweet potato actually taste like sweet potato.

Ingredient Notes

Here is everything that goes into this brown butter sweet potato banana bread, with a few notes on why I use what I use and what works if you need to swap something.

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• Ripe bananas: The spottier the better. Brown, soft bananas are sweeter and mash smoother than yellow ones. If yours aren’t there yet, bake them in their skins at 300°F for 15 to 20 minutes until the peels go black.
• Sweet potato purée: I roast whole sweet potatoes at 400°F for about an hour, until they are completely soft all the way through, then scoop out the flesh and blend it until it’s silky. Use a blender or food processor — a masher leaves strings behind. Canned sweet potato purée works in a pinch, just make sure it’s plain purée and not the kind packed in syrup.
• Brown butter: Browning cooks the water out of butter, so it shrinks as it goes. Start with 6 tablespoons so you end up with the ⅓ cup the recipe actually calls for.
• Eggs: Room temperature, so they do not seize the warm brown butter the second they hit the bowl.
• All-purpose and cake flour: The combination is on purpose. All-purpose gives the loaf enough structure to hold up, and cake flour keeps the crumb soft and tender.
• Spices: Cinnamon, nutmeg, and ground cloves, mixed together into my sweet potato pie seasoning. You can substitute pumpkin pie spice if that’s what’s in the cabinet, but the cloves are what make it taste like sweet potato pie.
• Baking soda and baking powder: You need both. The soda reacts with the acid in the bananas, and the powder gives the extra lift that heavy sweet potato purée needs.
• Heavy cream: For the glaze. Whole milk works too, you’ll just get a thinner drizzle.

Make It Your Own

This sweet potato banana bread is great exactly as written, but there are a few easy ways to change it up.

• Add a crumble topping: If you want the streusel version, mix ¾ cup dark brown sugar, 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour, and 2 tablespoons melted butter, then sprinkle it over the batter before baking.
• Fold in nuts: ¾ cup of toasted pecans or walnuts adds crunch and plays really well with the brown butter.
• Add chocolate: ½ cup of dark chocolate chunks stirred into the batter turns this into dessert.
• Make muffins: Divide the batter among 12 lined muffin cups and bake at 350°F for 20 to 24 minutes.
• Skip the glaze: Sprinkle turbinado sugar over the batter before baking instead, for a crackly top and a less sweet loaf.

Serving Ideas

I make this all fall, and it shows up at breakfast just as often as it shows up at dessert. Here is how I like to serve it.

• With coffee: A thick slice, warmed for a few seconds so the glaze softens, next to a cup of coffee. This is the way.
• As dessert: Warm the slice and add a scoop of vanilla ice cream or a spoonful of whipped cream. The brown butter really comes forward when it is warm.
• On a fall brunch table: I like putting it out with my pumpkin spice cinnamon rolls so there are two warm, spiced things on the table.
• Around the holidays: If you are already making my sweet potato casserole or sweet potato cornbread, roast a couple of extra sweet potatoes and turn them into this loaf the next morning.

Recipe FAQs

Can I use canned sweet potato purée?

Yes. Just check the label and make sure it is plain sweet potato purée, not sweet potato packed in syrup, which will throw off both the sugar and the moisture. Canned purée also tends to be a little wetter than roasted, so your bake time may run a few minutes longer.

Can I skip browning the butter?

You can, and the loaf will still be good. You will just lose the nutty, caramel flavor that makes this version different from every other banana bread. If you skip it, use ⅓ cup of melted butter and go straight to mixing.

Why did my sweet potato banana bread come out dense?

Usually one of three things: too much flour, over-mixing, or wet sweet potato purée. Spoon and level your flour or weigh it, mix only until the flour disappears, and roast your sweet potatoes instead of boiling them.

Can I use pumpkin pie spice instead of sweet potato pie seasoning?

You can, one for one. Pumpkin pie spice usually leans harder on ginger and allspice, so the loaf will taste a little sweeter and brighter. My blend is two parts cinnamon to one part each nutmeg and ground cloves, which is warmer and lets the sweet potato stay front and center.

Can I make sweet potato banana bread muffins?

Yes. Divide the batter among 12 lined muffin cups and bake at 350°F for 20 to 24 minutes, until a toothpick comes out with a couple of crumbs. Let them cool completely before glazing.

Storage and Make Ahead

This loaf keeps well, and a couple of the steps can be done days in advance, which is why it ends up on my table so often during the holidays.

• Make Ahead: Roast and blend the sweet potato purée up to 4 days ahead and keep it in an airtight container in the refrigerator. You can brown the butter ahead too. Just re-melt it gently before mixing.
• Storage: Wrapped tightly or in an airtight container, the bread keeps at room temperature for up to 3 days or in the refrigerator for up to 1 week. I glaze it the day I plan to serve it.
• Freezing: Freeze the unglazed loaf whole or in slices, wrapped in plastic and then foil, for up to 3 months. Thaw at room temperature and glaze before serving.