Brown Butter & Black Sesame Banana Bread

I kept telling myself I owe you all a proper, classic brown butter banana bread. The kind that’s simple, reliable, and exactly what you want when you have a few spotty bananas on the counter. Now that I’ve done that, I can’t help but add just one more thing, one little twist that takes it somewhere new.

So I present to you, dear reader, the best Brown Butter & Black Sesame Banana Bread on the internet. It’s a classic brown butter banana bread that’s deeply cozy and familiar, but elevated with layers of toasty black sesame.

Because banana bread really is the ultimate blank canvas. It’s soft, forgiving, and already packed with flavor, which makes it the perfect place to build on. Here, the brown butter brings that rich, nutty depth you expect from a really good loaf, while the black sesame seeds fold in this slightly savory, almost earthy complexity that makes each bite feel a little more interesting.

It’s still easy, still doable, still the kind of recipe you can make on a whim but it tastes like you put in way more effort than you did. Which, in my opinion, is the sweet spot.

And don’t worry, it’s flexible: you can easily make it vegan (we love Miyokos and flax eggs here!) or gluten-free (King Arthur’s gluten-free blend is always a win), because a really good banana bread should work for everyone.

What is the benefit of using brown butter?

Brown butter is an amazing ingredient, especially in baked goods like this banana bread. It adds a rich, deep, caramelized flavor that you can’t get with normal butter, and that’s because we are essentially “toasting” the milk solids in brown butter as we cook it.

What happens when we brown butter, is that the butter separates into water and milk solids. Butter is actually about 22% water and 78% milk solids (baking math is fun!) and the milk solids are what create the dark, rich tones of brown butter.

When you cook down butter the milk solids begin to toast, caramelize and develop in flavor. The darker the color the deeper the flavor notes. So we love our brown butter dark, dark brown in this banana bread!

How to make the brown butter for this banana bread

Brown butter seems tricky, but it’s really just a stir-watch-and-wait process.

• Begin by placing a pan over medium heat, you don’t want it to be any higher than that.
• Add the butter and stir it with a wooden spoon until it melts. This is my favorite part. It’s so supremely satisfying.
• Let the butter hang out until it starts slightly fizzing and foaming, I keep stirring it occasionally to prevent it from scorching, the whole process happens quite fast!
• You’ll start to see light brown flecks, and when that happens begin to stir constantly. When the flecks deepen to a nice golden brown, turn off the heat. Let the butter continue to darken in the pan just a bit, then it’s time to pour into a bowl and begin step #2!

I’ll have all the steps listed below so we don’t need to cover them up here.

The ingredients you will need for this black sesame banana bread

And what would a recipe be without ingredients? I have everything listed out by cups and grams, but I always suggest using weight measurements if you can!

• 1/2 cup (100g) dark brown sugar, lightly packed
• 1/2 cup (113g) salted butter
• 3 large (390g) banana
• 2 large eggs
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• 1 1/4 cup (180g) all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon Diamond Crystal kosher salt
• 2/3 cup (95g) black sesame seeds, or 6 tablespoons of black sesame paste

Ingredient substitutions

This recipe is really customizable! Here are some substitution suggestions:

• Butter: You can swap it for vegan butter – I recommend using Miyokos Creamery, as it’s the only one I’ve found that actually browns.
• Eggs: Can be swapped for two flax eggs. Using flax eggs along with vegan butter would give you an entirely vegan banana bread!
• All-purpose flour: Can be swapped for King Arthur’s 1:1 Gluten-Free Baking Flour if needed.
• Black sesame seeds: You can swap the seeds out for 6 tablespoons of black sesame paste, or just omit. It’s delicious, but by no means mandatory.

How to make this black sesame banana bread

This bread is all about timing. I wrote the instructions in the order I would suggest doing them. Here’s the step-by-step:

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F.
2. Add the brown sugar to a large bowl.
3. Add your butter to a skillet over medium heat. Stir until it is melted. Continue to stir as it begins to foam slightly. When you see light brown flecks begin to appear at the bottom of the butter, continue stirring and keep an eye on it. Things will happen fast at this point. When the flecks turn golden brown remove the butter from the heat and continue to stir.
4. When the flecks are a deep brown, pour the butter into the bowl with the brown sugar. Immediately whisk to combine.
5. Let this mixture cool for 5-10 minutes while you mash the bananas.
6. Once it is cool, whisk in the eggs and vanilla first, then add the bananas. Stir well.
7. Directly add the flour, baking soda and salt to the bowl. Stir with a spatula to combine. Split the batter into two bowls now.
8. Use a small blender or food processor to blend the sesame seeds into a sand-like texture and add them to one half of the batter and mix.
9. In a parchment-lined loaf pan, add about 1/4 of the banana batter to the bottom and spread it out thinly. Then add a layer of the black sesame batter and spread it out. Repeat this process until all the batter is used up.
10. Insert a long skewer into the bread and swirl to create a marble pattern (optional, but fun!)
11. Bake at 350°F for 50-60 minutes or until the loaf is a deep golden brown.
12. Let cool, then slice and serve!

How to layer the black sesame into this banana bread

Layering the sesame is one of the trickier parts of this bread because you want to make sure you get a nice, even swirl and some cute marbling.

I like to make sure that each layer completely spreads to the sides of the loaf pan, and then, once everything is layered, I swirl with a long skewer to create a marble effect.

Try not to over-swirl though, because that might cause the colors to mix too much, and then you won’t get much definition at all.

Storage tips

How you store a baked good greatly impacts how it will taste over time. This banana bread will last up to a week, and here are my best tips on how to store it and reheat it:

Allow the bread to cool then store in an airtight container in cool, dry place like a pantry or a cool part of your kitchen. This is not the best recipe to store near the stove! Temperature variance won’t affect the moisture, but it will affect your bread’s ability to keep for the full week.

Reheating: For extra moisture, throw in a damp paper towel over your slice before reheating – it’s wild, but it works! Just microwave your slice for 15 seconds with a wet paper towel draped over it. I learned this from Emily Mariko and I’m never going back.

Why is this recipe in grams?

Grams is always my preference for baking, and I hope it will be yours, too. The only way to ensure complete accuracy is through measuring by weight, not volume. One cup of flour can weigh all the way from 120 grams to 160 grams, depending on how it was packed. This ends up causing some volatility and mismatched results.

I want to ensure you get the best results with this recipe (and I want to keep this recipe foolproof!) so I highly recommend getting a small affordable kitchen scale if you want to move forward with this particular recipe.

Looking for more banana bread recipes?

And that’s everything for this Brown Butter & Black Sesame Banana Bread!

If you make it, please tag me on Pinterest or Instagram so I can see! It’s my favorite thing to scroll through stories and see what you all are making.

And of course feel free to leave any questions, comments or reviews! This is the best place to reach me, and I’d love to hear from you <3