Nutella Banana Bread

Ingredients

• 0.5 cup unsalted butter (1 stick; plus more for greasing the pan)
• 2 cup all-purpose flour (plus more for flouring the pan)
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 0.75 tsp kosher salt
• 1.5 cup mashed bananas (from about 3 medium bananas)
• 0.66 cup granulated sugar
• 0.25 cup plain Greek yogurt
• 2 eggs
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 0.33 cup chocolate-hazelnut spread (such as Nutella)

Steps

1. 1

   Heat oven to 350 degrees. Butter and flour a 9x5x3-inch loaf pan.

2. 2

   Stir the flour, baking soda and salt together in a bowl.

3. 3

   Brown butter: Melt butter in a light-colored saucepan over medium heat.

4. 4

   Cook butter, occasionally scraping the bottom and sides of the pan with a rubber spatula until it turns a deep golden brown and smells nutty. Don’t walk away from the pan during this process. The butter will go from browned and nutty to acrid and burnt in moments.

5. 5

   Transfer butter to a large heat-safe mixing bowl and let it cool slightly.

6. 6

   When the butter has cooled a bit, add the mashed bananas, sugar, yogurt, eggs and vanilla extract. Stir until well combined.

7. 7

   Add the flour mixture and stir until just combined. Do not overmix.

8. 8

   Pour half the batter into prepared pan and spread it evenly with a knife or offset spatula.

9. 9

   Spoon half the chocolate-hazelnut spread in several dollops over the top and use a toothpick or skewer to swirl it into the batter.

10. 10

    Spoon and spread the remaining batter over the top followed by dollops of the remaining spread.

11. 11

    Swirl in the spread, then bake the bread for 55 to 60 minutes or until golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.

Notes

Browning the butter (beurre noisette) is essential for the toasty hazelnut flavor that complements the Nutella. Some users recommend adding 2 teaspoons of bourbon for extra depth, or reducing the sugar by up to 30% if you prefer a less sweet loaf.

Nutrition per serving

• dessert
• breakfast
• banana bread
• nutella
• baked
• brown butter
• sweet