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Caramelized Banana Bread is the ultimate comfort food. It’s an easy quick bread recipe where the bananas are cooked with caramel, making it a salted caramel banana bread recipe you’re going to fall in love with.
What is Caramelized Banana Bread?
Basically this is my best banana bread recipe with two differences:
- I sautéed the bananas with Challenge Salted Caramel Dessert Snack Spread, giving them a rich caramelized flavor.
- I used brown sugar to keep the bread moist and add to the depth of flavor in the recipe.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
Not only have I made this bread several times, but it’s my tried and true banana bread recipe so you know it’s going to work AND taste amazing! Jordan said this bread was actually better than my mom’s recipe!
Ingredients in Caramel Banana Bread
- Challenge Salted Caramel Snack Spread: This is a new product from Challenge Butter. It’s a creamy salted caramel dip that’s made with real butter and perfect for baking with and using as a spread or dip.
- Bananas: Be sure to use overripe bananas! The more brown spots the better – no green. They get sweeter as they age and are perfect for baking.
- Challenge Butter: I always bake with unsalted butter; be sure it’s softened.
- Brown Sugar: I swapped granulated to keep the bread moist and add a little extra flavor. Be sure to pack your brown sugar when measuring.
- Milk: You can use buttermilk, sour milk, regular or nonfat milk, or nondairy milk.
- Vinegar: If you’re not using buttermilk or sour milk, you’ll need to add vinegar to activate the baking soda.
Tip From Dorothy
Use the best butter for best results!
It’s so important to use quality ingredients when baking, which is why I always use Challenge Butter. I grew up with Challenge – it’s the only one my parents use. It comes from happy cows without any added hormones and it’s award winning too!
The new Challenge Snack Spreads are made with real butter and are available in seasoned and sweet varieties (i.e Chocolate, Buffalo and Everything flavors). These spreads mix and match with your favorite foods – use them as a dip, spread or bake with them!
How to make Caramelized Banana Bread
- Once you have your sautéed bananas, add them to a bowl and mash them. Let cool 5-10 minutes.
- Cream butter and brown sugar.
- Add eggs, salt and baking soda.
- Add milk and vinegar along with the bananas and mix until smooth.
- Mix in the flour.
- The batter will be nice and thick – add to a 9×5-inch loaf pan and bake 50-60 minutes.
Serving Sautéed Banana Bread
There are so many ways to serve this! Plain, with peanut butter…but my favorite is a slathering of Challenge Butter Spreadable Butter with Canola Oil. It’s spreadable straight out of the fridge!
Or…spread the bread with even more of the Dessert Snack Spread – you could even use the Vanilla Fudge or Chocolate flavors for topping this quick banana bread recipe.
There are 6 flavors of Snack Spread and I love every single one. The Salted Caramel is for sure my favorite!
FAQs
Use the toothpick test in the center of the loaf (in the crack, if there is one). The toothpick should come out with just a few crumbs but not be wet.
This bread bakes in about 50-60 minutes.
I love using a fork – just mash them in a bowl. You can also use a potato masher or a blender.
Be sure not to over bake, don’t pack your flour, use brown sugar and be sure to use the sour milk/buttermilk/vinegar!
My mom’s banana bread recipe calls for sour milk (that’s an old term for buttermilk). You can use buttermilk, or sour milk if you have it – but since people don’t usually have either, I add a teaspoon of vinegar with any kind of milk. Really, the vinegar is to activate the baking soda leading to a fluffy moist bread.
This recipe is written for a 9×5-inch loaf pan.
This recipe makes 12 standard muffins. Bake time is approximately 15-20 minutes.
Caramelized Banana Bread
Ingredients
For the Caramelized Bananas:
- 2 tablespoons (28g) Challenge Salted Caramel Spread
- 2 medium overripe bananas (205g)
For the bread:
- 3/4 cup 150g brown sugar
- ½ cup (113g) unsalted butter, softened
- 2 large eggs
- 7 tablespoons (103ml) milk (any kind)
- 1 teaspoon vinegar or lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 2 cups (248g) all-purpose flour
- Butter and granulated sugar for the pan
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease a 9x5x3” loaf pan with butter and coat it with sugar. (You do this like you would grease and flour a pan. Grease it first, then add about 2 tablespoons sugar to the pan and move the pan side to side until the bottom and sides are coated with sugar.
- Slice bananas. Melt spread in a large saute pan over medium heat. Add bananas, cooking until all the bananas are coated and the mixture is bubbly, just a few minutes. Remove bananas to a bowl to cool at least 5 minutes; mash with a fork.
- Cream butter and sugar with a hand mixer.
- Add bananas, eggs, milk, vinegar, and baking soda. Mix until combined.
- Mix in flour until just incorporated. Pour into prepared pan.
- Bake for 50-60 minutes until a toothpick comes out with just a few crumbs. The edges will be a dark brown and there will be a nice crack down the center.
- Cool completely before removing loaf from pan, but you can cut slices from the pan after it’s cooled for about 15-20 minutes.
- Store covered at room temperature. Freeze bread whole (wrapped well) or slices in sandwich bags for up to 3 months.
Recipe Video
Recipe Notes
- If you happen to have buttermilk, you can use that (just omit vinegar).
- Milk: You can use any kind of milk (any fat content or nondairy)
Recipe Nutrition
This recipe was sponsored by Challenge Butter in 2022. Their new Dessert Snack Spread gave this bread that caramelized banana flavor!
Caramelized Banana Bread is the best banana bread in the world – made with sautéed salted caramel bananas and brown sugar. This is the perfect banana bread recipe – freeze great too!
We do not have the salted caramel spread in Canada to my knowledge. Can you help me with substitutions please.
You can just use regular butter – add about a tablespoon or 2 of brown sugar.
Can’t wait to try this recipe! If you can’t find the Challenge Salted Carmel Spread, what can you use instead? Brown sugar and butter?
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