This Lemon Banana Bread is a citrusy twist to my delicious classic brown butter banana bread recipe. It is covered in a light lemon icing and loaded with lemon zest for that lemony refreshing flavor!
I’m guilty of always buying bananas and forgetting to eat them. So naturally, I have no choice but to make banana bread with them. However, I don’t mind it one bit, because this lemon banana bread is exceptionally delicious.
Table of Contents
If you love banana bread, making this recipe is a no brainer of course. But if you need a little more convincing:
- This lemon banana bread is made with brown butter, and we all know brown butter makes everything taste 10x better!
- The bread is dense but super moist.
- The lemon zest along with the lemon icing gives it a nice zing but not overpowering.
- It freezes extremely well so you can save it for another day when you need a little sweet pick me up.
I can’t rave enough about using brown butter in banana bread. The deep flavor of brown butter truly enhances the entire recipe, it goes so well with banana, and gives the bread a sweet nutty flavor. Once you try it, you won’t go back to regular butter in banana bread.
Ingredients and Substitutions
As always, you can find a full list of ingredients with quantities in the recipe card at the end of this post.
- Banana – super ripe bananas are the star ingredient in this lemon banana bread recipe and cannot be substituted. If you don’t have ripe bananas, you can “ripen” them in the oven at 300°F for 20-40 minutes, until their peel turns black.
- Lemon – you’ll need zest from about 4 lemons and juice from 1 lemon.
- Butter – not just any butter, we’ll use brown butter here to enhance the flavor even further.
- Egg – I’m using 2 eggs in this recipe.
- Vanilla – pure vanilla extract is used to enhance the flavor even though our main flavor will be banana and lemon. Vanilla adds a more complex flavor profile.
- Sugar – I love using brown sugar in banana bread for additional flavor depth and richness. But if you don’t have brown sugar, you can substitute granulated sugar 1 to 1. Dark or light brown sugar will both work.
- Flour – I use all purpose flour. If you want to make this gluten free, try Bob’s Red Mill or King Arthur gluten free flour. Readers have successfully substituted gluten free flour in some other recipes. However, I have not tried it with this particular recipe.
- Leavening agents – I use both baking soda and baking powder. The baking soda will be activated by the acidity in the brown sugar, so if you’re not using brown sugar in this recipe, replace baking soda with baking powder.
- Salt – I always use kosher salt in all my recipes. If using table salt, use about half to two thirds as much.
- Powdered sugar – is used for the icing.
How to make Lemon Banana Bread
Make the quick bread
First, prepare the brown butter first to give it a chance to cool down before you start making the bread. For more details and tips, check out my post on how to make brown butter. You do not need to strain the milk solids.
Mash the bananas with a potato masher in a large mixing bowl, add eggs, vanilla extract, along with the cooled brown butter and beat until smooth. Then, add brown sugar along with lemon zest, and mix until combined.
Sift together the dry ingredients and add the flour mixture to the liquid mixture. Fold with a spatula until a chunky batter forms. It’s okay if you have a few streaks of flour left in the batter.
Transfer lemon banana bread batter to a buttered loaf pan and bake at 350°F for 50-60 minutes until a toothpick inserted in the center of the loaf comes out clean with just a few crumbs attached.
Make the icing
Simply whisk together fresh lemon juice, lemon zest, powdered sugar and a pinch of salt to make the lemon icing. Let it thicken a bit before drizzling it over the completely cooled banana bread so it doesn’t all just run off the side.
Baker’s Tips
- Always use overripe bananas for the most banana flavor.
- If you don’t have ripe bananas, you could “ripen” them in the oven until their peels turn black. Set the oven at 300°F and bake the bananas with peels on for 20-40 minutes.
- You could also make this recipe using frozen bananas. Simply thaw and use as directed in the recipe.
- To ensure I always have ripe bananas on hand, I freeze any leftover overripe bananas I don’t use. Peel and wrap them individually in plastic before storing them in a freezer bag.
- Don’t overmix the batter to avoid the bread coming out tough.
- Allow the bread to cool completely before adding icing or the icing will just melt off.
- Let the lemon glaze thicken some before adding it to the cool bread so it doesn’t just run off the side of the bread.
- Use other citrus zest like orange, tangerine or grapefruit. I made the grapefruit version, it was delicious!
- You could also add fresh berries like blueberries or raspberries to the quick bread for delicious fruity variations.
FAQs
Can I use a different type of flour?
This recipe was developed with all purpose flour. You can, for the most part, use something similar like cake flour, or whole wheat flour. But I do not recommend using other types of flour like almond flour or coconut flour because it’s not a simple substitution.
Can I make this gluten free?
As I mentioned above, if you want to make this recipe gluten free, try Bob’s Red Mill or King Arthur all purpose gluten free flour. Readers have successfully substituted gluten free flour in some other recipes. However, I have not tried it with this particular recipe.
Can I make this dairy free?
To make this dairy free, you’ll need to use oil instead of butter. You’ll miss out on the amazing flavor of brown butter. But you can substitute the butter with 3 oz of any flavorless oil, like vegetable or canola oil.
Why is my banana bread dense?
This lemon banana bread recipe is a cake-like quick bread so the texture should be like a dense cake. But it should still be moist. If your lemon banana cake is dense and dry, you may have used too much flour or you may have over mixed the batter.
Sometimes if you don’t have enough flour, or too much liquid, or your leavening agents are not working properly, you can end up with a very dense pudding-like texture that has no open crumb.
How to tell when your banana bread is done baking?
Similar to baking a cake, test the doneness of your banana bread by inserting a cake tester or a toothpick in the middle of the loaf.
- If wet batter comes out stuck to the toothpick, it is obviously not done.
- If it comes out with just a few crumbs attached, your bread is done.
- If it comes out completely dry, you may have already over baked your bread.
Storage
This freshly baked lemon banana bread won’t last long enough for you to worry about storing it, but if you do happen to have leftovers, follow these tips to keep them fresh.
- Room temperature: you can store leftover banana bread slices in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days.
- Refrigerator: Refrigerated banana bread will last up to a week. You can store it in an airtight container or wrap tightly in plastic wrap. Warm it in the microwave for 10 – 15 seconds before serving for that freshly baked taste.
- Freezer: Banana bread freezes really well. I like to slice it into individual slices first, then wrap them tightly in plastic and store in a freezer bag. You can defrost individual pieces for your enjoyment anytime the mood strikes. Frozen banana bread will last 3-4 months.
How to serve Lemon Banana Bread
- For a quick dessert, serve slices of this banana lemon loaf with homemade whipped cream and blueberry compote.
- It is delicious with this mascarpone ice cream.
- Leftovers are also fantastic for making Banana Bread French Toast.
- It’s perfect for Mother’s Day brunch, a baby shower, afternoon tea, Easter brunch or anytime you want an easy sweet treat.
More banana recipes
- Matcha Banana Bread
- Banana Bundt Cake
- Banana Walnut Muffins
- Banana Cookies
- Banana Coffee Cake
- Sour Cream Banana Bread
- Double Chocolate Banana Bread
📖 Recipe card
Lemon Banana Bread
Ingredients
For banana bread:
- 4 oz unsalted butter (113 g, brown)
- 1 ⅓ cup mashed bananas (320 g, about 2 ½ to 3 bananas depending on size)
- 2 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- ¾ cup light brown sugar (150 g, lightly packed)
- 1 ¾ cup all-purpose flour (230 g)
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 tablespoon lemon zest (from about 3 lemons)
- Melted butter for pan
For lemon icing:
- 2 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon lemon zest (from 1 lemon)
- 1 cup powdered sugar (100 g)
- A pinch of kosher salt
Instructions
- To brown butter, heat unsalted butter in a light color saucepan over medium heat. Once the butter melts, it will become foamy. When the foam subsides, you will see clear bubbles, start whisking continuously at this point to keep the milk solids from burning. When the butter is caramel in color and smells nutty, turn off the heat and set aside to cool. This will take approximately 8 minutes and 30 seconds.
- Preheat the oven to 350°F.
- Brush a loaf pan generously with melted butter.
- Mash the banana with a potato masher and add the cooled brown butter to it along with eggs and vanilla. Beat to combine.
- Add brown sugar, and lemon zest, and beat until smooth.
- Sift flour, baking soda, and baking powder into a small mixing bowl. Stir in the kosher salt. Add the flour mixture to the liquid mixture and fold until just combined.
- Transfer the batter to the prepared loaf pan and bake for 55-60 minutes until a toothpick inserted in the center of the loaf comes out clean with just a few crumbs attached.
- Allow the bread to cool completely in the pan and flip it over on a wire rack to remove it from the pan. You can loosen the side with a butter knife if you’re having some trouble removing the bread.
- Stir together lemon juice, lemon zest, powdered sugar and a pinch of salt to make the lemon icing. Drizzle the icing over the cooled banana bread before serving.
Notes
- Use ripe bananas for the best flavor.
- Frozen bananas will also work, simply thaw and mash.
- If you don’t have ripe bananas, you can “ripen” them in the oven at 300°F for 20-40 minutes
- Banana bread can be stored at room temperature for up to 3 days, refrigerated for up to a week, and frozen for up to 4 months.
- The banana bread shouldn’t stick to the buttered loaf pan but you could line the bottom of the pan with a long piece of parchment paper, letting the excess hang over the sides. Then brush the parchment paper with more butter. The excess parchment paper can be used as handles to lift the bread out of the pan once baked.
Nutrition
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