By: Merritt Allen

I am a big fan of banana bread. I am an even bigger fan of not waiting for a whole loaf to bake by cooking my banana bread in the form of muffins! This browned butter banana bread with cardamom is super easy to put together and has incredible flavor.

Topped with a crunchy sugar coating, these banana bread muffins are an incredible way to start the day. The cardamom is a spicy counterpart to the almost graham cracker and caramelly flavor of coconut sugar and browned butter that is in this banana bread muffin recipe. These are great freshly baked but are almost even better after they fully cool overnight. I highly recommend trying these out at your next Sunday brunch!

Notes and Tips for Better Banana Bread:

A Kitchen scale is highly useful for making this bread. Since the butter is melted and browned, it decreases the water content in the recipe. Having a scale to accurately measure the flour, helps ensure you do not end up with dense bread or muffins. If you do not have a scale, spoon your flour out of the bag and into the measuring cup. This it helps improve the accuracy of measured flour by not densely packing too much into the measuring cup.
This recipe calls for 4 medium, ripe bananas. I prefer my bananas to be yellow with brown spots on them. If your bananas are super ripe and pretty mushy, you may need to bake your bread for a few extra minutes, but it will not affect the final product by much. I aim to have about 2 full cups of mashed bananas or between 415-430 grams total.
Is your cardamom really fresh or really old? Cardamom will definitely be noticeably stronger if you are buying fresh versus if you have had your jar in the pantry for a while. I developed this recipe with fresh cardamom. If you have very old or stale, you may want to consider adding in an extra 1/4 tsp or buying new.
Unsalted butter is better for this recipe. When browning butter, salted butter can give you really concentrated pockets of salt that overwhelm your bread.

How Do I Get A Good Muffin Top?

For that bakery style muffin top, start your oven about 15 degrees (if working in Farenheit) for the first 6-7 minutes of baking. For example, I live at elevation and so will baking my banana bread muffins at 400 F for 6 minutes and then turn down the oven to 375 F
If you do not live at elevation, I recommend starting at 375F and turning the oven down to 350F.
This process kickstarts the chemical reaction of the baking soda and baking powder. By turning the oven down, the muffins can finish cooking without burning and being artificially puffed.
Have questions on baking? Drop them in the comments below!

What To Serve with Cardamom Banana Muffins:

Serving these muffins as a breakfast treat is super fun and they go with so many other breakfast dishes. I have listed a few of my favorite pairings below!
Bacon and Arugula Frittata or my Mushroom and Leek Frittata! Both of these are high in protein and a great savory contrast to the muffins.
You can also serve these muffins with eggs and sourdough toasts! These are fun egg and sourdough recipes that go great with a little sweet treat on the side.
If you love banana bread, check out my Matcha Banana Bread! This is a fun morning bake as well. The matcha and banana are the perfect contrast of sweet and earthy.

stack of browned butter cardamom muffins

Ingredients For Browned Butter Banana Bread Muffins:

Recipe: Makes 9 Muffins

4 bananas ( about 2 cups or 415-430g) The riper bananas will have more sugar and will make your muffins sweeter!
1/2 cup butter (113 g). Unsalted butter is best. The salt can become concentrated when browning, and it is best to add it in separately.
1/2 cup brown sugar (90 g) You can also use coconut sugar if that is you preferred sweetener!
1 egg Egg is a binder and will help hold your banana bread together.
1 tsp vanilla Vanilla is a must for adding a ton of flavor to your muffins. Vanilla goes really well with cardamon.
1/2-3/4 tsp fresh cardamom You can find ground cardamon in the spice isle. If your store has a bulk section for spices, you can avoid buying a whole jar!
1 3/4 cup all purpose flour (235 g) You can also use whole wheat or gluten free flour if you prefer.
1 tsp salt (7g) Salt will balance and enhance the sweet flavors.
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
2 Tbs white sugar, for topping the muffins prior to baking.

Step by Step Photos For Making Browned Butter Banana Bread Muffins

Photo 1

Photo 2

Photo 3

Photo 4

Photo 5

Photo 6

Photo 7

Photo 8

Photo 9

Photo 10

How To Make Browned Butter Banana Bread Muffins:

Mix the Wet Ingredients
Preheat the oven to 400 F.
Gather your ingredients (Photo 1)
In a saucepan add your butter. Over medium heat allow your butter to melt. (Photo 2)
Once the butter is melted, turn the heat to low. Swirl the butter until beginning to brown, about 3 minutes.
While the butter is melting: whisk the egg in a small bow (photo 3) and mash the bananas in a bowl (photo 4)
Once the butter is browned, add in the sugar and cardamom, and mix until starting to dissolve, about 2 minutes (Photo 5-6) Set aside.
To your bananas, mix in the vanilla.
Mix the banana mixture into the butter mixture and stir until smooth and well combined. The bananas will begin to caramelize and smell sweet. Set aside. (Photo 7)

2. Mix the Wet and Dry

In a separate bowl, combine the flour, salt, baking soda, and baking powder.
Add the dry ingredients to the melted butter, sugar, and banana mixture. Mix well until combined. (Photo 8)
Whisk in the egg until a smooth batter forms (Photo 9)
Divide the batter into 6-8 muffin tins. Sprinkle the tops white sugar before going into the oven (Photo 10)
Bake at 400 F (if at elevation ) for 6 minutes. Turn the oven down to 375 F and continue to bake until the top begins to crack, the muffins are fragrant, and the edges are browning, about 12 minutes.
Remove, let cool, and enjoy!

Browned Butter Banana Bread Muffins