Salted Caramel Banana Bread
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This is not just your average banana bread with salted caramel sauce drizzled on top, but rather a gooey and flavorful banana bread with salted caramel swirls throughout every bite. Drizzle with additional caramel sauce if desired. Craving banana bread but don’t have ripe bananas on hand? No problem! Find out how you can get your unripe bananas up to speed so you can make this bread any time you want.
MY FAVORITE BANANA BREAD + HOMEMADE SALTED CARAMEL SAUCE
There’s classic banana bread, and then there’s salted caramel banana bread. This isn’t just your classic banana bread with a salted caramel drizzle– it’s banana bread kicked into high gear with ribbons of gooey salted caramel swirled right into the batter.
This recipe is adapted from my trusted, all-time favorite banana bread recipe. This epic version has been a star on my site since 2019, earning its place as a go-to recipe for bakers who love a little extra indulgence alongside their banana bread.
And if you’re staring at a bunch of underripe bananas and think you have to wait days to make this– think again! I’ve got the ultimate trick for using bananas without a speck of brown and still achieving that perfectly moist, flavorful loaf. Which can be good or bad news, depending on how enticing moist, flavorful, and delectable banana bread is to you.
INGREDIENTS YOU WILL NEED
This ingredient list is so simple, and since my original banana bread recipe is straight from Betty Crocker, we use minimal ingredients, nothing fancy, and it just works. Which means you can side-eye the water all you want, but this bread doesn’t need anything extra like milk or sour cream. It’s perfectly moist and mega flavorful as is.
You will need:
• all-purpose flour
• baking soda
• baking powder
• salt
• granulated sugar
• light brown sugar
• unsalted butter
• eggs
• ripe bananas
• water
• salted caramel sauce (homemade or store bought)
WHAT KIND OF CARAMEL SAUCE SHOULD I USE?
While I will always encourage you to make caramel sauce from scratch, you can certainly use store-bought to save yourself time. Be sure you’re picking a sauce that’s on the thicker side and not super runny (Stonewall Kitchen is my favorite).
You can also make this banana bread extra fun by making my homemade bourbon caramel sauce. Bake and taste the ingredients at your own risk!
CAN I ADD NUTS?
You sure can add nuts! My original recipe uses walnuts or pecans. I recommend about ⅓ cup (40g) chopped nuts.
HOW TO USE UNDERRIPE BANANAS
This is a trick I use in my banana bread with unripe bananas and my banana pudding cheesecake! You can roast your underripe bananas to make them malleable and soft enough to mash for using in this banana bread or any banana bread recipe you love.
Simply slice them in half long ways, sprinkle with brown sugar, then bake until the peels are black and the bananas are oozing their juicy juices. See this post about banana bread with unripe bananas for specifics amounts and instructions.
The finished product is mashable, sweetened banana. A total game changer for impatient banana bread lovers!
OVERVIEW: HOW TO MAKE SALTED CARAMEL BANANA BREAD
Mash the bananas: I usually use a fork or a potato masher. You want to mash the bananas completely so they are quite juicy and there are few large chunks remaining. You can also use your mixer.
Combine the dry ingredients: toss these together really well so they’re completely combined. This will make for equal distribution of everything and prevent you from needing to overmix the batter.
Combine the wet ingredients: you’ll need a mixer here. Be sure your ingredients are at room temperature for the easiest incorporation.
Add dry to wet: you’ll want to mix this until it’s just combined. It’s ok if there are some flour pockets left, but look for the big ones to disappear.
Add the caramel sauce: buuuuut don’t just put it in and stir it all up. We want this swirled in. That’s the magic.
Stir just a few times: I usually do about 3 or 4 stirs. We want some incorporation but also some swirling.
Bake: once your salted caramel banana bread is done baking, you’ll notice some of the caramel sauce on the top is suuuuuper caramelized. And OMG, friends, those are the best bites.
HOW TO SERVE THIS BANANA BREAD
Slice and enjoy as is, drizzle with additional caramel sauce, slather with butter… Whatever floats your banana bread boat. We usually drizzle and dip and soak and have NO REGRETS.
If you love banana bread and you love caramel, this bread is for you. It brings a whole new level to banana bread and one that can really turn your opinion around if you think banana bread is boring!
HOW TO STORE MOIST BANANA BREAD
Since banana bread is so moist, it can be prone to mold and bacteria growth. I usually store mine covered tightly at room temperature but pop it in the fridge if it lasts longer than 2 or 3 days, just to be safe. Enjoy cold or allow to come to room temperature. If you prefer your banana bread warm, you can toast it from cold.
Salted Caramel Banana Bread Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 and ⅔ cup (200g) all-purpose flour be sure to measure properly
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup (100g) granulated sugar
- ½ cup (100g) firmly packed light brown sugar
- 6 Tablespoons (85g) unsalted butter softened to room temperature
- 2 large eggs
- 3 medium bananas mashed (about 1 and ½ cups)
- ⅓ cup (80mL) water
- ½ cup (160g) homemade salted caramel sauce store bought is also fine
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350ºF (177ºC). Spray a 9" x 5" loaf pan with non-stick spray. Set aside.
- In a medium size bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt, and baking powder. Set aside.
- In a large bowl with a handheld mixer, or the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat both of the sugars and the butter together on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 2-3 minutes. Add the eggs and beat again until completely incorporated. Add the banana and the water and beat again until everything is combined.
- Reduce the mixer speed to low and slowly add the dry ingredients, stopping when everything is just incorporated and no large flour pockets remain.
- Slowly drizzle the caramel sauce into the batter then stir a couple times to swirl the caramel around. There is no need to make sure it's fully incorporated.
- Pour the batter into the prepared pan, then bake the loaf for 50-60 minutes, or until a toothpick or cake tester inserted in the center comes out mostly clean. Allow loaf to cool in the pan on a wire cooling rack before serving. Loaf stays fresh, covered tightly at room temperature, up to 5 days, or in the refrigerator up to 1 week. Loaf freezes well. Remove from pan and wrap tightly in plastic wrap and foil, and freeze up to 2 months. Thaw in the refrigerator or at room temperature.
Notes
- Nuts: you can add nuts to this bread, if you would like to. I prefer walnuts or pecans, or you can use a combination of the two (I often do this). I recommend about ⅓ cup (40g) chopped nuts.
- Banana bread varieties: try my classic banana bread or almond flour banana bread next.
Nutrition Disclosure
All nutritional values are approximate and provided to the reader as a courtesy. Changing ingredients and/or quantities will alter the estimated nutritional calculations.
Love reading the story of your husband’s birthday. It’s so wonderful to count with somebody that we love to make our life brighter. Now, let’s talk about this banana bread!!!
I need to make this recipe asap!
Yummy and i like the idea of the caramel sauce
Never thought to add caramel right to the batter. Putting this on my list.
I’m a sucker for this! I could be on a deserted island with this fantastic banana bread. Simply adore it. Once I tried it, it really was an addiction. I make mine following similar recipe. For anyone who might think it’s difficult, give it a try! Believe me, every bite tastes like heaven.
Lynn, thank you so much for sharing this fab idea. I’m sure it will inspire many of your followers. Look forward to your new awesome recipes. I’m your fan!
Best wishes,
Ann
Thanks so much, Ann! You’re so sweet.
I have one word for this banana bread — EPIC! My love of banana bread married to my love of salted caramel! I served as a dessert; I warmed the bread and served with a scoop of good vanilla ice cream and sliced bananas and of course an additional drizzle of salted caramel sauce. So good!
It’s SO good, right? Thanks, Kathleen!
Haha, TOTALLY, right? Thanks so much!
We love banana bread but had no idea that it could be this luxuriously delish!
Right? It’s SO good! Thanks, Jules!
Something about that salted caramel makes this bread super moist and the flavors balanced just right!
Thanks so much, Jennifer!
Where has this been all my life?! This was awesome. My entire family loved it.
Haha, right?! So good! Thanks, Janelle!
6 tablespoons of butter (170g) in recipe. Is that correct?
Ooooh, it’s not! It’s 85g. Thanks for catching that!
Hi
Is there a reason you left out the cinnamon in this recipe compared to the original.
Hi, Jackie– yes, because the caramel is flavoring the bread. You can keep it in if you prefer! Cinnamon + caramel go really nicely together 🙂