This whole grain healthy banana bread recipe is so moist and sweet, everyone is always shocked to find out it’s actually good for you!
What makes this the best healthy banana bread?
- You will love the soft, fluffy texture.
- The loaf packs in up to two cups of ripe banana, which is more banana than many other homemade banana bread recipes.
- It’s one of my most popular recipes, with over 300 positive reviews from readers who’ve tried it. So you know the recipe must be good!
- Oil free, egg free, refined sugar free, and dairy free options are all included.
- If you have overripe bananas sitting on the counter and no idea how to use them up, this low calorie banana bread is the perfect solution. Leftover slices freeze well, and the banana quick bread is great for breakfast meal prep.
Plus, can we talk about the taste again? You’ll think you are eating banana cake. My entire family is obsessed and asks me to make the recipe at least once a month. And it’s so easy that I’m happy to oblige.
You may also like this Chocolate Banana Ice Cream
I have tried so many different banana bread recipes before, until I found this one 5 months ago! I have never looked back! My husband loves it.
It comes out soft and moist, not dry at all & if you eat it the next day, which is a real challenge, it tastes even better! Love it!
Step by step recipe video
Above, watch the full banana bread recipe video
Banana bread health benefits
Whole grain. The quick loaf provides over 15% of the RDA for fiber per serving.
High in vitamins and antioxidants. The banana bread is high in potassium, manganese, selenium, vitamin B6, and vitamin C.
Low calorie. There’s no oil required, and each slice is just 100 calories!
To lower the oil without sacrificing moisture or taste, it uses four to five whole mashed bananas, giving the banana bread recipe the perfect bakery-style texture without a ton of empty calories. Yogurt adds even more softness without weighing the bread down.
And though I’m normally not a fan of oil free baking, this bread is definitely an exception. You can easily omit the oil entirely, and it will still turn out amazingly soft and delicious.
Naturally sweetened. While many traditional banana breads contain at least a cup of refined sugar and over half a cup of butter, this lightened up healthy banana bread recipe cuts way back on the things you don’t want and relies on fruit for natural sweetness.
Thanks to the extra banana, the bread needs just half a cup of sweetener for the entire recipe. This is around half of what is called for in popular banana bread recipes from Martha Stewart, Food Network, Rachael Ray, and Betty Crocker.
Special diet friendly. The banana bread can be both vegan and gluten free. It uses no eggs and is low sodium, cholesterol free, low fat and very low in saturated fat.
Want more low calorie snacks? Make Applesauce Muffins or Healthy Chocolate Chip Cookies
Healthy banana loaf ingredients
The recipe calls for just a few basic ingredients: bananas, flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, optional yogurt, oil or milk of choice, sweetener, and pure vanilla extract.
Bananas: Choose ripe bananas for the best taste. Look for skins that are at least partially brown and spotted. Fully brown bananas are actually perfect here. Do not throw out your brown bananas! They are great for banana bread.
Flour: You can use all purpose flour, whole grain spelt flour, all purpose gluten free flour, or whole wheat pastry flour. Oat flour and whole wheat flour both yield a denser loaf than I personally prefer, but many readers have written in to say they’ve tried and love the whole wheat banana bread. So it’s completely your choice.
The recipe box below includes an almond flour option. I do not suggest coconut flour, because it will give you a dry and crumbly loaf.
Finally, you can replace up to half a cup of the flour with protein powder to turn it into a high protein snack recipe.
Milk or oil: I love the rich, buttery flavor of coconut oil. Vegetable or avocado oil work as well. Or you can make the recipe with milk instead of oil. As a vegan, I like almond milk.
Sweetener: Choose any all purpose liquid sweetener, such as pure maple syrup, agave, or honey. You only need half a cup for the whole loaf!
*If you’d like to use sugar or a granulated sugar free sweetener instead, substitute 2/3 cup of sugar for all of the liquid sweetener. Increase the milk to 3/4 cup.
Vanilla: Buy high quality pure vanilla extract, which adds warm notes of butter and caramel without the artificial aftertaste you’d get from imitation vanilla flavoring.
Optional ingredients
Yogurt: For a high protein loaf, swap half a cup of banana for Greek yogurt, plain yogurt, or even nondairy yogurt. Or try flavored yogurts, like strawberry or blueberry, to create a fun new flavor variation.
Chocolate chips: But when are chocolate chips optional, really?
Nuts: To make a homemade banana nut bread with healthy fats, I love stirring in a handful of chopped walnuts, pistachios, almonds, or pecans. These can be raw or toasted, and there’s no need to measure.
Other add-ins of choice: The bread is easy to customize by swirling in a half teaspoon of ground cinnamon or a pinch of cardamom or ginger. Or try adding half a cup of large or mini chocolate chips, raisins, cranberries or dates, or shredded coconut.
For even higher protein, try this Protein Banana Bread
How to make healthy banana bread
The banana bread is super simple to make, and leftovers can be sliced and frozen for an instant breakfast or healthy snack any time you are craving banana bread.
- Start by preheating the oven to 350° Fahrenheit or 176° Celsius. Grease a 9×5 inch loaf pan with fat free oil spray. Alternatively, line the bottom of the pan with parchment paper. Set this pan aside.
- In a large mixing bowl, combine the mashed banana, yogurt, sweetener, milk or oil, and pure vanilla extract. Whisk with a fork or spatula.
- Stir in the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and optional chocolate chips and cinnamon (or other add-ins of choice) until just evenly mixed.
- Smooth the banana bread batter into your prepared baking pan. Place the pan on the center rack of the preheated oven, and bake for forty minutes.
- When time is up, allow the quick bread to sit in the turned-off oven for an additional ten minutes. This will help the recipe to firm up without burning the top.
- Check for doneness by inserting a toothpick into the center of the loaf. It should come out mostly clean, and the loaf should appear lightly golden in color. If your recipe needs more baking time, simply turn the oven back on and continue to cook, checking every five minutes.
- Let cool. Both the taste and texture are better the next day, so I like to loosely cover the cooled banana bread and refrigerate overnight.
- Serve for breakfast, snack, or even dessert. The bread is delicious plain or topped with almond butter, cream cheese, or Homemade Nutella.
- Refrigerate leftovers for three to four days, or slice and freeze leftover banana bread for up to three months.
Katie’s tips for best results
Follow the recipe. The first time you make the banana bread, it’s important to follow the instructions and ingredient amounts to a T. This allows you to see how the recipe should turn out. Then you can make changes to subsequent batches to learn how the modifications may alter the results.
Calibrate your oven. Many ovens (including my own) are not calibrated correctly, so when the control panel shows a certain temperature, it’s not actually the true temperature. I recommend buying an inexpensive oven thermometer to ensure your banana bread does not come out undercooked and gooey in the middle.
Do not overmix the batter. Stirring the banana bread batter until just evenly mixed prevents it from developing too much gluten or pushing air out and yielding a tough, dense, or rubbery loaf.
Use gram measurements. This is my #1 baking tip if you want accurately measured, consistent baked goods every time. Food scales are available for just about ten dollars and also make recipes much easier to clean than measuring cups.
Healthy Banana Bread
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cup mashed banana (360g)
- 1/2 cup yogurt or additional banana (120g)
- 1/2 cup pure maple syrup or honey (120g)
- 1/3 cup oil or milk of choice (60g)
- 2 tsp pure vanilla extract (10g)
- 2 cups flour (240g) (or try this Almond Flour Banana Bread)
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 3/4 tsp baking powder
- 3/4 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon (optional)
- 1/2 cup chocolate chips (optional)
Instructions
- 1. Preheat the oven to 350° Fahrenheit (176° Celsius). Grease a 9×5 inch loaf pan, then set the pan aside.
- 2. Whisk the mashed banana, yogurt, sweetener, milk or oil, and vanilla extract in a large mixing bowl.
- 3. Stir in the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and optional chocolate chips and cinnamon until just evenly mixed.
- 4. Smooth the batter into the prepared pan, and bake on the center rack of the oven for 40 minutes.
- 5. Turn off the oven and allow the healthy banana bread to sit an additional 10 minutes in the turned-off oven. This step helps the middle to firm up without browning too much on top.
- 6. Insert a toothpick into the center of the loaf. It should come out mostly clean. (If yours needs more time, simply turn the oven back on and continue cooking, checking for doneness every five minutes.)
- 7. Let cool, then slice and enjoy for breakfast or a healthy snack. Or loosely cover the cooled loaf with a towel and refrigerate overnight. If you can wait, the taste and texture are even better the next day!
- 8. For leftovers after one day, refrigerate in a covered container for up to four days or slice and freeze for up to three months.
Video
Notes
More healthy breakfast and snack recipes
Hello Katie! I was wondering if you have any experience baking with protein powder? I would like to add protein powder to this recipe; any suggestions? Btw, this looks fantastic! I love that you made a recipe with Greek yogurt! ?
I’m wondering the same. Would love to try baking this banana bread and adding the Orgain vanilla bean protein powder that I have. Has anyone ever tried baking this banana bread with a protein powder?
This is BY FAR the best banana bread I’ve had. It was gooey in the middle and perfectly sweet! I used whole wheat flour, 3 ripe bananas, almond milk and added walnuts for a crunch and ground flax seeds
Perfect, I was looking to see if I could make it with whole wheat since I have it handy. Also using 3 bananas would be better before they spoil LOL! 🙂
I made this with whole-wheat pastry flour, skim (dairy) Greek yogurt, and about a cup of mashed ripe banana. I love this! It was a little chewy, which would bother me if the recipe contained eggs, but tastes delicious out of the fridge.
I made this tonight, thinking it would be good for breakfast tomorrow . . . I pulled it out of the oven and told kiddos it would be better in the morning after it set overnight in the fridge. They begged to try it – less than an hour the whole loaf is gone. I still wonder how it would be in the morning. I may never know . . .
Ha! I always have that issue too!
Theyre on the oven right now, smells gooooood!!
Did anyone tried making this with milk instead of oil? Would like to know if the texture still comes out good!
I’ve made many of her banana bread recipes, some of which call for oil. I always use milk instead and it comes out wonderful.
Yes, I use almond milk and it comes out delicious with a perfect banana bread texture!
Can you tell me if this recipe is Gluten Free? And if it is NOT, how can I make it so that the gluten is omitted? Otherwise it sounds fabulous!!!
Hi, if you use the oat flour it is gluten-free! If you are making it for someone who has extreme gluten intolerance or Celiac, look for certified-gf oat flour (such as Bob’s Red Mill) or make your own from certified-gf oats by blending them in a blender until you get a fine flour.
I LOVE the idea of making my own flour!!!
This recipe looks absolutely delicious! I’m already drooling out of excitement when I get the opportunity to make this this weekend. Thanks for the recipe katie!
I made this recipe and I substituted pitted dates for the maple syrup. I soaked 1 1/4 cups dates overnight like from your “no sugar cookie dough dip” and pureed them in my food processor with the other wet ingredients. It was fantastic! I’m just starting into this healthy eating thing (so I can taste when things have been “healthified”) but this tasted just like normal (but more delicious) light, moist, sweet banana bread! No one would ever know it was fat and sugar free!! Thanks! P.s. I am trying to eat desserts only sweetened with fruit or fruit juice so I would love to see more recipes where I can substitute dates or something like it. Thanks again!!
I also used milk instead of the oil and I used white wheat whole wheat flour (I am not gluten free) and I though the texture was great!
I made this last night and I’ll be honest, I didn’t think it was going to be very good. when it was done I sliced a piece and to my surprise it was good! The only problem I had was it was still a bit gooey in the middle. Next time I’m going to make muffins and adjust the baking time. Thanks for the recipe! 🙂
delicious and super easy to make!
Baked it with additional chocolate chips and peanut butter. Really good on second and third day indeed!
This bread was delicious, but I’m not sure it got all the way done, even after spending a little extra time in the oven. I omitted the chocolate chips. I think I will make this recipe again, but I’ll probably try to bake it longer or even try it in a different pan size.
Great Job!!! My little prince loves to eat the banana, that’s why I called him The MINION And you give me a banana bread recipe well done!. I will try it for my prince.
Hi Katie,
I’m wondering if I can leave out the yogurt or substitute it for something else?
You can use more banana.
Made this today, no chocolate chips but added some raisins. Delicious and so easy.