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
How would I adjust the time to make these into muffins? Thanks!
https://lett-trim.today/2015/11/05/nutella-muffins/%3C/a%3E%3C/p%3E
This is the best banana bread recipe ever!! It’s even better than the fattening kind! When I make it, I bake 2 small loaves and they’re both gone in a couple days! LOVE this recipe!
I had this on my mind for so long and yesterday I finally came around to making it. I actually went to the shops and asked for mushy bananas. Got a weird look, but a girl has to do what a girl has to do, right? ;D Anyway, it’s sooooo good! I can’t stop eating it. I want it to be my breakfast, lunch AND dinner. And snack and dessert. Yummy!
can I use bob red mills gluten free flour.
curious Dorothyc
I’ve done it! it works well.
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!
Ps: I have used spelt flour & wholemeal flour – both turned out amazing!
Hey Katie! I was wondering if I could use your recipe to make a pumkin bread recipe, I would add one cup of pumpkin puree, maybe a little less sweetener, and of course some spices. Do you think I could?
Hey Katie! Do you have any pumpkin breads of this same *super healthy* style? Thanks!
She has two! There’s the pumpkin banana bread, and then the pumpkin cream cheese swirl bread in her cookbook 🙂
https://lett-trim.today/2016/11/07/pumpkin-banana-bread/%3C/a%3E%3Cbr /> https://lett-trim.today/2016/10/11/healthy-breakfast-cookbook-food-blog/%3C/a%3E%3C/p%3E
Think this would work if I used it for some type of “French Toast” ? I’m going to make this soon, it looks amazing! Thank you!
Sounds delicious!
I’m so happy i found your website. This is the 4th recipe I’ve made. They all have come amazing.
For this banana bread, i substituted applesauce for the Greek yogurt. This came out so delicious and is the best thing I’ve ever done with overripe bananas. 🙂
Thanks Katie!
I never review recipes but I had to share my tweak. On a whim I decided to use quick oats in place of the flour.
It. Is. AMAZING.
My friends and family request it all the time and I love the ease and price point of just using oats.
Do you blend the quick oats or just use them in their regular oat form?
This recipe is absolutely amazing! I’ve made it twice now and it has been a hit each time. It’s so gooey and decadent that it’s hard to believe it’s made with mostly healthy ingredients. I used whole wheat flour, honey and coconut oil and for this most recent batch skipped the pinch of stevia — and it was still wonderfully sweet. For best results, enjoy with your morning coffee…mmm.
i have strong wholemeal bread flour in my cupbaord is this the same as wholewheat flour?
I made these into muffins. The recipe made 16. I used honey, no stevia or extra sweetener. I used a generous 1/2 cup of greek yogurt, added a handful of chopped walnuts and topped with chocolate chips. I also used white whole wheat flour. Great for breakfast as they are sweet but also hearty and pretty healthy.
Is it necessary to chill this overnight? Will it be fine without chilling?
Since the bread doesn’t have any preservatives, and banana is a key ingredient here, I really think you ought to chill it. Leftovers definitely need to be stored in the refrigerator, and I cover mine with aluminum foil.
I’ve left mine out on the counter multiple times for a couple/few days before I slice and freeze what’s left and I’ve been fine!
I love this bread. I’ve made it many times and no one knows it’s healthy. Thank you Katie for all your wonderful recipes. You’ve definitely converted me to eating healthy and I tell friends and family about your website.
Does anyone know if the calories are the same using sugar instead of maple syrup? Thanks!
This is, without a doubt, the best banana bread I have ever baked. The crust on the outside is completely phenomenal. The inside is sweet and slightly crumbly, almost like cake. I didn’t use any oil, and I had only 1/2 cup of honey, and it still turned out perfect.
I have some recommendations and tips:
– Add the cinnamon. It pairs with the banana so well, and it adds extra flavor.
– My bread turned out rather sweet even with only a 1/2 cup of honey, so if you don’t have enough I think you’ll be alright.
– I used 3 large bananas, and after I mashed them up, I had exactly 1 1/2 cups of banana puree.
I also made my own oat flour. I regret not keeping track of the amount of oats I used, but you’d definitely need more than 2 cups since you’re blending them into a powder.
I will be making this again and again. Thank you for a recipe that is both delicious and healthy.
Is white flour and plain/all purpose flour the same?
Yes
I made this for myself and friends, and it was delicious! I find, though, that there is too much sugar. There is about 1/2 cup of maple syrup or honey, which is really sweet, as well as the white flour, etc. My sugar level elevates whenever I eat the loaf, despite cutting back on some of the ingredients. Can you reduce the sweetness in some way, Katie? It is a delicious loaf.