This super healthy banana bread recipe is so moist and sweet, everyone is always shocked to find out it’s actually good for you!
Healthy banana bread for breakfast or snack
The recipe can be oil free, egg free, and dairy free, with NO refined sugar.
To lower the oil without sacrificing moisture or taste, it packs a full one and a half cups of mashed banana into the loaf, which also sweetens the banana bread recipe without all that extra sugar and empty calories.
And though I’m normally not a fan of oil-free baking, this banana bread is definitely an exception. You can easily omit the vegetable or coconut oil entirely if you prefer, and it will still turn out amazingly soft and delicious!
While many traditional banana bread recipes call for at least a cup of refined sugar and half a cup of butter or more, this lightened up healthy banana bread recipe cuts way back on the things you don’t want.
Instead, it replaces them with whole grains and good-for-you ingredients, adding extra potassium rich banana for natural sweetness.
You may also like these Banana Oatmeal Cookies
Simple whole grain banana bread
If you have overripe bananas sitting on the counter and no idea how to use them up, this low calorie healthy banana bread is the perfect solution.
The addition of yogurt to the recipe adds even more softness without weighing the bread down. And it’s sweetened with pure maple syrup instead of refined sugar.
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, Betty Crocker, and others.
If you have leftover bananas, make a Peanut Butter Banana Smoothie
Above, watch the step-by-step banana bread recipe video
Banana loaf ingredients
The healthy banana bread calls for basic ingredients: flour, baking soda and baking powder, salt, cinnamon, plain or nondairy yogurt, pure vanilla extract, sweetener of choice, and of course the banana.
For the flour: You can use all purpose flour, white or whole grain spelt flour, or whole wheat pastry flour. Whole wheat flour yields a denser loaf than I personally like, but some readers still enjoy it that way. So it’s completely your choice.
To make wheat free or gluten free banana bread, the recipe works with oat flour or certified gluten free oat flour for an oatmeal banana bread.
Multiple readers have reported success with substituting gluten free all purpose flour as well. I haven’t personally tried it yet.
If you want a grain free version or low carb recipe that is also naturally gluten free, make the almond flour banana bread recipe included in the recipe box.
Finally, you can replace up to half a cup of the flour with protein powder to turn it into a high protein snack recipe if desired.
The 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!
Or for a version made with granulated sugar, try this Vegan Banana Bread.
Optional ingredients: The classic banana bread is easy to customize. Throw in half a cup of mini chocolate chips, raisins or another chopped dried fruit, shredded coconut, or crushed walnuts or pecans. I also love adding half a teaspoon of cinnamon.
It’s good with or without the chocolate chips added to the top, although my preference is probably easy to guess!
And my personal favorite way to eat this banana bread is topped with Coconut Butter or with this Homemade Nutella Recipe.
It’s also still perfectly good plain if you want to skip the frosting altogether.
Can the healthy banana bread recipe be vegan?
As long as you use nondairy yogurt, the recipe is naturally vegan.
I often use my own vegan homemade Greek yogurt when I make this recipe, but it works fine with non-Greek plain yogurt as well.
Readers have successfully used plant based coconut milk yogurt, cashew yogurt, soy yogurt, and almondmilk yogurt. So feel free to use whatever type you wish.
You can even change up the flavor if you want. Try strawberry, peach, or even blueberry yogurt for a fun and subtle flavor twist.
Or if you don’t have yogurt or prefer not to use it, just increase the banana to two cups and omit the yogurt completely.
How to make banana bread
The banana bread is super simple to make, and leftovers can be sliced and frozen for an instant breakfast or snack any time you are craving banana bread.
Start by preheating the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Grease a 9×5 loaf pan or line it with parchment paper.
In a large mixing bowl, combine all dry ingredients and stir well to evenly mix and break up any clumps of baking soda or salt.
Whisk the liquid ingredients together, pour them into the mixing bowl, and stir to form a banana bread batter.
Smooth into the prepared baking pan. Press a few chocolate chips on top if your heart desires, and place the pan on the oven’s center rack.
Bake for 40 minutes. After time has elapsed, keep the oven door closed and turn off the heat. Let the banana loaf sit in the closed oven for an additional ten minutes to continue cooking. Then remove from the oven.
The bread is done when a toothpick inserted into the center of the loaf comes out mostly clean. If yours is still undercooked, simply turn the oven back on and continue baking (checking every five minutes) until fluffy and golden.
Let it cool. The taste and texture are better the next day, so I like to loosely cover the banana bread and refrigerate overnight.
Refrigerate leftovers for three to four days, or slice and freeze leftover banana bread for a month or two.
Healthy Banana Bread
Ingredients
- 2 cups flour (or try this Almond Flour Banana Bread)
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 3/4 tsp baking powder
- 3/4 tsp salt
- optional 1/2 tsp cinnamon
- optional 1/2 cup mini chocolate chips
- 1 1/2 cup mashed ripe banana (360g)
- 1/2 cup yogurt or additional banana
- 1/2 cup pure maple syrup, honey, or agave
- 1/3 cup oil or milk of choice
- 2 tsp pure vanilla extract
Instructions
- *Also be sure to try this recipe for Banana Muffins!Flour options I have tried successfully include white, spelt, or oat flour.To make healthy banana bread, first preheat the oven to 350 F. Grease a 9×5 loaf pan, or line the pan with parchment paper. Combine dry ingredients in a bowl. Whisk liquid ingredients in a separate bowl. Pour wet into dry, and stir to form a batter. Smooth into the prepared pan. If desired, press some chocolate chips into the top. Bake on the center rack 40 minutes, then do not open the oven door but turn off the heat and let sit in the closed oven 10 additional minutes. If your bread is still undercooked at this time, cover the top with foil. Turn the oven back on and continue baking, checking every 5 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Let cool completely. Cover and refrigerate overnight. Taste and texture are much better the second day if you can wait! Leftovers can be sliced and frozen for up to a month. If you try the recipe, be sure to rate it below.View Nutrition Facts
Video
Notes
More Healthy Breakfast and Snack Recipes
Banana Bread Recipes
I’ve made this banana bread several times now and it always comes out a perfectly moist cake texture with just enough sweetness. It definitely needs longer in the oven than the time stated – I usually leave it to bake for at least 45 minutes, usually up to an hour. Otherwise it would be quite gooey in the middle. I use wholemeal flour, don’t bother with the extra sweetner or choc chips, and choose coconut oil and greek yoghurt. I also add a handful of desiccated coconut, chopped walnuts and raspberries. I freeze pieces and grab one when I feel like a healthy and filling snack – highly recommend!
When you use frozen bananas should you strain tnem to remove the excess liquid? And should you decrease the amount of sugar or liquid in the recipe?
I’ve done it with frozen bananas before with great results, no need to change anything.
Hi Kate,
Not sure what happened but the middle of my loaf won’t cook. I followed your directions and I placed it back in the oven, I thought it was ok and wrapped it overnight. This morning when I cut into it the middle is STILL uncooked! I put it back in the oven…15 minutes later and it still isn’t cooking. Anyone have any ideas? I think this beautiful loaf might be wasted.
somehow an extra egg makes a big difference, I have made this recipe twice–the first time, perfect result with an extra egg, however the second time the bottom looks gummy, and not cooked properly. (I baked at the bottom rack both times).
next time, you could try to place it on the bottom rack, and if it’s not cooked, could use the lower fire mode for extra bake time, I would suggest checking every 10 minutes interval.
Hi, baked goods should always be baked on the center rack unless a recipe specifically says something different. Hope that helps!
I find it hard to cook properly when placed on the center rack
I think it sounds like there’s something wrong with your oven. All baked goods should be baked on the center rack to ensure proper baking. Unfortunately, baking on the top or bottom rack will yield results that are not evenly cooked. (This is in general, not just for Katie’s recipes.)
it’s just the top is easily browned every time I bake on the center rack, except muffins and cheesecake. My oven is a whirlpool steam oven, which has the function of digitally displaying the internal temperature of the oven, so the temperature should be accurate
I’m not sure what to say except to repeat that if your baked goods are coming out unevenly cooked, it’s most likely due to not cooking them on the middle rack. It has nothing to do with temperature. It has to do with the heat not being able to get as evenly around the baked good. I’m not making this up – any baking site will say that baked goods should be cooked on the middle rack. But of course you are free to keep baking as you wish. I’m just trying to help because you mentioned that you were frustrated it cooked unevenly and I was sorry to hear that. I’m not trying to be contentious. I know it can be hard to tell from written words. Just trying to help!
There are no eggs in this recipe, so adding any egg is adding an “extra” egg. I’m not sure how anyone is making this successfully; it has zero binders in it. Flour alone doesn’t hold a ton of wet stuff together. Perhaps it’s paramount to add many eggs to this recipe so it has any hope of baking into something resembling bread. I have made banana bread so many times and I never have had this issue I had with this.
I’ve baked this most delicious bread dozens of times now as I make it almost every week to have as my breakfast. I do bake it on the center rack and have never used egg. I follow the recipe (using options of white flour, maple syrup & almond milk), other than I use less salt & chocolate chips; I add walnuts; & I do not add the 2 Tbsp extra sweetener. It does take finding the just right combination of baking time -and- let sit in the oven with the door closed/heat off time. Initially mine was underdone. I was hesitant to keep it in longer as the top seemed to be browning a bit and I feared it’d be overdone & dry. With experimentation, I’ve found that- for my oven- cooking the 40 minutes but keeping in 15 minutes temp off/door closed before checking instead of 10 mins. works well. Sometimes it’s perfectly done at that. But I often need to turn it back on for another 5 minutes and re-check. I don’t have it down to an exact science but I’ve become more confident in determining when it’s done now and I couldn’t love this recipe more if I tried!! It’s so worth any effort it’s taken to figure out the timing for my oven!
made it twice now, I have discovered that 3/4 tsp salt is way too salty (second time minus a dash of salt, and still too salty!) also the first time I added an egg to the recipe, and it was cooked perfectly moist, however, the second time, because I don’t have any eggs in the fridge, so i followed the recipe to the t, and somehow I don’t know why it is undercooked, the bottom is not cooked through, looks kind of gummy (I baked it at the bottom rack, in both times), but when I taste it, the texture is okay.
I like the use of chocolate chipping as topping on the bread.
I made this with white flour, agave syrup and oil+milk combo. The batter was light coloured but the baked result is very dark. It is too sweet with the added sweetener in it, and it is quite squidgy. Is it supposed to be squidgy? My one-year old baby likes it though.
I’m not really sure what squidgy means, but if it means that the bread is too soft or moist, just leave it out loosely covered overnight and it should firm up more!
Hi – sorry if this is a silly question but what kind of oil are you supposed to use in this recipe?!
This recipe is a KEEPER. So moist, I added some chopped walnuts and almonds, so healthy.. This will be my go to banana bread..
Looks insane. Can I use whole spelt instead of white spelt?
Yup!
How does this come out using homemade out flour vs just regular white flour? Im just curious the difference in consistencies? I’ve made this several times (always with white or wheat flour) and it’s always gone the same day, we love it!
I just took a flat of mini muffins out of the oven. These are simply delicious! I used 3 bananas that were browning. I subbed in a 1/2 C of Vega-Plus protein powder and used 1 1/2 C all purpose flour. I also only used 1/4C maple syrup. I did use 4g of Stevia (powdered form that is a mix of stevia leaves and erythritol). I opted for avocado oil because I want the extra fat in the muffins. And I used the PC brand plain greek yogurt.
My 8 yr old just had one and her eyes bugged out of her head. She quickly (and kindly) offered to eat all them because I am eating Keto.
I can’t wait to see how these are tomorrow and on the third day too!… (I tastes part of one 🙂 Yummy!)
I also included the cinnamon, and I may have been a little bit relaxed when eyeballing the vanilla as I poured it in 😉
I also included the cinnamon, and I may have been a little bit relaxed when eyeballing the vanilla as I poured it in 😉
This is my first attempt at making banana bread and I’m thinking this won’t be the last! I have just tried a piece (couldn’t wait a day) and it was delicious!
I did have to bake it much longer than the initial baking time (15-20 mins) as it was still rather gooey inside… although I think reducing the amount of milk (used instead of oil) may help for next time.
Also, next time I think I might omit the extra sweetener altogether – I think it would be perfectly sweet enough with just the 3 overripe bananas and 1/3 cup of honey I used. Especially if it’s even sweeter the next day!
I used wholemeal flour and vanilla flavoured natural yogurt as that’s all I had to hand (will probably use unsweetened Greek yogurt next time), but I think they’ve worked well.
Safe to say, if no one else wants to eat it, I’ll be happy with that! – in fact, I hope they don’t! 😉
I have made these recipe at least 30 times and I looove it. I have made it with different types of flour, usually a mix of what I have left. I have also made it with yoghurt, but lately I am replacing the yoghurt and the milk/oil with approx o,8 cups of full cream coconut milk and it is great. Sometimes I add some seed (chia, pumpkin, sunflower) and its just the perfect versatile recipe to get rid small amounts of stuff in the cupboard (nuts, seeds, coconutflakes, dried fruits…)
Lovelovelove:)
I loved this recipe. I’m definitely going to try it since it has all healthy ingredients. I love bananas and I’m always making recipes using fruit.
This is the best banana bread! I followed the directions (used Greek Yogurt instead of something completely dairy free) and everyone who had some loved it! They didn’t even know it was “healthy”! Definitely making again.
I made this recipe a few weeks ago and didn’t read the part about letting it cool completely. I let it cool in the pan for about 10 or 15 minutes and then removed it and it collapsed on itself. The ends were edible but not the middle. It was very depressing and a bit embarrassing. I am usually very good at baking. I made it again today because I liked the flavor, and I left it in the pan to cool completely. The middle still sunk in but not as much as last time. What am I doing wrong? It puffs up nicely in the oven. I used 1 cup of white flour, a 1/4 cup whole wheat flour, 1/4 coconut flour and 1/4 cup rice flour, just trying to cut down on gluten. Could this be the reason?
Unfortunately using flours not called for in a recipe will always be an experiment, especially coconut flour. Different flours react differently in recipes, and it’s why Katie stresses in some of her posts that the only ones she can vouch for are the ones she’s tried!