This easy no-fail Healthy Banana Bread recipe makes the most fluffy and moist banana bread you will find at only 238 calories per slice. It contains NO processed sugar or butter and comes together in just a few minutes!
It’s finally here! We are a huge fan of banana bread. Somehow, we always end up with 3 to 4 very ripe bananas just sitting on the counter. Bananas that are too ripe to eat, but are perfect for baking. You know what they say, when life gives you ripe bananas, make banana bread.
But seriously, ripe bananas are a dream in banana bread and make the best banana bread ever. This healthy banana bread is everything you want in banana bread. It’s moist, dense, and full of flavor. I made a batch and shared a few slices with my friends and they could not believe it was “healthy”. This recipe is a keeper, and I’m sure your family will love it as much as we do!
What Makes This Banana Bread Healthy?
To make this banana bread healthy:
The sugar is replaced with honey
For the butter, we opted for coconut oil. You can also use olive, avocado oil, or even apple sauce.
As for the flour, whole wheat flour works wonders!
Another very important ingredient is the ripe bananas. Ripe bananas are super sweet so the riper the better.
How to Make Healthy Banana Bread
Make this delicious banana bread by combining the dry ingredients and setting aside. Next, simply combine all the wet ingredients and add in the bananas.
Stir in the dry ingredients and add in your favorite banana bread add-ins. I like to add chopped chocolate, chocolate chips, or nuts.
Lastly, transfer the batter into a greased 9×5 pan, and bake for 50 minutes. You can also bake this banana bread in a small square 8×8 pan for just 20 minutes or until cooked through.
Is Banana Bread Healthy?
Banana bread can be made healthy with simple substitutes that also taste amazing! Replace the sugar with honey or an alternative sweetener, replace the oil with healthier sats, and use whole wheat or almond flour.
What is the difference between whole-wheat flour and white whole-wheat flour?
Whole-wheat flour is made with red wheat, which is darker in color. It has a slightly bitter taste and a coarser texture. White whole-wheat flour which lacks bran color. It also has a milder flavor and a softer texture.
What Mix-Ins can I add to Banana Bread?
There are a ton of things you can add to your banana bread each time to give it a new flavor. I like to add chopped dark chocolate, chocolate chips, nuts, raisins, dried fruit, Nutella, oats, or berries.
Recipe Tip
If your bananas are not yet brown or soft then you can place them in a 300F degree oven for 20 minutes or until dark brown. I swear this method will produce the ripest bananas that are perfect for banana bread.
How to Store Banana Bread
This banana bread will last at room temperature for 3-4 days. To store, place a paper towel in an airtight container or ziplock bag and top your bread with another paper towel. Be sure to seal the bag or airtight container.
To Freeze: You can leave the loaf whole, wrap it, and store it in a freezer-safe bag or container until you’re ready to eat it. You can also slice it and freeze it as well. To thaw, move it to the fridge for a short time or take it out of the freezer and set it out on the counter. It will unthaw quickly and easily.
More Delicious Healthy Banana Bread Recipes To Try
- Healthy Oatmeal Banana Bread
- Almond Flour Banana Bread
- Healthy Chocolate Banana Bread
- Healthy Coconut Flour Banana Bread
- Gluten-Free Banana Bread
Have some extra ripe bananas and want to try new banana bread recipes? here are a few of my favorite banana recipes:
Healthy Banana Bread
Ingredients
- 2 eggs
- 1/2 cup melted coconut oil, or olive oil
- 1/3 cup honey or maple syrup
- 1/4 cup milk or Greek yogurt
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 cup mashed ripe bananas, about 2-3 medium bananas
- 1 3/4 cups white whole wheat flour or regular whole wheat flour, or plain all purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon, optional
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup dark chocolate chips, or chopped walnuts, raisins, optional
Instructions
- Pre-heat oven to 325F. Grease a 9×5 inch loaf pan and set aside.
- In a medium bowl, whisk the flour, cinnamon, baking soda and salt. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, beat eggs, oil, honey, milk and vanilla for 2 minutes. Stir in the bananas, flour mixture and chocolate chips (or any other add ins of choice.
- Pour batter into greased pan, sprinkle with some more cinnamon, raw sugar, or banana slices (optional) Bake for 50-55 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes, slice and enjoy!
Notes
For dairy-free/vegan: use almond milk and flax eggs and maple syrup.
*Trader Joe’s has white whole wheat flour that is also great in this bread.
Recipe inspired by allrecipes and cookie and kate
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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Healthy Moist Banana Bread Muffins
Hello, I would like to use butter instead of the oils, can you tell me how much to use? They say that coconut oil has just as much saturated fat in it as butter and I like the taste of butter better. Thanks!
I believe it is 2/3 cup! I’m using that now!
You would sub it with a 1:1 ratio 🙂
I live at a higher altitude but followed the receipt exactly, and it tastes pretty dry. What did I do wrong?
I would follow instructions for high altitude baking by increasing the liquids and oven temperature.
The banava cake was delicious!
I make it every week!
So moist and healthy!
I would definitely make again. My husband and I thought it was delicious. We are always looking for ways to make delicious food that is healthy and sugar free. Thank you, I look forward to following Gimme Delicious and trying out other recipes… this was my first from this site!
Sounds lovely but it’s not sugar free. Honey and maple syrup are both sugar. It’s not white stuff you put in your tea but it’s glucose.
I agree. Not diabetic friendly.
the recipe is not sugar free in a strict sense yes, but you know neither are bananas …..
The best recipe for banana bread by far, although I did modify it slightly. I used olive oil and Greek yoghurt. Sultanas instead of chocolate chips. I only used 1 cup of whole meal flour and added 3/4 cup of porridge oats. It turned out so moist, I’ll definitely be making this again!
This is recipe is to die for! turned out great! I used applesauce instead of oil for low fat and extra moistness, and almond milk instead of regular milk. Using 3 bananas definitely did make the bread come out heavy but it was soooo worth it. Love the dark chocolate too!
My loaf was great on taste! Yet, it didn’t rise. What did I do wrong, I followed all directions.
I think it is because it doesn’t have baking powder. i think they left it out by mistake. I realized after I finished it was missing. Ill let you know how mine goes.
Your recipe says baking soda, not baking powder! I just put mine in the oven with soda!
How did it turn out? This recipe only requires baking soda and the bread will still rise.
The recipe does not include baking powder!
Won’t the texture of the bread turn out vastly different if one uses milk vs Greek yogurt?
Does it taste better with coconut or olive oil? What about the flour? White Whole Wheat or Regular Whole Wheat?
This is my go-to banana bread. I’ve made it at least five different times over the past year. I opt for using plain Greek yogurt, maple syrup, and olive oil, and I add extra cinnamon. So so moist and delicious!
Have tried many recipes in the past, by far best banana bread I’ve made in 10 years! Need to find others from this website.
I made your banana bread. It was delicious. My husband and I finished it in 2 days. ☺️
I am new to baking – I feel like I followed this recipe right, but the mixture once all put together, was not so much a batter, but moist crumbs. I put it in the oven and once done, it was still moist crumbs. Any idea what I might have done wrong?
What moist ingredients did you use? Are you sure you have used the right amounts? Did you mash bananas well? It sounds like you have used not enough moist or too much dry ingredients
I’ve made many banana breads but this is by far my most favorite! Could not believe there was no added sugar. I swapped the flour for oatmeal that I blended until it got to a flour consistency, and used olive oil and full fat Greek yogurt. This will be my new go to recipe for banana bread. No doubt!
Great to hear that! Thanks for stopping by 🙂
Just made this for the first time. Taste is great. However, my bread/loaf was very dense.
Any thoughts on what I may have done wrong??
In a large bowl, beat eggs, oil, honey, milk and vanilla for 2 minutes. — I did this — I am wondering if that was too much
This is by far the best bread I have ever made, and people LOVE it!! Zero modifications (except maybe a few extra chocolate chips! 😉). I’ve probably made it 50 times. Perfect the way it is!!
I’m not sure why the bread turned out dense. The only thing I can think of is that it wasn’t whipped long enough. Did you change anything in the recipe?
This was really good and very sweet and all I did was put the bananas in the oven for 20 minutes as suggested. I even used sugar free syrup instead of regular syrup and it still turned out really sweet!!!
I used a hand whisk. Did you use an electric beater? If the power is too high it can be overdone. Are you sure you used the right amounts?
Sorry, this was meant for the previous post whose bread turned out too dense
I’m in shock, this bread is the best. I’ve made many banana bread recipes in the past, full of sugar. This has no sugar and it’s delicious and moist. It’s actually better with no butter or cream cheese smeared on it. There’s nothing I would change about the recipe. I still can’t get over no sugar. Who knew whole grain and honey would marry like this! Just add some olive oil, walnuts and blueberries… heart healthy as you can get. Thanks for a great recipe!
So glad to hear that, Judy!! 🙂
I followed the recipe. I hate it when people give something 5 stars then their review contains 8 changes. My family is used to me cooking healthily so they aren’t “butter or death!” Everyone likes this one. My husband said it tasted like pudding, but that was good. The coconut oil does give it a different flavor/texture but it wasn’t bad, just different. I used real maple syrup and was generous with the cinnamon. I chose ” convection bake” so I’m glad I checked it early (~42 minutes). The center was cooked. I would definitely do this one again.
Is this better with yogurt or milk?
yogurt 🙂
Ooops banana bread is in the oven and I forgot to put in the maple syrup. Fingers crossed it still turns out good!!
How did it work out for you? I was thinking of substituting the honey for unsweetened applesauce since I’m making this for a diabetes grandmother. But if I can leave it out completely I might just do that.
HI. This is my first comment EVER and I felt the need to because this banana bread was SO delicious, I bake a lot and I have made hundreds of banana breads before but this one is the best one yet. BY FAR!!!!!
Tried and tested, awesome ! And thanks ❤️❤️
Enjoy!
Delish! I doubled the bananas, used 1 tsp of kosher salt, half the maple syrup, and used chopped walnuts AND chocolate chips. It’s beyond good. It did take and extra 20 minutes to bake but I’ve found that to be true with most banana bread recipes.
Hello,
I wanna try this recipe tomorrow and my question is how much is the flour cups in gramms. Is it 1 and 3/4 or only 3/4 cup ?!
The flour is measured in cups and it’s 1 and 3/4 of a cup.
Cup Of four is 125-130 gms. Depends on density. There are multiple converters on Google
Can you use almond flour instead of whole wheat ?
I have not tested this specific recipe with almond flour but I do have an almond flour version. Please search for “almond flour banana bread” in the search bar to find it 🙂
This is a great recipe, I’ve used it countless times. Varied it with the chocolate, nuts, sometimes dried blueberries or sour cherries. Changed the flour ratio, one in the oven right now with a white/oat flour mix.
Hi, is it US cups? to convert to gramms 🙂
Google the conversion! That is what I would do. How many grams in 1.75 American cups of flour?
I cup of flour is 125-130 gms depending on what flour, which. Changes density. Multiple converters on Google
Just made this exactly like the recipe and it was perfect!!! So yummy. I just have a question is the whole cake 238 calories or a slice 😅
It’s says 238 calories is for 1 slice. They say you get 12 slices
Can I use oat flour?
okay i don’t leave many comments ever
but this recipe is so good, the only thing i changed was i used a gf flour mix, and this is probably the 4th or 5th banana bread recipe i’ve tried and it’s SO GOOD AND SO MOIST! i might eat it all today!!!
Thanks so much for taking the time to leave a review!
I’ve used this recipe many times and it has always turned out perfectly! It really is “no-fail“ and everyone in the family loves it.
So glad to hear!
Great recipe and very moist. Made some slight modifications: Added half a teaspoon pure almond extract, half teaspoon nutmeg, one and a half teaspoon vanilla extract, 1 tsp cinnamon.
Trying this recipe as im typing this review, batter turned out well and I cant wait to try more recipes from @GIMMEDelicious! I’m super excited to taste this banana bread! 😍
I found this to be pretty bland overall. I even used honey with cinnamon in it, as well as a little ground cinnamon.
Made these GF as muffins, ready in 30 mins and very moist indeed.
Thank you for the recipe. 🙂