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!
Equipment
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.
GET THE MUFFIN VERSION HERE!!
Healthy Moist Banana Bread Muffins
I Was so excited to make banana bread today using this recipe and wanted to share them with my neighbors. It was super easy to follow and great ingredients. However, all we can taste is flour. We doubled the recipe because we had more bananas that needed to be used. we used slightly under doubling everything besides the banana but all we can taste is flour. I recommend using less flour especially if you are goingt to double the recipe.
I do not suggest changing the recipe even when doubling. Next time please try the recipe as written and let us know how it goes! 🙂
Best banana bread ever! I’m not a very good baker and have tried to make banana bread before without much success, but this recipe is so easy and absolutely delicious. I’ve made it heaps of times in the last couple of months,it’s become my staple for family reunions and Everyone that tries it says it’s delicious and up to “cafe” standards, thanks so much for sharing!!!
Made this BANANA BREAD RECIPE LAST PM. I changed the following and this was the best banana bread i’ve ever had!
changes include:
1/3 cup coconut oil (not 1/2 cup)
a little less than a 1/3 of a cup unsweetened applesauce
1/3 cup plain greek yogurt (not 1/4 cup)
used 2 large very, very, verrryyy ripe bananas- extremely mushy, honestly almost moldy
added ~1/3 cup giradelli semi-sweet chocolate chips
3-4 dashes of allspice
heaping 1/4 tsp nutmeg
used whole wheat flour (same amount as in original recipe)
cooked in 9×5 loaf pan at 325 degrees for 60 minutes (a little longer due to more moisture from applesauce)
not only did it taste like normal un-healthy banana bread, it was incredibly moist while cutting out some of the oil! will be saving the recipe the way i made it. thank you for the base recipe as it is easy to change/grow off of! i’m sure the recipe as stated would have been delicious as most healthy banana bread recipes call for 1/3 cup oil- which makes the bread too dry, and your recipe calls for 1/2 cup oil. i just couldn’t bear putting that much oil into a baked good!
I’m assuming the yogourt goes in witH the wet ingrediEnts but The instrucTions don’t say that.
Oh nevermind lol i reread the instructions!
Pretty good banana bread! I used 1/3 cup olive oil, 1 tsp cinnamon, and 1/2 tsp nutmeg. I did not add chocolate chips. I wish i did. The bread was moist, but had a crispy top and the texture was good, but it was a little bland. Just add dried fruit, chocolate, or nuts and I think it would be amazing!
This is the only banana bread recipe I use. almost have it memorized. I love it.
The banana bread came out well, but the ingredients do not match the recpie…
Just made this for the first time. It smells delish. Hiw do you normally store it? Should i refrigerate it if i don’t planto cut it for anther day or two?
Hi Lisa. I like to wrap each slice tightly in plastic wrap and store in the fridge. You can also place the slices on a plate and seal with plastic wrap or place in a ziplock bag.
If i doubled the recipe to make two loaves how would that affect cookinG time?
If you are baking it in two separate pans then the cooking time would not change.
My go to recipe! I have FolLowed this recipe a dozen times! I swap the cows milK for rice milk and the eggs for Chia seed ‘eggs’. I also swap the maple syrup for rice malt syrup (i just prefer rice malt syRup morE) i also use the cocOnut oil option! Oh, i also add a dash of nutmeg 🙂
someTimes i bake this In a pan, other times i turn them into muffinS 🙂 ive made this a gluten freE (gluten free self raising Flour) and it turned out delicious!
Thank you for sharing this recipe, it is definitely a staple in my kitchen!
P.s i also add a dash of apple cider vinegar 🙂
I increased it to 1/4 cup milk and 1/4 Greek YOGURT. It was a happy accident but it turned out really Good! I also did 1 tsp cinnamon as suggested by another reveiwer and a pinch nutmeg. It was delicious. Thank you! I’m TRYING TO bake using healthier ingredients.
haha I’m glad to hear the bread turned out well even with the accidental use of both Greek yogurt and milk! <3
Best healthy recipe ! My husband is diabetic so I use sugar free maple syrup and add protein powder,1/2 tsp nutmeg and increase cinnamon to 1 tsp. Decrease olive oil to 1/3 and omit chocolate chips. Very moist a VERY Delicious!
Oh man! I just made this bread and it is so good!
I used 50/50 AP and WW flour, honey, coconut oil, yogurt and subbed nuts/ chocolate for strawberries.
I also added ¼ cup protein powder. I don’t care for the taste of the protein powder (strawberry cheese cake) and I can’t even tell that it’s in there. So glad I finally found a recipe for the powder! Thank you.
Also, I had a hard time mixing the wet ingredients because once I added the melted oil to the cold ingredients it got hard again. I did the best I could and any lumps I had didn’t seem to pose a problem but it’s something I’ll be aware of next time.
Protein powder sounds like a delicious add-in. I’m glad the recipe worked out for you!!
Lived these muffins they tasted soo good! Only thing is that they were sUper oily. Is thAt normal? I followed the recipe exactly. Can you substatite apple sauce for oil?
Yes, apple sauce should work!
i used one cup of flour and subbed the rest with quick oats, used about 1/6C of honey if that, almond milk, cut the coconut oil down to 3/16ths (75% of 1/4C) and used frozen blueberries instead of chocolate chips. delicious!!! Thank you for this recipe!
I’m on a non-acid diet for my gerd condition and have been eating a lot of bananas, banana bread and banana muffins. This is by far the best recipe ive tried. It’s moist and delicious. I used cocoanut oil, honey and regular whole wheat flour plus chopped Pecans. Love it!
I made this with flax “eggs” and coconut milk instead of eggs and milk. It turned out SO moist and delicious. This is by far the best banana bread i’ve Ever made!
Hello. The banana loaf sounds delicious! May i please have measurements in grams? Im a first time baker and cant really bake but wanted to try it.
Many thanks!
For now, all my recipes are only in U.S standard measurements. You can try this really helpful tool to convert the recipe. http://dish.allrecipes.com/conversions-us-standard-to-uk/
Made this several times already and everyone loves it! I actually only use 1/3 of a cup of coconut oil and it’s amazing!
Question ~If I use frozen bananas should I save the liquid as they thaw ? Can’t wait to try this recipe…the comments sold me !!
A nice healthy banana bread recipe, moist and not too sweet. I thow in about 1/4 cup of cocoa nibs to give some crunch a bit of deep chocolate flavour.
Omg!! I have been looking for a recipe like this for the past two years. I cut open my banana bread, took a bite and almost died. IT IS SO MOIST!!!!! I’m so happy!!! Thank you!!
I am excited to try it, thank you for sharig.
Questions: what differences will I notice if i go iwth the greek yogurt or milk?
For the baking soda, we dont need to add something acid to react? Should I do a little bit of baking soda a little of baking Powder?
Thanks!!
The yogurt makes it denser the milk fluffy but it shouldn’t make too much of a difference. Keep the baking soda as is and it should be fine. Enjoy!
Do you mean 1 and 3/4 cup flour or just 3/4 flour? I will also be using just plain all-purpose white flour. Do I use the same measurements for that or does it change depending on the type of flour? thank you!
1 and 3/4 of a cup.
Is it plain flour sorry little unsure,in most receipes in states SR flour or plain regards Kerry
It’s plain all purpose flour.
Made this just now, baking away in my oven … love me a nice slice of healthy banana bread, can’t wait to taste it !
PS I used oat milk instead of regular ..
Can low fat cream cheese be used instead of/along with greek yogurt? Thanks a lot!
I haven’t tried it with cream cheese so I don’t know if it would work but it sounds delicious!
For sharing this you’re just a darling. God bless and increase you.
This was a hit with the entire family! We think it tastes better than typical banana bread. Very moist and flavorful. I’m glad I found this recipe. Thank you!
I had small bananas so I used four small bananas however it made it made it very wet and uncooked I know I should have used two or three however maybe specifie small-medium bananas.
I will make it again though but what size of banana works best for you ?
Try measuring one cup of mashed bananas next time. That should do the trick!
Thanks for this recipe. Putting the nanners in the oven to ripen was brilliant!
Made this a few days ago & it took much restraint not to eat the whole loaf at once! This bread is so moist & delish. Even though I love chocolate, I’m a purist when it comes to banana bread & substituted chopped walnuts. I can’t wait to make it again (the bread disappeared after a few days). I wonder how that happened?! Guess I have to force myself to make it again (sigh) & solve the mystery.
P.S. Do you have a healthy recipe (that tastes decadent) of Nanner Pudding?. It’s one of my faves.
Bake on!
“Really” Perfect banana bread recipe. Printed and added to my cookbook for safekeeping 😀
I am not that good at cooking and tried some recipes before that didn’t turn out good. Baked this one a couple days ago and it voila, pretty, moist, delicious bread! So happy and ready for the next batch. Thanks for sharing your recipe!
I thought I had found the perfect healthy banana bread recipe elsewhere but I was wrong since this is the perfect one. I have made it twice already and it’s a hit with the family (even the picky ones in the extended family). Son even asked to take some home with him but his Dad had already eaten most of it except two pieces which son gladly accepted. Guess that means I should make some again this weekend before he visits again. Maybe I should make two loaves. lol Thank you for the great recipe.
I’m so happy to hear your son likes this healthy banana bread, Sharon! my daughter actually likes it more than regular banana bread as well so I make it for her all the time.
I am mid-prep and can’t see when to add the greek yoghurt….im assuming i mix it in with wet ingredients? fingers crossed it works as I’m a bit of a kitchen nuffy. hope its right!
Yes, mix it in with the wet ingredients.
Amazing recipe. I have finally found the perfect banana bread recipe. Thank you.
You are welcome! I’m glad you enjoyed it 🙂
I made this today as 6 jumbo muffins and baked for 40 minutes. They were delicious! I used regular AP flour vs. WW. I skipped the chocolate too since I’m trying to use these as a sugar free alternative (honey is ok…just not refined sugar). I’ll definitely make these again!
Hands down the best banana bread recipe. It was wonderful. I am always trying recipes with white whole wheat flour, without refined sugar or artificial sweeteners, but a lot of them don’t seem to work out that great. So happy I tried this one. You nailed it!
Such a delicious recipe. I’ve made it twice, first with honey and walnuts, second time with maple syrup, dark chocolate morsels and banana slices. Both with almond milk. It makes a dense, soft, velvety loaf that is not too sweet – less like banana “cake” which is what most banana bread recipes are – but just really good satisfying banana bread.
For some reason loaf cake recipes always take me much longer to bake than recipe calls for, probably bc my altitude/climate. This was no exception; the bread was perfect at 80 minutes.
Thank you for a keeper banana bread recipe that is healthier than many alternatives.
I have made this a few times just as the recipe is using whole wheat flour, honey, and Greek yogurt (without chocolate chips). I have five kids 12 down to 1 and every single one of them love it and get so excited each time I make it. Hubby says it’s delicious as well. Definitely my go to recipe every time I make banana bread/muffins!
I’m so happy to hear all of your kids loved the banana bread Amber! 🙂
I’m not much of a baker, but this turned out delicious even with my level of expertise! Followed the recipe exactly and did not use walnuts and cinnamon as my wifey dear does not like those ingredients. She loved this as my New Year’s Eve bake off. A wholesome and healthy start to 2018! Cheers and warm regards