Healthy Banana Bread!
With this healthy banana bread recipe, you're only a few basic ingredients away from the best banana bread ever! It's made with whole wheat flour and honey.
Updated by Kathryne Taylor on August 29, 2024
Want to make someone’s day? Bake them some banana bread! Just yesterday, I said, “I’m going to bake some banana bread,” and watched a full-grown man’s eyes light up like a kid’s on Christmas morning.
Banana bread is one of those classic, all-American comfort food recipes that fills the whole house with warmth and makes everything better. Banana bread is magic.
I perfected this banana bread recipe for my cookbook and wanted to share with you here. This recipe has all the hallmarks of classic banana bread—it’s fluffy, moist, infused with sweet banana flavor, and beloved by toddlers and adults alike.
Bonus? This recipe requires just one bowl, a few measuring cups and some basic ingredients.
What makes this banana bread healthy?
- This banana bread recipe is made with 100 percent whole wheat flour, unlike traditional banana bread recipes that call for refined flour and lots of processed sugar.
- This banana bread is naturally sweetened with honey or maple syrup, which offer some trace nutrients that white sugar does not.
- Lastly, this recipe calls for a reasonable amount of unrefined oil rather than whole sticks of butter (choose from virgin coconut oil, extra-virgin olive oil or vegetable oil).
As you can see, my homemade banana bread has plenty of redeeming qualities, chief being that it won’t send your blood sugar levels for a loop. You can keep them all to yourself, though. No one will be able to tell that this is healthy banana bread!
Banana Bread Flour Options
This recipe is flexible! Any of the following flours will work well. I love to use white whole wheat flour and whole wheat pastry flour—they offer all the whole wheat nutrients, without the characteristically nutty flavor.
- All-purpose flour
- Gluten-free all-purpose flour blend
- Oat flour*
- Spelt flour
- Whole wheat flour
- Whole wheat pastry flour
- White whole wheat flour
*To substitute oat flour, you’ll need to use 2 1/2 cups, for reasons elaborated in my guide to oat flour.
Want to make your banana bread with almond flour? You sure can, but it’s not a simple substitute, so follow my almond flour-based banana bread recipe instead.
Tip: How to Measure Flour
For best results, it’s important to measure your flour properly. Here’s how to measure flour in cups using the “spoon and swoop” method:
- Gently stir your flour with a large spoon to loosen it up.
- Spoon the flour into your measuring cup (don’t scoop it in!).
- Level off the excess with a butter knife.
Banana Bread Variations
Now that I’ve finally perfected this basic banana bread, feel free to change up this recipe and make it your own. Toss some chopped pecans or walnuts into the batter! Same goes for chocolate chips. You could also add raisins, chopped dried fruit or slices of bananas.
Craving muffins instead? Follow my recipe for healthy banana muffins.
Following a special diet? With a couple of minor tweaks, you can make this bread vegan (so dairy free and egg free, too) or gluten free. Check the recipe notes for details.
Watch How to Make Healthy Banana Bread
Healthy Banana Bread
With this healthy banana bread recipe, you’re only a few simple ingredients away from the best banana bread ever! It’s made with whole wheat flour and naturally sweetened with honey or maple syrup. You can easily make this banana bread vegan or gluten free—check the recipe notes for details. Recipe yields 1 loaf (about 10 slices).
Ingredients
- ⅓ cup (75 grams) melted coconut oil or extra-virgin olive oil or high quality vegetable oil*
- ½ cup honey (168 grams) or maple syrup (155 grams)
- 2 eggs
- 1 cup (225 grams) mashed ripe bananas (about 2 ½ medium or 2 large bananas)
- ¼ cup (56 grams) milk of choice or water
- 1 teaspoon baking soda (NOT baking powder; they aren’t the same!)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon, plus more to swirl on top
- 1 ¾ cups (220 grams) white whole wheat flour or regular whole wheat flour**
- Totally optional: ½ cup mix-ins like chopped walnuts or pecans, chocolate chips, raisins, chopped dried fruit, fresh banana slices…
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit (165 degrees Celsius) and grease a 9×5-inch loaf pan.
- In a large bowl, beat the oil and honey together with a whisk. Add the eggs and beat well, then whisk in the mashed bananas and milk. (If your coconut oil solidifies on contact with cold ingredients, simply let the bowl rest in a warm place for a few minutes, like on top of your stove, or warm it for about 10 seconds in the microwave.)
- Add the baking soda, vanilla, salt and cinnamon, and whisk to blend. Lastly, switch to a big spoon and stir in the flour, just until combined. Some lumps are ok! If you’re adding any additional mix-ins, gently fold them in now.
- Pour the batter into your greased loaf pan and sprinkle lightly with cinnamon. If you’d like a pretty swirled effect, run the tip of a knife across the batter in a zig-zag pattern.
- Bake for 55 to 60 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean (typically, if I haven’t added any mix-ins, my bread is done at 55 minutes; if I have added mix-ins, it needs closer to 60 minutes). Let the bread cool in the loaf pan for at least 10 minutes. You may need to run a butter knife around the edges to loosen the bread from the pan. Carefully transfer the loaf to a wire rack to cool before slicing.
Notes
Recipe adapted from my honey whole wheat banana bread, originally based on All Recipes.
Storage suggestions: This bread is moist, so it will keep for just two or three days at room temperature. Store it in the refrigerator for five to seven days, or in the freezer for up to three months or so. I like to slice the bread before freezing and defrost individual slices, either by letting them rest at room temperature or lightly toasting them.
*Oil options: I love coconut oil here. I used unrefined coconut oil and can hardly taste it in the final product. Olive oil might lend an herbal note to the muffins, if you’re into that (I tested with California Olive Ranch’s “Everyday” variety and couldn’t even taste it). Vegetable oil has a neutral flavor, but the average vegetable/canola oil is highly processed, so I recommend using cold-pressed sunflower oil or grapeseed oil if possible.
**Flour alternatives: In place of the whole wheat flour, you can use an equal amount of all purpose flour, whole wheat pastry flour, spelt flour, or gluten-free all-purpose flour blend. Or, substitute 2 ½ cups oat flour.
Make muffins: Here’s my banana muffin recipe.
Make it vegan: Use maple syrup instead of honey, replace the eggs with flax eggs and choose non-dairy milk (I used almond milk) or water.
Make it dairy free: Choose non-dairy milk (I used almond milk) or water.
Make it egg free: Replace the eggs with flax eggs.
Make it gluten free: Use an equal amount of Bob’s Red Mill’s gluten-free blend or 2 ½ cups certified gluten-free oat flour. Do NOT substitute coconut flour.
Make it lower in fat: I would argue that this bread contains a healthy amount of fat, but you can replace the oil with applesauce if you’re following a low-fat diet.
If you love this recipe: You will also love my banana muffins, banana cake with cream cheese frosting, healthy pumpkin bread and pumpkin muffins. Here are all of my baked goods and banana recipes.
Recommended equipment: I am totally in love with my Fiesta Loaf Pan in Turquoise (affiliate link).
Nutrition
The information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice. See our full nutrition disclosure here.
I’ve made this a dozen times with this recipe and never had a bad loaf yet. I double the recipe to get two loaves and use virgin coconut oil, Madagascar vanilla, organically grown bananas, and pecans or walnuts. Last winter I was making it and was mixing the liquid ingredients. I added the eggs and milk while melting the coconut oil in the oven. I got it a little to hot and when I added to the mix it cooked the eggs somewhat and ruined it. Don’t make that mistake. I made two loaves today adding chopped Medjool dates and pecans. The house smells great.
Great to hear, Michael!
Another winner from Cookie and Kate! Wasn’t sure to expect with this recipe – I kept my expectations on the low side as I have found baking with wheat flour sometimes produces a drier result. That was not the case here. It was moist and delicious, though next time I think I’ll use 3 bananas vs. 2. I added walnuts and a few choco chips to the batter, then sprinkled the top with shredded coconut, pumpkin seeds and a bit of sugared cinnamon. The top had a slight crunch to it which was nice. This is delicious on it’s own, but would also be nice with almond butter or a little jam.
Thank you for putting this recipe out there!
Did you mean 325° for a Convection oven?
It took an extra half hour to bake at 325°in my oven that doesn’t have convection.
This is for a conventional oven – not convection.
This is the best banana bread. I used higher protein, lower carb flour and it turned out well and is so delicious
Dear Kate,
Thank you for posting such nutritious and healthy options to iconic recipes. This single Dad’s young family and cardiologist think your “I love you Banana Bread” (my youngest lol) is simply the best tasting, juiciest, richest banana bread we’ve ever tasted. The healthy honey, coconut oil, whole wheat flour substitutions – eliminating bad sugar, vegetable oil and white bleached flour – even impressed my dietician! Thank you for helping my family eat better while having so much fun making it. Your instructions and most helpful tips and facts are so appreciated. FP
Love this easy banana bread recipe. I make it at-least once a week for myself or friends/family and it always comes out perfect. I love adding chocolate chips and walnuts. THANK YOU!!!
You’re welcome!
I don’t know if this recipe needs another rating lol BUT I have been making this banana bread recipe for years. It is the best. So I finally thought I’d share my modifications/suggestions: 1) using very overripe bananas is key. Let those things be MUSHY. I also use 4 large bananas, pretty sure it’s more than 1 cup. I like the extra banana-y flavor. 2) I replace oil with applesauce and notice zero difference, if anything I think it’s moister using the applesauce. 3) I use 1/3 cup maple syrup as the sweetener. I can get by with less sweetner because I use more very ripe banana. 4) these are the standard modifications i’ve been using for years that produce the BEST banana bread!!
Thank you for sharing, Emily!
I have made this recipe so many times and my husband and I love it! A few times I made it with regular flour because I didn’t have the whole wheat flour but other than that, I follow the recipe exactly. I am making the healthy pumpkin muffins next!
This is one of the most delicious banana breads I’ve ever made. I love that it has only honey and banana to sweeten it. I used half spelt and half whole wheat pastry flour. Took exactly 55 minutes with no mix ins.
Hi there!
I’ve made this recipe a few times now and we absolutely love it!
I typically use EVOO and it turns out delicious. Sometimes, if I’m trying to be healthier, I’ll use applesauce instead. It’s tasty but of course not the same!
I also love to add 1-2 tbsp of unsweetened cocoa powder to my batter and add the same amount of milk to balance out the liquid to dry ratio. For mix ins, 70% dark chocolate morsels and walnuts are my go to!
I took this to a friend’s place recently and everyone loved it. With the holidays coming up, I wanted to bake some in mini loaf pans and gift it to some friends.
Do you have any recommendation on how I should adjust the baking temperature and time for mini loaf pans?
Thank you in advance!
Can you use butter in place of oil?
I recommend this best as written. If you try it, let me know how it turns out for you.
Best banana bread in the galaxy
I’m glad you loved it, Dave!
What about adding protein powder?
I haven’t tried it so I can’t say for sure. Sorry!
I love this recipe and the zucchini muffins. It’s the only banana bread recipe I use. It’s hard to find baked goods without a ton of sugar and this one fits the bill!
The banana bread was well received! However, mine came out crumbly. I followed directions and I don’t normally have any difficulties so do you have any ideas why this happened?
BTW out of dozens of vegetarian cookbooks in my kitchen, yours is my favorite and when googling a recipe I look up C&K.
Kate, Thx for your recipe.
As I dont have honey/maple syrup at home now, can I replace it with granulated white or brown sugar? Thank you.
Unfortunately that will impact your results as it is part of the liquid measurements that helps with moisture. I hope you can try it!
Super easy to make, so delicious and love that it’s a better option than a traditional sugary white flour recipe.
Best recipe
Love this recipe. I made a few adaptions with the flour (as suggested in the notes in the recipe) – for those who, like me, might not want to use AP flour (I try not to use it because of the glycemic factor, as I’m pre diabetic)- So I subbed oat flour and rye flour – same total amount as original recipe – turned out delicious. I also subbed yogurt for the milk for a bit more tang. And I only used 1/4 cup of maple syrup. Bananas made it super sweet on their own. I used olive oil, as that what I had. Very delicious – thank you for the great recipe and suggestions for subbing ingredients. They worked!
We love this recipe! But I suddenly seem to have several packs of bread flour at the moment! Do you think I could use that instead??
I haven’t tried it, sorry!
Banana Nut Bread easy to make and very moist.
However, after baking it was dull..so I added more bananas and cinnamon to give it that bananas nut bread flavor .
Thank you Kathrynne for this fabulous Banana Bread recipe. It has become my go-to on an almost weekly bake.
I substitute whatever flour I have. I add about an once of melted butter and also a generous handful of oats along with sultanas and chopped walnuts. I tend to mix the syrups dependent on whatever I have on hand-Maple/ Honey….
It is my gift cake to the neighbours as a Thank you!
You’re welcome! I appreciate your review.
Can I use ap flour, it is all I have m would I just use a little bit less of liquid?
Sure, it should work too.
Kate, This is my all time favorite. I add walnuts. I reviewed your recipe for any changes and noticed you added Grams. I measure in Grams for my Sourdough and find it much easier. Thank you so much! Barbara
You’re welcome, Barbara!
Came out moist and delicious. Not overly sweet. Just right. Great recipe!
Mine came out pretty dense and didn’t rise much, but the flavor was good. Any suggestions?
Same!
We loved this banana bread. Super moist and I only used two bananas. I used coconut oil, honey and all purpose flour. Mixed in walnuts. Baked for 50 minutes. We almost ate the whole loaf throughout the day! My husband loved it.
Hi Kathryne!
Thank You for this banana bread recipe. It’s baking in my wood stove oven now. I had boiled (raw) milk earlier, so I added the warm milk in to the oil & honey to help combine those two better, then I threw in the mashed bananas, to cool mix down before adding beaten eggs. I followed through the rest of your directions. Just one other tweak: I didn’t have vanilla extract so I used a tsp of Raki
My oven is above the wood burning compartment, so I put the bread-loaf pan inside another pan with water in the hope that the bottom doesn’t cook faster than the rest of the bread. I’ll be turning my pan halfway through baking time as the back of the oven gets stronger heat. Happy baking! cheers
Definitely a very forgiving recipe.
2 attempts, 2 successes.
I used the apple sauce to replace the oil, only had 2 bananas so added a grated carrot and it was done in 50 mins in a fan forced oven.
Simple and tasty with no sugar and no oil. Great. Thank you Kate
I’ve been making this for years and it’s still my favorite! I’ve done the regular, all purpose flour method and oat flour!
Can I use greek yoghurt instead of milk or water? Same amount?
Maple syrup has high calorie. Can I use less in this recipe?
I used less and it wasn’t very sweet. I used about 120g as opposed to the 155g.
I want to ask you since you’ve been making this for a while. Do you know how many carbs in it if you go by the recipe for one serving I can’t find it in my calorie counting app.
This is a healthy and delicious recipe! I made it twice, once with olive oil and the second time with coconut oil. I prefer the coconut oil because the sweetness pairs well with the bananas and raisins I used. I will definitely make this recipe again!
Can I use melted Butter instead of oil?
I did. It worked perfectly.
Absolutely love this recipe and have for yours! Any recommendations to increase protein – add in cottage cheese or yogurt somewhere? If so in what quantity and where?
Thank you!
Add nuts for protein
Tasted great and really easy but only needed to cook for 40 minutes in my oven.
this is a very good and easy recipe
This was so good! Next time id cut down tge maple syrup to possibly 1/3 cup because it was a tad bit too sweet, otherwise really yummy and i added walnuts for crunch and dark chocolate chips :)
See, I added less maple syrup and it was not sweet at all. I made little banana bread bars for the kids lunchboxes.
Delicious first bread I made with my daughter. I used a gluten free flour and it was amazing
My go to banana bread recipe! I have baked this so many times I know the recipe by heart! I always double the batch because….kids. It’s absolutely delicious every time. I love that the only sweetener is maple syrup. We love it with almond butter. Thanks for a great recipe. I have shared with many friends too! :)
Good recipe! I used 1 and 1/4 cups of almond flour and the remaining recommended amount of whole wheat flour. I believe it could have used perhaps another banana or so. Using almond flour took this banana bread recipe to another level of healthy snack. Thank you for taking the time to share this recipe!
I’ve had my banana bread in the oven for 70 minutes already and it’s still mushy in the middle. So I turned up my oven temperature to 350. Hopefully this does the trick. I followed the recipe. Used olive oil eggs honey and almond milk. All purpose whole wheat flour. Maybe it’s my oven. Will keep posting. I also put walnuts and a very small handful of raisins. Maybe that’s why it’s still too moist in the middle?
Yeah I’m having a similar issue. Toothpick seems fine but my probe thermometer is reading only 150 F (should read 200 F when baked through).
Purchase an oven thermometer. Preheating oven to correct temperature and take 20 minutes or longer. May need to add some degrees. For example, if directions state 350…may need to put at 365 if your oven is 15 degrees lower.
Oh yes I have one, as well as a tabletop smart oven which I use for this recipe. Still takes much longer than stated here and never gets to the usual desired internal temp.
Same issue here. Is it just meant to be that gooey?
Purchase an oven thermometer. Preheating oven to correct temperature and take 20 minutes or longer. May need to add some degrees. For example, if directions state 350…may need to put at 365 if your oven is 15 degrees lower.
This is the best healthiest banana bread I’ve ever made. This will be my banana bread recipe for my entire life from now and the future.
I enjoyed it. It was moist and not overly sweet. I did add extra appox 1/4 tsp cinnamon to the top and swirled it around.
I used 2 bananas, unbleached all purpose white flour and added (60g) 1/4 cup of peanut butter to the banana mashed them up until the peanut butter was whipped in then added it. After 50 min at 325 I became impatient and turned it up to 350 for about 5 min.
This has been my go-to for banana bread and muffins for several years now. My 5 year old daughter loves loves loves it! I add some flaxseed meal and hemp hearts to the batter for extra nutrition and usually bake muffins instead of bread as they’re easier for her to eat without a mess. I sometimes add chocolate chips too. A winner every time!
How much apple sauce to replace the oil to make it low fat? What about using half the amount in coconut oil and half the amount in apple sauce? Many thanks looking forward to trying this recipe
I always use applesauce 1/3 c as the recipe calls and always turns out great. Haven’t tried the 1/2 and 1/2 let us know if you do and how it turns out :)
FABULOUS dairy free banana bread! This is exactly what my daughter and I were craving. I like the fact that you used honey and not sugar. It was super moist, the right texture and the right amount of sweetness.
Just coming here to say that this is my go-to banana bread recipe! I’ve made it countless times and it’s always turned out so well. I usually add in some nuts and/or mini chocolate chips. So good!
So yummy!
I changed a few things and used this recipe as some what of a guide and it was still amazing:
– I used extra virgin olive oil
– I totally forgot milk somehow lol
– I added way more cinnamon
– I added a lot of nutmeg
– I dethawed frozen ripe bananas
– I used a tsp of honey and the rest of sweetener maple syrup (dates are also a great alternative)
Hello. I dried some white mulberries and made a flour out of them. So, can I use them as flour and sweatener? Any need to update the ingredients? Thanks in advance!!
Pretty much followed the recipe to a tee and it turned out lovely. Will definitely use again, thank you.
Have made this many times, great recipe! (I use half the amount of maple syrup to make it more toddler friendly and they are still delicious)