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.
Hey is there a way I could make this using a bread machine?
Hi Hala, this isn’t meant for a bread machine so I don’t have instructions for you. I hope you try it as written.
I tried to with my breviary bread machine and it worked perfectly
Love this so delicious . I’ve made with wholemeal flour and all purpose when I didn’t have wholemeal and are both great. I love to top with dark chocolate chips (:
Just made these, switching from my go to Banana bread recipe and I gotta say the texture was spot on. I love how there was no sugar in this recipe at all. I used 150grams of honey instead of 168 since my family doesn’t like things too sweet. This will be my new and favorite go to recipe now. ☺️☺️
This is my definite favourite banana bread recipe! We love it so much I’m making it instead of cake for my son’a birthday tomorrow, he requested it.
Changing the pan to a round pan though so I guess I’ll adapt the cooking time.
Thank you so much!
Wonderful, Cecilia! I appreciate your review.
The only recipe I use to make banana bread! I switch between using honey and maple syrup to sweeten it depending on what I’m feeling that day. Easy to make and always comes out delicious!! Sometimes I make the muffin version of these, too; they’re just as yummy! Thank you for this delicious, healthy recipe!
This was excellent! There was way too much sugar for me in the original recipe, though, so what I did was use only 100 g of maple syrup and add 55 g of water to make it less sweet but still moist. The bread still turned out quite sweet, so I will keep adjusting the sugar levels. Additionally, for me even after 65 minutes in the oven the middle of the bread was still raw, which to be fair might be due to the water I added in place of the maple syrup. Next time I’ll use volume instead of mass measurements for the maple syrup and see how that goes.
What I loved about the recipe was ingredients listed in grams. I am an experienced baker and simply thought I would try a new recipe that was healthier. Unlike so many of reviewers who raved, I didn’t like the recipe. I used all ingredients as listed to a “T” using the whole wheat flour and honey and used ripe freckled bananas as I always do for a good bread. I found the taste had a bite (perhaps from the ww flour). Also not much of a banana taste. So I am disappointed. I will try one more loaf using gluten free all-in-one flour and applesauce before chucking it up as not a keeper.
Hi Kathy, I’m sorry you didn’t enjoy this recipe. I appreciate your feedback.
Thank you. This recipe worked 1st time. Banana bread is moist, tender, and soft, although the loaf felt heavy when straight out of the oven.
I skipped the sugary ingredient (honey and maple/agave syrup) – I wanted the loaf to be not too sweet so it can be suitable for morning sweet treat breakfast: spread with jam or peanut butter. It is a work of wonder, everybody in my household indulges and praises the cook. I say I am just following the recipe, in 99% of times.
I just made this in my Instant Pot and on my GOD it’s amazing. SO banana-y, SO moist, absolutely delicious, and not cloyingly sweet!! So good!
I’m glad it worked well in your instant pot, Dana! I appreciate your review.
I’ve been looking for a banana bread for my kids with no sugar and this is the first one that didn’t disappoint- tastes just like banana bread should and MOIST! I had to use cream because I didn’t have milk and I used our farm fresh melted butter and it came out GREAT-I honestly can’t tell the difference between my old recipes! Can’t wait to try this with GF flour too! Thank you!!!
I’m happy to hear that, Lizz! Thank you for sharing.
Best banana bread ever, and I have made/tried a few in 65 years. Perfect every time.
Very disappointed really. Sent my partner to get all the ingredients as were so excited to make the bread! Baked for over an hour and still wasn’t ready, left in the oven for 1,5h total and it still wasn’t cooked inside and not edible. Such a shame
I’m sorry to hear that. Are you sure you measured everything correctly and there wasn’t too much liquid or left out an ingredient?
this recipe is amazing! I opted for a few tweaks as I used whole spelt flour, added some chopped pecans as well as some choc chips. will definitely make it again as everyone in the family loves it!
love from Austria
I’ve tried different banana recipes but I always revert back to this healthy banana bread recipe. It’s the best! My kids ask for multiple pieces whenever I make it. I’ve just forward the recipe to my sisters. *^_^*
I love, love, love this healthy recipe for my partner and I. She wouldn’t eat it if it was full of fats.
Delicious and easy to make! Thank you for posting this recipe
My previous review never got published, even though I got an email that it was. Made a second attempt, after the first failure. followed step by step again and unfortunately the cake was undercooked again. So so so disappointed. Definitely not gonna try again as I just keep on wasting money on good ingredients.
Hi Aggie, I’m not sure what may have happened. Sometimes there is a delay in posting from when you initially comment. I’m sorry this didn’t turn out for you.
Made this delicious banana bread today! Will be my go-to recipe! Thank you! :)
You’re welcome, Amber!
I made the heathy banana Bread with the whole wheat flour and I added walnuts.. It came out very moist and delicious… Thanks for the recipe..
You’re welcome, Debbie!
I’ve never made banana bread before and this recipe was easy to follow and tasted way better than my mums banana bread. I love all the different options and substitutions that you have suggested! As someone that doesn’t bake, ever, this was an amazing and fun experience.
I’m glad you loved it, Desiree! Thank you for your review.
Great recipe!! I use spelt flour and double the recipe. Perfect to gift for a friend and keep one for home. My son said this is his favorite of all time.
Thanks so much!
Could you please add the imperial measurements for we old folks…./
Delicious!! Added milk chocolate chips and yum! Never using another recipe again, thank you ♥️
Could I sub the bananas with only 1 banana + blueberries? I’m running low on bananas
Hi Joyce, Changing the banana will impact your results. Blueberry won’t likely provide the same result.
Hello from the Australian Capital Territory (Canberra). I made this today and wowzers…it was moist, tasty, mildly cinnamony and had a lovely top crust. I added a decent squeeze of lemon juice to the mashed bananas to stop them browning. Tried it out on the family, we all liked it, and I’m happy to say my even picky 14 year old son loved it. I used wholemeal flour (I never bake with it because I hate the taste…or so I thought until I tried this..!! You have single-handedly changed not only my opinion but also the way I bake in the future. Bonus star for the quick and easy one- bowl prep.⭐️ I can’t wait to explore your site and try other recipes!!
I’m glad you loved it! Thank you for sharing.
My go to recipe!! I make it as is (and weigh the ingredients – more accurate and less dishes!) and it’s perfect! Never lasts a whole day in our house. :)
Wow, this may be the best banana bread recipe ever! I have a lot of dietary restrictions, so I love all the recommended alternative ingredients. I subbed applesauce for the oil (1:1 ratio) and used maple syrup instead of honey to make it FODMAP friendly. It is moist, sweet and everything that a loaf of banana bread should be! Thank you for sharing this recipe!
I’m glad you were able to enjoy it, Lynn! I appreciate your review.
I found that this came out with a bitter baking soda taste – I did use the correct amount and sifted it through a fine strainer to break up the chunks – but also mixed the baking soda into the flour before adding to the batter. Any ideas why I’m getting bitter results?
Hi! I’m sorry to hear that. Did you use fresh and make sure it was the right amount? Did you add any salt and sweetener?
Love this recipe, I make it with Oat, or spelt flour, coconut oil and date syrup, and add dark cholate chips. Been making it for years, and it’s my favourite healthy Banana Bread. Thank you!
You’re welcome, Samira!
I do replace the oil with applesauce but follow everything else to the letter and this is consistently the best healthy banana bread I’ve ever made! I don’t add anything else in and it’s perfect every time! Thank you!
Greetings from Canada. I am a pro chef, but by no means a baker, apart from bread. I found your recipe because I bought 4 large jars of local wildflower honey. I had just the right amount of coconut oil in the fridge that had been there 10 years. I didn’t have Baking Soda and noted the ‘NOT THE SAME’ I used baking powder anyway. I am puzzled though, baking soda (Sodium Bicarbonate) needs an acid to release the carbon dioxide as it warms and bakes. Baking Powder is Sodium Bicarbonate and Tartaric Acid (Cream of Tartare) which activates carbon dioxide when water is added. Can I ask your reason for ‘Baking Soda’. The banana bread turned out great, and I love that it isn’t too sweet. I used half wholewheat bread flour and half all purpose white flour. Also loved that you have the recipe in grams. Thanks.
Love this recipe! I made yesterday and mixes in frozen raspberries. Its delicious! I made with almond milk and a mix of honey and maple syrup.
This was de-li-cious!
Just about to try this banana bread but realised I don’t have any baking soda. Will this be problematic without it?
Thanks
Heather
Hi Heather, yes it will need all the ingredients listed to turn out.
If you’re reading this, stop what you’re doing and go bake it. Now. I have made this about 6329 times and I never get tired of it. It is my go to for when I want a sweet treat. Easy, one bowl, simple ingredients, DELICIOUS. Every time we have friends over for a BBQ, I always make this. You come to my house, you expect to get banana bread. People are always amazed it’s healthy (which I adore). Thank you Kate for this AMAZING recipe which is beyond amazing! Xoxo
Maybe my oven runs hot, but my loaf was done way before 55 minutes! Even at 45 minutes it was a bit burned. Tastes good though and I can’t wait to try it again and watch the oven a bit more closely to take it out earlier.
Check your oven with an oven thermometer. Mine runs 25’ hot. They only cost about $5. Mine was perfect at 55 minutes after correcting the temperature by 25’ for MY oven.
This is the most amazing banana bread on the planet. I sometimes add raspberries or blueberries to make it even yummier. Thanks for the recipe- it’s a keeper!
Hi! Was wondering how many grams is 2 and 1/2 cup be for oats flour if I substitute it for the wheat flour ?
Hi Anita, See my How to Make Oat Flour post for weight.
Loved it. It was already a hit first time around and then second time i added a second cup of banana ( chopped not mashed) to the finished cake mix. This gave the bread more moistness and a stronger banana flavor.
I’ve made this and it was delicious! Now I would like to try again but in a round 6″ baking pan. Do you think it will be ok? How long should I bake it for?
Hi Jane, I would refer to my Whole Wheat Banana Pancakes. I hope that helps!
I am no professional but doesnt baking soda require a sour element so that it reacts? Otherwise you can feel its taste and less of whatever u put it in
Hi S, it works great in this recipe. It reacts with the banana. I hope you try it and love it!
I did it today super easy and delicious I had a lot of bananas made one loaf , 2 smalls loaf and 4 cup cake .I used doble the recipe put walnuts,raisins …..
Love your recipes! Do you have any crock pot recipes – especially good for families that need to eat at different times. Love your book too!
I LOVE this recipe!
Thank you for sharing it. And I absolutely love that you have put the weight beside the measurement of the ingredient in grams. This is really helpful for me with my Thermomix.
Thanks so much for sharing.
Have a blessed day
Belinda
I’m glad you liked it, Belinda!
The absolute best banana bread. I love the nuttiness of the whole wheat flour and Im happy to serve this to my kids.
Not sweet so if you are hoping this will taste like a full fat version of Banana bread, think twice. Followed directions exactly, used a scale to measure every ingredient. I used honey, not maple sugar. No sugar is no sugar. I added mini chocolate chips so it has a little touch of sweetness. If you are not a big sugar eater, I think you will like this however, if your guests are expecting to bite into this and have a lot of sweet, you may not want to make this one.
Hiiii!
I just tried this recipe today and it was honestly amazing. Thank you so so so much for sharing!
Love and light to you,
Aashi Bhalla
I’ve made this recipe, and even made it using zucchini and other variations, even adding in cranberries. Yuuuumy!!!!! 10 stars hands down. Everyone who has ever tried the different types of your healthy bread, has fallen in love!
That’s great to hear, Evy! Thank you for your review.
I made this with 100% oat flour at the suggested 2.5 cups, with the addition of walnuts and blueberries (about a cup each). Also I omitted the cinnamon as the hubby doesn’t like it, added a bit of nutmeg instead. My results were tasty, although not a rave result. I think the cinnamon was needed to take it to delish. Over all reminded me of a healthy oat muffin. Used 4 small loaf pans, 5.75″ X 3.25″ and baked for 40mins+ needed extra bake time, possibly due to using frozen blueberries instead of dried… Definitely very moist recipe, will make again.
That’s great to hear, Sooz.
This is my new go to banana bread recipe! So versatile and a guilt free treat… just wish I could keep it around long enough to post some pictures:)