Irresistible Healthy Banana Bread Recipe
Moist ‘n rich healthy banana bread with delicious flavor and incredible texture—you won’t be able to resist.
What is it about January that calls for banana bread? Nay, healthy banana bread? Is it the cozy winter vibes (aka freezing your tail off from the mere walk from home to car)? Is it the beautiful snowy trails that line your neighborhood (aka the slippery, deadly frozen ground that threatens that same tail and scoffs at your brazen journey for a quick walk around the block)?
Or is it the need for something comforting, just the right amount of sweet, warm ‘n piping out of the oven, and oh-so-delightfully remiss of snarky “aka’s”? 🙂
For this very special time of year, I’m sharing so dependably delicious, friggin’ irresistible and secretly packed with whole, healthy ingredients that you’ll feel accomplished, satisfied and pleased all at the same time Healthy Banana Bread. Are you ready for delightfully easy healthy banana bread? Let’s bake this (safely inside our actually cozy homes!).
How to Make Healthy Banana Bread
Learn how to make healthy banana bread in just a few easy steps. Check it out below:
Preheat
Before you do anything else, make sure to go preheat your oven to 350°F so it’s all ready to go when your banana bread batter is done. Line an 8-inch loaf pan with parchment paper and set it aside.
Mash Bananas + Prep Wet Ingredients
Peel your bananas and place them into a large mixing bowl. Use a pastry cutter or a sturdy whisk to mash the bananas until nearly smooth. Add in the rest of the wet ingredients: coconut oil, coconut sugar, flax egg and vanilla and whisk until well mixed.
Prep Dry Ingredients
Now let’s move onto the dry ingredients! Add all dry ingredients to the same bowl: oat flour, almond meal, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Whisk & fold it all together until no flour patches remain. Fold in walnuts.
Pour Batter
Pour your healthy banana bread batter into the loaf pan you prepared earlier. Use a rubber spatula to smooth your batter into the shape of a loaf—it’s thick so your shape will hold during baking. Now, use a butter knife to cut a slit slightly off center atop the loaf—this will create a gorgeous split on top.
Bake, Cool & Enjoy
Bake for about 50 minutes. Cool, then enjoy the best easy healthy banana bread!
Simple Ingredients for Healthy Banana Bread
What’s the difference between healthy banana bread and un-healthy banana bread? The ingredients. I’ve kept the ingredients of my healthy banana bread refined sugar-free, clean, and whole. Let’s dive a little deeper into the health benefits of each ingredient, shall we?
Bananas
As long as we don’t overdo it with any junky ingredients, the bananas in this recipe can stand tall, proud and healthy—and you can really enjoy their true taste. Bananas are packed with nutrients, fiber and protein. They’re most famous for their potassium content, but also boast 33% of your RDI (recommended dietary intake) of Vitamin B6, 11% of Vitamin C and more. That’s all just in one banana. Learn more about banana benefits here.
Oat Flour
A long time ago, in an effort to develop healthier foods for my mom, I ditched the traditional bleached all purpose flour in exchange for oat flour. Her doc said she needed to eat more oats, and I figured baked goods, such as healthy banana bread, was the key to sneaking more oats into her healthy daily diet. Oats are a nutrient-rich whole grain that are packed with fiber. In just a half cup, oats boast 20% of your RDI of iron, 191% of the RDI for Manganese and so much more. Learn more about how heart-healthy oats are here.
Almond Meal
Almond meal is one of my favorite ingredients to use in healthy baking because it packs in healthy fats while keeping you satisfied. Some of its health benefits include cholesterol control which leads to heart health, low glycemic index (great for diabetes control), tons of prebiotic dietary fiber and rich in vitamin E and other antioxidants.
Coconut Oil, Coconut Sugar, Flaxseed
These three ingredients are staples in my healthy baking pantry. They keep my recipes refined sugar-free, dairy-free and packed with heart-healthy benefits.
Also check out Healthy Banana Recipes for Ripe Bananas.
How to Store and Freeze Healthy Banana Bread
Room Temperature
Be sure to cool your healthy banana bread completely before storing. Once cooled, store your banana bread in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 1 week. As with all homemade healthy baked goods, your banana bread is best the first 2 days. 😉
Freezer
You can keep your healthy banana bread longer if you freeze it. Simply tuck your banana bread into a freezer-friendly container, then store for 1-2 months. I recommend slicing your bread in advance. Be sure to thaw for about 15 minutes at room temp before enjoying.
Simply irresistible healthy banana bread—deliciously moist ‘n dense, with cozy banana flavor and incredible texture. A comforting classic made healthy.
Whaddya think? Are you ready to stay home today, or at least get home as soon as possible so you can start preheating the oven to make this irresistible healthy banana bread? I can’t wait to hear what you and your loved ones think of my healthy banana bread recipe. Looking forward to the next baking adventure with you…
Sending you all my love and maybe even a dove, xo Demeter ❤️
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More Healthy Banana Recipes
- Healthy Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins
- Best Moist Chocolate Chip Banana Bread
- Super Moist Vegan Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Banana Bread
- Vegan Healthy Banana Blueberry Muffins
- Peanut Butter Banana Oatmeal Cookies
Irresistible Healthy Banana Bread Recipe
- Total Time: 1 hour 15 minutes
- Yield: 10-12 slices (1 loaf) 1x
Description
Healthy Banana Bread Recipe: unbelievably delicious banana bread that just so happens to be healthy! Moist ‘n rich with cozy banana flavor and incredible texture—you won’t be able to resist.
Ingredients
Wet Ingredients
- 1 cup + 2 tablespoons mashed, very ripe bananas (about 3 medium bananas)
- 3 tablespoons melted coconut oil
- 3 tablespoons coconut sugar
- 1 flax egg (1 tablespoon golden ground flaxseed + 3 tablespoons water, whisk together, set for 15 mins)
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Dry Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups gluten free oat flour – if using homemade oat flour, make sure it’s very finely ground (not coarse)*
- 3/4 cup almond meal
- 3/4 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
Add-ins
- 3/4 cup walnuts, chopped (optional)
Optional Topping
- 2–3 tablespoons walnuts, chopped (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Line an 8-inch loaf pan with parchment paper or greased foil. Set aside.
- Add peeled bananas to a large mixing bowl. Using this pastry cutter or a sturdy whisk, mash bananas until smooth. Add remaining wet ingredients: coconut oil, coconut sugar, flax egg, and vanilla. Whisk until well incorporated.
- Add all dry ingredients to the same bowl: oat flour, almond meal, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Whisk together as long as you can. If needed, switch to stirring and folding with a rubber spatula until well incorporated and no flour patches remain. Fold in walnuts, if using. Do not add additional liquids—batter will be thick.
- Transfer batter evenly into prepared loaf pan. Using a rubber spatula, smooth batter into an even layer, with the shape of a rise down the center—just like a loaf. Using a butter knife, cut a slit down slightly off center of the loaf—this will create a beautiful split on top. Optionally, sprinkle with walnuts and lightly press into batter.
- Bake for 40-60 minutes. Mine took 50 minutes. Test for doneness by sticking a toothpick into the center of the loaf. The toothpick will come out clean-ish, with just a few bits of moisture on it when the loaf is done.
- Allow to cool in pan, placed on a cooling rack for 1 hour. Lift out of pan, transferring loaf along with parchment paper directly onto the cooling rack. Allow to finish cooling for about 1.5 hours. Slice loaf into 10-12 slices. Enjoy! Storing instructions below.
More Healthy Banana Recipes
Notes
A Note on Homemade Oat Flour: *If using homemade oat flour, make sure to blend the flour until very fine and sift the flour to remove coarse bits of oats that could create less than ideal results. Store until needed, then measure the amount required for the recipe.
Storing Instructions: Store in an airtight container for up to 1 week. As with all homemade healthy baked goods, your banana bread is best the first 2 days. 😉
Freezing Instructions: This banana bread freezes well. Store in an airtight, freezer-friendly container for up to 1-2 months. Allow to thaw at room temperature for 15 minutes before enjoying. Or, heat in 10-second increments in the microwave until warm.
- Prep Time: 25 mins
- Cook Time: 50 mins
- Category: Breakfast, Snack
- Method: Bake
- Cuisine: American
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Wow, so delicious! Can’t believe this only has 3 tablespoons of sugar added. You would never know this is a healthier version of banana bread! So yummy. I made mini loaves instead of a big loaf to have in the freezer, it came out great.
Thanks so much, Nicole! I was pretty pleased about the 3 tablespoons, as such, I’m BEAMING that you’re enjoying it! Just know that I’m imagining those mini banana bread loves right now and squeeing! Enjoy!
Instead of coconut sugar can I use date paste ?
I haven’t tried it so I can’t say for sure, but I have had other readers use granulated date sugar in place of coconut sugar in other recipes with good results. Hope this helps!
What can you substitute for the almond meal?
You could use blanched almond flour, of if you’re nut-free you could use sunflower seed meal. Hope this helps!
Had to comment— you nailed it! Absolute best, hands down! Super important to cool, as instructed. I added 1/2 cup mini semisweet chocolate chips (a must for us, lol!) and used 1 regular egg at room temp since we are not vegan. Favorite banana bread ever!! Thx for another keeper, Demeter!! Yummerz!!! 😋
Woohoo! I am beyond pleased to hear how much you all enjoyed it! 😊 Love the added chocolate chips, too. Thanks for taking the time to let me know!
This is such an amazing banana bread recipe! Everyone loved it!
Yay! I’m so happy it was a hit Sandra!
This will be a sure hit at my house! We love banana bread!
Awesome! So happy to hear it!
Hi Demeter,
I am allergic to almonds, do you have any recommendations of what to sub it out with?
Thanks!!!!! 🙂
Hi Marina! You can try sunflower seed meal or replacing it with 1/2 cup + 2 tablespoons more oat flour. Hope this helps!
My new favorite banana bread recipe!
Wow that’s so awesome to hear Amanda! ☺️
I love banana bread for breakfast! It’s so great to make a healthier banana bread!
Yep, this bread makes a wonderful breakfast treat. 🙂
Instead of coconut sugar replace with date paste? Is it possible
Hi Umesh! Hm, I haven’t tried that sub so I can’t say for sure, especially since the paste has a different consistency than a granulated sweetener. However, I have had some readers use date sugar in some of my baked good with positive results. If you do try it, let me know how it turns out! 🙂
This banananana bread sounds so perfect and delicious! Gotta have it for breakfast~
Haha it’s so wonderful for breakfast! 😄
I know for sure this banana bread would be a huge hit in my house!
I’ll bet! 😊
This looks so delicious and moist I cannot wait to try it!
I know you’re absolutely gonna love it!
I love that you have made this healthier and with different types of flour. It looks fabulous!
Thanks Andrea! It was a lot of fun to test, and even more fun to eat. 😉
Banana bread is one of my all-time favorite coffee companion. I love how these are freezer-friendly, too!
Same here! This bread is absolutely delish with a warm cup of coffee or tea. And freezing is such a lifesaver!
This banana bread is so good! I love the walnuts on top!
I’m so happy you enjoyed the recipe Lilly! 🙂
This banana bread looks so light and fluffy. I will definitely be trying it at the weekend.
Woohoo! I know you’re gonna love it!