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.
Kate, I am terrible at baking but I tried making banana bread following your recipe for the first time ever and I must say, it turned out great!!! Thank you so much :)
Hooray! Thank you for saying so, Suruchi. Happy to hear it.
I stumbled onto this site by accident, glad I did. Wonderful recipe. I opted for the raw coconut oil, Trader Joe’s Almond Meal, and honey. I was happy to see no sugar or butter. I’m trying desperately to cook and bake smarter and healthier. Best part, no one in the family has a clue! so delicious and I plan on bringing this bread to a friends house as a little gift!
Thank you, Jill! I’m glad you found my blog. I have a lot of naturally sweetened recipes here! Hope your friends love their bread.
Hi Jill,
I was wondering if you changed anything else in the recipe or if it turned out well just substituting the flour for almond meal? And did you substitute it 1:1?
I am looking to bake this on a snowy day like today and am hoping to get your insight on this first. (:
Thanks!
Has anyone tried to take out the sweeteners (honey/syrup) altogether? Would I need to substitute it for something else. I know syrup and honey aren’t bad but we are trying to limit our sweets to fruit.
Hi Amy, I know some people have successfully halved the syrup/honey. I think you could replace it with applesauce, if that works for you.
I make it without honey, and use three bananas, it comes out delicious!!!
I also used sweet dried figs chopped up about one cup, with 3 bananas, no honey, so delicious, Thank you Kate.
I just made this last night since I had a couple of bananas that needed to be eaten! I used coconut oil, almond milk, eggs, and maple syrup to sweeten. AMAZING! Probably the best banana bread I’ve had. It’s not too sweet and makes a perfect breakfast. You can’t even tell it’s whole wheat flour. I brought it into my office to share and can’t wait to break it to everyone that it’s actually healthy!
Success! Thanks, Christine, I’m really glad to hear it. Hope your coworkers love it, too!
Hi Kate – I just stumbled onto your site recently and tried the banana muffins, with a few mix-ins and using EnerG egg replacer. They were great! I’d like to make the banana bread next, and I noticed the bread recipe looks the same except it doesn’t have the 1/3 c of oats. Is that so the bread is more moist? Just curious. Looking forward to trying more of your recipes.
Hi Karyn, I’m sorry, I just saw your question! The original recipe doesn’t have oats in it and I thought oats would be a nice addition in the muffins. The bread might be just a little more moist without them.
I have a loaf baking in the oven as I write this post. My kitchen smells great. I started with your pumpkin bread recipe which I loved. My boyfriend ate most of it in a day. So I will definitely freeze half this time. But what I love the most is the one bowl method and ease of preparation. I recommend your recipes & blog to friends & family. Keep up the great work!
Thank you, Aracelis! I hope the banana bread turned out great. Thanks for sharing my blog with your friends and family, I appreciate it!
Just to make comments for those looking to cook this recipe – I felt it was a bit bland and lacked enough banana flavor as written. If I made it again, I would up the amount of banana puree and put in some nuts or chocolate to give it more flavor. Thanks for the recipe anyway, Kate. It seems like it could be a good base.
I’m sorry to hear that, LC. Maybe add a drizzle of honey to your slices? Maybe your bananas weren’t ripe enough?
I’ve made this recipe twice. It is by far the best banana bread recipe I’ve EVER made. Even my three year old who doesn’t like anything says “this is the best bread ever!”. I can’t wait for your cook book!
Hooray! Thank you so much, Suzanne. :)
I was really anxious to try this recipe after reading the numerous reviews. My husband loves banana bread and lately has asked me to reduce the sugar and butter in my desserts. I did this recipe with honey and coconut oil and used milk instead of the water. Followed the directions to a tee and cooked for 60 mins. When I cut the first piece to try, it was semi-raw inside … not like a typical banana bread texture at all. The taste is great but it seemed undercooked so I put back in the oven for a while. Im really disappointed and wondering if it’s the coconut oil (instead of butter) that changed the consistency or what. Note that my bananas were frozen and I removed the most water as possible.
Hi Shanna, I’m sorry to hear your bread didn’t turn out great. I suspect your difficulties may have stemmed from using defrosted frozen bananas. If they lost a lot of moisture along the way, then the ratio of liquid to dry ingredients could have gotten off and produced batter that’s too thick. I don’t know what else it could be, other than are you sure your baking soda hasn’t expired?
I regularly use frozen bananas to make banana bread, but I never drain them. They must be defrosted and come to room temperature, and then mixed up before adding to the recipe. Any cold ingredients will require a longer back time. Hope your next try goes better.
Thank you for sharing your tips, Janet! :)
Got same experience don’t know why my bananas were ripe too
Got same experience don’t know why my bananas were ripe too and I kept my bread for two hours but still it was uncooked from inside
Awesome recipe! Like many others, I tried this recipe because I wanted a healthy way to use up my bananas.
I added the fresh banana slices and chocolate chips. I topped with extra cinnamon and a little pumpkin spice.
These took just a bit longer to bake — more like 27 to 28 minutes for muffins.
We were so really impressed by the whole batch, and the fresh banana slices are a brilliant suggestion!
Thanks for an easy-to-follow format and for the storage tips!
Thank you, Kate! :)
Awful recipe. Dry bread with hardly any banana taste. Zero stars. Waste of time. You should be ashamed of yourself for promoting such a terrible recipe.
I’m sorry you didn’t enjoy your banana bread, Peter. I stand behind the recipe, though, given how well it has turned out for me over the years and the positive reviews from other readers.
Sorry Peter your bread didn’t turn out:( Kate, I used this recipe and substituted with almond meal flour and used agave nectar.. It was very moist and we loved it ! I am going to make it again for my daughter and granddaughter coming from Colorado. My daughter will love knowing it is healthy for her child. Thank you!
How much almond meal flour did you use?
Some people don’t know that for banana flavor you have to have seriously overripe (black-skinned) bananas. Anything I would consider eating fresh (a tad still green) will not produce much flavor in a baked product.
Be “ashamed of yourself”? Give me a break, Peter. You should be ashamed of yourself for posting such a rude comment. You didn’t care for the bread (we get it). You certainly could have stopped there.
Thanks for responding, Ang…I couldn’t have said it better myself! Guess you have to have a pretty thick skin to put yourself out there in the blogosphere, and hopefully Kate didn’t give this guy a second thought.
On the recipe subject, just made it….pretty good but will add a bit more sweetener next time (shame on me :). I thought it was actually better the second day, smeared with almond butter!
how rude!
Look at all the gr8 reviews!
I’ve made this recipe,many times already and it’s always delicious and eaten up very quickly!
My comment was in response to Peters comment
Hello! May i know the 1 cup you are referring to is equivalent to many ml? :)
Hi! One cup is 236.588 ml.
Absolutely delicious, and simple to make. I’m so happy to have found a healthy & tasty banana bread recipe, and I’ve already experimented with walnuts, choc-chips, less honey etc.
Thank you so much for this!
Thank you, Tayla! Glad to hear it!
Hi Kate,
All I have at home is all purpose flour. Can I substitute it for the whole wheat at the same ratio. Thank you
Yes, you can!
Today will be my second loaf of this fantastic banana bread. I used flax eggs for the first time ever to make the vegan version and it was a huge success for my vegan and non-vegan friends. I love your recipes! Today I will make the brussel sprouts and lettuce wraps, too. Great to be able to make them ahead of time, and let them return to room temp out of the fridge to serve. Thanks!
Thank you, Karen! So glad to hear you’ve been enjoying my recipes. And yay for the flax egg banana bread! Happy New Year!
I love your photos!
I never know how thick or runny I should make the banana bread batter… now I know! Many thanks!
Thank you, Jen! :)
My four year old son LOVES this bread. Thank you for the great recipe!!
I hate bananas with all my heart and can only stand this fruit in smoothies. So a BIG thank you Kate for yet another delicious recipe! I am so glad to have another option to include bananas to my diet. I added a mix of frozen red berries to the bread but honestly that wasn’t necessary, the recipe as is is just great!
Can I substitute oat flour for the recipe?
If I remember correctly, another commenter said her bread turned out well with oat flour, but it probably won’t rise as high and might be a little delicate.
Hello! I made this last night and used greek yogurt instead of milk, as that is my go to ingredient for moistness, especially when using a hardier grain. I also got a little bit excited about all the options for the oils and sweeteners, so I went for some combos; for the oils I used half olive half coconut to equal 1/3 cup and for the sweet, half maple syrup half brown sugar with a spoonful of thick honey to equal 1/2 cup. It was perfection! I used my kitchen aid and really made the eggs whipped with the oil and honey, hoping to achieve some airiness to the bread. It worked very well! Great recipe!
This is an amazing recipe. Doesn’t taste ‘healthy’ at all! Loved enjoying a yummy snack without feeling really guilty! Thank you for sharing this recipe, it’s the best I’ve made in a long time!
Esther
Thank you, Esther. So glad you enjoyed it!
This bread is delicious! I made it with agave instead of honey and folded in a half cup of chopped pecans. I will be making it again.
Debbie Smith
Thank you, Debbie! Happy to hear it!
I am anxious to try it with my very ripe bananas now! Thanks!!
Hope you loved the banana bread, Pam!
Just made this using grapeseed oil and it tastes amazing! Definitely not the butter-oily kinds we have around Sydney, not too sure about those in America. The banana bread came out slightly dense for my liking, wondering if it was my small oven that affected it. How can I tweak it to make it a lighter, fluffier bread? Thanks xx
Jess
Sorry to hear that, Jess! I’m not sure what to suggest. If you can find whole wheat pastry flour, or if you don’t mind using some all-purpose flour in place of the whole wheat, you’ll probably end up with a lighter loaf.
i was wondering if you had any idea how many ccalories are in this banana bread? I want to find something low in calories,high in healthiness for breakfasts
I’m sorry, I don’t offer nutritional breakdowns, but this bread is higher in fiber and lower in fat than most banana breads.
I used apple sauce instead of oil so I can completely omit any sweetener. I also used three bananas instead of 2.5 just because I didn’t want to leave half behind. It came out very well. It is very sweet, can’t tell that it doesn’t have any sugar or sweetener.
If I am feeling a little indulgent I would spread coconut oil over the bread before eating and it tastes yum
Can’t wait to try your other recipes!
Thank you, Kitty! Glad to know yours turned out well without oil and sweetener!
I’ve tried dozens of banana bread recipes over the years and was convinced I found my favorite — until now. This is really fantastic and so easy to make. Plus, I’m a sucker for anything that tastes this good and just uses one mixing bowl. I ended up using white flour because it was all I had on hand and the loaf turned out very light. I”ll try what flour next time. Thanks again for all your delicious recipes!
Thank you, Julie! Happy to hear it!!!
Hi! Can I leave out the maple syrup/honey entirely?
Hi Katie, I think so! You might add some extra mashed banana to make up for the lost moisture.
I made this for the first time tonight! I am generally not a huge fan of banana bread…but what else does one do with over ripe bananas? This bread is fantastic! Thanks for such a wonderful recipe!
Thank you, Kadi!
Hi Kate,
I am really sensitive to sugar so I was wondering if this recipe would still work if I eliminated the maple syrup?
I used agave nectar. Big thumbs up. See my comment below.
Hi Emily, I think so! You might add some extra mashed banana to make up for the lost moisture.
Haven’t even tried it yet, a loaf and some banana nut muffins are still baking, but I can already tell that this is the banana bread recipe I’ve been looking for!! Thank you! :)
Thank you, Brianna! Hope they turned out great!
Unbelievable. I made this recipe assuming I would be screwing it up because I’ve never tried baking banana bread on my own, I’ve tried so many too-sweet or dry banana breads, and I was using the ingredients I had in the house. I had to substitute white all-purpose flour and (here was the big worry) agave nectar instead of honey or syrup. I kept telling my husband not to get too excited because my chances of success were questionable. Holy cow, so easy to make and it came out PERFECT! Not overly sweet. Moist. Great crust. Best banana bread I’ve eaten in my 44 years of life! Sticking with the organic agave sweetener. Despite my initial worry that it was too watery, it worked beautifully. I’m going to make the banana bread again today (trying wheat flour this time) and check out more of your recipes in the future. Thank you so much for sharing this!
(By the way, I used plentiful walnuts. Big chunks of walnuts. Fantastic.)
Thank you, Erin! I’m so glad your first try at banana bread turned out so well! Yay!
Erin,
Did you have to change any of the other liquids in the recipe when using agave? I’ve been reading about substituting agave and it says you have to reduce other liquids. Was that the case with this recipe?
Thanks!
I did NOT change the amounts of fluids. I’m a baking newbie. It worked great with just the agave!
” I would argue that this bread contains a healthy amount of fat, ”
I would argue you need to get educated on what is a healthy amount of oil. entirely depends how many slices you eat over what period of time of course :-)
check out Dr McDougall (drmcdougall.com), Dr Esselstyn (www.dresselstyn.com), Dr Gregor (nutritionfacts.org) for the facts on oils.
Hi Kate,
Today I did your recipe, but I changed some ingredients..
I started by fine grinding my rolled oats to become an oat flour.
I used soy milk, and extra virgin olive oil.
In added walnuts and chocolate chips.
The bread took only 45 minutes to cook, but i think next time it needs less.
It came out more darker then yours, but perfectly moist and a wow taste.
Thanks for your recipe, I’m going to try some other recipes on your site. Keep up the good work….
Thank you, Samer! Glad to hear you enjoyed the banana bread!
Best banana bread ever! We add in pumpkin seeds, walnuts, chia seeds and dried canberries :)
Thank you, Laina!
Can I use all purpose flour instead of whole wheat? What is the difference?
Yes, you can. Whole wheat flour offers a lot more health benefits and has a nice, lightly nutty flavor to it. All-purpose flour starts out as whole wheat flour, but it’s processed to remove the healthy fiber and fats that remain in whole wheat flour.
Love the recipe! Added home made cherry preserved, raisins, pecans and molasses for iron in the wet mix. Than added wheat and oat bran for fiber plus oat meal about 1/3 cup to dry mix. Than at the end added 1/4 cup apple sauce.. So Good! Very moist….Thank u
Sounds great! Thank you, Linda!
I am on the Paleo diet and it is not always easy to find good recepies that would follow this lifestyle’s ingridients choices. The only thing that I had to replace was flour. I used almond flour. The banana bread still turned out divine and disappeared from our table within minutes. Thank you for this lovely recepie! I will definitely use it a lot in the future. Can’t wait to check out other recepies on your page :) Greetings from Norway :)
Recipes* I’m sorry for my mistakes. English is not my mother tongue…
Thank you, Kasia! I really appreciate your comment. I’m glad to hear that the muffins turned out well with almond flour!
I made this today and it was awesome! Next time I’ll change it up a little and add some different mix ins. I’m sure it will be delicious!
Thank you, Nancy!!!
This is SO good, and so easy to make! Thank you for sharing the recipe :)
Awesome! Thanks, Emily!
I made this recipe. It is delicious but it does not have banana tasete. The bananas I used did not have those brown spots on skin, although they were sweet.of overripe banana, do you mean that the flesh should turn brown?
This is AMAZING! I just made it tonight, and my boyfriend said it is the best banana bread he has ever had (thanks for making me look good! ;) ) This will definitely be my new go-to banana bread!!
I love, love, love this recipe – I’m waiting impatiently for the bananas in our house to ripen so I can make some more. I love that it tastes so good and you don’t feel guilty about eating a piece! Thanks for this recipe
Based on all the wonderful reviews, I decided to make this banana bread for the first time and serve it to guests. My leap of faith paid off because it was excellent. Thank you for sharing this recipe. It is definitely my new go-to for a delicious treat!
Thank you, Wendy! Happy to hear it!
Fantastic recipe! I made this with Bob’s white whole-wheat pastry flour & coconut oil, and added chia seeds into the mix for a healthy kick. Absolutely delicious – I was surprised how moist the bread was when it emerged from the oven :)
Thank you, Crystal!
Love the recipe! Would subbing greek yogurt for the oil work here?
Hi Maggie, I’m not sure how that will turn out. I have heard that applesauce works in place of the oil.
Thanks for the recipe. This was my first time making banana bread and was pleasantly surprised by the results! It was moist, but more spongy than moist. I’m new to baking; how can I make the bread even more moist? I followed the recipe, using coconut oil and whole milk. Also, I let the bread bake at 325* F for 55 minutes. Should I just shorten the baking time next time?
Hey Alex! You could try shortening the baking time, but be careful that it’s cooked through the middle. Another option would be to mix in slices of bananas, too—then you’ll have moist little banana pockets.
Made them with 100% coconut flour, which the package SAID could be substituted one for one with regular flour. Huge mistake. They tasted delicious but are very crumbly and need lots of butter (which kind of negates the healthiness factor) Hubby and kids still loved them though
Oh no! Your package was definitely wrong. Coconut flour absorbs moisture like crazy, so that explains why your bread was crumbly. Sorry to hear that happened!
Thanks for this delicious recipe! Everyone has complimented really how perfect the texture is: not too dry, not to dense. I added walnuts and it gave it the perfect crunchy touch!
Thank you, Angie! I’m glad you all appreciate the banana bread. It’s my favorite!
Amazing recipe! This was my first time making a banana bread and loved it! I was very please with the moisture of the bread. I went gluten free and used Bob’s Red Mill’s all-purpose gluten-free mix and worked perfect! The rest I followed the recipe with coconut oil and maple syrup. Will try next time with flax seeds eggs for a vegan version. Thanks!
Thank you, Marisol! I’m glad it turned out well for you.