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.
Hi :) just wondering if you could add chia seeds into this or on the top?
The chia seeds in the mixture might soak up too much. I haven’t tried it so not sure the impact. On top, they will likely get really crunchy in the oven and might burn.
I added chia seeds to mine and added a splash of extra milk and turned out perfect!
How much chia seeds did you add?
I didn’t measure it but would have been about 2-3 tablespoons
I frequently use chia seeds instead of eggs as our daughter is allergic to eggs and it works fine to me and tastes great, especially as muffins, as a bread it can be a bit dense and not rise.
I just made this with, maple syrup, 1/4 of chocolate chips, flax 1 tsp and Avocado oil. So delicious!!!
I’m glad you love it!
Made this today using an heirloom variety of organically grown Scottish whole wheat called Hunter’s and using organic blue agave as the sweetener. It is delicious. Thanks for the recipe!
You’re welcome, K!
Hi K! Did you use an equal amount of agave to replace the honey?
Yes, I did. It was really nice and worked well.
This was delicious! I used unsweetened coconut milk in mine. I also didnt have a bread pan, so I adjusted it for muffins! (350 for 15-18 minutes)
Thanks for your review, Brooke!
Hi! I lived this recipe. Just wondering how many calories is in one serving size? Thank you.
@OPAL – From the nutritional info above – one serve is 233 calories :-)
This is the best banana bread I’ve ever made. Thank you for the recipe! We love trying different mix-ins each time we make it. Toddler- and parent-approved!
Great recipe! I’m making this for the 3rd time, using APF for the first time bc that’s what I had, it’s soup inside after 65 min at 325°, so weird! Usually I use whole wheat I grind. I turned it up to 375 so we’ll see. My stove is also a 30 yo uber cheap electric model
That is strange! I’m assuming it’s your oven, like to hinted at. Thanks for sharing, Mrs. Garcia!
Im about to make a double batch using fresh ground red fife so here’s praying!
Just made it and I have to say it’s so delicious. I used Bob’s Red Mill organic whole wheat gluten free flour and it turned out a treat! I found your recipe yesterday and this was the first banana cake I have ever baked and it was such a success I instantly made a second one and add some blueberries! Thanks for the amazing recipe:)
You’re welcome, Kim!
Kate, any idea how this will turn out with omitting all the sweetener or lowering it? I don’t want all the extra sugar. If not, going for it anyways and will report back.
Hi Chris, the sweetener also helps with the moisture of the bread. Others have used applesauce, so maybe you can try that method?
When replacing oil with applesauce, would that be a 1:1substitution or what ratio?
Hi Natalie! I know readers have used it with varying quantities. I would checkout the other comments to see what has worked well for others!
Hi there!
Do you think I could substitute almond meal instead of wheat flour?
Thank you!
Paige
Almond flour/meal isn’t a 1:1 substitute. If you are looking for a gluten free alternative, I recommend a gluten free flour blend.
I made it with gf sr flour was amazing. My daughter enjoyed it very tasty
If you have any other great recipes please share with us all
Kate can I just say if I’m sending you a massive hug because this was AMAZING. I can’t believe how good it is for not having sugar and being with whole meal flour ! My daughter who is almost 3 literally ate half a loaf !!!!! It’s so easy and quick to make too – I absolutely love it – thank you so much!
Thanks again!
Absolutely amazing ! I can’t believe how good this is for being refined sugar free and whole meal – my husband said it tastes better than the one at our local cafe and my daughter ate half a loaf !!! Thank you so much for this – recipes like this give novice bakers like myself so much confidence to keep baking because it turned out just like you said it will!
Thank you for your review, Acelya!
Hi there, I would like to know if the wheat flour can be substituted with wholemeal spelt flour? The gluten structure in spelt flour makes it easier to digest but I’m not sure how it will affect the rise of the loaf. Thank you in advance!
I’m not sure. I don’t prefer spelt flour. I believe some readers may have tried it, but not sure the result. I suggest searching the other comments to see what readers recommend!
Hi! I just made this recipe into muffins using spelt flour and they turned out great!
I’ve been looking for a great banana bread recipe that I can give to my 18-month-old daughter without feeling guilty about feeding her cake! This is it. It’s really delicious, she loves it, and it was really easy to make. Will make again. And again!
Hooray! Thank you for your review, Alex. I hope you and your little on enjoy more of it.
Best banana bread ever- have made this nearly 10 times now. Such a good healthy alternative. It doesn’t even last a day in my house as we can’t stop eating it haha. Thanks so much.
You’re welcome, Rachel!
Don’t know what happened. It just cooked into a weird goo that never solidified even after over an hour in the oven.
That is so strange! You added the right amount of liquid and your oven was heating correctly?
Hi Kate! I recently had to go gluten free- think I could use the Bob’s Gluten free and Bobs almond mixed? Also do I still use everything else exactly the same. I love your banana bread- I hope I still do this way! Thanks for everything – in general I love your recipes.
I know the gluten free works really well!
Could i substitute the flour with gluten free oats? This recipe appears similar to my go to banana oat muffin recipe which uses only oats no flour.
Thanks so much
I don’t believe that would work great here, sorry!
You can use oats floor in 50 % ratio. I tried and it worked
Thank you for sharing, Amit!
This banana bread is so good! I added chocolate chips, and it turned out perfect. I have also made your banana muffins, which taste identical to this banana bread. My family loves it, and I even like it – and I usually hate bananas! This is definitely going to be my go-to recipe for banana bread from now on.
Thank you, Hadassah!
This recipe is a winner! I made it with gluten free flour and added pumpkin seeds and some additional spices. It’s the first banana bread recipe I’ve made that isn’t too sweet. I’ll definitely make it again!
I’m so happy to hear that! Thanks, Grace.
Hi! Can I also use whole spelled flower?
Thank you!
I’m not as familiar with that flour. I would recommend checking to see what other readers have tried by searching the comments.
Hi! I love this recipe and looking forward to giving it a try. Just a question, can I use self-raising flour? And if so, how much? Thanks heaps and keep up the awesome work.
I haven’t tried it with self-raising. Sorry! The baking soda helps with that.
This is the only banana bread recipe I use!! It is dee-lish-ous!
I use extra light olive oil, 1 1/2c white wheat flour, 1/4c unsweetened cocoa powder, 1/3c honey, almond milk and add dairy free mini chocolate chips, shredded coconut and roasted walnuts.
Thanks for sharing, Nina!
I’ve been using this recipe since I found it a couple years back. It’s so easy and delicious! I use the olive oil and add walnuts as the mix-in. A perfect mid-morning snack!!
A great mid-morning snack! Thanks for your review.
Hello!
Made this banana bread-loved it! It is moist, tastes great and is a healthy bread.
For the gluten free option do you recommend the gf flour blend that includes xanthum gum or the blend without it?
Thank you!
Lynette
Hi Lynette! I know the Bob’s Red Mill GF 1-1 flour works really well. I believe that has it included in it.
Thank you so much!! Look forward to trying the gf version :)
Lynette
Just made it and turned out great:).
I didn’t have a loaf pan so used a square cake pan instead. Added sliced pistachios and almond flour and used white flour coz that’s what I had at home.
Thanks a lot for the recipe.
Thanks for sharing!
Hi could i substitute honey for coconut sugar?
The honey or maple syrup helps with the overall moisture, too. I wouldn’t recommend coconut sugar here.
I made this for my family in place of my longtime recipe which includes a lot of butter and sugar (not a healthy recipe) and they gobbled it up! Healthy is always better. I noticed it tasted fresher somehow and was much more moist and evenly cooked. I love banana bread and enjoy having this healthy recipe in my collection so I can enjoy and feel good too. I do add chocolate chips. Some traditions need to remain. Thanks Kate!
Thanks for sharing, Gayle!
Really good recipe. I did add additional amount of 1/4 cup mashed bananas and 1 TBSP olive oil. Sooooo yummy and moist. Spread some peanut butter and nutella too.
Thank you for sharing and for your review, Poupee!
My best banana bread to date! I used gf all purpose flour and it was still tasty and moist. Thanks!
You’re welcome, Alison!
Amazing!! Followed recipe and super moist! Thank you x
You’re welcome, Olivia!
I made this and loved it. I used agave nectar instead of honey or maple syrup. Thank you for the great recipe.
You’re welcome, Cary!
I made this recipe on impulse and I couldn’t find any flax seeds at the time so I made do with chia seed eggs. I think it worked alright, although it got a slightly crunchy taste within the moisture which would probably be better with a flax egg. I must try it with flax eggs and see the difference. Overall, a delicious treat and served very well with some fresh berries and a glass of warm oat milk. Thanks!
Thanks for sharing, Vera!
Love you for Celsius in the brackets ❤ Anyways, I’m going to make this bread and hope it’ll turn out delicious! Thank you for sharing the recipe
Thanks for your comment, Adrianna!
Wonderful recipe. I changed a couple things,
I used: 1/3 c EVOO, Small can crushed pineapple-slightly drained (No honey or maple syrup), 1/4 c milk, 1 3/4 C sifted WW Flour, 1/4 chopped walnuts.
When it was done cooling, I did a slight drizzle of EVOO and honey.
It was amazingly moist and so tasty. The pineapple gave it a little extra punch. It was great with my afternoon coffee, but after it sits over night, my morning coffee will be even more tasty. Thanks
Thank you for sharing, Patricia!
Ur recipe is amazing.. I have made it couple of times already and shared it with my friends as well.. I have a question can I replace maple syrup with Molasses? If yes what quantities?
Molasses is quite different, and I ‘m not sure how it would work here without trying it. Sorry!
Made this for my family with dark chocolate and almond milk. Super easy to make and sooo delicious! We all loved it, and will definitely use the recipe again ~
Big thanks from Norway!
Thank you for sharing, Kat!
perfect banana bread! thanks for the recipe!
You’re welcome, Maria!
I made this today, and it was delicious! I made a silly error last time and completely messed up my banana bread by forgetting the rising agent! It became super thick, still edible, but I did it again today and it is super fluffy and yummy! I used half maple syrup and half raw sugar, and it adds a great flavour. Love it, thanks!
I’m glad it turned out today!
This is my 4th cake ever to try. Came out perfect compared to any other recipes I have tried. Your measurements are perfect. I used Ghee (clarified butter) instead of oil and it turned out just fine.
Thank you for sharing! I’m happy it turned out well for you.
I have made this 3 times now with different varieties. I always use almond flour to make it gluten free. I leave out the honey because I find the bananas make it sweet enough. I live in Hawaii so use 4 small apple bananas. I have tried Macadamia nut milk, oat milk and coconut milk. Also olive oil and coconut oil. It always comes out fantastic! The first time I added chopped up dates. I am a horrible baker and this recipe is simple and easy. Thanks
Thanks for sharing what has worked for you!
My go to Banana bread! So delicious every time. My fav combo at the moment is Banana, Blueberry and Walnut and usually opt to use Maple rather than honey to sweeten.
Thanks, Emily!
Hi, just wanted to say I love this recipe!! I feel good about it as it includes healthy fats and only a bit of sweetener. I made it as written ingredient wise, but I used my bread machine on the quick bread setting and it came out beautifully! I just dumped in the wet ingredients including bananas sifted the dry, dumped that in and pressed start! I thought it might get overmixed/ rubbery, but it’s perfect!!
Thank you for sharing, Erica!
Great recipe! Moist but still bouncy. Super easy to customize to diet restrictions too. I really whipped the wet ingredients and sifted in gluten free flour, still worked like a dream still. Very versatile will make again fo sho.
Thank you for sharing, Tina!
Hi Kate,
I made this banana bread last night, it was absolutely tasty. I added in chopped walnuts, substituted the honey with golden syrup, and also used 2 tsp of baking powder instead of baking soda (i’m housesitting and there was none here).
Thank you! :-)
You’re welcome, Deane!
I’m loving your recipes! Made this last night and it was delicious. I used half white flour & half almond flour. For liquid, I used your oat milk recipe that I made for the first time a few days ago. So delicious!
Thank you for sharing, Abi!
I made the healthy banana bread today. I was very skeptical of the whole-wheat flour. I followed the directions, and WOW!!! The bread was amazingly delicious!!! This recipe is a “keeper” for me. I am so thankful that I googled and found Cookie and Kate! I will make more recipes!!
Thank you,
Candi LM
You’re so welcome! I’m happy you liked it. Thanks for your review, Candi.
This is the only banana bread recipe I use now. Thank you Kate! I usually make it vegan with maple syrup, Namaste egg replacer and vanilla almond milk. I also sub apple sauce for oil (1:1). It comes out fantastic every time! Moist and perfectly sweet. Sometimes whole white wheat flour comes through too much in a too healthy tasting way for me but not in this recipe. Today I used oil and honey so we’ll see how that goes. Thank you again!
You’re welcome! Thanks for sharing how you make this work vegan for you.
I made the banana bread. My family loved it! I have made many versions of banana bread. Yours is by far the best!!! That’s the consensus of my family. I add blueberries to mine. The best. This will be the recipe I will use from now on. Thanks for sharing
You’re welcome, Mitzi!
I used coconut flour and it went stodgy
Coconut flour isn’t a 1:1 substitute. I’m sorry it didn’t work for you!
ok I would like to eliminate all purpose flour and make this with just oat flour, kindly assist with the xact measurment.
Hi! Sorry, I’m not sure this will work with that as I haven’t tried it.