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 have probably made this about 15-20 times! I’ve made a few adjustments…I’m gluten free.
I use one cup of Bob’s Redmill Pancake mix and 3/4 gf flour. (So it’s not gooey in the middle) I add whole fresh blueberries and walnuts. Try it!
PS-I love To share your site/recipes with my friends-keep up the great cooking
That’s a lot of banana bread. I love it! Thanks for sharing, Amanda.
Made this for my class health project where I had to make a normal food healthy and everyone loved it good job thank you
Has anyone added or used oats/oat flour? If so how much did you use? Thanks!
Made it with 2cups oat flour and a couple of handfuls of rolled oats used 2 extra large eggs (that is all I had) and added in a 2 good handfuls of chopped walnuts topped batter with rolled oats cinnamon and 1 teaspoon raw sugar I only used 6tablespoons of maple syrup. Sweet enough for us and very nice yum yum
Thanks Kate
I may also add in a handful of chopped dates next time just to switch it up
Beaut recipe
I made a gluten free version of this recipe and it is soooo good. I used Bob’s redmill 1 to 1 baking flour & added chocolate chips. I made a couple mistakes following the order of the ingredients in the bowl, and it still turned out amazing! This is my go to recipe from now on!
Thank you!!!
Thanks for sharing! I’m happy you loved it gluten free!
Oh my YUM!!! I was super skeptical about a healthy banana bread since I love my regular recipe. But oh my gosh am I so happy I gave this a shot. My son was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes recently so I’m constantly trying to find recipes that use zero refined sugar or low carb. I hit the jackpot with this. I made the exact recipe and it turned out moist and delicious. Next time I’ll add some blueberries, but that’s the only tweak I’ll need to make with this recipe. Thank you!
I absolutely love making your breads! But after trying this recipe out multiple times in the past, mine ALWAYS come out flat for some reason. They become even flatter after they cool, which really annoys me because they taste amazing but don’t look so great :(
Do you have any idea why this might be? I follow the recipe exactly as it is.
Hi Hailey! I’m sorry to hear that and I have made this so many times. Are you using fresh baking soda for this one? It’s also important to not over stir. If you over stir, then you will get a flatter, dense result. Lumps are ok!
I made the banana bread and it was the most awesome bread I made in a while – my family wiped it off in a zippy thanks for the delicious recipe!!
I’m new to bread making in general. A bread machine was bought for me as a gift, and I was curious if this recipe works for a machine?
LOVE that flavor of this bread!! So delicious. Mine did turn out very wet so it also shrunk down after being out of the oven for an hour. Any tips to make it less wet and stand taller? Thanks for this healthy recipe!
Hi Jennifer! That shouldn’t happen. Sorry you didn’t have a perfect result! Are you using baking soda? Also, what type of bread pan are you using? You want to be careful to not over mix, as well.
It was still delicious! It’s already gone :) I did use baking soda and I used a ceramic bread pan.. I’ll definitely make it again. Wasn’t sure if you had any tips to make it less wet. Thank you!
My search for a healthy banana bread ends here !! Thank u so much for this wonderful recipe! It turned out awesome!! Whole wheat and honey..it can’t get any better!
I LOVE this recipe!!! My husband and father-in-law try to stay away from carbs as much as possible, and our friends are paleo/keto. So I’ve made this recipe with 2 cups of almond flour instead of regular or whole wheat flour, and I also use agave syrup instead of honey. It’s always a favorite request and party pleaser for weekends when it’s cold outside. It makes the house smell soooooo good!!!!
I also do a whole a heaping teaspoon of cinnamon for them too, per their request. Thanks for such a great recipe!
tasted great! You can definitely tell it’s a tad less sweet than other banana breads, but that’s exactly what I love about it. We used honey and dairy free milk and it was very tasty! THanks for posting!
You’re welcome, Trisha!
This banana bread had wonderful texture; no one would ever guess it to be a gluten-free bread. The structure of the bread is excellent. However it really lacked flavor; the next time I make it, I’ll double the amounts of cinnamon and salt, and I’ll also add cardamom. This bread could also be a bit sweeter, and possibly could be better with a half cup of organic Grade B maple syrup, rather than the one-third which it currently calls for.
Hi Kyra! I’m sorry you thought this lacked flavor. Thanks for your feedback!
Looks And sounds delish!
Can coconut or almond flour be used instead? Would it be the same amount or does it cover differently?
Hi Tay! Unfortunately, those flours aren’t a great 1:1 substitute. I do know Bob’sRed Mill gluten free baking flour works really well.
What about mixing in some oat flour?
Very yummy and moist! I will make this one again. I also added chunks of white chocolate and it goes really well with the banana flavour.
This is the easiest and most delicious banana bread recipe I’ve ever made! The ingredients are healthy, which makes me feel good!
I’ve now made it a few times with various mix ins and I’ve also tried the healthy pumpkin bread – which my coworkers LOVED. This time I used chia seeds, chopped pear, and some hemp seeds on top.
one of the best banana breads I’ve made. added walnuts and coconut flakes. baked 4 small loaf pans for 40 minutes. gave loaves as gifts.
Excited to try this recipe! Do you think it’s possible to replace regular flour with homemade gluten free oat flour (blended oats)? I would love to use that as opposed to just gluten free flour!
Thanks!
Hi Natalie, sorry I don’t believe oat flour will work the same. However, let me know if you try it.
Loved it!
Lovely recipe! What consistency should it be? After an hour mine was still very gooey in the middle so maybe I didn’t bake for long enough?
Lovely recipe! What consistency should it be please? Mine was still gooey inside after an hour in a fan oven x
HI!! I just found your recipe by googling “healthy banana bread”, it was the first that popped up with the most stars so I tried it. The only substitute I had to do was to blend my oats for oat flour because I didn’t have wheat flour and was wanting healthier than all-purpose flour. Point is, the bread was AMAZING!!!!!! (Even the raw batter was so yum and the smell?! Wow!) I added mini semi-sweet chocolate chips and some walnuts in half the loaf and all of it was so good!! I couldn’t stop eating it so I took it to work and everyone at the salon raved about it! It’s now a pot luck request! :) Thank you and I will def be checking out more of your recipes!
Have a happy day!
Thank you for commenting! I’m happy you loved it, Annette.
I’ve made it twice already! I’ve added walnuts on both occasions. I prefer honey as it makes for more moist cake. Next time I might try to glaze it (while still warm) with apricot jam, or orange marmalade.
I am visiting my daughter and family in Kuala Lumpur so wanted to make banana bread which has been a favourite of mine for 30 years . I needed a recipe and found yours! Nice to read your notes and tips. First time to make using vegetable oil and everyone loved it! Thanks, Rhoda
I’m glad it was helpful, Rhonda!
Very easy and delicious. This one’s a keeper! Our Scottish visitor’s eyes lit up like the man in your intro. Thank you!
Great recipe! Amended it slightly by mixing the flour with almond meal, and not putting in any sweetener (replaced by more banana).
Turned out really soft and yummy!!!
Thank you Kate for another great recipe!
Best banana bread iv ever baked!
Whats the calorie content per slice?
Hi! The nutrition information is below the notes section of the recipe. Just make sure you click to expand and that cookies are enabled in your browser.
Thanks for this recipe. It turns out delicious without the oil, butter and sugar that is in other recipes. The dry and wet ingredients are perfectly balanced and the bread is so yummy.
I cannot bake, even if my life depended on it. My partner is very honest with my baking. I had some bananas that had been sitting there for a week and came across your recipe. I thought okay, here we go. Another baking session I’m going to completely butcher..
To my surprise, it was SO easy to make, it smelt AMAZING and tasted SOO damn good! I got an 8/10 from my boyfriend which is a 10/10 in my eyes because he is a tough judge!
I cannot wait to make it again! It was so moist and soft on the inside – exactly like a maccas banana bread but less sugar and more healthier! Thank you! Cannot wait to try out your other recipes.
I’m happy this one worked so well for you! I appreciate your review, Dee Dee.
Brilliant recipe! I made it vegan with flax eggs and maple syrup, and it was delicious!
I love this Recipe! Tastes so good and helps knowing it’s on the healthy side too! Super delicious and a crowd pleaser, not too sweet but enough to keep it super yummy! Thank you!
Hi; thanks so much…best banana muffins I’ve ever had!
Christine
This has to the best Banana Bread recipe out there! I have been making this since 3 years now with some variant in mix-ins..kids absolutely love it…they are so excited when a banana starts to get soft…they know its time for banana bread..
Thanks for this amazing recipe!
I love this recipe; it’s a family favourite and really easy to substitute. I use blended dates and water as a honey/syrup substitute and add walnuts and sultanas and usually mixed seeds and extra nutmeg. Thank you!
Great recipe, definitely recommend
Thank you for the recommendation, Lucy!
I substituted canned pumpkin for the banana and have found my new favorite pumpkin bread! I also used pumpkin pie spice instead of just cinnamon. My daughter loves it. While this recipe is wonderful as is (I made the banana bread first and it was a huge hit), it’s nice to know that it’s also versatile!
Thanks for sharing!
I’ve been making your pumpkin muffins for my son who has eliminated all refined sugars from his diet. They are such a treat for him! I’ve made him a dozen for Christmas, but as an extra Christmas surprise, I’m want to try making your banana muffin recipe into whoopie pies. I’d really like to make chocolate banana muffins. How much cocoa powder do you think would be an appropriate amount to add? Or, do you think adding cocoa powder to the recipe would dry it out too much?
Kate this recipe is sensational and never fails … I’ve been dishing it out as – let’s catch up, sorry you’re not well, thinking of you and belated birthday “gifts”. You’re site is one of my favourite resources. Xx
Love this recipe! I use almond milk, raw honey, coconut oil, dark chocolate chips and walnuts. My little ones love it too.
Amazing!!
I had to make it on the stove because we just moved and don’t have any baking pans for the oven. My method of cooking was difficult because I had to flip it on the stove. However, the bread itself turned out incredible! The whole family loved it.
Will definitely keep this recipe as our go-to banana bread!
Thanks, Kate!
You’re welcome, Blair! Thanks for taking the time to comment.
I had overripe bananas that needed using so I tried this recipe, preferring a wholesome tea snack to a one full of white flour and sugar.
Well I gotta say… It is the best banana bread I’ve had. I made it with wholemeal baking flour too yet didn’t have that wholemeal taste. The honey was perfect and the baking soda gave it a hint of crisp on the edges. Fantastic.
This is my all time favourite! I’ve made it so many times now and I always get compliments on it. I tweak it when it comes to the mix ins. I go all out. For Christmas I’ve added white chocolate buds, cocoa nibs, dates, sultanas and pumpkin seeds. Then walnuts and sliced bananas on top! Plenty of cinnamon, I never measure that one haha. Thank you so much for sharing your recipe!
I’m happy to hear that!
I had some bananas in need of ‘saving’ and made your healthy banana bread today. Delicious! Not too sweet, light, moist – very more-ish. Thank you
You’re welcome, Angela!
Hi! I’ve made this recipe a few times in my Kansas City kitchen. Everyone always loves it. I just made it again for Christmas Eve breakfast.
Thank you for sharing, Ashleyanne!
Hi there made it today,eating it now yummmy. Gonna try to only have a couple of slices.I used coco flour and almond flour (left over) but mostly white flour.Stuck to recipe,this loaf won’t last long.Cheers Happy new year,
Great recipe! I made it tonight with coconut oil and almond milk. It turned out nicely. :) I will definitely make this again and will post it on my instagram account! I wonder though, how do you think this would work with applesauce as an oil replacement for this recipe? I’ve used it in the past in the average banana bread recipes I’ve used, and had no problem. Thanks!
I am about to delve into this recipe, but want to know ya’lls experience with frozen ripe bananas before I indulge. Should the bananas be partially thawed at room temp? Fully thawed at room temp? Because I know frozen bananas can add more liquid when thawed/defrosted.
Thank you for sharing such a delicious banana bread recipe. I couldn’t believe how moist it is.I used 3 bananas and increased milk to 1/3 cup because I had to use brown sugar. I sprinkled some mixture of cinnamon and brown sugar on top. Wonderful!
I’m happy you loved it!
This is our go-to recipe for banana bread! We often make two — one with dark chocolate chips and one with blueberries. We toss the blueberries in a little bit of flour before adding them so that they don’t sink to the bottom. My teenagers love this bread as a healthy and filling snack. Thank you!
Great one. It tasted the same as an ordinary banana bread. Thank you for the recipe.