Healthy Banana Bread is made with delicious, fueling ingredients. It uses everyday products and skips refined sugars and butter.
Have more overripe bananas? Try these Healthy Banana Muffins or Banana Pancakes next!
Healthy Banana Bread Recipe
I go through bananas so quickly at my home! My kids love them as snacks or cut up in their oatmeal, I freeze them to use in an Açaí Bowl or this Blueberry Smoothie, and my husband loves them in this Chocolate Protein Shake.
If I have any leftovers at the end of the week, my kids beg for a baked banana treat. They’ll usually request these Banana Cupcakes, but after I made this healthy banana bread a few weeks ago, they’ve consistently asked for it. Score!
Ingredients In Healthy Banana Bread
- Coconut Oil: Melt it for easier mixing and to help the bread stay soft.
- Honey: Acts as a natural sweetener while keeping the bread moist.
- Eggs: Bind the ingredients together, providing structure and moisture.
- Ripe Bananas: The riper the banana, the sweeter and more flavorful it will be!
- Greek Yogurt: Opt for full-fat for a richer texture.
- Vanilla Extract: Pure vanilla extract will give a deeper, more authentic flavor.
- Salt: Just a small amount is enough to bring out the flavors.
- Cinnamon: If you’re a cinnamon lover, feel free to add more.
- Baking Soda: Helps the bread rise and gives it a light, airy texture.
- All-Purpose Flour: Don’t over-mix the flour to keep the bread soft and tender.
- Mini Chocolate Chips (Optional): Gently fold them in to prevent them from sinking to the bottom.
Quick Tip
This bread is packed with delicious ingredients — protein from the eggs and Greek yogurt, vitamins and nutrients from the bananas, a boost in good cholesterol and energy from the coconut oil, and antioxidants from the honey.
How To Make Healthy Banana Bread
- Prep: Heat the oven, grease and flour a bread pan.
- Wet Ingredients: Mix oil and honey, then eggs, bananas, yogurt, and vanilla.
- Dry Ingredients: Directly add salt, cinnamon, and baking soda to wet mix, then stir in flour and chocolate chips until just combined.
- Bake: Pour into the pan and bake until done.
- Cool: Let the healthy banana bread rest in the pan before serving.
Switch Things Up
- Mini Chocolate Chips: Use dark chocolate for a different flavor and more antioxidants.
- Nuts: Add walnuts or pecans, tossed with the flour, to the batter.
- Raisins: Regular, golden, dried cherries, or cranberries, also tossed with flour are delish.
- Spiced Banana Bread: Leave out the add-ins and increase spices with 1/4 tsp nutmeg or a teaspoon of pumpkin pie spice or apple pie spice.
Storage
Freezing And Storing Leftovers
- Store healthy banana bread in an airtight container at room temp for up to 3 days.
- For longer storage, wrap the bread tightly in plastic wrap or foil and freeze for up to 3 months.
- To thaw, leave it at room temp for a few hours or heat slices in the microwave.
More Fueling Recipes
- Healthy Fruit Tart Recipe no bake
- Greek yogurt Healthy Blueberry Muffins
- Banana Waffles sweet and spiced with cinnamon
- Peanut Butter Protein Shake tastes like a milkshake
- Healthy Zucchini Bread super simple
Healthy Banana Bread
Healthy Banana Bread is filled with good-for-you ingredients. This recipe uses everyday products and does not have any refined sugars or butter.
Equipment
- Bread pan 9 x 5-inch
- Cooling Rack
Ingredients
- 1/3 cup melted coconut oil
- 1/2 cup honey
- 2 large eggs
- 1 packed cup mashed very ripe banana 2 large bananas
- 1/4 cup honey vanilla Greek yogurt full-fat, I recommend Greek Gods
- 1-1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 3/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1-3/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 3/4 cup miniature chocolate chips optional
- 1 tablespoon old-fashioned oats optional
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325°F. Generously grease a 9×5-inch bread pan and lightly dust with flour. Tap off excess flour over the sink and set the prepared pan aside.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the coconut oil and honey. Add in eggs and whisk until smooth. In a separate bowl, mash the bananas with a fork until well mashed and broken down (see note 1). Pack mashed bananas into a measuring cup and level the top. Add to the wet ingredients along with the Greek yogurt and vanilla extract. Whisk until smooth and combined.
- On top of the wet ingredients, add the salt, cinnamon, and baking soda. Stir. Add in flour and mini chocolate chips (if using). With a wooden spoon, gently stir the chocolate chips to get coated with the flour, then mix the flour into the rest of the ingredients. Do not overmix; stop as soon as the flour is fully incorporated.
- Using a spatula, scrape all the batter into the prepared 9×5-inch pan. Bake in the fully preheated oven for 50–65 minutes or until very lightly browned on the edges and a toothpick comes out clean (or with few moist crumbs) from the center.
- Allow to cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then invert onto a cooling rack. When fully cool, cut into slices and enjoy.
Recipe Notes
Note 1: To quickly and thoroughly mash bananas, remove the peels, break into a few pieces, and beat them in a stand mixer or with a hand mixer until well mashed.
Note 2: While this recipe contains no added sugar, if you add chocolate chips to the batter, keep in mind that most commercial brands contain sugar.
Storage: Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for 2–3 days. Enjoy slices warmed in the microwave for 10–15 seconds. Bread freezes and thaws well.
Nutrition
Serving: 12slices | Calories: 139kcal | Carbohydrates: 16.6g | Protein: 1.3g | Fat: 6.8g | Cholesterol: 31mg | Sodium: 117.9mg | Fiber: 0.5g | Sugar: 14.5g
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Made this and froze some. really good and stops me craving something sweet! Do you know how many calories are in each slice though please?
Would this last for a week if I wrapped it up really tight? My husband is deployed and I wanted to send him some.
Unfortunately I don’t think it will. Healthy baked goods don’t taste too great after a couple of days in my opinion.
This was very good! My kiddos loved it! I used fresh ground wheat for the win! 🙂 Also, I used mini chips because that’s what I had on hand. YUMMY!
Everyone who had a sliced loved it and devoured it in under 30 minutes!!!! Does anyone know the nutrition facts per slice?
I thought this turned out great! I’m in love with this bread! Thanks for the recipe! : )
So great to hear! You are welcome 🙂
I made this recipe yesterday and really loved it. It was super easy to make, and it was very tasty. I was skeptical, as some of the “healthy” recipes I’ve made in the past aren’t very good. My husband REALLY liked it, so it passed the test! I will definitely be making it again. Oddly enough, I preferred it cold, but my husband liked it warm/toasted. I didn’t have problems with it browning too quickly. I pulled it out around 52 minutes. I don’t mind if it’s a little undercooked. Thanks for a great recipe to add to my baking repertoire!
YAY! So glad to hear it passed the “husband test” and you enjoyed it! Thanks for your kind comment Stephanie!
I went on a hunt on Pinterest for banana oat bread and came across your post. This is EXACTLY what I’m looking for! And I love baking with greek yogurt. Thank you thank you thank you, I will be trying this today!
Awesome!! I hope you love it Ashley 🙂
I LOVE it!!! I changed the recipe a teeny tiny bit… I cut the recipe in half…I only had 2 bananas, and it’s only me and my husband in the house and we have no resistance to sweets. So I used smaller tins and cooked for only a half hour. I accidentally poured in a little more vanilla than the recipe called for, and I love chocolate so in he half recipe I used a full half cup. This is seriously the best banana bread I’ve ever had! I don’t really like banana bread usually because it tastes to me like over ripe bananas but the chocolate is the perfect thing to counter that!
Hi,
I am just wondering if this lovely looking cake is at all healthy? By any chance would you know the nutritional content please?
Here they are! 🙂
Nutrition Facts
Serving Size 1 Recipe total Servings 12
Calories 164
Total Fat 3.11 g
Saturated Fat 2.08g
Monosaturated Fat 0.81g
Polysaturated Fat 0.22g
Total Carbohydrate 29.6 g
Fiber 1 g
Sugar 15.9 g
Protein 3.6 g
Cholesterol 3.03 mg
Calcium 49 mg
Iron 1.07 mg
Potassium 127 mg
Sodium 178 mg
Zinc 0.5 mg
Thiamin 0.14 mg
Riboflavin 0.16 mg
Niacin 1.04 mg
Folic Acid 24.1 Ug
Vitamin B6 0.05 mg
Vitamin C 0.7 mg
Vitamin B12 0.14 Ug
Vitamin A 30 IU
Vitamin E 0.06 mg
Vitamin K 0.5 Ug
Points 3
Points Plus 4
*The nutritional values are determined by the total ingredients divided by the number of servings for each recipe. Serving sizes may vary. The formula used here for points was obtained from public sources and is an empirical match to Weight Watchers calculators, but it is not an “official”
I just made this bread and while it was good warm, I don’t know how great it will be cold. It browns very fast, so the tip on tinfoil tenting is definitely necessary. If anyone is wondering if it tastes “healthy” – it does, but is tasty fresh out of the oven. Definitely moist, but just not as tasty as good old banana bread! (Its more like a cake in a loaf pan)
I just made this recipe for my Mom and I to have tea and a healthier banana bread together during the Downton Abbey marathon. I chose to use blueberries instead of chocolate chips and it was absolutely delicious! Also, I used Chobani 100 calorie vanilla greek yogurt rather than the plain greek yogurt that the recipe calls for. The loaf itself looked beautiful and lived up to my expectations (if not exceeded them!) We’ll definitely be making this recipe again, thanks! 🙂
So great to hear! Thank you Madeline! And I love the idea of using blueberries 🙂
Awe man! Just made it and it’s yummy! I didn’t have old fashioned oats so I used quick cooking and it worked great! I divided between two glass loaf pans and baked for 45 minutes. Thanks for sharing!