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.
Always DELICIOUS! I’ve made many loaves using several variations of this recipe. I’ve substituted with applesauce for oil, tried honey AND maple, I’ve added dark chocolate chunks, walnuts and unsweetened coconut chips, and I’ve substituted flax eggs for regular eggs… every loaf turns out great!
I made this – actually the muffin version you posted – with 1:1 gluten flour and it was TERRIBLE!! No big deal but disappointing considering you recommend switching up the flour no problem. They were extremely dense and not airy at all. Almost gluey. Not using this one again – I have enjoyed many other recipes on this site previously though.
Hi, I’m sorry to hear that. I have made this with Bob’s Red Mill 1:1 baking gluten free flour several times and had a great result. What did you use? You could try Gluten-Free Banana Bread (Made with Almond Flour)
I used bulk barn 1:1 flour and followed the recipe.
Easy recipe, made almost exactly as directed except used part honey/part maple syrup and used 3 small/med mushy bananas without measuring. This was delicious. Moist and flavorful but not overly sweet. Next time I may add nuts or chips, but even without it was very good.
This was delicious! When trying to warm my batter that had hardened pieces of coconut oil in it, the chocolate chips melted a bit and this I got chocolate swirls in my bread which was delicious!
Loved the recipe so much the first time that I multiplied the ingredients by 1.5. The cooking time well exceeded 60 minutes. Do you recommend lower temperature for longer or maintain as noted in recipe above?
Hi, Did you bake in two pans?
Very tasty! We make it almost every week.
I made this yesterday with my two boys and it was a huge success! We used 1/4c each of maple syrup and honey so each kid got their choice. We used coconut oil and it was awesome! We encountered a lot of congealing during the mixing process and though I tried 10 seconds in the microwave as you suggested, it took us much longer to successfully melt the oil again bc I was worried I’d cook the eggs. Do you have any suggestions for how to prevent coconut oil from getting clumpy in the first place? Also, any advice on how to prevent our chocolate chips from sinking to the bottom? Thank you for a great recipe – we’ll be making it again this weekend!
Great to hear you loved it! If everything is at room temperature or not straight out of the refrigerator you should have better luck with it not solidifying. Try to evenly sprinkle in your add-ins and gently fold. That should help. Let me know how it works again!
Hi this is the only banana bread recipe I follow. Its delicious every time. For the problem with the coconut oil add it last just before adding the flour.
Love this recipe, i use yoghurt instead of milk and it turned out to be very moist and delish ! Hopefully it’s still healthy :)
An easy to follow recipe. The result was an amazingly tasty cake will make it again. As I do not like butter so coconut oil is my best option and health as well.
This was my first time making a banana bread and I am in LOVE! Best recipe, 10/10! I am going to recommend this recipe to absolutely everyone
Wonderful to hear, Tara!
hello! yesterday I tried to make your banana bread with oat flour. As you suggested I have used 2&1/2 cups of flour and for the rest following your recipe. Something went wrong. Should I have added more eggs for example or more maple syrup?
thanks, Daniela
Hi, I’m sorry to hear that! Did you spoon and level your flour?
This bread is so delicious! It develops this lovely crust while baking and is great for any time of day. I bake a lot of loaves and muffins, and I have to say that this recipe is now one of my all time favourites. It’s healthy, moist and full of flavour. Highly recommend adding walnuts.Fabulous!
Oh my word, the smell of this baking is just divine! And so delicious!! I made it with raisins and it is heavenly. Moist and banana-ey and sweet and hearty and gorgeous. And smells amazing!!!!
Wonderful to hear, Katy! Thank you for sharing.
Hi Kate
I executed your recipe yesterday it was a success and my son gave me an A+ since I made his without nuts with just some whole grain Oats and mixed nuts on mine. It’s delicious
Thank you for sharing your recipes with us.
Ps/the organic melted coconut oil and honey with well ripped bananas are a must.
Hooray! I’m glad he gave it such a high grade. :) Thank you for your review, Rose!
This recipe is a firm favourite in our house, I make it every week and it’s so easy!
The past couple of times it’s been undercooked and I can’t get my head around why that is? I’ve not changed anything!! Can you offer any advice please??
HELP!!!!!
I’m sorry to hear that! Have you been having issues with any other recipes? Does your oven seem to be inconsistent? Maybe you have been putting in more banana than usual?
This recipe is a firm favourite in our house, I make it every week and it’s so easy!
The past couple of times it’s been too wet and I can’t get my head around why that is? I’ve not changed anything!! Can you offer any advice please??
HELP!!!!!
Hi Diane, I believe I responded to this. Are you sure you aren’t adding more banana than it calls for? Or is your oven being consistent?
First time making a Banana Bread, the most interesting recipe that i found and absolutely not regrets.
thank you
Love this recipe!! I have been using this recipe for a couple years now and we make it often! It’s the only banana bread recipe we use!! Loved by my kids and husband! I have ripe bananas I need to use up, so we are going to make it today, but realizing I just ran out of coconut oil. Going to try avocado oil this time and see how it goes. Avocado oil is usually pretty mild in flavor and I’ve used it on baking before, so hoping it works out! :) thanks for this wonderful recipe!
I’m glad you love it, Taylor! Thanks for sharing.
Hi, just wondering if I can sub the syrup for sugar??
Hi Laura, this is best as written. I hope you try it!
This bread has a great texture, even after I had to sub out the flour and milk for my own alternatives. My only complaint is that it’s very bland. I doubled the cinnamon and still can’t taste it. Will definitely make again, just with way more seasoning.
This seriously was SO good! I used normal flour because I did not have wheat. Best banana bread I have ever made.
Just made this again now, OMG I love it! I add pecans and toast a slice in the mornings with a coffee, delicious.I make at least three a month, this was my first time baking anything so super simple for me!
That’s great, John!
I make this all the time with my four year old. We always sub the oil for applesauce, I usually use a little less honey, and I make them into muffins. To make them into muffins cook at about 375 for 15-20 minutes. Sometimes when I want to be really nice I add a few chocolate chips (doesn’t take a lot!).
How do I substitute sour dough into your recipe? Thank you!
This isn’t designed for sourdough, so I’m not sure how it would turn out.
I followed the recipe and I didn’t like this banana bread. It wasn’t sweet enough using maple syrup and it wasn’t moist. I had made a more traditional recipe the week before with unbleached organic flour and buttermilk with only one egg and it turned out really good.I could already see in the pan that it was dryer and smaller than what I have made with other recipes. (And I have a convection oven) I like healthy but will look for something with brown sugar and buttermilk in it which I feel makes it taste better.
I’m sorry you didn’t enjoy this one. Thank you for your feedback, Kristi.
Hi there! Is that oven temperature for a fan-forced oven?
Hi! It’s a standard conventional oven, not convection. I hope you try it!
Excellent! This has been my go to recipe for some time now! Thank you !
I’m excited you loved it, Laura!
I found this recipe and loved it, used marscapone instead of milk. It was so soft and fluffy, bbg hit at work. Making tonight and adding chocolate chips.
I’m glad that it still worked, Kj!
How do you make flax eggs?
How to Make Flax “Eggs”
Second time I make this and it came out perfect each time! Love it
That’s great, Shira!
My family loves this recipe! I use 4 bananas though.
Wonderful, Casey! Thank you for your review.
Love this recipe. I have made this bread several times now and I am switching the flour to spelt today!
How did the spelt flour go? Did you use 1:1?
I don’t have a loaf pan, so could I use an 8x8x2 square baking pan instead? What are the recommended adjustments to the recipe?
Hi Ivster, You could try it although I’m not sure about baking time. I recommend this recipe as written for best results.
Another delightful C+K recipe! I made this banana bread over the weekend for a special brunch with my sweetheart and it was a winner! We decided to go all out and also made your recipe for crispy hash brown breakfast burritos — O.M.G. Yum Yum Yum. Your recipes are so easy to follow and its a slam dunk every time. Thank you!
yummiest loaf ever, love the fact that’s it a healthier choice (tastes better than regular ones!)
Delicious! This was my first time baking with oat flour. I also used olive oil and maple syrup. This will be my go to recipe!!
Great to hear, Diane!
Vegan review: I sub an extra mashed banana and an egg worth of egg replacer for each multiple of the recipe. These keep great in the freezer and respond well to any add-ons—walnuts, blueberries, raspberries, chocolate chunks, a few tablespoons of bran fiber, tempeh sausage crumbles (sprinkle on top, trust me)… gotta say, I’ve made this (veganized) recipe dozens of times and, as long as I weigh my flour, I can get away with using any I choose. Add a teaspoon of ACV to mashed banana for max fluffiness.
I’m glad it turned out! Thank you for your review, Manda.
Thank you so much for the lovely and healthy homemade banana bread….tried banana bread for the first time..we all love it..
Making another loaf! Cannot get enough of such a wonderful& easy bread. Whenever we have leftover bananas, I’m making a loaf or two. Both my other half & I love this, and I’ve reccommended this page& recipe to many people. Now, question… Kate! Do you happen to have a healthy recipe for oatmeal cookies? The nice soft ones??????
Hi Evy! Try my Peanut Butter Oat Cookies
Could you make this with bread flour?
I recommend it as written.
Want to try this recipe? Can you bake in a muffin tin? I saw the banana muffins but want the banana bread taste. Thanks!
Is avocado oil an acceptable substitute?
That should work, Sharon. Let me know what you think!
It turned out great! Thanks for providing a great recipe!
Thank you for sharing your recipes. Is it possible to replace honey with agave syrup?
Hi Roxanne, I haven’t tried it. I would suggest searching the comments to see if others have had any luck!
I just tried usig agave, it came out so good!
I made 2 loaves of this banana bread to use up some very ripe bananas and they turned out perfect and scrumptious. Due to dietary intolerance, I used light spelt flour and egg yolks, also halved the sweetner(I used brown sugar because that’s what I had) and the recipe still worked wonderfully. I added banana slices to the batter and I’m so glad I tried that. They added extra goodness. Thanks so much for such an adaptable and lovely recipe.
Thank you for sharing, Mary!
This is amazing! It’s my first banana bread ever and I’m in love, it’s so much better than I ever expected it to be. I ate a whole loaf in the last 24 hours. I can’t stop!!! :) About to gift the other loaf to visiting in laws.
I made it with half plain flour and half wholemeal bread flour and the texture is just the right amount of firm and squishy at the same time. Love it.
I have one question though: is there a reason you say to be gentle and stir in the flour? Whisking it in with the electric mixer worked fine for me. Would it have been better to be gentle with it?
Hi! You don’t want to over work the batter or it won’t rise as well. Thank you for your review! I’m happy to hear it turned out.
I may have previously posted on this but just in case I haven’t, this recipe is a diamond in the rough. I have made it countless times in the past 3 or so months. I love sharing it with people. It’s nice to bake banana bread that is guilt-free but tastes incredible! I also stumbled upon Kate’s Lucille’s Mashed Potatoes for Thanksgiving last year and there shall be no other! I also highly recommend Kate’s healthy blueberry muffin recipe. These are the only 3 recipes I’ve tried so far but Cookie + Kate is becoming my favorite site for recipes! Thanks for sharing your culinary talent!
How many grams is your slice? I can’t work out the nutritional information as I don’t know how much a “slice” is. Please can you advise? Otherwise great recipe, made it twice.
Hi, I don’t have the grams but there are 10 slices in a loaf. Sorry to not be of more help!
1st time I’ve made this banana bread and so far it’s the best one, made with wholemeal flour , honey and walnuts , ate 2 slices as soon as it was cooked , can’t wait to eat the rest, I don’t think I’ll be looking for any other recipe now, this one’s just perfect
This is the best healthy banana bread I EVER made. Thank you Kate.
Marie from Olympia, WA
You’re welcome, Marie! I’m delighted you enjoyed it.
SO delicious! I make this almost every weekend whenever we have overripe bananas, and it tastes great every time. I like to add 1/4 cup of greek yogurt to make it more moist! Thank you for the recipe.
I’m glad that it still turns out, Tiffany!
this is my absolute favourite go-to recipe ! So easy and delcious.
That’s great to hear, Ruby! Thank you for your review.
Have to jump in. I’ve been making this recipe for a couple of years now and it is excellent! I’ll always use 1/2 maple syrup and half honey. I’ll usually add walnuts and raisins and sometimes add dried tart cherries when I have them. Lately I have been adding blueberries, fresh when I have them or thawed frozen berries.
Thanks Kate (and Cookie)!
I’m glad you have been making this for so long! I’m glad you left a comment and review.
I made this banana bread to ditch the granulated sugar for once. WOW, it was amazing! I loved the honey flavor. I used oat flour and it came out great! I’ve made many banana breads and this is the best recipe and healthiest I’ve come by so far. Going to try it with maple syrup next time.
This is my go to recipe for banana bread, but this time I changed it up! I used spelt flour, 3 tablespoons of chia seeds and walnuts as mix ins and a drizzle of agave in the batter. My only problem with this bread is that I want to eat the whole thing in one sitting! Love your stuff Kate!