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 been using this recipe for years and i am OBSESSED! I love the texture and i make this at least once a couple weeks. My kids love this so much and absolutely demolish as soon as i finish baking it. I love that it’s one pan. this is seriously the best go to recipe!!! highly recommend.
most delicious thing I’ve ever made! my husband loved it and couldn’t even tell it was made from better/healthier ingredients. super easy to make too!
My mom was surprised it didn’t have added sugar. Moist and very yummy :)
1/2 cup of honey?
Absolutely love this recipe (and so does my partner :D)! I make this recipe at least twice a month, and it’s a great healthy snack option & super easy to take with me to work.
What works best for me is to reduce the amount of honey/sugar to 75 grams, and sometimes I substitute parts of the flour with oats. Chocolate chips are unfortunately not optional for me, they are delicious and I add them every time haha!
Thanks for sharing this delicious recipe with us!
This is the best banana bread I have ever made!
I just love it and its so healthy too!
Hi Kate, I cannot have baking soda (or baking powder), can I skip it? Or is there a substitute, thanks. Flat bread doesn’t bother me if that’s the trade off.
Hi Anna, there isn’t an equivalent substitute, and a bread will not rise without it, but if you’ve eliminated it from other recipes and still enjoyed the results, you can give it a try.
I don’t have honey on hand but do have monk fruit sweetner, I wonder if that will work and if so how much to use? Any suggestions?
Hi April, I recommend this as written. If you do try it with monk fruit sweetener, please share how it turns out.
I tried your recipe and it turned out great. My kids loved it. I followed your recipe to every detail. I don’t have an oven so I made it over stove top. It is moist and with the right amount of sweetness. I’m gonna try your carrot cake recipe next. Thank you so much!
i make it with spelt flour & extra virgin olive oil, & less honey (1/4 or 1/3 cup) & it’s so beyond yum. it’s
my dream banana bread!
Your recipe for this banana bread was the only one I ever tried twice. I am not into baking anything but always have some old bananas lingering from a fresh bunch. So, I have to say the second time I tried this recipe came out even better than the first which was pretty good. The whole wheat flour usually made my previous banana bread attempts dry and not great. But this recipe is good for me because it actually works to make a nice moist banana bread. I feel more confident now that I can bake something and enjoy the results.
Hi Judy, thank you for sharing your experience with the recipe. Best of luck on your baking journey!
Amazing my 1st ever Banana bread at 40 years old and came out perfect like i bought it from a bakery.And no sugar?Unbelievable. I couldn’t tell.Thank you for this recipe.
P.s i had hot honey and used that,final product tasted nothing like hot honey!
I’ve made several bad tasting healthy versions of sweet treats but this is just perfect. Every time my bananas start to go brown I make this and everyone loves it! I replace the eggs with flax eggs but it still turns out so so good. My go-to healthy sweet treat!
Fantastic. Best Banana bread I’ve ever made. So easy and very healthy. Thanks
Excellent recipe !
My kids love it.
The alternative options like almond flour, coconut oil, almond milk are what makes it better than other banana breads
I don’t comment online but this is genuinely SO good, I have to. I’m not a cake maker either, but just happened to have overripe bananas…
All good clean ingredients in this beautiful loaf. I halved the amount of honey and it still turned out moist and delicious. I also baked it in two smaller tins rather than the one suggested, so they would bake in less time and use less electricity (it is SO expensive). Thankyou
Just made this banana bread this morning, an absolutely fantastic recipe for a guy like me to make. Quick easy and delicious, plus it is a better alternative for diabetes with natural sweeteners! Kudos! Highly recommended Thanks Todd. 8/18/25
Very easy to follow. Comes out great every time! I follow the recipe exactly, no adjustments. It is not overly sweet like some bananas breads are. Even my husband enjoys it. Without all the sugary flavor. Thanks for sharing. I’m a senior and have gone through many recipes in my day. This is a keeper!
Hi. Can i reduce the amount of honey? And is adding blackberrys an option?
Hi Mi, I recommend the recipe as written, but many have adjusted the honey to their taste. Blackberries may sink in the batter, and impact the final texture and moisture levels. If you give it a try, please share how it turns out.
Everybody in the house loves this recipe .. thank you for sharing ❤️
This is my go-to banana bread. It is soooo good!
I use gluten free flour and avocado oil with this recipe and it’s SOOOOO GOOD as well! Thank you for sharing!!!
Hello from Riyadh
I made this recipe yesterday for my daughter’s birthday and used gluten-free wheat instead of the regular one. In addition to chocolate bits, I added cinnamon-caramelized pecans.
I will keep coming back to this recipe again and again.
Thank you
I love this recipe – great for beginners like me.
The only thing I’m not 100% confident with is the timings – I have a fan oven, so I set the temperature to 150 (thanks to the help of Google/Chat GPT conversation charts), and baked for 50 minutes before inserting a butter knife into the centre of the loaf to check it. The knife was coated in wet batter at that point, so I popped it back in for 5-10 minute intervals. The knife came out clear*(with a greasy / opaque sheen) after around 1 hour and 15 minutes. I left it to cool in the tin and the results were tasty, perhaps a teeny bit drier from sitting at room temperature throughout that evening. I tried the recipe again today but added half a cup of walnuts/chocolate chips. Once again, the 1h 15 minute point seemed to be the sweet spot, and the cake is very moist – but as a beginner, I’m not sure I’m confident enough at being able to tell whether the cake is fully done with the knife method, as it comes out with a foggy/greasy look after 1h10/1h15 mins. The cake cuts fine and there are no raw looking bits inside, so I assume it’s done!?… any longer and I feel It could risk going dry. Do these timings sound ok? Could do with a bit of input from a more experienced Baker! Thanks x
Hi Louisa, it sounds like you have figured out what works for your oven. I’m not an expert at that type of oven, but maybe so others will have tips. I’m glad you got the recipe to work! Best of luck with your baking.
Am I missing something or does the recipe not specify when to add the milk? I just put my mix into the oven and realized I never used the milk
Hi Nancy, the milk is added in step 2.
This was so easy to make and it turned out perfect!!!
I made this bread substituting a ripe honey mango for some of the fruit because I didn’t have enough ripe bananas. I found the bread to be dry and it had a bitter baking soda taste.
Maybe because I didn’t do the recipe like it’s supposed to…?
Just made this banana bread. I used a combo of honey and maple syrup. I made it in a 19cm round cake tin. It was perfectly cooked in 45 mins with a nice rise. When sliced it looked exactly as shown in the photo for this recipe. My husband, daughter and I all loved it. ‘It’s so light, fluffy and moist’, said my daughter. I agree.
I have made so many recipes of banana bread in my 60 yrs. I make a version nearly weekly and always a new one and this is the first recipe I’m printing and making for now on! It’s so so moist, texture is spot on, no refined sugars and not loads of butter or oil. Thank you for this!
How would I adjust the cook time for mini loaves (5x3x1)?
Hi Kenda, I would start checking them at 25 minutes. The toothpick should come out clean.
This is probably my 10th time making this banana bread and it always comes out perfect! Your recipes are truly the best. Thank youuu!
This is the best healthy banana bread I’ve ever had
This is the best banana recipe I have ever tried. The texture and the taste is just like the store bought one! 10/10 for me!!!
Turned out perfect! 55 mins.
My family loves this banana bread recipe! Great for a snack or breakfast on the go. I use regular whole wheat flour, coconut oil, and maple syrup. It definitely makes a difference to spoon and swoop the flour as suggested. The bread is fluffy and it comes out perfect every time.
I followed this recipe to make 2 banana breads as I like it because it doesn’t use white or brown sugar, only more healthy alternatives. I made each bread recipe by itself (didn’t combine recipes). However, the breads seem to come out dry and with a low flavor of banana (I used 2 ripe bananas with many dark spots for each bread). I read many comments here that love this recipe. Any suggestions to make the recipe with more banana flavor and moist (e.g., add sour cream?)?
Hi John, I recommend the recipe as written. How big were your bananas? It should be one cup per loaf. If your bananas were on the smaller side, it could have been a little short. As for the dryness, it could have been overbaked. I always have moist bread with strong banana flavor when I make it was written.
Absolutely YUM! Moist, light and not sweet. Best recipe!
I used white spelt flour and good quality honey. I also added chopped dates and pecans in the batter and a little sprinkle of brown sugar on top before baking.
Recipe is definitely a keeper thank you!
Hi Petra, thanks for sharing your adaptations! I’m glad the recipe worked out for you.
Can I make this gluten free?
Hi Maureen, I do have a gluten free banana bread made with almond flour. This recipe will also work with 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.
I do a lot of baking and have started trying many of your recipes! 100% satisfied with them, healthy, easy and everyone so far has been a success. This banana bread was no exception. Thank you for your fantastic recipes
Super healthy yet so good! Adding chocolate chips makes it even better, but this is already the best banana bread recipe out there regardless.
Hi! I’ve been using this recipe for years and I really love it (as well as anyone else who tries it)!
Unfortunately my oven just broke and I have some over ripe ripe bananas. I was wondering if you’ve ever tried this recipe in the air fryer, and if yes, would you have any suggestions for temp and time?
Hi Carrie, I’m sorry your oven is broken! I haven’t made this in an air fryer. I would follow the directions for the model you have, or use the same settings as you would on a regular oven.
How many calories is this as I’m on a calorie deficit?
Hi Ify, you can check out the calories in a serving by clicking “show nutrition information.”
Thank you for a wonderful recipe that is easily made diabetic friendly! I subbed my diabetic honey and did not experience any drastic glucose spikes after enjoying a slice of this delicious bread. Having made some truly gross “diabetic friendly” recipes recently, it’s a true breath of fresh air to find a recipe that doesn’t spike glucose or have funky aftertastes from the sugar substitute. This one’s a keeper!
May I add some frozen blueberries?
Yes, several commenters have shared they mix in frozen fruit.
Love the recipe. My 2.5 yr old and me and my husband enjoy this a lot. Perfect snack or breakfast recipe to enjoy as a family!
Great recipe but every time I reference it and read the part where you differentiate between baking soda and baking powder, I’m so insulted. Lol.
Hi Becky, I have had people ask many times over the years if they could substitute one for the other, so I started including that detail. I’m not meaning to insult anyone, just sharing information that people ahve asked for.
Can you sub coconut sugar for the honey?
Hi Ruth, I recommend this recipe as written. If you try to substitute coconut sugar, please share how it turns out.
Made this banana bread for the first time and it’s yum!
Absolutely loved this banana bread recipe and quite easy to make too!
Can I add fresh blueberries to this recipe?
Hi Angie, yes others have said they have successfully added frozen blueberries, I think fresh would work as well.
So yummy ! I loved this.
I have made this recipe SOOOO many times. Yum! I have tried different mix-ins (including a 1/2c uncooked oats for yummy texture and fiber) and different sweeteners. I have determined that 1/4c maple syrup and 1/4c local honey add the best sweetness and flavor. Thanks for this delicious recipe!
Can I add blueberries? If so, how much and do I need to increase the cooking time?
Hi Annie, commenters have said they successfully added blueberries. I wouldn’t add more than 1 cup to the batter and I would not change the cooking time.