Our delicious healthy banana bread recipe has lower sugar, calories, fat, and adds whole grains compared to more traditional recipes.
Our popular banana bread inspired this recipe. This healthier version keeps all the deliciousness but with a few smart swaps to reduce calories, sugar, and fat. We’ve even added whole wheat flour for an extra boost of fiber.
This lighter banana bread is super moist, dense, and really delicious.
Key Ingredients
- Bananas: For the best healthy banana bread, use very ripe bananas. I’m talking brown and speckled bananas. They are sweeter and make the baked bread soft and moist. If you have unripe bananas and can wait a day or two, place them in a brown paper bag and set them aside in a warmer part of your kitchen.
- Flour: I use a blend of all-purpose and whole wheat flour in this recipe. You can use 100% whole wheat, but blending in some all-purpose makes the bread more tender in the middle. I use the same blend when making my favorite whole wheat pancakes.
- Baking Soda: Helps the bread rise and brown nicely.
- Cinnamon, Molasses, and Vanilla: These make the bread taste amazing, rich, and warm.
- Olive Oil or Coconut Oil: Our traditional banana bread recipe uses melted butter, but for this healthier version, we call for less fat and swap in olive oil or coconut oil. If you want to stick with butter, you can!
- Sugar: Use what you have, but brown sugar makes our bread flavorful and moist. I use granulated sugar in the video, showing that you can use what you have on hand. We have reduced the sugar from 3/4 cup in our original recipe to 1/3 cup. A major savings and your blood sugar will thank you.
- Eggs: Provides structure and stability to the bread. We use two eggs. To make this recipe egg-free, use 2 flax eggs or aquafaba.
- Lemon: A bit of lemon zest and juice makes our bread extra delicious.
Find the full recipe with measurements below.
How to Make Healthy Banana Bread
Tip 1: No fancy equipment needed! Forget the stand mixer or electric beaters. You don’t need them for this simple quick bread! The method is the same as our original banana bread: mash the bananas with a fork, whisk the dry ingredients, whisk the wet ingredients, combine them all, and then bake the batter in a loaf pan.
Tip 2: Add molasses for incredible flavor. This loaf calls for a lot less sugar than your typical quick bread (1/3 cup). Then, for a rich, sweet flavor, we add black strap molasses. Just one tablespoon packs in lots of flavor and really adds a lot of richness to the batter.
Tip 3: Pick the right pan. For a tall, beautiful loaf, use an 8 ½” x 4 ½” (1-pound) loaf pan. If you use a larger 9″ x 5″ pan, your banana bread won’t turn out as tall, and will need 5 to 10 minutes less time in the oven.
More Banana Recipes
- Easy Banana Blueberry Muffins
- Easy Chocolate Chip Banana Bread
- Easy Chocolate Banana Bread
- Our Favorite Banana Cake
Easy Healthy Banana Bread
- PREP
- COOK
- TOTAL
This healthy banana bread stays moist and tastes great! Our recipe has lower sugar and fat while adding whole grains. Check the tips section below for tips on making this gluten-free or vegan.
Watch Us Make the Recipe
You Will Need
3/4 cup (95g) all-purpose flour, spooned and leveled
3/4 cup (95g) whole wheat flour, spooned and leveled
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 large bananas, heavily speckled or even black bananas are best, about 1 cup mashed
5 tablespoons (75ml) extra-virgin olive oil, melted coconut oil, or melted butter
1 tablespoon molasses
1/3 cup (65g) sugar, brown sugar is best
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon lemon zest
2 tablespoons lemon juice
Directions
1Position a rack in the middle of the oven. Preheat the oven to 350°F (176°C).
2Butter and flour an 8 ½-inch by 4 ½-inch loaf pan. Or grease the pan and then line it with a sheet of parchment paper (as shown in the video). See tips for pan sizes.
3Whisk all-purpose flour, whole wheat flour, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon together and set aside.
4Use a fork to mash the bananas into a chunky paste in the bottom of a large bowl.
5Whisk the olive oil, molasses, sugar, eggs, vanilla, lemon zest, and lemon juice into the bananas until blended.
6Switch to a large rubber spatula, scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl, and then add the dry ingredients in two parts, stirring until the flour disappears and the batter is smooth.
7Pour batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top. Bake for 45 to 65 minutes, or until a thin knife inserted into the center of the bread comes out clean. After 30 minutes in the oven, check the bread for color. If it looks like it is browning too quickly, loosely cover it with aluminum foil.
8Transfer to a wire rack to cool for 5 minutes. Unmold the bread and cool completely before slicing.
Adam and Joanne's Tips
- Storing: Banana bread lasts in an airtight container, on the counter for up to 3 days, or in the fridge for up to 1 week. To freeze, double wrap it with one layer of plastic wrap and one layer of aluminum foil, then freeze it for up to 6 months.
- Best pan: I use an aluminized steel 1-pound loaf pan, which is 8 ½” x 4 ½” (from USA Pans). For glass loaf pans, consider decreasing the oven temperature by 25 °F and baking a little longer. Stoneware pans may also need temperature/time adjustments, but it is hard to say without testing the specific pan. If using a 9″ x 5″ loaf pan, the banana bread will not be as tall, and the baking time will be less by 5 to 10 minutes.
- Use 100% whole wheat flour: Use 1 1/2 cups (195g) whole wheat flour or white whole wheat flour. If the batter seems too thick, thin it with a tablespoon of water or milk.
- Gluten-free banana bread: Use your favorite store-bought gluten-free flour blend. We are partial to Bob’s Red Mill.
- Vegan banana bread: Use 2 flax eggs instead of the eggs.
- The nutrition facts provided below are estimates.
It is at all possible to use 100% plain flour as I have digestive problems and that would suit me me better if possible. Thank you xxx
This banana bread tastes delicious! I’ve made it at least 5 times without changing anything. I won’t use any other recipe. I particularly like that it uses healthy EVOO, wholemeal flour and less sugar than most other banana breads.
Hello Adam and Joannne,I tried your recipe today, making a cake instead using a 1.5L pyrex baking dish. I shortened the cooking time to 30 minutes, and it turned out a tasty, rich, and moist cake which I divided into 16 pieces (snack size). Online recipe reviewers often substitute or add different ingredients which can be confusing, so I kept your recipe “authentic” except for using part butter, part EVOO. My one wish is that I could have more of a banana taste, and slightly less of the spices/flavourings. Thanks for the treat!
Easy recipe to follow,has Risen well looks good.👍👍👍
So glad you enjoyed it 🙂
Looking forward to baking this healthier version of a banana bread!
We’ve made this banana bread twice and really like it. It’s very easy to make as well. I have a pampered chef clay loaf pan so no need to line the pan. Delicious!
AMAZING! I make it for the second time this week, this time double dose.
Thank you!!!
Can I substitute the wheat flour with oat flour? Half plain half oat flour.
Hi Annie, Oat flour may work, but the texture of the bread will be quite different. I’d start with a 50-50 blend and see how it goes.
Hi Joanne! This is Raine! I love this banana bread. It is much better for you then most recipes, but it still tastes AMAZING! I used coconut sugar which is much healthier than white sugar. It was still really good. Thank you! I love your recipes! Raine 🙂
Tried this bread with less sugar and more bananas. Loved the taste. This was my 2nd attempt of baking something and 1st attempt of banana bread. It turned out great. Amazing taste. Thanks a lot 🙂
Really really so good, I’m in love, I can have it for breakfast every single day. Thank you
i don’t usually comment on recipes but i think i finally found a banana bread recipe that i love and will do it over and over. i added crushed pecan and 1/3 cup of low fat sour cream, it’s so soft and delicious even when it’s cold.
Love this recipe! The whole family, down to my two year old grandson, gobbled it up. Very moist and full of flavor. Quick and easy, too.
I am a 66 year old lady and my mom died before she could teach me to cook and bake. I have looked at so many sites to teach me but YOUR SITE IS THE BEST I’ve ever come across. Your Recipes are precise and clear to the understanding. I just want to THANK YOU for such an AUTHENIC site!! I believe everything you say. It really makes sense to me. Nothing ever did before. I hope and Pray you NEVER STOP Posting your knowledge and your recipes. I just love the two of you. You were made for this and God has Blessed you both with incredible Food talents.
Soft Regards, Emma Johnston
Hi Guys I baked your Healthy Bluberry Muffins, quick and easy too. My family and I really enjoyed them. Thanks great recipe. Cheers Maggie
I think this banana bread is sublime. I used coconut oil instead of the olive oil, and added chocolate chips. I’ve made the bread twice now and will be making it again tomorrow as it is so popular! I baked it for 45minutes the first time and it was perfect, the second time I left it in for 50, it was still good but a little more dry. I couldn’t get my hands on liquid molasses so ended up with it in a sugar form and melted it with some of the coconut oil. I also didn’t have ripe bananas so had to pop them in the microwave for 40 seconds and that seemed to do the trick!
Why all the molasses and sugar?! Ripe bananas are so sweet already. I make this bread, no sweetener added, use 4 bananas & it is delicious.
I was wondering just the same and did just the same and the bread came out came out very sweet. This is a great recipe! Thank you.
I used Flax eggs and eliminated the oil. I added extra Bananas and eliminated sugar all together. I love the molasses though. Great touch.
Haven’t yet.like others will substitute with stevi and applesauce. Can yo u Bread this down in calories and sugar carb amts?
This was delicious and so easy to make! I didn’t have molasses and so I used maple syrup. Lovely but probably a richer flavor with the molasses. Def would make again.
It turned out beautiful. It only took 40 mins to cook. Instead of sugar i put a few drops of natural stevia. Best banana bread. Not too sweet but just right
I made this but instead of whole wheat flour I used Bob’s Buckwheat flour (which has its own flavor). This turned out great! It was a little dry, which I could use some advice on. I followed recipe to a T as aboce w exception of whole wheat flour replacement. Thanks for the recipe!!
Whenever you alter a recipe it’s going to create something different buckwheat flour requires more liquid so you needed to have added more of the liquid
Splenda is really a bad substitute. I have MS and it is one of the causes of MS. I would try finding a sweetener without aspartame. Honey is a better choice and is just as sweet, otherwise you might as well be using sugar.
This recipe is similar to the one I make, except I use whole wheat pastry flour instead of a blend of different flours. I also use more bananas (4-5, depending on how big they are), and I substitute honey for sugar. 1/3 cup should do it.
Yum! Just what I was looking g for. Keep an eye on it, was done in 40 minutes in my oven which may run hot…
This looks perfect! I’ve never made banana bread before and can’t wait to try yours! Love how easy it sounds!
Looks great and I will try it. However, what would be the problem of using Splenda if trying to avoid sugar. Although I don’t know if you are against that. Thanks!
Hi there, We have never tried replacing the sugar called for in the recipe with Splenda. We recommend checking the package and finding out what Splenda recommends when substituting for sugar in baked goods. Since this is a quick bread, the recipe should be a bit more flexible than if you were making a more complicated baked goods.
I use Splenda in all my baking, which includes baking all my own bread. It works fine, and substitutes cup to cup with sugar.
I’d be interested in replacing sugar as well, but never with Splenda, which I understand to be an unhealthy fake sugar. I’d be interested in a healthy sugar substitution like a combination of stevia and applesauce.
Whenever I replace white sugar in a recipe, I use half of the white sugar called for and I replace the other half with Splenda. Never replace all of the white sugar with Splenda; I learned the hard way that it will give a bitter taste to your baked good and it will be nearly inedible.