Trust me when I tell you this is the tastiest and healthiest Banana Bread you’ll ever make! Packed with fibre, vitamins, minerals, proteins, healthy fats and natural sweetness, this will be your new family favourite. Plus, it’s so simple to prepare that you might just make it for breakfast tomorrow morning.
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The recipe holds all the nutrients we need, no matter our family’s dietary restrictions. Please see the cooking notes below for ways to adapt this healthy Banana Bread to a gluten-free and vegan diet.
I usually make this Banana Bread twice a month. While it keeps for over a week in the fridge, I prefer to slice and freeze it. Simply defrost on the bench or toast for a perfectly healthy and tasty lunchbox or afternoon treat.
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Bananas and their fantastic health benefits
Bananas are a true superfood! However, commercial Banana Bread is high in sugar and uses of unhealthy fats which negate some of benefits. My recipe, inspired by Cookie + Kate, is further healthified without losing any of its taste and health benefits like:
- Bananas also provide plenty of antioxidants which help combat cell damage. This is super important as we’re exposed to lots of toxins in our environment.
- Bananas are a great source of minerals (phosphorus, sodium, potassium, calcium, magnesium, iron, copper, zinc and manganese) and vitamins (such as A, B, C, E, and β-carotene). They may even be anti-carcinogenic (Mondal et al. (2021)).
- Unripe bananas are a great source of resistant starch, a prebiotic that feeds our good gut bacteria. And while this decreases with ripening, the antioxidant properties increase during fruit maturity.
- Bananas contain all essential amino acids (proteins) with the most notable one being tryptophan. Tryptophan converts to the neurotransmitters serotonin and melatonin, which regulate our mood, sleep, and appetite.
- Some other bioactive compounds in bananas are said to help lower cholesterol levels and positively impact blood pressure.
The list goes on! You can read more about the bioactive compounds in bananas and their associated health benefits, click on this link.
Healthy Banana Bread Recipe Ingredients
Let’s say, this cake won’t win the least ingredients charts, but every single one is needed for flavour:
- Bananas, obviously.
- Eggs. I either use my chickens’ eggs which are half the size of a normal egg or buy organic or free-range eggs (>1,500 hens/hectare).
- Extra Virgin Coconut Oil. You can also use extra virgin olive oil, avocado oil or melted butter.
- Honey, Date or Maple Syrup. All three sweeteners are natural and minimally processed. Read the notes below for reducing the sugar further.
- Milk. Chose any type of (plant) milk here, go with coconut water or even just water (although it’ll make the cake less rich).
- Cinnamon & Vanilla Powder.
- Baking Soda & Sea or Rock Salt.
- Wholemeal Flour. Using wholegrain flour here is a no-brainer: more fibre, lower blood sugar spikes and the bananas cover the “wholemeal” taste completely.
- Choc Chips & Nuts. This one is totally optional. The Banana Bread is perfectly delicious without them but my family loves the additional flavour and crunch.
Interesting ingredients health benefits
For the oil, you want to use a minimally processed fat, as this is best for our bodies. I love using Extra Virgin Coconut Oil for its slight coconutty flavour. However, extra virgin olive oil, avocado oil or melted butter are fine too. Just try to stay away from seed oils as they can have detrimental health effects.
A word on sugar. Sugar isn’t necessarily bad for us. The dose makes the poison here, but I still prefer to go for natural sweeteners like honey, date or maple syrup, as they offer healthy bioactive compounds besides their sweetness. My recipe uses half the sugar of the original recipe, but if you want to cut it down even further, you could try 100% Monk Fruit Powder (not the stuff mixed with Erythritol). I buy mine from iHerb; it’s not cheap but will last you forever as it’s super powerful and has a much better aftertaste than stevia. While it is a natural substance, it is considered an additive and no long-term studies have been performed. However, Traditional Chinese Medicine has been using it for ages. You can read more about Monk Fruit on this Healthline article.
Lastly, let’s look at Cinnamon and Vanilla. Both spices add amazing taste, contain vital minerals and provide sweetness without adding sugar! Cinnamon also regulates blood sugar levels which is great for sustained energy. Make sure you buy True or Ceylon Cinnamon (originating from Sri Lanka) and not Cassia Cinnamon. If no origin is named and if it is cheap, it is normally Cassia Cinnamon which contains more coumarin which can be damaging to the liver.
And who doesn’t love the taste of vanilla? You can read about it’s Vanilla health benefits in this Healthline article. I prefer to use ground vanilla powder as it is less processed and has an amazingly strong taste and gives your food those delicious black speckles. I buy this ground vanilla powder is linked here, as it can be tricky to find it in the shops.
Allergy Friendly Substitutions
In its original version, this recipe contains gluten, eggs, dairy and nuts. Here are simple ways how to adjust the ingredients to make it suitable for your family’s dietary requirements:
Gluten Free Version
Use buckwheat or brown rice flour instead or chose a gluten free flour blend (try our basic gluten free flour blend) instead of wholemeal flour. You can use almond meal but the Banana Bread will become a lot denser.
Dairy Free Version
Use a plant milk instead of cow’s milk. You can also choose coconut water or plain water but it will make the cake slightly less rich.
Egg Free Version
The BEST substitute in this recipe is unsweetened apple sauce (buy from the shops or simply cook/steam some apples and puree afterwards).
Vegan Banana Bread Version
Follow the dairy and egg free substitutions above and use maple or date syrup instead of honey.
Nut Free Version
Simply omit the nuts. The bread doesn’t need it to become the best, most delicious, healthy Banana Bread you’ve ever tasted.
Step-by-Step Cooking Guide
STEP 1 – Peel and mash 4-6 ripe bananas (roughly 550g).
STEP 2 – crack 3 large eggs (I am using 6 because they are my dwarf chickens’ eggs) and incorporate them into the mashed bananas.
STEP 3 – add the oil, sweetener and milk to the mix and incorporate well before moving to the next step.
STEP 4 – Add cinnamon, vanilla ground, baking soda and salt and stir in.
STEP 5 – Add the flour and incorporate it roughly until there are no large lumps left. Smaller lumps won’t matter.
STEP 6 – I sometimes add dark chocolate chips or nuts (walnuts, pecans and macadamias are our favourite), but you don’t have to. It doesn’t need it.
STEP 7 – The easiest way to line a baking dish is to scrunch up the baking paper and make it wet. That way it becomes a lot more mouldable.
STEP 8 – Bake the bread for roughly 50 minutes at 165C (375F) until cooked through and golden brown. Leave it in the tin for 10 minutes before allowing it to cool on a rack.
Expert Tips & Common Questions
In most areas you can keep the Banana Bread outside of the fridge for 1-2 days. Otherwise keep it in an air tight container in the fridge for up to a week. I usually slice mine once cooled and store it in a freezer container or bag to have it on hand whenever needed.
I cannot remember where I read this, but simply drop your Banana Bread with the tin (bottom down) from about 10 cm onto your work bench. Then leave it to cool in the tin on a rack upside down. This will give it a more “commercial” flat top rather than a raised middle.
Well, bananas are naturally high in sugar which means this bread will never become low carb. You can, however, reduce the Bread’s sugar (=carb) content by using almond meal instead of flour, use coconut water instead of milk, and omit the honey (or use monk fruit powder – see above).
Absolutely. Simply back it in a round cake tin and add some cream cheese frosting.
I tend to go by the toothpick method: simply poke a wooden skewer into the middle of the bread at the time you think it’s cooked. If the skewer or tooth pick comes out clean, the Bread is cooked. If batter clings to it, leave it in for another five minutes and then test again.
Help me spread healthy deliciousness!
You being here means so much to me! I hope you like the recipe and enjoy learning a bit more about how we best fuel our bodies, no matter the dietary restriction.
Can you please do me a favour? If you like this recipe, please also try my other recipes, rate and comment. Feel free to ask me any questions in the comments. I really hope your family enjoys our Banana Bread and that you find foodamentally a great resource for your family’s food journey.
Simple Healthy Banana Bread
Equipment
- 1 Fork for mashing the bananas
- 1 Mixing Bowl
- 1 Spoon for Stiring
- 1 Baking Tin (we use a rectangular bread tin but any shape works e.g. muffin pan. Just watch the baking time as this will vary depending on the size of your baking pan.)
Ingredients
- 550 g ripe bananas (about 4-6 bananas, depending on size)
- 4 eggs (about 45g each) (see vegan notes below)
- 150 g extra virgin coconut oil (about 2/3 cup) (butter, extra virgin olive or avocado oil work as well)
- 150 g honey or maple syrup (about 1 cup)
- 120 g milk (1/2 cup | 115ml) (swap for plant milk if preferred)
- 440 g wholemeal flour (eg. rye, spelt, wheat) (3.5 cups) (see gluten-free notes below)
- 2 tsp baking soda (not baking powder)
- 1 tbsp ground cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp ground vanilla bean powder If using vanilla essence, use 1/2 tbsp
- 1 tsp salt
- 80 g dark chocolate chips (about 1/2 cup; optional)
- 60 g lightly chopped nuts (about 1/2 cup; optional) walnuts, macadamias, pecans work best
Instructions
- Make sure all elements have room temperature. Save yourself some time by getting all ingredients out on the bench top.
- Switch on the oven to 165 degrees C (375 F).
- Peel and mash the bananas with a fork.550 g ripe bananas
- Crack the eggs into the bowl and stir by hand until well combined. If you're using flax egg or egg replacer (see below), add it at this step.4 eggs (about 45g each)
- One after the other, pour in the honey (or maple syrup), the coconut oil (if it is not liquid, heat it up in the microwave or in a hot water bath), and the milk. Stir after each addition until well combined.150 g extra virgin coconut oil (about 2/3 cup), 150 g honey or maple syrup (about 1 cup), 120 g milk (1/2 cup | 115ml)
- Now add one by one, the flour, baking soda, ground cinnamon, vanilla and salt. Mix with a wooden spoon until smooth.440 g wholemeal flour (eg. rye, spelt, wheat) (3.5 cups), 2 tsp baking soda, 1 tbsp ground cinnamon, 1/2 tsp ground vanilla bean powder, 1 tsp salt
- Lastly, if you choose to use chocolate chips and/or nuts, add them now and stir one more time.60 g lightly chopped nuts (about 1/2 cup; optional), 80 g dark chocolate chips (about 1/2 cup; optional)
- Take a piece of baking paper fitting your bread tin, scrunch it up and soak it in water. Once completely drenched, squeeze it out and line the tin with it. Then pour in the batter. If you need to, smooth the top with your wet fingers.
- Bake in the oven for around 60 minutes (less if using a muffin pan). Check after 50 minutes by inserting a wooden skewer. Once the inserted skewer comes out clean, you can take the banana bread out of the oven.
- Allow to cool in the tin for 10 minutes, then let the banana bread cool on a wire rack. Once cooled, slice into 16-20 slices. The slices will keep in the fridge for a week or freeze them with baking paper between slices. To defrost, simply place a slice in the toaster and toast for a minute.
