This EASY Healthy Banana Bread recipe is made with low sugar, no oil and is just over 100 calories per slice. It yields incredibly moist, perfectly sweet, and delicious bread!
Looking for more bread recipes? Try my Lemon Poppy Seed Bread, Artisan No Knead Bread, or Skillet Cornbread!
What I love about the recipe:
- Normal Ingredients – No artificial sweeteners or anything out of the ordinary here. I use basic pantry ingredients you already have.
- Healthy – No oil, low sugar, FOUR bananas, and around 100 calories per slice!
- Tastes Amazing – When baked goods are labeled “healthy” they often don't taste great, but I promise you no one would ever guess that this banana bread is any different! It is still just as moist, sweet, and scrumptious as traditional banana bread!
How to make Healthy Banana Bread:
Grease a standard 9×5” loaf pan (I also like to line the bottom of the pan with parchment paper to make sure the loaf doesn't stick).
Mash bananas in a mixing bowl. Add egg, vanilla, brown sugar, granulated sugar, and cinnamon and stir well to combine.
Stir together flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a separate bowl. Add to banana mixture and stir to combine. Stir in melted butter.
Bake at 350 degrees F for 35-45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
Cool in the pan for 5-10 few minutes before inverting onto a wire cooling rack.
Pro Tips:
- Use very ripe bananas. The riper the banana, the sweeter it is, the easier it is to mash, and the more sweetness it adds to the bread.
- Trick to ripen bananas quickly: Place the bananas (peel on) on a baking sheet and bake at 350 degrees F for about 6-8 minutes. until the outer peel is dark.
Storing and Freezing Instructions:
To Store: Banana bread will keep at room temperature for 3-5 days.
To Freeze: Cool completely and then store in an airtight container or freezer safe bag for up to 3 months. Allow to thaw to room temperature before serving.
Recipe Variations:
- Healthy Banana Muffins: Follow my instructions HERE!
- Mix-Ins: Feel free to stir in ¾ cup of you favorite chopped nuts, chocolate chips, or raisins, at the end, before adding the batter to the pan.
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Recipe
Healthy Banana Bread
Equipment
Ingredients
- 4 bananas , about 1 ⅓ cups, mashed (320 g)
- 1 large egg
- 1 Tablespoon vanilla extract (15 ml)
- 3 Tablespoons light brown sugar (38 g)
- 2 Tablespoons granulated sugar (25 g)
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon (2.6 g)
- 1 teaspoon baking powder (4 g)
- 1 teaspoon baking soda (5 g)
- 1/2 teaspoon salt (2.5 g)
- 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (white or white-whole wheat) (180 g)
- 2 Tablespoons unsalted butter , melted (or substitute applesauce) (28 g butter or 30 g applesauce)
Instructions
- Grease a standard 9×5” loaf pan (I also like to line the bottom of the pan with parchment paper to make sure the loaf doesn't stick).
- Mash bananas in a mixing bowl. Add egg, vanilla, brown sugar, granulated sugar, and cinnamon and stir well to combine.
- In a separate small bowl stir together flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Add to banana mixture and stir to combine.
- Gently stir in melted butter. Bake at 350 degrees F. for 35-45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
- Allow to cool in the pan for 5-10 few minutes before inverting onto a wire cooling rack.
Notes
Nutrition
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I originally shared this recipe January 2017. Updated January 2021 and January 2022.
Process photos by Nikole from The Travel Palate
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Delicious!I have made it 4 times in 3 days! We just can’t get enough!!!
I absolutely LOVE this recipe!!! I make it as muffins and I add walnuts. I make this EVERY weekend so we have them for lunches for the week. My whole family LOVES them!
Hi, did you add applesauce as listed in the ingredients list?
How long did you bake the muffins?
I don’t see applesauce in the ingredient list
Best banana bread I’ve ever made! I use 1/2 white, 1/2 wheat flour. This is DELICIOUS!!
Excellent recipe! Very moist and tasty. I used whole wheat flour and it turned out great. Thanks
Loved the fact that there’s less sugar and fat. I added walnuts. Enjoyed it so much!
This was absolutely delicious and will be my go to recipe from now on! I absolutely love banana bread but don’t love all of the sugar and oil that normally is in a recipe. This recipe was easy, simple, and SO very yummy. Thank you!
I followed the recipe, with the one substitution. I used Earth Balance Vegan Buttery Stick in place of the butter. Turned out moist and has a lot of flavor. Mine, however, did not rise as full as shown in the picture.
Wow this recipe was so delicious! I swapped the sugar out for 2 tablespoons of honey and then added one cup of chocolate chips- it tasted so good! Thank you for this recipe!
Great recipe! We only had whole wheat flour and light butter (half fat), and the bread still turned out awesome – much more moist than I was expecting! I also only used 1 T each of white & light brown sugar since things are normally a bit on the sweet side for me. I seem to have a habit of finding dry recipes, or trying to make recipes ‘healthier’ and have them coming out dry…not this one though. Thank you!
Quick, easy and delicious. I substituted Stevia for sugar and added special dark chocolate chips…wonderful!
I made this recipe last night subbing the white sugar and oil for unsweetened apple sauce and it is so good! Tastes just like the real deal: sweet banana with a light, fluffy and super moist! So delicious!
Ouu I would like to try this with Apple sauce!! How much did you use?
You can sub apple sauce for oil or butter, and keep the same measurement, i.e. 1/4 cup of applesauce instead of 1/4 cup butter or oil.
I had no flour, so I swapped in whole wheat pancake mix. I also added dried cranberries, walnuts and a bit of apple juice. Came out lighter than traditional banana bread, which was really nice!