This post contains affiliate links.
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.
Follow me for more great recipes
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
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Text me new recipe ideas!
Simple, tasty ideas sent once a week. No spam.
Follow Me
I originally shared this recipe January 2017. Updated January 2021 and January 2022.
Process photos by Nikole from The Travel Palate
This recipe hits EVERY TIME!!! Even cooking this at high altitude and accidentally throwing the dry ingredients with the wet before mixing, still came out great. I also added in walnuts and choc chips! So yummy!!!!
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
Applesauce listed next to the butter, can be used instead of butter.
Loved this!! We added a small handful of dark chocolate chunks and dusted the loaf pan with unsweetened cocoa 😍 I like that it starts with less sugar so I don’t feel as bad about adding chocolate or peanut butter!
In Alabama, this recipe for banana bread does NOT pass as proper banana bread. My whole family was screaming at me, I was forced to feed it to my hound, Rufus. How come everything must be healthy, these days? I love butter. I love fat. I love sugar. I love burgers. Kill me, if you must. Please, for the love of god, post a better recipe — with a proper five cups of sugar. And more butter.
Sincerely,
Sarabeth McDongul
Tuscumbia, Alabama
Thanks for making me laugh. Here is my traditional banana bread recipe: https://tastesbetterfromscratch.com/our-favorite-banana-bread/
How would i convert this to grams..im from the uk? We dont have cups over here??
Thanks
I hope to have that feature available soon. For now I would suggest using an online calculator.
I live in uk, ever heard of google?
I made it as written. My husband and grandkids want more. Thank you.
I’ve made this 3 times already!! I’ve also scaled down the recipe slightly to make smaller portions (baking for 2 people only). If you wanted to try something a little different, I added some chopped dark chocolate and walnuts – it was delicious!
I was happy to find a banana bread recipe that would use up all four of the ripe bananas I had! I realized I enjoy putting different sugar filled toppings on my banana bread anyway (peanut butter, honey, jam, Nutella) that I decided to cut out the sugar all together. My husband and I agreed that it still tasted like a yummy banana bread on its own without any added sugar! I’m sure it helps make this recipe a bit more “skinny,” too. Thanks for the recipe!
My husband and his entire family are diabetic and this is a healthier version I can make for them.
Plus, even non diabetics love it. It’s delicious!
Made it today. It was yummy.
Delicious banana bread!! Amazing flavour, not too sweet, simply perfect for breakfast or afternoon snack with a tea or coffee.
I baked mine 50 minutes and it could have done even better with 5 more 🙂 Maybe my oven is not so good! But I recommend checking as the recipe calls for with a toothpick, just to make sure you don’t over bake or under bake this beauty!
Oh. My. Goodness. This was amazing. I added four squares of chocolate in the loaf and a swirl of peanut butter. Slightly less skinny… but out of this world!