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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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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.
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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
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.
I love this recipe!! I had never tried baking anything before and thought this looked simple enough to start with – and I was right, so clear and easy to follow. I added some dark chocolate chunks and they melted *perfectly* in the bread after 35 minutes at 350 degrees. The bread is so tasty and is the perfect texture, much better (and healthier and more cost-effective) than the stuff from a grocery store bakery. Thank you for sharing this, I look forward to checking out the other recipes on your website! 🙂
Made a double recipe and added 1/3 cup chopped pecans to one loaf, and 1/2 cup chocolate chips to the other. Both turned our beautifully. I will definitely bake this bread again. Two loaves required about 5 1/2 very ripe bananas that I had frozen for months, then thawed for this recipe. Happy to find a tasty low sugar recipe.
I used Truvia brown sugar blend to lower the sugar even more. Delicious!
Is there a healthier substitute that can be used instead of sugar?
I’m sure agave or honey would work fine.
Absolutely delicious! Many recipes over indulge on the sugar which is awful but yours used very little and turned out to be so yummy! Thank you! If you have anymore low sugar, great tasting recipes, please share!😍
Thanks! found it quite hard actually to find a recipe that was lower in sugar then stumbled across this. Its lovely and most importantly of all it gets the thumbs up from my daughter 🙂
Followed recipe exactly and it turned out perfect!!
Love your recipe. I’ ve tried it following it exactly and it always turns out perfect.
Thought I’d experiment today and try a more keto. Friendly version buy substituting regular flour for 3/4 cup of coconut flour and one chia seed egg…….. Its edible but not as good its very moist.
Lesson learnt stick to original recipe lol.
Perfect!!! Added some nuts, it turned out fantastic!!!
I really want to try this recipe but only have 3 really ripe (like need to use today) and was wondering, if not enough banana to make the right amount may I add some grated apple to make up the amount? Thank you!
Yes, that would work fine!