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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.
Can you make this with 2 bananas? I love the recipe but only have 2 very ripe bananas! I can’t find another one like it.
If you can, add a big scoop of applesauce, greek yogurt, pumpkin puree, or mashed avocado to make up the difference!
Just made this version and absolutely loved it. Thanks
Just made this and added semisweet chocolate chips. So moist! My family loved it!
I make these into muffins and I add raisins, chopped nuts and unsweetened coconut. Best muffins by far! 🥰
This was even better the second day. Heavy and moist. I refrigerate it after it’s cooled. With less sugar and calories I was able to fit it into my diet plan, but my son and husband loved it too.
This is the BEST banana bread recipe I have ever made! Instead of regular flour I use 1/2 cup oat flour( more protein) and 1 cup almond flour. I also use ghee instead of butter. It is so moist and amazingly delish!!! I do refrigerate once it’s cooled, but it doesn’t last more than a day in my house. Thank you for this wonderful recipe!!
This is my second review and we still love this as much as we did when I reviewed in September. I’ve been looking for a way to increase protein in my baking for my 14 year old athlete. This adaption is no longer “skinny” but it is high protein and works out to about 13 g of protein per slice. Follow the recipe exactly as written except take out 1.5 cups of flour and replace with 0.5 cup of flour, 1 cup of almond flour and 0.5 cup of whey protein powder. Add 0.5 cup of greek yogurt to the wet ingredients and skip 2T of butter. I’ve used both vanilla and chocolate protein powder and both work great. I have 3 loaves in the oven right now – 1 skinny banana bread (as written), 1 skinny banana bread + 0.5 cup of chocolate chips and one high protein version with chocolate chips. Thank you again for this amazing recipe!
My sister found this recipe about a year ago and it’s the only one we’ve been using since. It’s so easy to put together, has way less sugar and fat, and tastes amazing. We love warming it and putting some sea salt butter on top (because we saved on the fat in the bread). It’s amazing.
Could I use sweetener instead of sugar?
Yes, that would be fine.
I substituted butter for greek yogurt at a 2:1 ratio so in this case only 1 tablespoon and it was perfect! This was very easy to make and my dad loved it.