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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.
My daughter has made this several times. It is amazing!
Can you tell me how many servings/slices there should be in one loaf?
This is my go to banana bread (and muffin) recipe. It is a family favourite and the best low fat, low sugar recipe I have tried. Not only is it MUCH healthier than most banana bread recipes I have tried, but it also tastes amazing and is moist and perfect.
I usually double the recipe and make in a chiffon (or chimney) cake pan. Cooks more evenly for a larger cake in this type of pan. Then, if my three teenage/young adult boys doesn’t eat it all in 3 days, I freeze slices individually wrapped for busy days.
Absolutely delicious and oh so moist!!!! I added a few extras to mine… a few cranberries , pecans and cashews I had left over from the holidays! Perfect and healthy is a winner for me.
Can you substitute with gluten free flour ?
Yes, I believe several commenters have done so with success!
Made this as per the recipe except added some dark chocolate chunks. All gone in one sitting! The kids enjoyed it as a snack after school. Lovely.
Delicious! I made the bread as directed but also mini muffins (same temp – 10 minutes baking time) and both turned out perfectly.
I COUNT MY CALORIES SO I WAS SO HAPPY TO FIND A SKINNY VERSION OF MY FAVORITE BANANA BREAD. THE ONE I USE TO MAKE HAD TWICE THE CALORIES PER SLICE. I FOLLOWED THE RECIPE EXACTLY AS WRITTEN AND IT CAME OUT FABULOUS. THANK YOU!
I’ve made this recipe countless times, most recently today, and it always turns out delicious. Today I substituted the egg with 1/4 cup aquafaba which I whipped a little before adding. It worked very well, if anyone is wondering about a good vegan egg substitute in this recipe.
I also used half white and half whole-wheat flour, omitted the sugar entirely, and added two handfuls of chocolate chips. In my opinion this was a sufficient sweetness!
I used a weird dollar-store small rectangular cake pan instead of a loaf pan, so it looks more like a cake than a loaf, and cooks a bit faster. 30 minutes was more than enough time for it to cook all the way through with this pan.
Very delicious!!
Very tasty banana bread! Followed the recipe as written. Had to keep checking the internal temp to get up to 200 degrees, that added 15 minutes to the baking time.