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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
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
My favorite Banana Bread recipe. I have probably made it at least 10 times now. Really great Banana Bread flavor without all the sugar. Thanks for the delicious recipe!!
Good but a bit spongey. Any solution for this.
Waste of ingredients. Followed the recipe, but turned out raw at the center and burned on sides.
I followed the recipe but my bread turned all wet inside after 45 minutes and it was not rised properly 🙁
Sorry to hear that Vanessa. It would be a good idea to get fresh ingredients (especially baking soda and baking powder) If those ingredients are old, your bread won’t rise. You will also want to check that your oven is heating to the right temperature. You can get an oven thermometer on Amazon to test it.
I made the banana bread and added walnuts and it was so easy and just as delicious. Thanks!
Why do you add the butter last? How does it change the recipe? Super excited to make this!
I have a very hard to please family. They loved the banana bread. Thanks!
Can someone who has had success with this banana bread weigh the amount of bananas they are using? Bananas come in all different sizes and 4 bananas for one person could be 3 or 5 for another. Weight is really the only accurate way to list them as an ingredient. Thank you in advance for your help!
Easy, easy, easy and delicious! I replaced the 2 tablespoons of white sugar with ‘diet’ sugar, kept the brown sugar and added mixed seeds. Maybe because I used extra large bananas (or some diet sugar) but I needed to add a further 1/2 cup of flour so it was less runny. I could not believe how much it raised during cooking. It’s SO delicious and moist. Thank you!
This is an amazing recipe! My family loves banana bread, and this was a simple and easy recipe, with reduced sugar. No one in my family even missed the sugar. They said it’s better than any of the other banana breads (with a lot more sure in them) that I’ve made. This is our new “go to” recipe for banana bread. Even made a loaf and added in some semi-sweet chocolate chips. Delicious!
My family and I are obsessed with this recipe!!!! It’s so good and simple. I always split it into two loaf pans and add dark chocolate chips .