While made without butter, oil, or white flour, this 100% whole wheat banana bread tastes just as flavorful and moist as my regular banana bread. In this healthy banana bread recipe, swap butter with unsweetened applesauce, all-purpose flour with whole wheat flour, and replace some of the refined sugar with honey. With glowing reviews from taste-testers and readers around the world, this quick bread doesn’t even taste lightened-up!
I know I say I’m obsessed with a lot of different recipes, which might make convincing you to try something a little tough. If I love so many, which ones are actually the best?
My whole wheat banana bread completely blew my mind. To be honest, I didn’t have high expectations. This loaf was merely a way to get rid of 3 overly ripe bananas and a random jar of applesauce. I make my regular banana bread with butter and all-purpose flour because that’s where all the goodness hides. Well, after 1 bite of this “whatever, it won’t be good” banana bread, I was proven wrong.
I should have learned my lesson when I made the most soft and flavorful whole wheat pizza dough and these chocolate banana muffins. Healthy ingredients CAN make incredible things.
This Whole Wheat Healthy Banana Bread Is:
- Wholesome, healthful, & hearty
- Extra moist and cinnamon-spiced
- Not overly sweet, so the banana flavor shines
- 100% whole wheat
- Prepared without butter, oil, or white flour
- Ready to bake in less than 10 minutes
Plus, this whole wheat banana bread slices and freezes like a dream. I love having a loaf on stand-by in the freezer for when I need homemade breakfast option or wholesome snack for all of us—adults and toddler alike. We all love it. (Especially with peanut butter spread on each slice!)
Let me quickly run through how you can make it.
Quick Tip: Mash Bananas with Your Mixer
Did you know you can use your electric mixer to mash bananas? Break or slice your peeled spotty bananas into large pieces and place in the bowl of your stand mixer– or use a regular mixing bowl and your hand mixer. Begin beating on low, then gradually increase to medium-high speed as the bananas break down into mashed banana. You can use this bowl for the rest of the banana bread ingredients. I do this for my banana cake, too!
You need 3 spotty medium size bananas for this recipe.
Can I Use Frozen Bananas?
Yes, frozen and thawed bananas work in this recipe and you can read more about How to Freeze & Thaw Bananas for Baking if you’d like. Two important things to remember:
- The riper the banana, the better. When you bake with bananas, you want to use brown, spotty super-ripe ones.
- Strain off excess liquid. As bananas thaw, they let out a lot of liquid, which can throw off the wet ingredients in any baking recipe. I always recommend draining off most or all of that excess liquid before mashing and measuring them for your recipe.
How to Make Healthy Banana Bread
After you mash the bananas with your mixer, add the remaining wet ingredients. You need:
- Unsweetened Applesauce
- Honey
- Brown Sugar or Coconut Sugar
- Eggs
- Milk
- Vanilla Extract
Unsweetened applesauce takes the place of butter or oil. Additionally, I’m very light-handed with the added sugars—we really want the banana flavor to shine through here. If you don’t want any added refined sweeteners in this healthier banana bread recipe, swap the brown sugar with coconut sugar. To keep this banana bread dairy free, use dairy free milk.
After that, mix the dry ingredients together and add to wet ingredients. You need whole wheat flour, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt. Mostly the same dry ingredients I use in my whole wheat banana nut muffins. Lastly, fold in chopped walnuts. The nuts are completely optional. Sometimes I add chocolate chips and/or raisins instead. I’ve even added the cinnamon layer from this cinnamon swirl banana bread.
Love peanut butter + bananas? Try my peanut butter banana muffins (as muffins or a loaf). That recipe uses many of the same ingredients we use here.
More Healthful Baked Goods
- Morning Glory Muffins & Healthy Apple Muffins
- Whole Wheat Banana Nut Muffins
- Breakfast Cookies
- Greek Yogurt Zucchini Bread
- Baked Oatmeal Cups
- Vanilla Almond Granola
- Bran Muffins
- Chocolate Chip Baked Oatmeal Cups
Whole Wheat Healthy Banana Bread
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 1 hour
- Total Time: 1 hour, 30 minutes
- Yield: 1 loaf
- Category: Bread
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Description
In this healthier banana bread recipe, swap butter with unsweetened applesauce, all-purpose flour with whole wheat flour, and replace some of the refined sugar with honey. With glowing reviews from taste-testers and readers around the world, this quick bread doesn’t even taste lightened-up!
Ingredients
- 1 and 1/4 cups (288g) mashed bananas (about 3 medium or 2 large ripe bananas)
- 6 Tablespoons (90g) unsweetened applesauce*
- 2 large eggs
- 1/4 cup (85g) honey*
- 1/4 cup (50g) packed light or dark brown sugar*
- 1/3 cup (80ml) milk*
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 1 and 3/4 cups (220g) whole wheat flour (spooned & leveled)
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 2/3 cup (67g) chopped walnuts
Instructions
- Adjust the oven rack to the lower third position and preheat the oven to 350°F (177°C). Lowering the oven rack prevents the top of your bread from browning too much too soon. Spray a 9×5-inch loaf pan with non-stick spray. Set aside.
- You can use an electric mixer or mix everything by hand. I like to use an electric mixer because I use it to mash the bananas. Using a handheld or stand mixer fitted with a paddle or whisk attachment on medium-high speed, beat the mashed bananas, applesauce, and eggs together until combined. (Or whisk by hand.) Add the honey, brown sugar, milk, and vanilla extract. Beat on medium-high speed (or whisk) until combined. Set aside.
- Whisk the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt together. Pour into the wet ingredients and beat on medium speed (or by hand) until combined. Fold in the walnuts.
- Pour the batter into the prepared loaf pan. Bake for 60-65 minutes, making sure to loosely cover the bread with aluminum foil halfway through to prevent the top from getting too brown. The bread is done when a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean with only a few small moist crumbs. This may be before or after 60-65 minutes depending on your oven, so begin checking every 5 minutes at the 55 minute mark or so.
- Remove from the oven and allow the bread to cool completely in the pan set on a wire rack before slicing and serving.
- Cover and store banana bread at room temperature for 2 days or in the refrigerator for up to 1 week. Banana bread tastes best on day 2 after the flavors have settled together.
Notes
- Freezing Instructions:Â The best way to freeze quick bread is to tightly wrap the loaf or slices (individually or grouped) in 2-3 layers of plastic wrap or aluminum foil. Place wrapped banana bread in a large freezer-friendly storage bag or reusable container. Freeze up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator before serving.
- Special Tools (affiliate links): 9×5-inch Loaf Pan | Electric Mixer (Handheld or Stand) | Glass Mixing Bowls | Whisk | Cooling Rack
- Muffins: Use this banana bread recipe to make about 18 muffins. Pour the batter into a lined or greased muffin pan and bake for 5 minutes at 425°F (218°C) then, keeping the muffins in the oven, reduce the oven temperature to 350°F (177°C). Bake for an additional 16-17 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. The total bake time for the muffins is about 22-23 minutes. The initial burst of hot air helps those muffins rise nice and tall! Or try my whole wheat banana nut muffins.
- Frozen Bananas: You can use thawed frozen bananas in this recipe. Thawed bananas are extra wet, so drain off as much of the excess liquid as you can before mashing. See How to Freeze & Thaw Bananas for Baking.
- Applesauce: If needed, melted coconut oil (or canola or vegetable oils) can be used instead of applesauce.
- Sweetener: Pure maple syrup or agave can be used instead of honey and coconut sugar can be used instead of brown sugar.
- Milk: I use skim milk, but any milk fat is OK. Nondairy milks work too!
Yum! Used coconut sugar. Moist but not too dense. Added chopped walnuts to top. Approved by my teenage son who usually dislikes my healthy recipes.
Definitely the best wheat flour banana bread I’ve ever tasted and made at home.
Delicious! Made it exactly as written except cooked for 50 minutes and it’s perfect. Used fresh homemade unsweetened applesauce.
This was amazing! I have been on the hunt for a healthier banana bread and found it! I made muffins and added a few chocolate chips and it was delicious! Thank you for a great recipe!
Made this banana bread today for my kids and it turned out awesome. Love that it’s healthy yet so tasteful. I added some chia seeds to the mix to give it an extra healthy twist!
I love this recipe and have made it several times. I’m wondering if anyone has swapped zucchini for the banana and if so…how much did you use and how did the bread turn out?
Hi Erin, We haven’t tested using zucchini in place of banana, but you can try using 3/4 cup mashed banana and 1/2 cup shredded zucchini. You might also like our recipe for Greek yogurt zucchini bread!
Absolutely brilliant!!! Love this banana bread oh so much.. thank you Sally! Can’t wait to try some of your other healthy recipes!! Definitely helps me give healthy dessert to my 15 month old baby
I absolutely love this recipe!! So easy to make and store. Even my picky eater partner loves it… And that’s saying alot!!!
Thank you Sally for posting this! I tried it tonight having to omit the cinnamon and milk as I was out with a bit of cloves and plain yogurt for milk. Eating it now, dangerously alone.
Is it possible to add frozen blueberries to this, maybe coated with a bit of flour? Or would that make the dough too wet? Maybe should reduce one banana and add half cup frozen blueberries?
Hi Anna, Frozen blueberries will be a delicious addition (though they may turn the batter a little blue!). I’d toss them in a little flour before adding to the batter. Add 1 cup of blueberries.
Thanks for the recipe, I made this today with a couple changes–
Didn’t add the 1/4 brown sugar to keep it less sweet
Subbed cream for milk
Added dried cranberries and pecans
Tasted mildy sweet, and the dried cranberries made up for the ommitted sugar. Had a strong underlying flavor or honey as well which was lovely.
The one thing I can’t understand is the bread came out… Slightly salty? Is it because there wasn’t enough sugar to mask the salt flavor? Would try this again, bit definitely reduce the salt down to 1/4 teaspoon maybe.
Hi Jenna! By reducing the sugar, the salt would stand out more. Thank you so much for trying the recipe and feel free to make adjustments to the salt as you’d like!
This is THE best banana bread ever! It was such a hit! Made it twice already in 3 days. Got over in an hour. ABSOLUTELY LOVED IT. Thank you so much for the recipe. I replaced the applesauce with full fat yoghurt.
Wow, this is my favorite banana bread and trust me I have tried a ton of recipes. Also the ingredients make me feel less guilty about eating so much of it! The only change I made was using chocolate chips instead of walnuts. Super easy, super delicious.
If I only have sweetened applesauce around, how much should I reduce the brown sugar by?
Hi Meghan, You can use your sweetened applesauce. It’s a small amount, so that extra sweetness won’t really change the final recipe’s taste. If you’d like, you can slightly reduce the honey. But I personally wouldn’t.
I tried this recipe with flax eggs and it worked perfectly. I love your recipes, Sally! Hello from the Philippines!
Really delicious. I used 1 cup of whole wheat flour and 3/4 cup of rolled oats and the texture is fantastic. It turned out to be a lot of batter and only left about an inch or so room at the top of the loaf pan. I was wondering if I should separate it into two loves, but as it turns out the bread didn’t rise much so I had no issues with the pan over flowing. Even though it didn’t rise much, the cake is very light and airy and not dense at all.
Wow, amazingly good. Not too sweet, perfectly moist, slices easily. Love the healthier swaps. I’ve switched the milk with oat milk and cashew milk and each time was delicious. Thanks for the recipe!
Do you think I could make this into a bundt cake?
Hi Kyra, there isn’t enough batter for a Bundt cake. I recommend making the batter twice and combining it. (Rather than doubling, which could lead to over-mixing or under-mixing.) The cake will be pretty dense. 350°F (177°C), but I’m unsure of the exact bake time.
will reducing the sugar change anything in the recipe? Can I sub greek yogurt for apple sauce?
Hi Maddy, the taste and texture of the bread will change by reducing any ingredient. Feel free to use Greek yogurt instead of applesauce. (I do love the flavor the applesauce brings though!)
So, so good! My roommates couldn’t believe this was a whole wheat recipe – they said it’s the best banana bread they’ve ever had and I agree. It is incredibly moist and tasty. My only suggestion would be to keep an eye on it while it’s cooking – I checked on it at the 40-minute mark and it was already done!
This is a great recipe! I didn’t have applesauce and butter was low so substituted yogurt and it worked beautifully! 🙂
Made this last night and it was FABULOUS with coffee this morning! With the country on lock down, my supplies are limited so I subbed in maple syrup, white sugar, and rice milk for honey, brown sugar and milk and let me tell you – my husband and I were both very happy with the result. Great recipe!
Did not use the walnuts and used the maple syrup option instead of honey. Is a nice sweet bread.
Outstanding! I’ve been making banana bread for more than 25 years and this is by far the most delicious (and healthy) recipe I’ve ever tried. It’s wonderfully moist and full of flavor. I was surprised at how buttery it tasted and I didn’t use one pat of butter!…well, not until I ate it. Truly a delicious recipe! Thank you for sharing it!
Hi Sally,
I have made this so many times!! this is one amazing recipie. My husband loves chocolate so much that he asked for a chocolate version of this. What is the amount of cocoa powder we need to use? and does this alter the amount of whole wheat flour?
Thanks a lot!! 🙂
Hi Amitha, Adding cocoa powder to this exact recipe would require additional recipe testing. You can definitely add chocolate chips to this bread or check out my Whole Wheat Double Chocolate Muffins (and you can bake them as a loaf also!).
I’ve made this recipe twice already, both baking it as muffins: they taste great, and are so moist! My hubby and I love them!
The only thing is I keep ending up with 12 muffins instead of 24 as expected. Not a big issue though, as they are super easy to prepare!
This was excellent, and my husband loved it too! I made it with dark chocolate chips instead of nuts. I doubled the recipe and baked both loaves at the same time. I had no issues with over or under mixing; they turned out great and were done after 1 hour in the oven. Without all the extra added sugar that banana bread often has, I think the banana flavor shines through even more. It’s just sweet enough, so I think the amount of sugar is perfect. I did double the amount of cinnamon the recipe called for, since I love cinnamon (2 tsp for 2 loaves, maybe a pinch more).
I have been using the same great banana bread recipe for years but today I made my first batch of your recipe. It is truly wonderful and will now be my gold standard. Every recipe you write is an upgrade from what I have been using. Thanks for all your hard work.
I have homemade applesauce but it is sweetened. Should I leave out the other sweetener in the recipe or will it change the consistency of the bread? I’m a loyal believer in all of your recipes
Hi Carol! You can still use it. It’s a small amount, so that extra sweetness won’t really change the final recipe’s taste. If you’d like, you can slightly reduce the honey. But I personally wouldn’t.
I have made many, many of your recipes, sometimes changing them to fit my sons medical diet. They are always wonderful. I was wondering if Homemade oat milk would work in this? I use it in a lot of baking and it adds a wonderful flavor but the texture is a bit different. What are your thoughts.
Yes! Homemade oat milk will work nicely in this bread recipe.
What size pan if I’m making It in the round. My loaf pans are just not the size given. I have tiny ones. Can I use them? How high should I fill them? Thanks
Hi Heather! You’ll find this Pan Sizes & Conversions post helpful to determine which pan is best to use as a substitute.