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 and chocolate 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. And for an extra special treat, make a batch of homemade honey butter to enjoy on the baked 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: 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!
Reader Comments and Reviews
I just made this recipe and it’s great! Perfect texture and not overly sweet like your white flour recipies. I was looking for a healthy banana bread recipe to make for my husband. My husband approved and you will too!!!
So I’m not usually into the whole wheat thing because it usually doesn’t taste as good as… well literally anything else. I’m about to make this banana bread for the 3rd/4th time because its so amazing!!! Great taste, great texture, it has it all. I don’t always have applesauce, so sometimes its plain yogurt or sour cream, but its always amazing! Thank you!
I’ve made this recipe several times and it is always FANTASTIC! I make the loaves and muffins. I usually mix really ripe bananas (basically black ones) and fairly ripe ones to even out the sweetness. I also freeze my ripe bananas and this recipe works really well with frozen bananas. I also add a touch more vanilla and cinnamon; I’ve even substituted pumpkin pie spice LOL Thank you for the guilt-free recipe!
Hi Sally
I love your recipes and they always deliver but I just don’t know where I went wrong with this one. I made the banana bread on Friday and cut it yesterday (in m experience, banana bread always tastes better when it’s been left a few days before cutting) but I’ve had to compost it . It was very very claggy and heavy in texture despite a skewer having come out clean before removing from the oven. The only differenc in the ingredients was that I had to use Greek yogurt as I didn’t have any sour cream. I’m in the UK and we don’t have All Purpose Flour so I used our Plain Flour for cakes and muffins.
Any advice would be appreciated.
Best wishes
Margaret
I made this recipe, and it is WONDERFUL. Glad you said the bananas should equal 1.25 cups. Mine only went to 1, so I added a little canola oil, but could have adjusted with more applesauce. I also added a little fresh grated nutmeg. Dori Greenspan says nutmeg and bananas just go together. Very moist and fabulous!! Thanks!
I baked this a few days ago and it is so delicious!! I’ve tried many different varieties of “whole wheat/healthy” banana breads and they’ve all been dry and bland. This one was fantastic, I will definitely be using this recipe from now on! I didn’t have applesauce on hand, so used coconut oil but I definitely want to try it with applesauce too. Thanks so much for a fantastic recipe, Sally! I’ve made many things from your site and I can tell how much work you put in to every recipe to make sure they’re perfect. Please know your hard work is much appreciated 🙂 I hope you have a wonderful day!
Hi Sally, Can I use greek yogurt instead of the applesauce?
Sure can!
I’m planning to make a double batch (at least) of this yummy bread this weekend and since each loaf takes so long to bake, can two loaf pans be in the oven at the same time baking? I know with cookies its always recommended to do one sheet at a time. Just was curious on your thoughts! Thanks 🙂
They can both be in the oven at the same time!
This banana bread was so good. This will be my new go-to lighter banana bread. I was using another skinny recipe from another site I visit often. Love the other blog but this by far is so much better. No oil, no butter. Hardly miss it. Thank you! Looking forward to trying other recipes.
Hello Sally! For quick breads (in general), is it okay to line the the pan with parchment paper instead? nonstick sprays are not easily available from where i come from (tropical island).
thanks a lot!
cee
Yes, lining with parchment paper works!
SALLY!!!!!!!! I made this last night and it was delicious!! I was a little concerned that the bread wouldn’t be sweet or fluffy but turns out I had nothing to fear, because it turned out fantastic! I didn’t have applesauce on hand so I substituted it for the coconut oil and did 1 cup wheat flour and 3/4 cup all purpose flour (just to be on the safe side) and it still tasted great! My parents and sister ate it and they couldn’t even tell the difference between your recipe and the less healthy version my Mom usually makes. I absolutely LOVEEEEE your blog and getting to know you through your posts!
Thanks Sally!!! 🙂
Can I use agave instead of honey?
Yep, agave works.
I was so surprised with all the healthy substitutions that this bread turned out tasting like real banana bread the texture was perfect too! bravo Sally! And I love the little tips about the possible substitutions of maple syrup and coconut oil!
These were surprisingly delicious! Like you said, wheat flour usually gives baked goods a heavy thick texture, but these were light and soft! I actually halved the recipe and used coconut oil instead of applesauce, and (wait for it) RAISINS because I didn’t have any walnuts. 😉 They came out a little sweeter than I would have preferred, probably because of the raisins. So if anyone else tries that, maybe dial back on the amount of sweetener used. I would have added a tiny bit more salt, too, to help balance the sweetness with the added raisins. Excellent recipe!!
Fabulous recipe! I followed it verbatim, except I used whole wheat pastry flour (which I suppose has a finer texture than regular whole wheat flour). The bread is very similar to full-fat versions I’ve made, with just a slightly chewier bite to it. Will definitely add this to my baking arsenal!
LOVED THESE! I made them into muffins and they turned out great. Moist, perfectly sweet and hard to believe they are healthy. Do yourself a favor and make them ASAP!!
Hi Sally. Yesterday I tried your whole wheat banana bread recipe. Oh my, it was delicious! I love the fact it’s healthy ingredients. My family loved it! We agreed, it doesn’t need sugar at all. Believe it or not, recently this early morning, I went to the kitchen and it was gone! Lol. I’m excited to try your new chocolate zucchini bread recipe :-).
Hi Sally –
I just wanted to say that I love your blog!! SBA has become my baking addiction too…. I am on here like twice a day! (especially when I am in class and supposed to be working). Soooo many yummy things to make and so little time…… I especially love your healthy recipes, because my life is a constant battle between wanting to eat too much dessert and not wanting to exercise 🙂 I was super excited to try this recipe, but when I made it today, it didn’t turn out well:
I know the recipe said that the bread bakes for a long time, but mine was in for a reeeeeeaaally long time…. like 80 minutes. I kept checking on it and it didn’t seem to be cooking. When I finally took it out, let it cool, and sliced it, it was super dense, had sunk in the middle, and was still not cooked through! So not what I waited like 80 minutes for! 🙁 I am not sure what I did wrong…. The only thing I changed about the recipe was to use all purpose flour instead of the whole wheat. I didn’t think that would make a difference. Help!! Any wisdom to share??
Grace, I’m so glad that you enjoy my blog and recipes. This bread– that is crazy it wasn’t even baked through after an hour and 20 minutes. Is your oven temperature accurate? I would pick up an oven thermometer just in case. My oven temperature is off and I am able to control it with a thermometer. Also, on which position were your oven racks? You may want to move the bread to the center of the oven.
Hi Sally! Could I replace the walnuts with blueberries? Thanks!
Yep!
I made this cake last night and it’s already gone!! Was delicious!!
Will be making it again.
Made this yesterday with my kids, came out great! Everyone enjoyed it. Including the measurements by weight made it super simple and quick to put together also. Thanks for the great recipe.
Could I replace applesauce with nonfat plain Greek yogurt? I don’t have applesauce on hand. Thanks ☺
It’s worth a try– I’ve never tried it before.
Made this banana bread last night and used two smaller loaf tin pans (8X4) since I don’t own a regular loaf pan. The bread came out DELICIOUS! I’m not the biggest fan of cooking with bananas, but this bread was the best! Pretty sure this is what I’m going to do whenever I have overly ripe bananas hanging around. Thanks!!!
Hi Sally,
I have to first thank you for posting this recipe. I made a batch of the muffins a couple days ago and let me tell you, they were AMAZING! My 3 year old absolutely loved them, I love them, as does my mom and husband. I had to hide one away just for me.
The muffins felt a little dense to the touch, but quite “airy” to the bite. I love how they have just that right amount of sweetness…needless to say these are a hit in my house…thanks again Sally ☺
Sally, these look delicious! About how many muffins will this make?
I get about 14-15 muffins
Hi Sally,
I just had to make this on the weekend and wanted to let you know that it turned out perfectly! I followed your recipe to the letter and the banana bread was perfect – what a fantastic breakfast or after dinner treat 🙂 Next up on my list, your baby 45 calorie chocolate chip muffins – so excited to try those. Thank you for your amazing recipes and tips.
I made this yummo bread yesterday and it is already half gone (and I have not even shared with my family :0). I subbed in mini-chocolate chips for the nuts. Thanks for another great recipe!
I have white whole wheat flour on hand…can that be used instead? I’m always confused as to whether or not I can use white whole wheat and regular whole wheat interchangeably in recipes!
Yes, you can use white whole wheat instead of whole wheat flour in this banana bread recipe. When subbing whole wheat flour for any other flour, whether that be white whole wheat or all-purpose, be careful because its baked texture is much heavier.