Use up your overripe bananas to make this healthy banana bread. Sweetened only with fruit it makes a great snack for babies and kids.
Banana bread is the perfect way to use up overripe bananas but many versions resemble a dessert recipe rather than a healthy snack. They taste delicious but are definitely not something we want to continually fill out little one’s tummies up with.
Even healthy recipes are packed full of honey or maple syrup meaning they still have a high sugar content and in my mind are still regarded as a dessert recipe.
This version is only sweetened with fruit, there are a few dates to help with the sweetness, so I still consider this an occasional treat, but it is noticeably less sweet than most banana bread recipes, even the healthy ones.
Fail-Proof Healthy Banana Bread
The great thing about banana bread is how easy it is to make. It is one of those recipes that doesn’t require any fancy ingredients and generally most households have all the ingredient to hand (and are actually looking for a way to use up brown bananas).
Although an easy recipe to follow, there are still a few pitfalls that you’ll want to avoid. Below you will find my top tips to ensure you have perfect banana bread every time.
- Bananas – You want to make sure you use really ripe bananas, the riper the better. Brown bananas will mash better and will provide more sweetness and flavour to the bread. Also, be mindful of how much banana you use. This recipe calls for 2 large bananas and I have detailed the weight too. Don’t be tempted to add an extra banana or your bread will become overly moist and won’t cook through properly. Don’t overly mash either, you want to still see some lumps to add texture to the bread.
- Dry to Wet Ingredient Ratio – I always recommend weighing ingredients rather than measuring with cups. There is just too much variance with cup sizes and how you fill the cup. However, if you don’t have scales then just be careful you don’t overpack the cups with flour.
- Mixing – It is always tempting to mix and mix until you have a lovely smooth consistency but in doing this you develop more gluten which can result in a dense, rubbery loaf. Stir the mixture until just moistened and if the kids are helping then set them a 10-second stirring limit.
- Check to See if it Ready – After the cooking time, while the bread is still in the oven, insert a skewer into the centre. If the stick comes out clean, or with a few crumbles on it, the bread is done.
- Cooling – Remove the bread from the pan fairly soon, around 10 mins after it comes out of the oven. The longer you leave your bread in the pan, the soggier the bottom of the bread will become. Transfer to a cooling rack and do not cover/store until completely cooled.
Get Creative with Add-Ins
Bored with plain banana bread? Why not try some add-ins, some suggestions include:
- Raisins/Sultanas are great for adding extra sweetness. Soak your raisins in boiling water for a couple of mins to rehydrate them. Drain and stir in just before adding the mixture to the pan. 1/4 – 1/2 cup will work well.
- Chopped Nuts add great texture and flavour. Walnuts are particularly nice in banana bread. Finely chop around 1/2 cup of walnuts. Mix through the batter just before adding to the pan.
- Chocolate Chips will add sweetness and chocolate is great with banana. Add 1/4 cup (or more!) to the batter just before adding to the pan.
- Sliced Banana can be a lovely decoration on top of the banana bread. Slice a banana in half, lengthways, and add to the top of the mixture before cooking.
- Other fruits can add flavour and texture to banana bread. A handful of raspberries or blueberries are good to stir through (just before transferring to the pan) or check out this recipe for Strawberry and Mango Banana Bread
- Spices are great for adding flavour, this recipe already has cinnamon and vanilla but you may want to combine or switch them out with other spices such as clove, nutmeg or cardamom.
Let your children decide what additions they wish to add. Let them get creative!
Storage Instructions
Allow the bread to fully cool before slicing and storing.
- Room Temp: Cover and store at room temperature for 1-2 days.
- Refrigerate: Store in an airtight container for up to 5 days.
- Freeze: Cut the bread into slices and carefully wrap each slice in clingfilm. Freeze the wrapped slices in airtight containers for up to 3 months. Slices should thaw in 1-2 hours at room temperature.
Have you tried this recipe? I love receiving your feedback, please rate and leave a comment below or tag me on Instagram @healthylittlefoodies
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Healthy Banana Bread
Equipment
- Loaf Pan (Mine was 21.5cm (8.5inch))
Ingredients
- 4 Medjool Dates, pitted
- 125ml (½ cup) Milk
- 80ml (⅓ cup) Coconut Oil
- 60g (¼ cup) Natural Greek Yoghurt
- 2 Eggs
- 1 tsp Vanilla Extract
- 250g (1 cup) (around 2 large/3 medium small) Ripe Bananas, mashed
- 215g (1¾ cup) White Wholemeal (wholewheat) Flour
- 1 tsp Cinnamon
- 1 tsp Baking Soda
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 160ºC (320ºF) and grease a loaf pan.
- Add the Medjool dates to a food processor and blend until it forms a paste. Add the milk and continue to blend until mixed.
- In a large mixing bowl add the date mixture, oil, yoghurt, eggs and vanilla. Whisk until combined. Add the mashed banana and stir.
- In a seperate bowl, mix together the flour, baking soda and cinnamon.
- Add the dry ingredients to the wet and stir until just combined. Be careful not to overmix, some lumps are good.
- Pour the batter into the prepared loaf pan and bake for 55 - 60 mins. Check the loaf is ready by inserting a skewer into the centre. If the stick comes out clean, or with a few crumbles on it, the bread is done.
- Allow to cool in the pan for around 10 mins and then transfer to a wire rack to cool for a further 20 mins + before slicing.
Recipe Notes
This recipe was originally posted on September 14, 2014. It has been updated with new photos, baking tips and recipe information. The original recipe has also been adapted, taking into consideration reader feedback. If you are a returning visiting looking for the original recipe, you can email me for a copy.
RS says
I made this recipe without the dates and my son loved it. But i did notice some black thread like bits in the banana bread. Did i do something wrong?
Amy says
Hi RS, I’m so happy your son enjoyed this recipe. The black threads are normal, you didn’t do anything wrong. If you find them off-putting try pureeing the banana instead of mashing as this should produce less.
RS says
Oh that’s such a relief haha! I thought i messed it up 🙂
Will defi try some other recipes you have on here!
Appreciate the time you took to reply
Claire says
Wow! Deliciously light in texture and very tasty. I used about 4 dried dates and soaked them in boiling water for 15minutes, the bread wasn’t too sweet. Delicious.
Amy says
Fantastic! Thanks Claire.
Melanie says
This recipe is great – my daughter and I had fun baking it together. One little thing: 160C is 355F. We baked our first loaf at 320F as directed and it took nearly 90 min to bake.
Jennifer says
First time I’ve made banana bread and I found the recipe easy to follow. Best of all my 16 month old grandson loved it so lots of smiles all round. Your recipes are great!
Amy says
Thank you Jennifer 🙂
SheenyK says
I made this today, with the eggs substituted for flax eggs so I can send this along to childcare. It worked really well! It’s delicious and moist. Really enjoying your recipes, thank you!
Amy says
Great to know that it worked well with flax eggs, thanks for taking the time to let me know as this is great information for other readers.
Sandra says
Simple, delicious and healthy, my daughter loves it!
Amy says
Thanks Sandra, so happy she enjoys it 🙂
Jk says
Would it be ok to add some veggies like grated carrots or sweet potato?
Amy says
Hi JK, without trying I can’t say for sure, sorry. Worth trying 🙂
Kristine says
I made this recipe with some subs: flax eggs (ran out of eggs), 10 regular pitted dates (then promptly forgot to soak), olive oil instead of coconut (also out – need to go grocery shopping apparently!), 1 c AP flour + 3/4 c WW pastry flour. Was a bit worried that the batter was just barely moist, not what I’m used to, but this loaf turned out amazing! Very moist, not at all dry. Some sweetness, but not overpowering. Thanks for sharing!
Amy says
Hi Kristine, I’m so happy you had success with the recipes, even with the substitutions. Thanks for taking the time to leave a comment as information on substitutions is always helpful for other readers (and thanks for the 5 star rating 🙂 )
shirley kang says
I have tried A LOT banana bread recipes and this is one of my favourites! have successfully made a gluten free and diary free version for my baby using one cup GF flour and 3/4 cup oat flour, skipped dates, milk and yogurt and replaced with 1/3 cup applesauce. it turned out really great moist and fluffy on the day i baked them but it is a little bit dry/crumbling the next day (wasnt too bad though), was wondering maybe i can add more oil/applesauce to fix that little issue?
Jane says
This is a great recipe and my son is obsessed with it. I misread the flour and used white spelt flour instead which worked really well thankfully. So yummy, thank you!
Kimberly Walker says
I made this for my 11 month old and she nibbled at it like she does ♀️. However, my husband ate almost the whole loaf. It’s delicious and I can’t believe that it’s only sweetened with fruit and cinnamon! Amazing!
Amy says
Thanks Kimberly! I’m glad your husband enjoyed it!
michelle says
I was sceptical at first but I tried it anyway and boy, am I glad I did! Its satisfying without triggering any sugar cravings after. That doesn’t mean I don’t want to eat the entire loaf. 🙂 Thank you for this recipe. I am eyeing the sweet potato muffin next. Have you tried baking that as a loaf by any chance?
Amy says
Thank you Michelle, I’m glad you gave it a shot and enjoyed it. I’ve not actually tried making the sweet potato muffins as a loaf. Good idea though, I can see that featuring on the blog soon!
Megan says
Really easy to make and was quite moist. Both my baby and I loved it.
Amy says
Great, Megan! So happy you both liked it 🙂
CC says
Another tasty one!
Amy says
Fab! 🙂
Valerie says
The bread turned out yummy but I had issues with the dates (they wouldn’t blend) maybe they should be soaked before? Also it’s quite flat, though it raised nicely in the oven … Any advicrs to avoid these issues? Thanks
Amy says
Hi Valerie, I’m glad you enjoyed the taste of the cake 🙂
If you use Medjool dates they are lovely and soft and generally blend well. Alternatively, if you soak dates in hot water for a couple of minutes they will blend better.
Did your cake flatten once out of the oven? It could be that the mixture was overmixed, you only need to stir in the dry ingredients until just combined. It could also be the oven temp – did you open the oven at all to check on the cake, was your cake in the centre of the oven and did you preheat the oven?
This is an older recipe and I am slowly working my way through old posts to give more detail and tips. Thanks for reaching out as it really helps me know what to include in posts.
Kay says
Can I use the same ingredients to make banana muffin instead of bread?
Amy says
Hi Kay, I would say that it should work but without trying I can’t tell you timings etc, sorry. Let me know how you get on!
Marina says
I used plain flour instead of spelt. This was a hit with the whole family, let alone our 13 mths old miss ?
Amy says
Brilliant! So glad you enjoyed it and thank you so much for taking the time to give feedback ??
Hayley says
Hi, ripe bananas at the ready but just wanted to check should I use plain or self raising flour?
Many thanks
Amy says
Hi Hayley, I used spelt flour in this recipe. You could sub it for plain and I’m sure it would be great. ??
Rachael Bor says
Hi amy, i love this recipe but im finding it’s not cooking completely in the middle when its very cooked on the outside. Is the temperature 175 for fan forced? Thanks.
Rachael Bor says
Hi Amy, can you use regular natural yoghurt instead of greek yoghurt? Thanks.
Amy says
Hi Rachael , greek yoghurt is thicker but I think natural yoghurt should work ok in this recipe.
Rachel says
I baked the bread exactly according to your recipe except replacing the coconut oil with butter and spelt flour with whole wheat flour. The cake turned out pretty wet though.
I used dried dates and had a problem blending the dates till smooth. Are we suppose to soak it in water prior to blending?
Amy says
Hi Rachel, sorry the cake didn’t work great for you. Maybe it needed a little longer in the oven? If your dates are a little dried out then it is better to soak them for a bit. There should’t be a need though if fresh and juicy. I have a high speed blender though. If you try it again, I hope it works better for you ?
Rachel says
Hi Amy, yes! It worked. I soaked the dates in hot water before blending & baked it an extra 10min. It worked out well! ???.. Thanks for sharing such wonderful recipes!
Rachel says
Hi Amy,
I’ve tried baking the bread exactly according to your recipe except replacing the coconut oil with butter and spelt flour with whole wheat flour. The cake turned out pretty dense though. Is that how it is?
I had a problem blending the dates till smooth. Are we suppose to soak it in water prior to blending?
Also, the cake turned out pretty dense. A l
Fiona says
Hi Amy, I’ve recently discovered your blog and am hooked! I really admire what you are doing. I’ve tried a few of your recipes successfully (well they have pretty much all worked and I have enjoyed them but reception has been mixed by the children (2&5)!). I was really pleased to find your banana bread recipe and the children and I really enjoyed it although it seemed underbaked or the batter was too wet. I’m not sure which. Have you any experience of this happening? The edges and ends looked spongy like your picture but the middle was heavy. It didn’t taste uncooked though. I wondered about mashing the bananas rather than blitzing to make them less liquid and I did use normal yoghurt not Greek which might have been thinner (I make my own). And I noticed that Nic’s original recipe also includes 1/2 tsp bicarbonate. But do you have any ideas? Thanks so much. (Sorry for the long post!)
Amy says
Hi Fiona, I’m so glad you are enjoying the blog and are having some success with the recipes! I’m thinking the problem you are having may be due to the yoghurt. When baking the thinner and more watery consistency in normal yoghurt can result in a tougher end product. Greek yoghurt generally gives a better texture.
I have quite a hot fan oven so if switching the yoghurt doesn’t help you may need to up the temperature slightly or leave it in for another 5-10 mins. You could cover it in foil to stop it burning.
I hope next time is more successful for you! Thanks for your feedback 🙂
Fiona says
Hi Amy,
Thanks very much-I’ll try a few tweaks and report back. Will definitely be making again-had minor tantrum from 2yo when i told him there wasn’t any left and he would have to eat something else!
Fiona