This Strawberry Mango Banana Bread is packed with juicy fruit and is bursting with flavour. Sweetened only with fruit, it is a delicious snack for kids and babies.
Strawberries and Mangoes are so cheap in Australia at the moment and we have been buying them in bulk. Although our favourite way to enjoy them is in their natural state, I have also been using them in various baked goods such as this Strawberry Mango Banana Bread. The bread is deliciously moist, sweet and seriously addictive.
I've tried this Strawberry Mango Banana Bread on a few taste testers and they all couldn't believe that the bread contained no refined sugar or sweeteners. The delicious sweetness comes only from the fruit and I used a couple of tricks to enhance that natural sweetness.
1) I always use over ripe bananas. As bananas ripen their starches break down into sugar making them taste sweeter.
2) I roast the strawberries and mango before adding them to the cake. Doing this removes some of the moisture and in turn the natural sweetness is enhanced.
Before adding the strawberry and mango to the batter I like to coat the fruit in around 1 tablespoon of the dry ingredient mixture. This coating of flour absorbs some of the liquid released by the fruit as it bakes and keeps the fruit in place until the crumb has set. This means the fruit is more evenly distributed throughout the bread and therefore each bite of the bread is equally delicious.
One loaf yields around nine generous slices. When serving to my kids I wouldn't normally give a whole slice in one sitting. I usually cut the slices into bite-size quarters and serve a couple of pieces at a time or add one or two pieces to the lunch box.
Strawberry Mango Banana Bread freezes really well. I usually cut into bite size pieces and freeze on a baking tray until frozen. I then transfer the pieces to a zip lock bag and take out individual bits as needed.
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Healthy Strawberry Mango Banana Bread
Ingredients
- 200g strawberries, topped and quartered (larger strawberries cut into eighths) (see picture)
- 1 mango, cut into small chunks (see picture)
- 60g (⅓ cup) Butter, melted and cooled slightly
- 2 eggs
- 2 medium (around 250g) Bananas, mashed
- 60g (¼ cup) greek yoghurt
- 60ml (¼ cup) milk
- 240g (2 cups) wholemeal flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ tsp baking soda
- ¼ tsp salt
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 175C / 350F. Line a baking tray with baking paper / silicon baking mat and grease a 9 x 5 loaf tin with butter.
- Evenly spread the strawberries and mangoes onto the prepared baking tray. Bake in the oven for 15 mins, or until juicy and soft. Remove from the oven and allow to cool.
- In a mixing bowl add the butter, eggs, banana yogurt and milk. Mix until combined and no lumps of yoghurt remain.
- In a separate mixing bowl add the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt and stir until combined.
- Add the strawberries and mango to a bowl and use approx 1 -2 tablespoon of the dry mixture to coat the fruit.
- Mix the wet with the dry until combined and then gently fold in the strawberries and mango.
- Pour the batter into the prepared loaf tin. Bake for approx 50 mins (until a toothpick inserted into the centre comes out clean.)
- Cool in the tin for 10 mins before transferring to a wire rack.
Joanne
Can you use self raising whole meal flour?
Amy
Hi Joanne, I have tested but I'm sure it would work great. Just skip the baking powder/soda. Amy
Natalia
This cake was barely sweet, despite putting in overripened bananas and a very ripe mango ad suggested. Needed longer than 50 minutes and came out mushy on the inside, flat and uneatable. This recepie needs to be reviewed to allow for additional sweetness to be added as fruits per se aren't sufficient. Will not cook this again.
Amy
Hi Natalia, sorry you didn't enjoy this recipe. This is developed with babies/toddlers in mind (hence the no added sugar). I can't understand why the texture would be wrong. Did you bake the mango/strawberries before adding to the mixture? Did you use cup or g measurements? What type of flour did you use and where are you from?
MJ
I used chia eggs and I was skeptical because the batter was very thick but it turned out well and the bread is yummy. I used frozen fruits and a LF yoghurt. Thanks for the recipe!
Amy
Thanks for taking the time to comment, MJ. I'm glad you liked it and it is good to know it worked with the chia eggs 🙂
Big fan
This was so delicious and easy!
Amy
Thank you for the 5 stars 🙂 Glad you liked it!
shirley kang
going to make this for my baby, what can be used instead of yogurt? or can i omit that ingredient? thanks!
Amy
Hi Shirley, you could try replacing with milk or oil. However, I can't guarantee the outcome without trying .
shirley kang
Successfully made a gluten free & dairy free version for my baby, subs a few ingredients, used 1/3 cup olive oil, 1/2 cup soy milk, 1 cup gf flour & 1 cup oat flour. Moist, light and fluffy. Thanks for the recipe!
Abby
I’m so impressed with this recipe! It was fast & easy to whip up with what I had on hand, and baking the fruit pieces for 15 minutes gave them such a nice taste. The texture is dense & moist, and the sweetness level is perfect for me & my family. I used olive oil instead of butter & tossed in a heaping teaspoon of ginger, which I think compliments the mango & strawberry perfectly. I’m on a healthy baking kick during quarantine, but I can imagine making this throughout the summer to use all the strawberries we keep buying & to hold the evening ice cream cravings at bay. Cheers!
Amy
Hi Abby, I'm so happy you enjoyed the recipe. I'll have to try adding ginger next time, it sounds delicious 🙂
Elisa
Absolutely loved this recipe! A few times didn’t raise properly but the taste is unbelievable! Thank you for giving us an alternative to sweet cakes!
Amy
Thanks Elisa, glad you enjoyed it 🙂
Abbi
I ended up making this recipe twice this week! It is so scrumptious! I took it to a friend's house tonight and we munched on it all evening. I love this blog!
Amy
Thanks Abbi, you have been cooking up a storm! So happy you like this recipe and the blog 🙂
Abbi
My best friend and I make this every week. My family doesn't buy mangoes though, so about how much do the mango chunks weigh? Thanks!
Amy
Hi Abbi, they probably weigh around 100g but I can't say for sure. It isn't mango season here so I can't even check for you. You can miss the mango out from the recipe and add a few extra strawberries instead. 🙂
Sarah
Hi! How do you defrost it once its been frozen?
Amy
Hi Sarah, sorry for the delay in getting back to you. I freeze this bread in slices and take out as needed. A slice of this bread will defrost quickly at room temperature (maybe around 10 mins)
sonia
Hi Amy
thanks for so many good and healthy recipes! We love the banana bread ! Did you ever tried to bake it in small forms like muffins ? What will change ? Just the baking time? What do you trink?
Amy
Hi Sonia, I never did try these as muffins. I'd suggest reducing the baking time to around 20 mins. Let me know how you get on!
Rumi
Hey! This looks fab, I’m gonna try it today! Would it be 20 minutes for the mini loaf pans as well?
Amy
Hi Rumi, I'm not sure how long they would take in the mini loaf tins - I'd test after 20 - 25 mins.
Ema
Hi
Amy just wondering instead of whole meal flour can I use plain flour or should I use self raising flour thanks
Amy
Hi Ema, you can use plain flour 🙂
Gem
Hi Amy,
Do you think this yummy sounding cake would work with defrosted frozen fruit? I know it has much more water....?
Thanks! It sounds delish.
Amy
Hi Gem, I have never actually tried this with frozen fruit before so can't say for sure.
If you want to try it I wouldn't thaw the fruit first. I'd add it to the batter frozen, this will stop the mixture from being too runny from the start.
Don't skip coating the fruit in flour, this will help stop the fruit from sinking. As it is frozen, it will have a higher water content and so will be more likely to sink. The flour will absorb some of the moisture.
You may have to bake it for a couple extra minutes as the core temperature of the batter will be lowered with the frozen fruit.
Hope it works for you, let me know how it goes!
Gem
Hi again Amy,
So I did make it with the frozen fruit and it was just ok... it was quite watery around the fruit pieces and they kind of dissintegrated in there! Think it would be much nicer with unfrozen stuff. I have a dairy free wee guy though so I also substituted the yoghurt and butter with coconut oil as I didn't know what else to swap it for. I baked it for 1hr 10mins but I think the texture was a little too 'light'. Any suggestions for substitutions to try?
I love your site and have not been out of the kitchen since I discovered it!
Thanks,
Gem 🙂
Amy
Hi Gem,
Thanks for coming back to me on the frozen fruit, good to know.
Obviously without trying substitutions, I can't say for sure but you could try replacing some of it with apple puree or some mashed avocado. I need to do some more experimenting with dairy free substitutes as I get asked for that a lot.
So delighted that you love the site!
Amy
Betty
Love this recipe 🙂 The sweetness level was perfect for my toddler and myself as I'm trying to limit added sugar for us. I used frozen fruits and cooked them on the stove to get the excess water out first. It was closer to the consistency of jam so I just mixed it into the batter directly. It worked great! Thanks for the recipe.
Amy
Fantastic, great idea to cook on the stove 🙂
Emily
Thanks for the recipe. Have you ever frozen this? Thanks
Amy
Hi Emily, this loaf has never made it to the freezer - it is always gone too quickly! However, I have frozen similar recipes with good results. I'd freeze in individual slices and take out as needed.
Shayne
Hi Amy,
I’m so glad I have found your blog. I’ve been searching for hours for sugar free and healthier foods. Thanks for all your hard work. My son is allergic to dairy and eggs. Do you think soya yoghurt might work instead of Greek dairy yoghurt?
I recently learned that 1TSB of chia seeds and 2.5TSB of water can be mixed and used as a substitute for egg. So far I’ve tried 2 recipes that have worked. I’m going to try one of your recipes today.
Xxx
Amy
Hi Shayne, thank you so much for your kind comment. I'm glad you stumbled across my blog! I have never tried soya yoghurt before so couldn't say for sure. Did you try it, i'd love to know how it turned out for you.
Food Shot
Why have I never thought about putting other fruits into a banana bread recipe? Genius!