I see you there, with your overripe bananas just sitting on your counter. But you're being lazy. Get up and make this HEALTHY banana bread and do yourself a favor! (P.S. I'm totally talking to my past self from this Monday ????). Okay but seriously, I make this super easy and healthy banana bread recipe very often because it's our family favorite and doesn't last for more than a day or two.
I like to make banana bread with oat flour (keeping breakfast and Ramadan in mind) to make it healthier and a better fuel for your body. Oat flour is a much slower and nutrient dense form of carbohydrates so it will keep you full for longer. This recipe also has no white sugar and is dairy free! The end result is a very moist loaf of banana bread with just the right amount of sweetness. The key? Don't skimp on the number of bananas, and make sure those babies are dotted allllll over.
Quick Tip: I like to buy a few extra bananas than we normally eat and keep them separate so they can overripe by the end of the week. This way you always have bananas for banana bread!
This recipe is also really easy to adapt and add in your favorite things. You can add nuts, chocolate, or raisins - make it your own. Be sure to try this recipe and share your reviews and photos!
Ingredient replacements for this recipe
- If you don't have oat flour and really want to make this recipe, replace the 2.5 cups of oat flour with 2 cups of regular white flour.
- If you don't have oat flour, but you have oats, you can simply grind the oats in a food processor to make a flour. Only do this with rolled oats or instant oats (steel cut oats won't work)
- You can also replace the maple syrup with honey. It will impact the flavor slightly.
- If you don't have coconut oil, you can use regular butter as a replacement.
For more delicious dessert recipes, check out:
Healthy Banana Bread
Ingredients
- 4 very ripe bananas
- ½ cup melted coconut oil
- ½ cup maple syrup or honey
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 eggs beaten
- 2.5 cups Oat flour* see notes
- 4 tsp cardamom powder or cinnamon
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1.5 tsp baking powder
Optional add-ins:
- ⅓ cup dark chocolate chunks
- ⅓ cup to 1 cup chopped nuts of choice
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350F.
- Start by mixing your wet ingredients: mash the banana really well, then add the coconut oil, maple syrup, vanilla, beaten egg and mix well.
- In a separate bowl mix the dry ingredients: oat flour, cardamom, baking powder and baking soda.
- Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and whisk until just combined.
- Add in your nuts or chocolate chunks if using.
- Using a loaf pan, grease all sides with coconut oil then add parchment paper across the long edge of the pan (so you have it sticking out on either side as "handles" when you want to take it out).
- Add the batter in, pat down well and pop in the oven for 45-50 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out dry.
- Allow it to cool, cut and enjoy!
This banana bread turned out perfect! Perfectly moist and the perfect amount of sweetness! This will definitely be the recipe I follow from now onwards
I'm so glad, thanks for the feedback Juweria!
This was a lovely recipe Amina. I was skeptical about using coconut oil but still followed your recipe, it tasted great, no coconut oil taste at all. Thrilled that it was a truly healthy recipe. Love your photos and photography tips .Keep up the great work! Your book looks amazing ! Best wishes!
Thanks so much Sherine for your lovely feedback and support! I truly appreciate it 🙂
I pop everything in my nutribullet except the flour and leavening and give it a whirl. Even the oats which I did half oats and half flour or we get too gassy. I add walnuts in there too so my kids eat them without knowing and my secret addition to nearly every quick bread I make is lemon zest. Gives it something extra. I also throw in a couple scoops of vanilla protein powder and it always comes out great.
Great tips! Thanks Hilary!
I want to say that I make this for my kids regularly and they love it. They love to snack and even my picky eater is a fan. A few substitutions that worked for me to help others: I didn't have banking soda and leaving it out was still fine. Also I used olive oil because that's what I had. Thanks again for the great recipe!
Thanks for sharing the substitutions Sarah and I'm so glad that your kids enjoy this 🙂
This is a simple and healthy recipe that never fails and always amazes! By far the best banana bread recipe I have ever tried and it is unbelievably moist. I also like to offer this to the kids as a healthy snack and this recipe is kid to grandparents approved!
Can we substitute Greek yogurt for the coconut oil?
Hi Jolene! I can't say I've tested it myself, but I believe you might be able to do that with a 1:1 substitution. I've seen Greek yogurt being substituted for coconut oil in other recipes, so fingers crossed it works out.
I basically bought bananas only for this recipe then put them in a paper bag to brown faster because I was dying to make it and I am SO SO glad! This was so so yummy
My toddler is hungry all the time, and this banana bread was such a hit! And I didn’t have to feel guilty because it’s made of oat flour, so moist and rich!! I added some
Cashews and Nutella, definitely gonna try more of your recipes for my kids!
That's so great to hear Zainab! Always a win when we find a recipe approved by toddlers. 🙂 Thanks for the review!
The BEST banana bread recipe! It’s the only one I use now! My family wasn’t a banana bread fan but this recipe has everyone drooling!!
Yay Amna! So so happy to hear - thanks for the lovely review. 🙂
I have tried several recipes in the past and nothing turned out well. In fact I became so hesitant that I resisted to eat it even if it was made by someone else. One day I came across your recipe and gave it a try and to my surprise it was a hit. I loved it and my family loved it too even my 10 month old 🙂
The only thing I skipped after first time was cardamom because dear daughter is a fussy eater. I feel the recipe is so flexible MashAllah.
Have made it so many times since then, in fact I am gonna make one right after I post this comment 🙂
Aehrar - so so pleased that you enjoyed the recipe! Makes me so happy to hear. 🙂
I tried this healthy version of banana bread and it tasted awsome. Who says healthy can be boring , coz this was just as good in taste and texture as regular banana bread. My toddler and me enjoyed every bit of it and no guilty feelings afterwords ! ????thanks for the recipe
Thanks for the lovely review Harmain! So glad you and your toddler enjoyed it together.
my mum is a banana bread fanatic and has tasted many in her life but said these are the ones that do it for her. everyone who has tasted it have said it's the best banana bread ever. this was my first bake btw!! and to top it all of, it's so HEALTHY!!!! it feels so good making it knowing you're using good ingredients but it still tastes million times better than the breads out there using not so healthy options. LOVEEEEEE ITTTTTT will be sticking to this recipe 5ever
(FOR THOSE WHO DON'T WANT TO USE EGG, substitute the 2 eggs for 2 heaped tbsp of milled flaxseed and 6 tbsp of boiled water mixed together until a gooey gel like/egg-like consistency) - tried this and it works perfectly i can vouch for that!!!!!!
Thank you so much for such a lovely review Zahraa! And thank you for the tip on egg replacement - I'll update the recipe with your suggestion! 🙂
THE BEST MOUTH WATERING banana bread ever!! Also love that I don’t feel bloated or guilty eating it!! ???? (I did leave out the cinnamon / cardamom as I'm not a big fan of it in dessert... Added in chocolate as suggested and it was finger licking good ????).
It’s a must to try it with oat flour! I think the oat flour makes it lighter and tender ????☺️
Thank you again Amina for posting this recipe!
Thank you so much Nayrah for such a great review - the oat flour definitely makes it lighter on the stomach. So glad you enjoyed it!
This recipe is now so popular in my home! My husband and kids love it!
Smells heavenly, moist and the choice of healthy ingredients made it extra delicious!
Definitely will be our go to banana bread recipe!
Yay Zina! That makes me so happy to hear. Thanks for the review and feedback!
It tasted delicious and was so easy to follow. And on top of it, it is so healthy!
This will be my go to recipe!
THank you Maria! So glad you enjoyed it!!
So moist and delicious! It doesn't taste like it was made with healthy ingredients. Will be my go to recipe!
Yay! Glad you loved it. Thanks for the review!
I’ve made this banana bread twice now and it’s always a huge hit! Husband and I love banana bread but it’s so hard to find a healthy recipe so I’m glad I came across this one! 🙂
It's great to enjoy a treat but without feeling too guily! so glad you and the family enjoyed this one.
Best banana bread ever! Very easy to follow recipe too. 🙂
I'm so glad you loved it Shabnam! Thanks for the review!
Woohoo! Glad you enjoyed it! Thanks for the review 🙂
Best banana bread recipe for me. The smell of the maple syrup and cinnamon while the bananas and the oat cook up. Everything is just so perfect. I made them in muffin forms and they were really yumm! I added dark chocolate chunks which added the perfect amount of chocolate contrast to the oat flour. The combination of flavours pleased adults and children. Best recipe ever! Everyone loved it and I recommend it to all my friends.
Thank you so much for this lovely feedback Afra. I'm so glad you and the family enjoyed it!
THE BEST MOUTH WATERING banana bread ever!! Also love that I don't feel bloated or guilty eating it!! ????
It's a must to try it with oat flour! I think the oat flour makes it lighter and tender ????☺️
Thank you again Amina for posting this recipe!
Yes you're right Nayrah - the oat flour definitely feels lighter on the stomach. So glad you enjoyed it!!
Great recipe! The cake was very moist, comparable to a Starbucks cake pop! I used honey as my sweetener and it was absolutely delicious.
Wow, that's great feedback! Thank you so much. I love those starbucks cake pops btw. 😀
The best banana bread ever. I am not even kidding. I’ve made it so many times now and it’s finished in 2 days max, it’s that good! I am not a fan of cardamom so I add cinnamon instead. I love that it’s a healthy recipe too - great bonus. I think next time I will try making it as muffins. 10/10 would recommend
Thanks so much Aisha!! I'm going to make it as muffins too, I feel like it'll be easier to grab for my son. So glad you enjoyed the recipe!
where is oat flour easily available..can coconut oil be substituted with regular oil?
Hi Saniya - you can easily find oat flour in any grocery store. It may be found in the "health food" aisles if you can't find it with the flour. Alternatively, you can use rolled oats and grind them up using a food processor or vitamix yourself. And yes - you can substitute regular oil for the coconut oil (the coconut oil does add a nice flavour though!). Hope you enjoy it!
This was really easy to follow and tastes delicious.
Thanks for the lovely review Orely!