A perfect loaf of healthy whole wheat banana bread comes together with one bowl and about 10 minutes of prep!
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If you love easy banana recipes, try our popular banana nut bread, this chocolate chip banana bread, some zucchini banana bread, Hawaiian banana bread, and a loaf of buttermilk banana bread!
Truly amazing! The best banana bread I’ve ever had.
– David
Video: How to Make Whole Wheat Banana Bread
A Healthy Banana Bread Recipe that Actually Tastes Delicious!
My friend Kristin makes the best healthy banana bread, so of course I had to ask her for the recipe! Every mom needs a staple go-to easy banana bread recipe that she can turn to whenever she has overripe bananas sitting on the counter. This particular recipe is simple, it’s kid-approved, and it yields a perfectly moist loaf of bread every single time. Unlike other “healthier” baked goods that tend to come out dry, dense, gummy, or flavorless, this whole wheat banana bread is absolutely perfect.
Ingredient Notes and Tips for Success
- Use a combination of whole wheat flour and all-purpose flour. This gives you the extra fiber and benefits of the whole grains, but also yields a loaf with a moist, tender crumb. The best of both worlds! You can sub with white whole wheat flour or whole wheat pastry flour for the regular whole wheat flour.
- Don’t have whole wheat flour on hand? Substitute with additional all-purpose flour.
- There’s only ½ cup of sugar in the entire loaf, so it doesn’t taste overly sweet. The rest of the sweetness comes from the natural sugars in the fruit.
- Use just a tiny bit of butter for flavor and fat, but otherwise use the banana and applesauce for moisture.
- Don’t have applesauce? Use an equal amount of yogurt instead.
- You’ll need a total of 1 ½ cups of mashed banana measured after mashing. This is typically about 3 large bananas or 4 smaller bananas.
- Use very ripe bananas for maximum flavor and sweetness. You want them to look quite speckled and brown! Mash them in a bowl with a fork, or place them in a large Ziploc bag and squeeze them with your hands until they’re perfectly mashed.
Directions
This healthy banana bread just gets better as it sits! Go ahead and bake a loaf in advance — the flavors come together and the bread becomes more moist as it rests. You’ll wake up to a delicious morning treat. You’ll find the detailed directions in the recipe card below, but here’s the overview with a few tips:
- Stir together the wet ingredients.
- Add the sugar, egg, and vanilla extract.
- Sprinkle in the dry ingredients.
- Stir or whisk just until combined. Be careful not to over-mix the batter. The key to keeping a quick bread moist is not stirring or beating the batter too long.
- Pour the batter into a greased loaf pan. I like to use a nonstick baking spray to ensure that the bread comes out of the pan very easily.
- Bake the bread in a 350 degree F oven. The total baking time will vary depending on the type of pan that you use (and on your individual oven). You’ll know that the bread is done when a toothpick inserted in the middle of the loaf comes out clean. I find that 50 minutes is perfect in my oven. If the top of the bread starts to get too dark before it’s cooked through, tent loosely with aluminum foil.
- Let the bread cool in the pan on a wire rack for about 5-10 minutes. Then remove the bread from the pan and cool completely before slicing.
Serving Suggestions
Serve the bread warm, at room temperature, or even straight from the refrigerator! It’s a great option for breakfast or snack when paired with a mug of hot coffee or tea, or with a cold glass of milk.
Banana bread with whole wheat flour is delicious on its own, but you might also enjoy individual slices with butter, cream cheese, almond butter, or peanut butter and a drizzle of honey. Add some yogurt or eggs and fresh fruit on the side for a perfect morning feast, or offer it in the bread basket at dinner alongside savory options like Crock Pot ribs, Mississippi pulled pork, marinated flank steak, or oven bbq chicken thighs.
Preparation and Storage Tips
- How to Store: Always wrap your loaf in plastic wrap or foil to prevent it from drying out. It does not need to be refrigerated. The bread will stay fresh at room temperature on the counter for 2-3 days, or in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.
- To Freeze: This loaf freezes nicely. Let the bread cool completely, wrap tightly, and store in the freezer for up to 3 months. Thaw on the counter or in the fridge overnight.
- To reheat the banana bread, microwave individual slices for 10-15 seconds, or just until warm.
Fantastic recipe. I used brown sugar and replaced applesauce with equivalent quantity of yogurt. Thank you for sharing.
– Rosita
Did you make this recipe?
If you enjoyed this recipe, please leave a comment with a 5-star review at the bottom of the post. Thank you!
Watch How to Make It
Healthy Whole Wheat Banana Bread
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups mashed very ripe bananas (about 3 large bananas or 4 smaller bananas)
- ¼ cup unsweetened applesauce
- 2 tablespoons salted butter, melted
- ½ cup sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon salt (I use Morton's iodized table salt for this recipe)
- ¾ cup whole wheat flour
- ¾ cup all-purpose flour
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Spray an 8 ½-inch by 4 ½-inch loaf pan with nonstick cooking spray; set aside. In a large bowl, stir together the mashed bananas, applesauce, and melted butter.
- Add the sugar, egg, and vanilla extract to the banana mixture. Stir until well combined. Sprinkle the baking soda and salt over the mixture; stir until well blended. Add the whole wheat flour and the all-purpose flour, stirring or whisking just until combined.
- Pour the batter into the prepared loaf pan. Bake for 45-55 minutes, or until the top is golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Tent the top of the loaf with foil if it starts to get too dark before it's done baking. My loaf is typically done within 50 minutes, so check it early.
- Cool the bread in the pan on a wire rack for about 5-10 minutes. Remove the bread from the pan. Cool completely on the wire rack before slicing and serving.
Notes
Nutrition
Whole Wheat Banana Bread Recipe Variations
- Stir in some mix-in’s. My boys love miniature chocolate chips stirred into the batter. Fresh (or frozen) blueberries are also a nice addition (just like I used in these whole wheat banana blueberry muffins). You might like chopped pecans or walnuts for a loaf of whole wheat banana nut bread, or raisins or dried cranberries for a sweet, chewy texture. There’s no need to measure the add-in’s: just toss in a handful or two, to taste.
- Bake the batter in mini loaf pans. You can easily freeze the extra loaves of banana bread for a later time. With mini loaf pans like these, your banana bread will bake at 350°F for about 30 minutes.
- Add some spices. I love to stir in about 1 teaspoon of cinnamon, but a dash of nutmeg would also be a delicious addition.
- Line the loaf pan with a parchment paper sling if you’d like to easily lift the bread out of the pan to cool.
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This recipe was originally published in July, 2013. It was updated in February, 2025.
This is my go to recipe for banana bread. I do add cinnamon and nutmeg. Also a sprinkle of singer on top before baking, gives it a nice little crunch. Great, easy recipe!
Yum! Thank you, Joanne. We’re so glad you enjoy it!
Just made banana nut muffins. Delicious!!! Gotta add the cinnamon and nutmeg.
Thank you, William!
I gave you a five star rating on this recipe. It a fantastic one bowl recipe with easy to follow directions. I did change to a flax egg because I can not eat eggs. The simplicity of the recipe and having to use only one bowl meant I didn’t have a big mess to clean up. Since it made three mini-loafs I will freeze two and eat the other. I couldn’t wait for it to cool completely.
Thank you for the feedback, Brenda! We’re so glad you enjoyed the recipe and were able to make it work for you.
Hi Blair, can’t wait to try this! Have you ever added banana flavoring to this recipe? I like a lot of banana flavors to come through! Always love your recipes!
Hi, Lisa! I’m sorry, I haven’t baked with banana flavoring, so I can’t say how it would work out. I would start with a very small amount (since extracts/flavorings can be quite potent) and then adjust from there to taste. Hope you enjoy it!