My friend Kristin makes the best banana bread. So when I recently had some over-ripe bananas sitting on my counter, I begged her for her recipe and she graciously shared. Since I can’t leave well enough alone, I tweaked Kristin’s recipe to make a healthier version. This low calorie One Bowl Whole Wheat Banana Bread comes together in about 10 minutes with just a handful of basic pantry staples!
I’ve tried a lot of “healthy” or “whole wheat” banana bread recipes over the years, but they always seem to come out dry, too dense, or lacking in flavor. I call this recipe The Perfect One Bowl Whole Wheat Banana Bread because it’s…perfect!
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.
Plus, you can't beat the easy cleanup with just one bowl!
How to Make Banana Bread Healthy (and Still Delicious)!
Sure, you could swap out all of the white flour for whole wheat flour, omit sugar, and use only pureed fruit in lieu of fat in the recipe. But you know what? It probably won't taste very good!
The ideal loaf of healthy banana bread tastes just as good as the original, with a few tweaks to keep the calories, fat, and sugar in check. Here's what I did:
- Substitute whole wheat flour for half of the all-purpose flour. The combination of flours gives you the benefits of the whole grains, but prevents the loaf from turning into a dense, dry brick that you might get from 100% whole wheat.
- Decrease the amount of refined sugar to just ½ cup for the entire loaf. 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 fruit purees for moisture.
How many cups is one mashed banana?
This can be tricky! If a recipe calls for 3 bananas, how much is that? We all know that measurements are important in baking, so the difference between a very small banana and a very large banana can be significant when baking a loaf of banana bread.
My recipe calls for 3-4 mashed bananas. One large banana yields about ½ cup mashed, so I used 3 large bananas for a total of about 1 ½ cups. If you're working with small bananas, you'll need at least 4 (and maybe even 5). Measuring is always the safest way to make sure that your banana bread turns out perfectly moist, sweet and delicious!
Here are a few great ways to adapt this One Bowl Whole Wheat Banana Bread:
- 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). 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 degrees 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.
Feel free to enjoy this delicious treat for breakfast or for snack – guilt free. It's a low-calorie option that satisfies your sweet tooth and makes the little ones very happy! It maintains all of the great flavors and textures from Kristin’s original recipe, but with a healthier profile. Basically, this is the best of both worlds!
More easy banana recipes that you might enjoy:
The Perfect One Bowl Whole Wheat Banana Bread
Ingredients
- 3-4 very ripe bananas, mashed (I used 3 large bananas to total 1.5 cups mashed)
- 2 tablespoons melted butter
- ¼ cup unsweetened applesauce
- ½ cup sugar
- 1 egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ¾ cup whole wheat flour
- ¾ cup all-purpose flour
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Spray an 8.5-inch by 4.5-inch loaf pan with cooking spray and set aside.
- Place mashed bananas, melted butter, and applesauce in a large bowl. Use a wooden spoon to mix together.
- Add sugar, egg, and vanilla to banana mixture. Stir until well blended.
- Sprinkle baking soda and salt over mixture and stir until well blended.
- Add whole wheat flour and all-purpose flour last, stirring just until combined. Be careful not to over-mix or your bread will be tough.
- Pour batter into prepared loaf pan. Bake for 35-55 minutes, or until brown and toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Be careful not to over-bake your loaf, so check it early on. Mine usually only takes about 45 minutes to cook.
- Cool on a wire rack. Remove from pan and slice to serve.
Nutrition
This recipe was originally published in July, 2013. The photos were updated in August, 2018.
Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links. I may earn a small commission for my endorsement, recommendation, testimonial, and/or link to any products or services from this website.
This looks really good! I'll be baking it next week for kids' snack for sure.
Wonderful! Enjoy, Mila! 🙂 I might be baking another loaf next week, too!
Wow I made this recipe and I’m dying I want to eat it ALLLLL! Thank you so much! These recipes r amazing
Yay! So glad that you loved it as much as we do! 🙂
I made the banana bread today— excellent! I really wanted a banana bread that would be a healthy and delicious snack, not a dessert.
I didn’t have applesauce so I used Greek yogurt instead. I added unsweetened shredded coconut for texture. So good!
Awesome! So glad that it was a hit! It's definitely one of our favorites, and I'm glad to know that the Greek yogurt works too. The coconut sounds delicious!
Delicious and tasty. Thanks for sharing. I made it yesterday. I didn’t have applesauce. Instead in this apple harvest season I cooked a freshly picked apple together with some cinnamon and water and made my own apple purée. Yummy!
Best,
Anne Mette
Copenhagen, Denmark
Sounds perfect, Anne! So glad that you enjoyed it! 🙂
This recipe was fantastic!! I did not have applesauce on hand, but thanks to suggestion of another, I was able to make my own with fresh apples I had on hand! Added fresh frozen blueberries and nuts...so delicious!! Thanks for sharing!
That's wonderful, Susan! I'm so glad that you enjoyed it! I just had a slice with peanut butter on it for breakfast this morning! 🙂 Truly a staple in our house!
This was great i made it with brown sugar and a teaspoon of cinnamon.
Thanks, David!
Can you use all whole wheat flour?
Hi, Patty! Yes, you can -- but it's not going to yield the best texture in the bread. With the combination of the flours, you get the benefit of the whole grains but you still have the benefits of the lighter, airy crumb from the all-purpose flour as well. Using 100% whole wheat flour will produce a bread that's more dense and dry. So technically, it will work -- it's just not my preference. 🙂
I'm thinking about trying this out. Do you know how long you would bake if you turned it into muffins? Thanks!
Hi, Amber! I would try baking muffins at 350 degrees for about 15-20 minutes. 🙂 Enjoy!
Fantastic recipe. I used brown sugar and replaced applesauce with equivalent quantity of yogurt.. Thank you for sharing.
Truly amazing! The best banana bread I've ever had.
Awesome! Thanks, David!
Loved this recipe. I used brown sugar and Greek yogurt. Added a handful of pecans and some chocolate chips. Going to try cinnamon and nutmeg next time. Absolutely delicious, thanks for sharing!
Thanks, Bee! Your changes sound delicious! We love adding chocolate chips as well. 🙂
I made this Banana Bread with Cranraisins and Apple Sauce. I didn't use any sugar I found it was sweet enough from the Cranraisins and the Apple Sauce ♥
Awesome! I'm so glad that it worked well for you, Leslee! Thanks for taking the time to leave a note. 🙂
That's great to hear that you didn't use any sugar. I was thinking about doing that and use just apple sauce, banana, and semisweet chocolate chip. I'm encourage by your positive experience with no added sugar. thank you. .And of course thank you Blair for the original recipe. Excited to try.
Enjoy, Emily!
Just what I was looking for! My husband and I have been doing Weight Watchers and as with many baked goods, I knew there was a way to make banana bread for less than 8 or 9 points per serving. I often use applesauce in place of part of the shortening in recipes but other than a fabulous bran muffin recipe I don't have much experience baking with whole wheat flour. I have to say that this recipe is AMAZING. I had almost enough ripe bananas for a double batch so I topped that off with a couple extra tablespoons of applesauce (next time I'll have more bananas on hand!) then proceeded mostly as written. My only other changes were to sub 1/4 cup Truvia baking blend for the 1/2 cup sugar and I added 1/2 cup walnuts per batch. My husband prefers muffins so that's what I made and the bake time was approximately 23 minutes. Rich banana flavor, moist but not dense, and only 4 points each with the walnuts or 3 if you leave them out. Win. Win. Win. Thank You!!!
That's wonderful, Siobhan! I'm so glad that you love the bread and that it fits within your diet. Thank you for taking the time to leave me a note!
This is hands down, THE BEST banana bread I've ever had. It is so delicious. I probably could have used one more banana (I used 3 med size), and I added chocolate chips. It's so moist and the mix of both flours is actually good. The best part - quick, easy and one bowl = perfect! Thanks for the amazing recipe.
Thanks so much, Esther! I'm glad that you love it as much as we do! 🙂 Thanks for taking the time to leave a note.
Delicious! Do I store afterwards at room temp or in the fridge? Thank you!, my toddler loves it
Hi, Ashley! I'm so glad that your little one approves! 🙂
You do not need to refrigerate the banana bread. Wrapped tightly, it will stay fresh at room temperature for at least 2 days. In the refrigerator, the bread will keep for about 1 week. Enjoy!
Very Delicious. Thank you. I added brown sugar, and I added 4 bananas as I had no apple sauce at home. I also added little cinnamon, as my husband says it brings the banana out. Very very delicious. It took about 40 minutes, middle rack. Super! Thank you
Awesome! I'm glad that it worked with the ingredients you had available, Gitta. Thanks for letting me know!
Hello! I was wondering if it’s possible to substitute the applesauce for yogurt? And if so, should I use the same quantity (1/4 cup)? I will be trying this recipe later today and I’ll make sure to leave a review! Thank you in advance!
Hi, Naomi! I haven't tried that myself, but I bet it would work. I would keep the quantity the same. Another option is to use vegetable oil in lieu of the applesauce if you have that in your kitchen. Enjoy!
Absolutely delightful! I baked two loaves for my family (one with pecans and one with pecans + chocolate chips) and they were delicious. I ended up substituting the applesauce for 1/4 cup of yogurt and it worked really well with the rest of the recipe. Thank you so much! The combination of whole wheat flour and all purpose flour does wonders, and the fact that you can use only one bowl makes it so easy. I would definitely recommend trying this recipe out, it is truly fantastic! Once again, thank you!
That's so good to hear, Naomi! I'm glad to know that the yogurt works, and I bet it was delicious with the pecans and chocolate chips. Thanks so much for letting me know!
I followed the recipe correctly; however, my load didn’t rise at all. Any idea why this might have occurred? I use a conventional oven, not sure it that makes a difference