The Perfect One Bowl Whole Wheat Banana Bread

4.93 from 14 votes

A healthy and easy breakfast or snack that comes together with about 10 minutes of prep time!

Course Breakfast

Cuisine American

Keyword banana bread, healthy banana bread, quick breakfast recipes, whole wheat banana bread

Prep Time 10

Cook Time 45

Total Time 55

Servings slices

Calories 137.6kcal

Author Blair Lonergan

Preheat oven to 350°F. Spray an 8½-inch by 4½-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 extract 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.

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.

Use a combination of whole wheat flour and all-purpose flour. This gives you the benefits of the whole grains, but also yields a loaf with a moist, tender crumb.

Be careful not to over-mix the batter. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients just until they’re combined. Too much mixing and the bread will come out tough, dense, or dry. The key to keeping a quick bread moist is NOT over-mixing.

The total baking time will vary depending on the type of pan that you use (and on your individual oven). I prefer light-colored pans (or gold pans), which cook the bread more evenly. Dark metal pans tend to cause the outside to burn before the inside cooks through. You’ll know that the bread is done when a toothpick inserted in the middle of the loaf comes out clean.

If the top of the bread starts to get too dark before it’s cooked through, tent loosely with aluminum foil.

Do not overbake the bread or it will become dry. My loaves are typically done by the 45-minute mark.