A slice of banana bread is the perfect afternoon pick-me-up. Why not save yourself some calories with this lower in fat Healthy Banana Bread! Lots of ways to adapt it to add your favourite ingredients and it freezes well. Grab a cup of tea, a slice of this delicious banana bread and put your feet up for a well deserved break.
Banana Bread
I will hold my hands up and say I am not the best baker usually. It is far too much of an exact science, whereas I like to just throw everything in to a pan which is why I love soups and stews so much. But this banana bread is SO easy. It’s like the soup of baking in a way.
Seriously, it is impossible to get wrong and a great recipe to start with if you are a novice baker. Very few ingredients are needed and there are is no complicated method. Make it even easier for yourself by using a mixer with a cake beater attachment on it.
Why should you try it?
✔ A really easy bake
✔ Great for kids to help with
✔ Easy to adapt to add extra ingredients
✔ Freezes well
✔ Lower in calories and fat that most banana breads
Healthy Banana Bread
What makes this banana bread healthier than most is that we haven’t used regular granulated sugar in it. You could say it is a no sugar healthy banana bread as we have sweetened it with just bananas and a little maple syrup. Don’t worry though, it still has plenty of sweetness in it.
Not only that, but we haven’t used any butter in the recipe (just a little to grease the loaf tin) and have swapped it for fat free Greek yoghurt instead. It still have a really rich flavour that you would get from using butter, but lower in fat.
Healthy Banana Bread Muffins
We use this same recipe to make healthy banana bread muffins too. Just grease a muffin tin and then pour the mixture in. You will only need to bake them for about 25 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean. Making them in to muffins is a great way for little kids to eat them, as they are easier to handle. You could try our Banana Oat Muffins instead.
Banana Bread Toppings and Fillings
Isn’t everything better with toppings? We think so! The topping options here are almost endless, so get creative!
Here are some of our favourites:
- Peanut butter is an obvious, but delicious, choice as it goes so well with bananas. But other nut butters work too.
- Jam. We love some cherry jam on this.
- My favourite topping for this healthy banana bread is our homemade healthier Nutella.
- Blueberries or any berry
- A few oats
- Cream cheese swirls
How To Store Healthy Banana Bread
Banana bread should be wrapped in foil or kept in an air tight container to prevent it from drying out and delaying the spoiling process. It will then keep for around 4-5 days.
Make sure that the bread has fully cooled before wrapping it and putting it in a container. If it is enclosed whilst still warm, condensation will form on the bread and mould will appear a lot quicker.
Can You Freeze Banana Bread?
Yes, it freezes really well. Individually wrap each slice in baking paper and then put them in a freezer bag. They will keep this way for around 3 months. Just get out a slice each time you want one and defrost at room temperature.
Extra Tips:
- Turn this banana bread in to banana muffins by baking the mixture in a greased muffin tin. They will only need about 25 minutes in the oven.
- We used walnuts in this recipe, but you could swap them for pecans or chopped peanuts instead.
- Why maple syrup? Maple syrup is still sugar, however it is lower GI and has more flavour than traditional sugar. We have only used a little to add flavour and some extra sweetness, however you could leave this out if you wanted to.
- This banana bread is delicious when topped with either nut butter, jam our our homemade healthier Nutella.
Ingredients needed to make Healthy Banana Bread (serves 10)
- A little butter for greasing the loaf tin
- 200g wholewheat flour
- 1/2 tbsp ground cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 10 walnuts, roughly chopped
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 4 bananas, 3 mashed and 1 halved lengthways
- 3 tbsp Maple Syrup
- 2 eggs
- 5 tbsp fat free Greek yoghurt
- 100ml skimmed milk
- 50g Dark Chocolate Chips
How To Make Healthy Banana Bread – Step by Step:
One: In a bowl, add the banana and mash until smooth.
Two: In a bowl or mixer, add the mashed banana, maple syrup, eggs, Greek yoghurt and Skimmed milk and beat until mixed together well.
Three: Add the flour, cinnamon, baking powder and baking soda and mix well. Add the walnuts and chocolate chips and pulse until lightly mixed together.
Four: Pour the batter in to a greased 2lb loaf tin
Five: Top with banana halves.
Six: Put the loaf in to a preheated oven at 180C/350F Gas Mark 4 and bake for an hour. Leave to cool before removing from tin.
Why not try some of our other dessert recipes:
Healthy Chocolate Raspberry Brownies
No Bake Chocolate and Peanut Butter Oat Squares
Chocolate and Banana Pinwheels
Healthy Gingernut Biscuits
Chocolate Cupcakes for Two
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DON’T FORGET TO RATE THE RECIPE ↓
Healthy Banana Bread
Ingredients
- A little butter for greasing the loaf tin
- 200 g wholewheat flour
- 0.5 tbsp ground cinnamon
- 0.5 tsp baking powder
- 100 g walnuts roughly chopped
- 0.5 tsp baking soda
- 4 bananas 3 mashed and 1 halved lengthways
- 3 tbsp Maple Syrup
- 2 eggs
- 5 tbsp fat free Greek yoghurt
- 100 ml skimmed milk
- 50 g Dark Chocolate Chips
Instructions
- In a bowl, add the banana and mash until smooth.
- In a bowl or mixer, add the mashed banana, maple syrup, eggs, Greek yoghurt and Skimmed milk and beat until mixed together well.
- Add the flour, cinnamon, baking powder and baking soda and mix well. Add the walnuts and chocolate chips and pulse until lightly mixed together.
- Pour the batter in to a greased 2lb loaf tin
- Top with banana halves.
- Put the loaf in to a preheated oven at 180C/350F Gas Mark 4 and bake for an hour. Leave to cool before removing from tin.
Video
Notes
- Turn this banana bread in to banana muffins by baking the mixture in a greased muffin tin. They will only need about 25 minutes in the oven.
- We used walnuts in this recipe, but you could swap them for pecans or chopped peanuts instead.
- This banana bread is delicious when topped with either nut butter, jam our our homemade healthier Nutella.
Romina says
I love how soft and moist this looks!
Jayne says
Lovely recipe -looks delicious – and definitely on the healthier side as far as cake goes. But slightly dangerous to suggest this is a ‘no-sugar’ cake. Maple syrup IS sugar. It contains almost as many calories and carbs as cane/beet sugar, though it is slightly lower on the glycaemic index. There seems to be a myth that maple syrup and honey are not sugar – they are, it’s just in a different form. They do have other health benefits, so are definitely a better overall choice than normal sugar, but still need to be used in moderation (and I realise you’ve only used a very small amount here), especially those of us trying to drop a few pounds. I love banana bread and can’t wait to try this one – got to wait until I am back in the UK next week, as we don’t have maple syrup in Turkey. I usually put sunflower oil in mine, so I am intrigued to try your version with the yoghurt. Thanks for sharing all your lovely recipes – my friend and I are trying to stick to Slimming World to lose a few kilos before the festive season, and it’s so nice to have some different ideas. I think I small slice of this in the afternoon would be a good use for a few syns!
Dannii says
That is why we say “you could say it’s a no sugar banana bread” – because we haven’t used traditional sugar, just a tiny bit of maple syrup. We use it because it is lower GI, and we think it adds more flavour. We mention this in the notes section of the recipe :) We are definitely aware that maple syrup and honey are sugar, but thanks for sharing in the comments for people that may not be :)
I hope you enjoy it if you try it :)
Pam Greer says
This is the only banana bread we eat at our house! We love how healthy it is and so delicious!
Dannii says
I’m so glad you enjoy it :)
Kelly Anthony says
We are making banana bread today! So glad I found this recipe. Going to be reviewing how you made it healthy…maybe I won’t have to feel so guilty serving it up to the kids this time around ;)