Banana bread is a staple in our house. It makes a great school snack. It is delicious breakfast spread with butter. It doesn’t have a lot of ingredients. So easy my 12 year old makes it.

Learn how to make our easy healthy banana bread with applesauce.

MY LATEST RECIPES

Your perfect banana bread should be moist. Have glossy and sticky top. And with a crack.

When you take a bite it melts in your mouth. In my world, it is the best healthy banana bread. And you are looking at it right now!

My Healthy Banana Bread Recipes Is:

Simple
Incredibly moist
Perfectly sweet
Contains no sugar

Rave reader reviews! If you can find a more simple healthy banana bread recipe with only 1/3 cup of maple syrup and without 1 cup of vegetable oil, feel free to leave it in comments.

What Are Healthy Banana Bread Ingredients?

Bananas
Applesauce
Whole wheat flour
Eggs

Is Banana Bread Healthy?

Well. Where do I begin?! I think everyone has their own definition of “healthy”. And I think my banana bread recipe is healthy for the following reasons. If you don’t eat entire loaf in a day.:)

Natural sweetener like maple syrup or honey replaces refined sugar.
Applesauce replaces almost a cup of oil. It makes banana bread moist.
Whole wheat flour adds fiber, nutrients and vitamins unlike the all-purpose flour stripped of everything that’s good for us.

Healthy Banana Bread Substitutions and Tips

What Can I Substitute Applesauce With?

Here are my thoughts and what has worked for some readers:

Extra ripe large banana
Greek yogurt with 2% fat content and higher
Pureed fresh apples

What Are the Best Bananas for Banana Bread?

Very yellow ripe bananas with brown spots.
The uglier bananas, the better.
Even uglier than in my photo and video are perfect.

How to Make Banana Bread with Fresh Bananas?

If you don’t have going bad bananas, don’t fret. To “ripen” bananas faster:

Bake yellow bananas with skin on for 20 minutes at 300 degrees F oven.
Place a few ripened bananas or apples with unripened ones in a brown bag. Close tightly and wait 1-2 days. The ethylene gases from the ripened fruit will speed up the ripening.
Peel and slice bananas, place them on a plate and microwave for 30 seconds or until they sizzle.

What Flour Is Good For This Healthy Banana Bread Recipe?

Baking is a science. It is always best to stick to original recipe if you want the recipe to work. Especially when it comes to flour.

Flours that work with this recipe:

Whole wheat flour
Spelt flour

Flours that don’t work:

Almond flour
Coconut flour
All purpose white flour

I have not tested this recipe with any gluten free flour.

What Can I Add?

You can add 1/2 cup to 1 cup of these add ons without any other changes to the recipe.

Nuts: chopped or pieces. Walnuts, pecans etc.
Chocolate chips
Blueberries: fresh or frozen.

Can I Make It into Muffins?

Yes. Not sure how many muffins it will make. And you will have to bake them for 18-22 minutes. Just keep an eye.

How to Make Healthy Banana Bread

1. Get Ready

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Line 9 x 5 loaf pan with unbleached parchment paper.

2. Prepare Liquid Ingredients

In a large mixing bowl, mash bananas with a fork or a masher.
Add eggs, applesauce, maple syrup, oil, vanilla, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
Whisk to combine (masher works fine).

3. Add Dry Ingredients

Add flour and stir gently just enough to mix.

4. Bake

Pour batter in prepared loaf pan.
Bake for 50 – 60 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.

5. Cool & Slice

Remove from the oven.
Let cool for 15 minutes.
Transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely.
Cut into 10 slices and enjoy.

More Healthy Banana Bread Recipes to Try