Whole Wheat Banana Bread
When it comes to being snackable, delicious and irresistible, banana bread wins. And when you make it 100% whole wheat banana bread you get the added health benefits of whole grains.
Table of contents
Why We Love This 100% Whole Wheat Banana Bread
This banana bread recipe with whole wheat flour is our go-to solution for what to do with ripe or overripe bananas, especially if you have too many. It’s a great treat for breakfast, as an afternoon pick-me-up, or to pack in kids’ lunchboxes.
Recipe Highlights
- Full of whole wheat flour instead of all-purpose flour so the bread is packed with fiber, protein, and more nutrition
- Made without refined sugar
- Zero white flour, but still light in texture
- Only takes a few minutes to stir together
- Customize this bread with add-ins
- A great snack or breakfast for kids and adults alike!
Ingredients for this Banana Bread Recipe with Whole Wheat Flour
- Whole Wheat Flour: We use white whole wheat flour which has a mild taste and light color. Despite its color, it’s still 100% whole wheat and carries the same nutritional benefits as darker whole wheat flour.
- Bananas: Mashed ripe or over-ripe bananas. I used 3 extra ripe medium bananas, so note that if you have very large bananas, or very small, just mash and measure so that you start with 1 1/2 cups of mashed bananas.
- Eggs
- Oil: Avocado or organic canola oil
- Sweetener: Maple Syrup and light brown sugar. Using brown sugar in addition to the maple syrup ensures the bread doesn’t brown too much as it bakes. Sub in honey if you need to, but the bread will come out darker.
- Vanilla Extract
- Kitchen Basics: Baking powder, baking soda, salt.
How To Make This Healthy Banana Bread Recipe
Step 1: Preheat and Prep
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F. Coat a large glass loaf pan with cooking spray, or line it with parchment.
Step 2: Mix Dry Ingredients
Whisk the whole wheat flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl.
Step 3: Mix Wet Ingredients
Whisk the banana, eggs, oil and maple syrup, and brown sugar in a large bowl.
Step 4: Add Dry Mixture to Wet
Stir the flour mixture into the wet mixture with a silicone spatula.
Stir the batter well for 50 strokes. This helps ensure that the bread domes nicely when it bakes.
Step 5: Bake
Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and bake your banana bread until the loaf is golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the center of the loaf comes out with moist crumbs attached. This should take about 50 minutes.
Step 6: Cool
Allow the loaf to cool in the pan for 10 minutes. Turn it out to cool on a wire rack before slicing and enjoying!
TO BAKE AS MUFFINS: This batter can be used to make whole wheat banana muffins instead of bread. Simply use a muffin tin lined with cupcake papers or grease it with cooking spray. Preheat your oven to 375 and bake for 20 to 22 mins.
FAQs and Expert tips For Perfect Whole Wheat Banana Bread
You can make it ahead and keep it at room temperature, and wrapped tightly in plastic wrap for up to three days. We suggest warming each slice in the microwave for about 10 to 15 seconds before enjoying. You can also reheat the whole loaf in the oven, wrapped in foil. Just bake it at 300 degrees for 20 minutes.
Yes, this bread can be frozen for up to 1 month. Wrap the loaf in foil and then place it in a plastic freezer bag. Make sure to press out as much air as possible. When you’re ready to defrost, unwrap it to prevent it getting soggy and then allow it to come to room temperature on the counter for 4 hours.
You can then wrap it again in plastic to store it at room temperature. For the best texture, warm the loaf up as directed in the oven before serving.
You can, follow the recipe as directed with the following changes. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Use a muffin tin that’s either sprayed with cooking spray or greased with unsalted butter. Or use paper cupcake liners instead. Divide the batter among the muffin wells. Bake for 20 to 22 minutes or until they spring back when lightly pressed in the center. Learn more abut how to adapt quickbreads to muffins here.
We have a bunch of different quickbread recipes at HSR! For more inspiration and expert tips on how to make the best quickbreads, check out our roundup of 30 healthy quickbread recipes.
Substitutions and Variations to Try
- Mix walnuts into your batter to make banana nut muffins!
- Include a teaspoon (or so) of pumpkin pie spice for more of an autumnal twist.
- Fold in some semi-sweet chocolate chips for a sweet treat!
- Include dried fruits for additional flavor and texture in your bread.
- Top a slice of banana bread with a dollop of greek yogurt and dried fruit.
- You can also drizzle some warmed peanut butter on top of your banana bread along with slices of – you guessed it – banana!
- Add a healthy squeeze of fresh orange juice to your batter along with some walnuts for a citrus and nutty treat.
Additional Quickbread Recipes To Try
- This Healthy Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Bread is made with whole-wheat flour and a whole can of pumpkin, which has made it one of HSR’s all-time fan-favorite recipes!
- Zucchini Oat Bread is sweetened only with dates and honey so there’s no refined sugar.
- This Protein Banana Bread is a high-protein way of giving banana bread a boost.
- Sweet, lemony, and bursting with blueberries, Healthy Blueberry Lemon Bread is a must-bake recipe when you have fresh blueberries on hand.
At Healthy Seasonal Recipes, we specialize in cooking with fresh veggies and creating weeknight meals. Sign up HERE to get more produce-forward dinner ideas for FREE! If you make this recipe, please come back and leave a star rating and review. I would love to hear what you thought! Happy Cooking! ~Katie
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Whole Wheat Banana Bread
- Total Time: 1 hour and 10 minutes
- Yield: 9 servings 1x
Description
When it comes to being snackable, delicious and irresistible, banana bread wins. And when you make it 100% whole wheat banana bread you get the added health benefits of whole grains.
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour, preferably white whole wheat *see ingredient note
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 1/2 cup mashed ripe or over-ripe bananas, about 3 large
- 2 large eggs
- 1/2 cup avocado oil or organic canola oil
- 1/3 cup maple syrup
- 1/4 cup light brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Coat a large glass loaf pan with cooking spray or line with parchment.
- Whisk flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a medium bowl.
- Whisk banana, eggs, oil, maple syrup, brown sugar and vanilla in a large bowl.
- Stir the flour mixture into the wet mixture with a silicone spatula.
- Scrape into the prepared pan and bake until the loaf is golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the center of the loaf comes out with moist crumbs attached, about 50 minutes.
- Let loaf cool in the pan for 10 minutes. Turn out to cool on a wire rack.
Notes
Make Ahead: Can be kept at room temperature, wrapped tightly in plastic wrap up to three days. We suggest warming each slice in the microwave for about 10 to 15 seconds. You can also reheat the whole loaf in the oven, wrapped in foil. Bake at 300 degrees for 20 minutes.
This bread can be frozen up to 1 month. Wrap in foil and then place in a plastic freezer bag. Make sure to press out as much air as possible. Unwrap to prevent getting soggy and defrost on the counter for 4 hours. Wrap again in plastic to store at room temperature. For the best texture, warm the loaf up as directed in the oven before serving.
- Prep Time: 15 mins
- Active Time: 15 mins
- Cook Time: 55 mins
- Category: Baking
- Method: oven
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1/9th loaf
- Calories: 271
- Sugar: 11 g
- Fat: 14 g
- Carbohydrates: 33 g
- Fiber: 3 g
- Protein: 4 g
Hello 🙂 I was going to make this recipe, but you state that you are to use a large glass loaf pan. I do not have this. I use nonstick loaf pans. Also, you say a large one…can you tell me what the correct size would be…and sorry for all the asks, but would I turn down the oven and bake longer with a dark nonstick pan? Thank you. Can’t wait to make this!
For this recipe, you will need a 1.5 quart loaf pan. Mine is made by Pyrex. You can get them in the baking aisle in large supermarkets. I call for glass because it helps prevent this recipe from getting too dark. Because it is sweetened with maple syrup and it is made with whole-wheat flour, it can be dark, even when baked in the glass. I would not recommend using a dark metal because I know from experience that dark metal causes even more browning. If that’s your only option, I sadly have no idea what the timing would be because i have not tested it in a dark metal pan. You’ll have to look for the degree of doneness instead. In the recipe, the time is a guide, and the degree of doneness is: “until the loaf is golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the center of the loaf comes out with moist crumbs attached.”