Healthy Banana Bread
Committing to a whole food, plant-based lifestyle doesn’t mean giving up classics like banana bread. Got ripe bananas? Skip the nice cream—this warm, healthy banana bread is the perfect comfort food! Made without refined flours or sugars, it lets the natural sweetness of the bananas shine. It’s easy to make, with 100% plant-based goodness—a must-try for anyone exploring healthier baking!
Prep: 15 mins
Cook: 40 mins
Yield: 10–12 slices
Ingredients
Ingredients
- 2 Tbsp ground flaxseed + 5 Tbsp water
- 2 cups white whole wheat flour (see tips below)
- 1 tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp baking soda
- ½ tsp salt
- ½ tsp ground cinnamon
- 3 medium bananas (around 1¼ cup mashed)
- ¾ cup unsweetened plant-based milk (I use almond milk)
- ½ cup coconut or date sugar, packed
- ¼ cup all-natural peanut butter (see tips)
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- ½ tsp apple cider vinegar
Optional Mix-Ins
- ½ cup walnuts, chopped, plus more for topping
- ½ cup dairy-free chocolate chips
Instructions
Instructions
- 1. Preheat the oven to 375°F and line a standard-size loaf pan with parchment paper. In a small bowl, mix the ground flaxseed and water. Set aside for at least 5 minutes to thicken into a flax "egg."
- 2. In a large bowl, mix together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon.
- 3. In a medium bowl, mash the bananas, then add the milk, sugar, peanut butter, vanilla extract, and apple cider vinegar. Whisk to combine.
- 4. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix until everything is evenly combined; be careful to not overmix. Some lumps are okay. Fold in the walnuts and chocolate chips, if using.
- 5. Pour the batter into your prepared loaf pan. Optionally, you can slice an additional banana in half lengthwise and lay each half across the top of the loaf. Bake for 40–50 minutes, until the entire loaf is a deep golden-brown color and a toothpick inserted into the bread comes out mostly clean. Check for doneness at 35 minutes and continue checking until it's fully baked. If you feel that the bread is getting too dark while baking, you can cover it with tented foil.
- 6. Transfer the loaf to a cooling rack and allow it to cool for 20–30 minutes, then gently remove the loaf from the pan and allow it to cool to room temperature before slicing. Enjoy!
Cooking Tips
Cooking Tips
- 1. White whole wheat flour is made from white wheat kernels. It’s lighter in color, milder in flavor, and sweeter than regular whole wheat flour. You can also use regular whole wheat flour for this recipe, but your finished bread will be darker and have a nutty, hearty taste. For a gluten-free version, use an all-purpose gluten-free flour. Replace by volume (cups) rather than weight (grams) as whole wheat flour tends to weigh less than white flour. Spoon the flour into the measuring cup and level it off; do not pack it in or use the measuring cup to scoop the flour. This will result in too much flour, causing the banana bread to be dry and crumbly.
- 2. You might find that peanut butter is easier to whisk if its consistency is drippy and it’s close to room temperature. For a nut-free version of this recipe, use sunflower seed butter instead and omit the optional walnuts.
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