Wholesome Honey-Sweetened Banana Bread
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recipes›baked goods›Wholesome Honey-Sweetened Banana Bread
With this wholesome banana bread recipe, you’re just a handful of simple ingredients away from the most tender, fragrant loaf you’ll ever pull from the oven. It’s baked with nutty whole wheat flour and sweetened with golden honey.
Updated byKathryne Tayloron August 29, 2024
Want to make someone’s whole day? Bake them a loaf of banana bread! Just yesterday, I mentioned, “I think I’ll bake a loaf of banana bread,” and watched a grown man’s eyes light up like a child’s on Christmas morning.
Banana bread is one of those timeless, all-American comfort recipes that wraps the whole house in a warm, buttery aroma and makes everything feel a little brighter. Banana bread is pure magic.
I perfected this banana bread recipe for my cookbook and couldn’t wait to share it with you here. It has every hallmark of classic banana bread—fluffy crumb, lingering moisture, sweet banana perfume, and a devoted fan club ranging from toddlers to grandparents.
Best part? This loaf comes together in just one bowl, with a few measuring cups and pantry staples you likely already have on hand.
What Makes This Banana Bread Wholesome
As you can see, my homemade banana bread has plenty of redeeming qualities—chief among them, it won’t send your blood sugar on a roller coaster ride. You can keep that little secret to yourself, though. No one will ever guess this is a healthier banana bread!
Choosing Your Flour for Banana Bread
This recipe is wonderfully flexible! Any of the flours below will work beautifully. I’m partial to white whole wheat flour and whole wheat pastry flour—they deliver all the wholesome nutrients of whole wheat, without the pronounced nutty bite.
*To swap in oat flour, you’ll need 2 1/2 cups, for reasons explained in my guide to oat flour.
Want to bake your banana bread with almond flour? You absolutely can, but it isn’t a one-to-one swap. Follow my almond flour banana bread recipe instead.
Tip: How to Measure Flour Properly
For the best loaf, it’s essential to measure your flour properly. Here’s how to measure flour in cups using the gentle “spoon and swoop” method:
Fun Banana Bread Variations
Now that I’ve finally nailed this classic banana bread, feel free to play and make it your own. Toss handfuls of chopped pecans or walnuts into the batter! The same goes for chocolate chips. You could also fold in raisins, chopped dried fruit, or thin coins of fresh banana.
Craving muffins instead? Follow my recipe for healthy banana muffins.
Following a special diet? With a couple of small tweaks, you can make this loaf vegan (so dairy free and egg free, too) or gluten free. Peek at the recipe notes for details.
Watch How to Make Wholesome Banana Bread
Wholesome Honey-Sweetened Banana Bread
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With this wholesome banana bread recipe, you’re just a handful of simple ingredients away from the most irresistible loaf you’ll ever pull from the oven. It’s baked with nutty whole wheat flour and naturally sweetened with honey or maple syrup. You can easily make this banana bread vegan or gluten free—peek at the recipe notes for details. Recipe yields 1 loaf (about 10 slices).
Ingredients
Instructions
Notes
Recipe adapted from my honey whole wheat banana bread, originally inspired by All Recipes.
Storage suggestions: This loaf is beautifully moist, so it will keep for just two or three days at room temperature. Tuck it in the refrigerator for five to seven days, or in the freezer for up to three months or so. I love to slice the loaf before freezing and defrost individual slices, either by letting them rest at room temperature or giving them a quick toast.
*Oil options: I adore coconut oil here. I used unrefined coconut oil and can barely detect it in the finished loaf. Olive oil might lend a faint herbal note, if that’s your thing (I tested with California Olive Ranch’s “Everyday” variety and couldn’t even taste it). Vegetable oil has a neutral flavor, but the average vegetable/canola oil is highly processed, so I suggest reaching for cold-pressed sunflower oil or grapeseed oil when you can.
**Flour alternatives: In place of the whole wheat flour, you can swap in an equal amount of all purpose flour, whole wheat pastry flour, spelt flour, or a gluten-free all-purpose flour blend. Or, substitute 2 ½ cups oat flour.
Make muffins: Here’s my beloved banana muffin recipe.
Make it vegan: Use maple syrup instead of honey, swap the eggs for flax eggs, and choose non-dairy milk (I used almond milk) or water.
Make it dairy free: Choose non-dairy milk (I used almond milk) or water.
Make it egg free: Replace the eggs with flax eggs.
Make it gluten free: Use an equal amount of Bob’s Red Mill’s gluten-free blend or 2 ½ cups certified gluten-free oat flour. Do NOT substitute coconut flour.
Make it lower in fat: I’d argue this loaf contains a healthy amount of fat, but you can swap the oil for applesauce if you’re following a low-fat diet.
If you love this recipe: You’ll also adore my banana cake with cream cheese frosting, healthy pumpkin bread, and pumpkin muffins. Here are all of my banana recipes.
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