This banana bread recipe is my all-time favorite — it’s super-moist, naturally-sweetened with maple syrup, and made a little healthier with white whole wheat flour.
At 32-years-old, I’m finally starting to feel like I have some “go-to” recipes nailed down for my favorite foods.
Perfectly-baked chicken breasts? Check. A healthier yet oh-so-creamy fettuccine alfredo recipe? Check. A crowd-pleasing recipe for classic chili? Check. The easiest recipe ever for my favorite kind of chili? Check. Better-than-restaurant fried rice? Check. Always-a-success homemade salsa? Check. A creamy-yet-lighter cheesecake base recipe? Check. Soft and perfectly chewy chocolate chip cookies? Actually, stay tuned, because they’re comin’ atcha next week.
The list goes on, and I’m pretty happy about it. Because after years of trial and error, it feels pretty darn good to have landed upon some of the recipes that I feel confident will last me a lifetime. And it has felt so great to have a place where I can share them with you!
But alas, many (many, many) a reader has emailed me over the years pointing out that there is one classic recipe that has been missing from this site, and I couldn’t agree more. I seriously don’t know how it has taken me 6 years to snap some photos and post this one, because after finding my favorite recipe for it years ago, I make it constantly. And as a bonus? My go-to recipe happens to be naturally sweetened with maple syrup (instead of refined sugar), it’s made with white whole wheat flour, it’s unbelievably rich and moist and banana-y, it’s quick and easy to mix by hand, and — let’s just get to the point — it’s damn good.
It’s my favorite banana bread recipe!
And when I say favorite, I do mean favorite.
I have tried countless banana bread recipes over the years — everything from the sugar-laden buttery breads that I loved in my youth, to the ridiculously-healthy (and often ridiculously-tasteless) recipes that I’ve wanted to love as an adult, and just about everything in between.
But again and again, I found myself coming back to this same whole wheat banana bread recipe that I discovered in college when I was teaching myself how to cook. Back then, I’m pretty sure my rural college town grocery store had barely heard of whole wheat flour, so this was more of an “all-purpose” banana bread until I transitioned to back to its namesake years later. (And then later transitioned to the brilliance that is white whole wheat flour a few years later = game changer!)
Of course, as I learned more about cooking, I also began to make a few more changes to the recipe as the years went on. Almond milk was swapped in place of water (creamier, plus protein!). Maple syrup was swapped in place of honey (since I prefer the flavor of maple, but honey is also still delicious!). Any number of oils have been substituted for vegetable oil (I prefer a mild extra-virgin olive oil, but any other mildly-flavored oils also work!). Cinnamon and nutmeg and extra vanilla and salt were added in (for extra-delicious flavor!). And extra mashed banana was added in (because…banana bread!).
And I must admit that I’m one of those people who adamantly likes my banana bread sans-nuts. But you are more than welcome to add in a 1/2 cup of so if you’d like.
So basically, I’ve slowly tweaked my way to this most delicious of delicious recipes. And while it’s considerably healthier than most traditional banana bread recipes, I’m happy to say that it tastes just as rich and moist and delicious as ever. So let’s make some!!!
We begin, of course, with the most important of important ingredients in a good loaf of banana bread — over-ripe bananas. Don’t even think about making this recipe with perfectly yellow fresh bananas. The browner and spottier, the sweeter and richer. (These ones in the photo were just barely brown enough for my taste.)
Whisk up your dry ingredients and wet ingredients separately, then stir them together until well combined.
Pour them into a bread pan, bake for 50-60 minutes or until completely cooked through. (And enjoy the heavenly smells that will fill your home — better than any candle I know!)
Then once the bread has cooled a bit, dive in…
…and enjoy every delicious, warm, comforting, magical bite of this perfect banana bread.
I know you will. :)
Banana Bread
Ingredients
- 1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil (any other mildly-flavored cooking oil*)
- 1/2 cup maple syrup
- 1/4 cup Blue Diamond Almond Breeze Unsweetened Almondmilk
- 2 eggs
- 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract, store-bought or homemade
- 1 1/2 cups mashed ripe bananas
- 1 3/4 cups white whole wheat flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- pinch of ground nutmeg
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325°F (165°C). Grease a 9 x 5-inch bread pan with cooking spray, or line it with parchment paper, and set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk together olive oil, maple syrup, almond milk, eggs and vanilla extract until combined and smooth. Whisk in the mashed bananas, and whisked until mostly smooth. (There will be some small lumps remaining with the bananas.)
- In a separate large mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg until combined. Pour the dry ingredient mixture into the banana mixture, and stir until evenly combined, being careful not to over-mix the batter.
- Pour the batter into the prepared baking dish, and spread the top with a spoon so that it is flat and smooth. Bake for 50-60 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the middle of the bread comes out clean. (*If the bread starts to get too dark and brown on top while baking, place a sheet of aluminum foil lightly on top of the bread until it finishes baking.)
- Remove from the oven, and let the bread cool on a wire rack for at least 15 minutes before slicing.
Notes
Did you make this?Let me know how it turned out in the comments below!This post is sponsored by Blue Diamond Almond Breeze Almondmilk. I have partnered with Blue Diamond to bring you some of my favorite recipes with almond milk this year, and all opinions are 100% my own as always. Thanks for continuing to support the brands that help make this site possible!
Hi there !
Have made this banana bread and it’s soooo yum ! I have a question though which I cannot for the life of me figure out ! The first time I made it I had the little black worm-like strings through it that you find with most banana breads. However I’ve made it several times and it just hasn’t happend again. Do you know why ?! Also – my mum made it and it had a moist sticky top, but mine is much drier. I used gf flour. Would this be the reason ?
Thanks !
Hi there — we’re so glad you enjoy the recipe! And hmmm, good question. We’re not entirely sure — some people think it might be due to the alkalization of the banana interacting with the baking soda (however, not sure why they would appear before and not again since).
I just made this, it was great! The things I did differently are these: I used whole milk instead of almond milk and well… I got bored the other night and mashed some bananas with a lil sugar, salt and cinnamon and put them in a bread pan and froze it. Used it for cookie filling the other day, ’twas great. So today I had that left over; I releveled what was left in the pan and stuck it back in the freezer. Once I finished combining all the ingredients for the banana bread batter I poured it into the frozen banana mash pan and baked it in there! It was pretty delicious cause it’s a little more sweet than the bread. I also made a swirl of cinnamon and sugar on the top. I love crunchy top banana bread.
Thanks for sharing Christina — we’re so glad you enjoyed this and that you were able to make it your own! The cinnamon sugar swirl sounds heavenly! :)
Follow up to my last comment! Added in 1 1/2 cups of blueberries and 1 cup of walnuts to this, and it was perfect! Took an extra half hour to cook in a standard 9×5 loaf pan, I think I would split it into two pans or as muffins if I were to make it this way again. Turned out moist and wonderful and was extra delicious grilled with some butter :)
Thanks for sharing with us Jess — we’re glad you enjoyed this, and we think the blueberries and walnuts sound so yummy! :)
I am so excited to make this recipe tonight! I currently have an overload of blueberries, and was thinking of adding in some of those and walnuts for some extra yumminess in this banana bread. Any recommendations of quantities and if any other ingredients should be adjusted accordingly? Thanks!
That’s awesome Jess! We would recommend maybe adding 3/4 cup of walnuts (just depends on how nutty you want it to be), and then 1 cup or 1 1/2 cups of blueberries. We hope you enjoy — let us know how this turns out! :)
I made this banana bread last night and OMG it’s unreal! The loaf is almost gone and it’s just me and the hubby! I didn’t have any eggs so I used 2 flax eggs, I was concerned it wouldn’t come out right but the result was awesome. Thanks for sharing your amazing recipes with us all, they never dissapoint :)
We’re so happy you and your husband loved it Krystal — thanks for giving it a try! :)
Just made it and added Mini chocolate chips. Texture was fantastic but it had a slight after taste. I used evoo and Log Cabin syrup and the other ingredients were the same. My bananas were from the freezer and I sprayed my pans with veg cooking oil spray. I’ll keep eating however.
Hi Andy! Hmmm, we wonder what kind of olive oil you used, and how old it was? It could have gone rancid, or it could be that the bananas had freezer burn or there was too much cooking spray. Those are the only reasons we can think of as to why there would have been a strange aftertaste. It could also just be that there are so many different types of olive oils and some are more pronounced and grassy tasting than others.
Just baked (still inthe oven) the recipe I thought was the “one.” Now I’m going to try yours, as mine did have sugar, butter, white flour, and plain yoghurt. Never to old to learn…and be healthy. Can I still add mini chocolate chips?
Cool, I hope you enjoy this one! And mini chocolate chips would be an EXCELLENT addition — go for it! :D
Best banana bread recipe I’ve tried (that isn’t full of sugar), and I’ve tried a lot! I’ve made this several times, and it always comes out great. I just made mini muffins with the batter for the first time, and they are delicious… although dangerous, because as mini muffins it’s a lot easier to eat the entire batch!
I’ve already made this twice this week, it’s delicious. Thanks for posting!
Thanks Andrew — we’re glad you enjoy it! :)
Lovely recipe, but I ran into a problem that my bread didn’t rise at all.
What could have caused this? I followed the instructions to the letter :-(
Thanks,
Robert
Hi Robert! Oh no, we’re sorry yours didn’t rise! The only reason we can think of is that your baking soda might have been old (after a certain point, it can lose its leavening power). Other than that, we aren’t sure though, that’s so strange! :/