Healthy Banana Bread with Olive Oil
My favorite healthy banana bread uses olive oil instead of butter, some whole wheat flour, and less sugar than the standard loaf. It’s moist and lightly sweet: great for snacks! (See below for my Pumpkin Banana Bread variation.)
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 60 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour 20 minutes
- Yield: 12 1x
- Category: Bread
- Method: Baked
- Cuisine: American
- Diet: Dairy-Free, Vegetarian
Ingredients
Scale
- ⅓ cup extra virgin olive oil
- ⅓ cup packed brown sugar (or up to ½ cup; see Notes)
- 2 eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1¾ cups mashed very ripe bananas (about 4 medium; see Notes)
- 1 cup all purpose flour
- ½ cup whole wheat flour
- 1 teaspoon each cinnamon, baking powder, and baking soda
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease a 8×4-inch loaf pan.
- In a large bowl, whisk the oil, brown sugar and eggs. With a spatula, stir in bananas and vanilla. Stir in flour, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Spread the batter into the prepared pan.
- Bake for about 55 to 60 minutes, until the center of the loaf springs back to the touch, or a toothpick inserted in the center of the loaf comes out with a few clinging crumbs (or the internal temperature is 200°F). For 9×5” pan it could be a few minutes shorter bake time, but I recommend using an 8 x 4” pan if possible.
- Cool in the pan for 15 minutes. Then run a knife around the edge and invert the loaf onto a cooling rack.
- The bread lasts 5 days at room temperature wrapped in aluminum foil, refrigerated for 10 days, or frozen for 3 months (slice it into pieces and wrap it in plastic wrap, then a freezer-safe bag or container).
Notes
Bananas note: Use your very, very ripest bananas for this recipe to get the right amount of sweetness! You can also use ½ cup brown sugar if your bananas are on the edge.
Pumpkin banana bread: Use ½ cup brown sugar. In place of the bananas, use 1 cup mashed very ripe bananas and ¾ cup pumpkin puree. After the cinnamon, add 1 tablespoon Pumpkin Pie Spice.
Find it online: https://www.acouplecooks.com/healthy-banana-bread-olive-oil/