This healthy banana bread recipe is low in added sugar, and swaps out half the sugar for almond flour, making it higher in protein and less of a carb bomb.
I had been using this banana bread recipe for many years before I realized how great it is. At some point, I decided to try some other recipes, in the endless quest to fix things that aren’t broken. Only then did I realize that this one uses much less added sugar than most. If you use very ripe bananas, you don’t need to add a lot of processed sugar to make it sweet.
I replaced half the flour with almond flour at some point. Almond flour has more protein (good) and a lower glycemic index (also good) than unbleached all-purpose flour, and it made the final loaf better, a little richer, a little moister.
If you don’t have almond flour, use all-purpose flour — it’ll still be very, very good, just not as good for you.
If you are watching your sugar intake, you can, of course, leave out the chocolate chips. I personally feel that banana bread without chocolate chips is like a day without sunshine.
You can make your banana bread in a traditional loaf pan, or you can make cupcakes if you want to take them on the road or serve at a party. Just be sure to adjust the baking time.
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups mashed very ripe banana (about 3 bananas)
- 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
- 1/3 cup brown sugar
- 2 eggs, room temperature
- 3/4 cup almond flour
- 3/4 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon vanilla
- 1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips
Time needed: 1 hour and 30 minutes
Healthy Banana Bread Recipe
- Preheat the oven and grease the pan
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and grease the bottom and sides of an 8-inch loaf pan.
- Mash the bananas
In a medium bowl, mash the bananas well with a fork or potato masher.
- Cream the butter and sugar, and add the eggs and banana
In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, mixing well. Mix in the mashed banana.
- Add the almond flour
With the mixer on low, add the almond flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and vanilla. Blend but do not overmix.
- Add the all-purpose flour
Add the all-purpose flour and mix it in by hand until just blended.
- Pour into the pan and bake
Pour the batter into the loaf pan and smooth the top with a spatula. Bake for about an hour, or until a toothpick or cake tester comes out clean.
- Cool and remove from the pan
Allow the bread to cool for about 20 minutes in the pan, then carefully remove it from the pan and let it cool completely on a rack.
Enjoy your banana bread! Around here, a loaf never lasts more than a day.
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Looking for more baking recipes? Try these Chocolate Chip Marshmallow Cookies with Cornflakes!
