Healthy banana bread

Healthy banana bread

By Sarah Cook
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(49 ratings)
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Prep: 20 mins Cook: 1 hr, 15 mins

Easy

Cuts into 10 slices
Have your cake and eat it with this low-fat, healthy banana loaf - perfect for breakfast and beyond

Nutrition and extra info

  • Freezable
  • Healthy

Nutrition: per slice

  • kcal145
  • fat2g
  • saturates1g
  • carbs24g
  • sugars9g
  • fibre3g
  • protein6g
  • salt0.6g
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Ingredients

  • low-fat spread, for the tin, plus extra to serve
  • 140g wholemeal flour
  • 100g self-raising flour
  • 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
    Bicarbonate of soda

    Bicarbonate of soda

    Bicarbonate of soda, or baking soda, is an alkali which is used to raise soda breads and full-…

  • 1 tsp baking powder
    Baking powder

    Baking powder

    bay-king pow-dah

    Baking powder is a raising agent that is commonly used in cake-making. It is made from an alkali…

  • 300g mashed banana from overripe black bananas
    Banana

    Banana

    bah-nah-nah

    Probably the best known, most popular tropical fruit, their name probably derives from the…

  • 4 tbsp agave syrup
    Agave syrup

    Agave syrup

    Agave syrup (also known as agave nectar) is a naturally occurring sweetener similar in…

  • 3 large eggs, beaten with a fork
    Eggs

    Egg

    egg

    The ultimate convenience food, eggs are powerhouses of nutrition, packed with protein and a…

  • 150ml pot low-fat natural yogurt
  • 25g chopped pecan or walnuts (optional)
    Pecan nuts

    Pecan

    pee-kan

    Related to the walnut, pecans are native to America, and grow enclosed in a glossy, browny-red…

Method

  1. Heat oven to 160C/140C fan/gas 3. Grease and line a 2lb loaf tin with baking parchment (allow it to come 2cm above top of tin). Mix the flours, bicarb, baking powder and a pinch of salt in a large bowl.

  2. Mix the bananas, syrup, eggs and yogurt. Quickly stir into dry ingredients, then gently scrape into the tin and scatter with nuts, if using. Bake for 1 hr 10 mins-1 hr 15 mins or until a skewer comes out clean.

  3. Cool in tin on a wire rack. Eat warm or at room temperature, with low-fat spread.

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Comments, questions and tips

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Mollie882
6th Dec, 2016
2.55
I can see what people mean about this bread being a bit bland. I found the same, even after adding slightly more than a pinch of salt, and some cinnamon. The texture was lovely though (I used 3 medium eggs and half a cup of yogurt). I used maple syrup instead of agave. To liven it up, I've eaten it toasted, spread with a dash of peanut butter - scrummy!
shazzaspannered
22nd Sep, 2016
3.8
Made this yesterday and pretty impressed with it. I used two very overripe bananas and one normal. Used a bit less yoghurt as I'd read other reviews saying the batter can be too wet and not cook in the middle and it came out perfectly. Also chucked in some blackberries that we recently picked that needed using up. Yes it's not sweet and mine is more like a malt loaf but I never thought it would be that sweet as otherwise it wouldn't be a healthier version of bulk standard banana bread.
LyddyS
27th Aug, 2016
5.05
Made this twice now. Second time I used 400g bananas, a few drops of banana essence and low fat coconut Greek yogurt minus the syrup and used sweeter instead. Delicious with blueberry jam!
debandlola
28th Jul, 2016
5.05
This is amazing! Tasty, healthy and keeps well. It's become a regular mid-morning snack. It was so easy to make and came out perfect first time. It's only a shame I have to wait for my next batch of bananas to ripen.
Brick wife
5th Jun, 2016
I've attempted this twice now and it hasn't worked either time. The outside shell burnt almost to a rock and the Middle remained raw after 1 hour 30 minutes. I followed the.recipe and ingredients exactly. What have I done wrong?
aunty ann
23rd Oct, 2016
im guessing your oven might be too hot
stefaninny
17th Jul, 2016
I think the consistency of this dpends on several things, the runniness of the yogurt used, ripeness of bananas, etc. I've just made it again and found it quite pourable with two eggs, so stopped there. I sometime replace the sugar with peanut butter or tahini, which thickens it as well. Your oven might run a little hot,so you could also cook it for longer at a lower temperature to give the center time to set. I always do this with wet textured cakes now because im sick of finding although the outside looks lovely, they then collapse into the raw middle.
stefaninny
26th Apr, 2016
Quick and easy, turned out well risen and firm after an hour at 160. Replacex white flour with ground almonds, left out walnuts and halved syrup. Was still sweet so would probably omit altogether another time.
warvik
23rd Mar, 2016
5.05
I somehow managed to accidentally add 4 large eggs rather than 3 but the result was delicious! Super bouncy and light. It's not really a traditional banana bread as it's not really a cake, but it's perfect for breakfast or as a snack!
cgilmore
22nd Mar, 2016
Great recipe, very easy to make without the need for a mixer. I didn't add any sugar/syrup - instead used a handful of chopped dates, which made the bread sweet enough. I think the result was a little dry, so would perhaps add an extra banana next time (making it 400g in weight rather than 300g).

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daisy84x's picture
daisy84x
31st Aug, 2016
Do you have to use agave syrup or can you use something else?
goodfoodteam's picture
goodfoodteam
8th Sep, 2016
Thanks for your question. We would suggest using agave syrup in this recipe to maintain the same sweetness and nutritional values. Agave syrup is available from all big supermarkets now. You could use honey as an alternative but be aware this will change the flavour. We have not tested it with honey so let us know if you decide to give it a go!
thedutchies
1st Sep, 2016
Maple syrup would taste nice too, instead of agave syrup.
ninahelen
12th Nov, 2013
I baked the bread using 100% self raising flour as I didn't have whole wheat in house. I baked it for more than 80 minutes and it did rise well but when cooling down it completely collapsed at the top and sides and is very soggy inside. Any advice on what went wrong here? Thanks, Nina
goodfoodteam's picture
goodfoodteam
18th Dec, 2013
Hi Nina, The answer kiya posted is perfect for this question.  
kiya
5th Dec, 2013
If you have used entirely self raising flour and still used the same quantities of baking powder and bicarb soda as stated in the recipe, you might have ended up adding too much of the raising agents, in which case the cake/loaf would rise as you mentioned but it would rise too much and upon cooling won't be able to hold it's weight and will start to sink. And if it sinks it then can't aerate and cool as it should and the end product may well be denser and even soggy. Baking really can be a precise science sometimes!
Jelka
9th Jul, 2017
5.05
I've made this recipe many times, often adding cinnamon and pecans to the mix for extra tastyness. Last times I tried making it vegan. Swapping the yoghurt with a soy substitute, and removing the egg. I added 450 grams of mashed bananas, and in the wet mixture I added half a teaspoon of baking powder, a teaspoon of water and two tablespoons of rapeseed oil. The result was a great tasting, moist banana loaf. It collapsed a little while cooling, and was a little bit denser than the regular one, but nothing too much, it was still great!
amul
6th Nov, 2015
To speed up the ripening of the bananas store them in a brown paper bag
LaVieAvecGoodFood
3rd Mar, 2014
Replaced the agave syrup with maple syrup and added 1-2 spoons of raw sugar. Used only baking powder. Used only white flour (had no wholemeal around), but I crushed the walnuts finely and this made the bread have a wholemeal texture.
kiya
5th Dec, 2013
This is genuinely really delicious- don't be put off by the healthy tag. To make it EVEN MORE healthy and yummy however, I have adapted it slightly. I use wholemeal spelt flour(a lot of people who react badly to wheat find spelt more tolerable, it also has a broader spectrum of nutrients) which turns out really nicely. So far I've only substituted it for the regular wholemeal flour and have used self raising flour as per the recipe, but i'm sure you could use just spelt flour and just add a little more of the raising agents in the recipe. I also add lots of seeds, whatever I have on hand, so far a mix of linseeds/flaxseeds, sunflower seeds and pumpkin seeds(maybe half a cup of each, whatever you fancy), and add walnuts into the wet mix. Nuts and seeds really boost up the nutritional value and give good energy. I would also definitely recommend you really make sure you do use very over ripe/ black bananas, as this is where a lot of the sweetness comes from in this loaf, so otherwise you can end up with a slightly blander or more savoury loaf. Agave syrup can be quite tricky to find and possibly quite expensive. I would say don't hesitate to use maple syrup or mild honey if these are more accessible and budget friendly. A very good recipe as it is overall, I just made these changes to suit my own tastes. I make it in bulk, let it cool, slice it into toaster suitable widths, and freeze it- very handy and quick. Guilt free and delicious! Thanks for sharing the recipe.