I think it’s a little crazy when I see banana bread recipes that call for an entire cup of sugar. Ripe bananas are so naturally sweet
I actually use them as the sweetener in some recipes like smoothies and pancakes. Maybe it is my new and improved palate, but I cannot imagine needing a full cup of sugar in addition to three super sweet ripe bananas! So here is my version of banana bread, which of course calls for 100% whole-wheat flour and a mere quarter cup of honey. And don’t feel confined to the “loaf” shape…these are great as muffins, mini-muffins, or small loaves as well. Also, feel free get creative with add-ins like nuts, raisins or other dried fruit. Enjoy!
Print This RecipeWhole-Wheat Banana Bread
Ingredients
- 2 ¼ cup whole-wheat flour
- ¾ teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 3 ripe bananas, mashed
- ¼ cup plain yogurt
- ¼ cup honey
- 2 eggs
- 1/3 cup oil (I used coconut oil)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
Directions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and grease pan.
- Whisk together the flour, baking soda, and salt.
- In a separate bowl mix mashed bananas with yogurt, honey, eggs, oil, and vanilla.
- Fold the banana mixture into the flour mixture until blended. Do not overmix.
- Pour batter into prepared pan.
- Bake large loaf for 40 – 50 minutes or until it comes clean with a toothpick.
Also - Check out my new weekly syndicated newspaper article in today’s Miami Herald. http://www.miamiherald.com/2011/05/02/2196843/seeking-out-the-real-food-in-our.html If you like it click “like” next to the title. Thank you for your support!
[Entered into Food Renegade's Fight Back Friday]

I believe the bread was done, the knife came out clean…maybe I should leave it in for another 10-20 minutes next time even if the knife is clean? Would it make a difference if that I used just regular oil? (all I have is canola, not coconut oil)
Disappointing first result on this recipe. No banana flavor, despite putting in 3 bananas. I’m going to try it again with cinnamon and an extra banana. I also had a thick batter, like cookie dough. I used coconut oil.
My wheat flour may have been old. I just bought some new flour, so we’ll see if that helps, too.
Thank you for inspiring good eating! My son and I have been talking about appropriate amounts of fruits and vegetables, and it seems to be sinking in. Hallelujah!
Mmm! So on the first page of comments someone recommended roasting the bananas in the oven for 15 minutes. Genius! It definitely brought out the flavor more. I did use coconut oil, also added 1/3 cup applesauce because I accidentally kinda overmixed
Also added 1/4 tsp each nutmeg, ginger, and cinnamon. OH and a cup of chopped pecans. Baked as muffins for 16 mins. YUM!
[...] Banana bread: (Recipe adapted from 100daysofrealfood.com) [...]
Why do you use coconut oil? I never know the pros/cons of different oils…help please?
Casey – This post explains the decision behind our oil selection.
I used applesauce in place of the oil and added an extra banana and it was delicious!
Made this for my mom today for Mother’s Day. Absolutely delicious. Thanks for sharing such great recipes!
I love banana bread and I was SO excited to make this…unfortunately the flavor doesn’t have a lot of depth for me…I’m not really sure what to change to give the bread more flavor (I used 4 bananas instead of 3). Maybe more honey? Or more vanilla? Do you have any suggestions?
Sorry to hear that…were you bananas ripe?