Healthy banana bread: a soft and delicious recipe!

I spent a long time looking for a banana bread that ticked all the boxes: a strong banana taste, a nice soft crumb, and a sweetness that didn't come from a ton of sugar.

I perfected this one on a Sunday morning, with three very ripe bananas lying around on the counter and a craving for something comforting but not heavy.

The little “trick” here is to let the bananas do the work on the sweet side, and add a few dates to round it all out without it becoming sickening.

The oat flakes (ground into flour) give a wonderfully pleasant texture, slightly rustic but really tender. And the walnuts provide that crunchy contrast that makes all the difference when you cut into it.

Technically speaking, it's quite simple: mix the dry ingredients in one bowl and the wet ingredients in another, then combine them without overworking the batter. This is important to keep the cake light and avoid a dense crumb.

You can eat it for breakfast, as a snack, or even as a midweek dessert with plain yogurt. And if your bananas are quite brown (or even black), that's perfect: the riper they are, the more flavorful the banana bread will be.

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Healthy banana bread

Recipe by Nathalie Laplace

5.0 based on 1 vote(s)

Type of dish: dessertKitchen: AmericanDifficulty: easy

Portions

4

people

Preparation

14

minutes

Cooking

42

minutes

Calories

519

kcal

Total time

56

minutes

A recipe for moist banana bread, flavored with cinnamon, naturally sweetened by bananas and dates. Golden crust, soft crumb, and walnuts for a touch of crunch.

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Ingredients

• 3 very ripe bananas (approx. 330g with peel, approx. 240g of flesh)

• 2 eggs

• 120g flakes of oat

• 10 Pitted Medjool dates (approx. 100g for 10)

• 60g of walnuts

• 60g of plain yogurt (or skyr)

• 40 ml of rapeseed (or sunflower) oil

• 1 teaspoon of cinnamon

• 1 level teaspoon of baking powder (approx. 5g per teaspoon)

• 1 pinch of salt

• 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract (optional)

Preparation steps

• Preheat the oven to 175°C. Line a small cake tin (about 20 cm) with baking paper, or lightly grease it.
• Grind the oat flakes into a fine flour. Pour it into a bowl with the yeast, cinnamon, and salt. Mix well.
• In a bowl, cut the dates into small pieces. Cover them with hot water for 5 minutes, then drain well (this makes them easier to blend/mash).
• Mash the bananas with a fork in a large bowl (it's fine to leave some small chunks). Add the eggs, yogurt, oil, and vanilla. Whisk just until combined.
• Add the drained dates to the wet mixture. Roughly crush them with a fork (or blend for 5 seconds if you want a smoother crumb).
• Pour the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients. Mix with a spatula, without overmixing: stop as soon as the oat flour is absorbed.
• Chop the walnuts. Incorporate 3/4 of them into the batter and keep the rest for the topping.
• Pour into the pan, smooth the top quickly, then sprinkle with the remaining walnuts. Bake for 42 minutes. The cake is ready when a knife inserted into the center comes out with a few dry crumbs (no wet batter).
• Let it cool for 10 minutes in the mold, then unmold and let it cool on a wire rack before slicing (otherwise the crumb will collapse).

📊 Nutritional Information

1 serving (approx. 160g)

* RDA = Recommended Daily Allowance

📝 Notes

If you slice it and freeze it in portions (with baking paper between each slice), you have a snack ready in 10 minutes at room temperature. A quick toast makes it even more delicious, with a slightly crispy crust.

💡 Chef's Tips

For a really moist banana bread, don't overmix the batter after adding the dry ingredients. And if your bananas aren't very ripe, leave them in the oven for 10 minutes while it preheats: they'll sweeten and flavor the bread more.

🔄 Variations

• Healthy chocolate version recipe: add 20g of unsweetened cocoa to the dry ingredients and 50g of dark chocolate chips.
• Healthy fruit version recipe: replace half of the nuts with 60g of blueberries (fresh or frozen, added last).

Nathalie Laplace

Food writer for the Simple & Bon website. Passionate about healthy cooking and especially salads, slow-cooked or oven-baked recipes.