Our house came with the tiniest kitchen in the world, which my dad lovingly refers to as a “one-butt kitchen.” A single rather small person can easily maneuver about (aka me), but as soon as my guy enters the space, we bump knees and unintentionally hip-check each other like hockey players while opening the cabinets and pulling on the microwave door.
With barely enough room for the refrigerator, stove, and dishwasher, the kitchen completely lacks the space for a food blogger’s pantry. Although I managed to cram most of my flour, sugar, and spices into a minuscule narrow cabinet, the remainder of our nonperishables—cans, jars, bags of chips, unopened cereal boxes, and anything else impenetrable to ants—sit on makeshift shelves in the garage.
Our storage system worked fairly well, minus the occasional dinnertime freak-out when I forgot to replenish our supply of salsa or marinara, until last weekend. My guy headed over to the snack area and discovered a rodent had attacked my entire stash of pre-workout rice cakes! That pesky animal chewed through all 5 bags… He must have been training for a running marathon of his own!
The next morning, I pulled on my waterproof jacket and shoes, bravely venturing out in the torrential downpours to pay Target a visit. I scouted out some options online before driving over, so I headed straight for their home improvement section upon entering the store to pick up the perfect one. But oh my goodness, you guys—that box weighed a lot more than I expected! Thank goodness for kettlebell workouts… I eventually hoisted the heavy thing into my arms, silently praying for the entire walk up to the front that I wouldn’t drop it before reaching the cashier.
Back at home, my guy had woken up while I ran my errand, and he immediately tore open the box after I lugged it in, just like a little kid ripping off wrapping paper on his birthday presents. I explained that I wanted to shower and eat before I started assembling it, and he replied, “What if I build it for you?”
Twist my arm! I happily skipped off to the bathroom, fresh towel in hand, while he pawed through my tool bag for a hammer. When I emerged sweet-smelling and squeaky clean, I found my bright white bookshelf sitting in the middle of the dining room. He finished it—twice! (The top and bottom pieces weren’t clearly marked, and you can probably guess what happened the first time through…)
With that extra 8 square feet of storage space, I could finally start stocking up on my favorite baking essentials! I began with my cherished bags of whole wheat flour, just to create more healthier treats to share with you guys. How does that sound?
First on my list: Whole Wheat Blueberry Banana Bread. A moist loaf, naturally sweetened with fruit and honey, practically bursting with bright juicy berries. After one bite of this fun twist on comfort food, you’ll be hooked. With its incredibly tender texture, you’d never guess this flavorful loaf is actually low fat and clean-eating too!
When I baked my first whole wheat banana bread around Christmastime, I added fresh cranberries, completely forgetting that grocery stores stopped stocking the fruit after New Year’s. The loaf turned out so magnificently—it’s one of the most popular recipes on my blog!—that I wanted to create a similar recipe, except with a mix-in that was readily available all year round.
After a Facebook conversation with one of my high school friends, I immediately picked my new fruit: frozen wild blueberries. I opted for wild blueberries because (a) they’re cute and (b) they’re smaller, meaning you’re practically guaranteed to get one in every bite! If possible, try to buy organic ones; they’re generally better in quality and rarely taste bland or tough like certain brands of regular frozen blueberries.
Before adding them into the batter, toss the blueberries in a little flour. This minimizes those bluish gray streaks that bleed into the batter, as well as helping to prevent the berries from sinking to the bottom of the pan. (But don’t worry; I designed this batter to be extra thick for that same reason too!) I impatiently tossed them in flour straight from the freezer, and the tiny layer of ice on their surface melted as I folded them in, which barely tinged the batter purple. That doesn’t affect the taste or texture, but if you prefer perfectly golden banana bread, thaw the frozen wild blueberries completely on the countertop before tossing them in flour to essentially eliminate the discoloration.
This skinny banana bread only contains 1 tablespoon of oil—yes, that’s it! The rest of the moisture comes from Greek yogurt (my favorite ingredient for healthier, low fat baking) and mashed banana. Make sure you choose the ripest, spottiest banana you can find! The blacker its skin, the sweeter its fruit, and the less additional sugar you’ll need to use. I only mixed in 2 tablespoons of honey, but if your banana lacks lots of dark speckles, you may need to squirt in a touch more.
With purple as my favorite color, I literally twirled in happy dance circles after slicing into this tender loaf. The deep gorgeous hue of the berries’ juices really pops—and it tastes even better! The comforting backdrop of banana, the subtle hint of honeyed sweetness, and the soft morsels of wild blueberries all combine together in a beautiful symphony of flavor in this Whole Wheat Blueberry Banana Bread.
With almost every recipe I bake, I sample just a serving or two before handing off the rest to friends and neighbors. With how often I pull out my mixing bowls and turn on the oven, I need to give everything away to prevent our house from bursting open at the seams with baked goodies! But after my first bite of this clean-eating banana bread, I claimed the entire loaf for myself (well, minus a small sliver I invited my guy to taste), despite the massive amounts of Valentine’s Day chocolate covering my countertops.
Yes, it’s that good… So take it from me: you might want to bake a double batch!
This moist, tender loaf is perfect for breakfast or snacking! It’s full of fresh fruity flavors, and it tastes even better on the second day once the flavors meld and it develops that characteristic thin sugary film on top. Store the bread covered in plastic wrap or foil on the countertop for up to 4 days.
- Preheat the oven to 325°F, and coat an 8x4” loaf pan with nonstick cooking spray.
- Set aside 1 tablespoon of flour in a small bowl. In a medium bowl, whisk together the remaining flour, baking powder, and salt. In a separate bowl, whisk together the oil (or butter), egg, and vanilla. Stir in the mashed banana, yogurt, and honey. Add in the flour mixture, and stir just until incorporated. Toss the frozen blueberries with the reserved tablespoon of flour, and gently fold into the batter.
- Spread the batter into the prepared pan, and bake at 325°F for 35-45 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool in the pan for 10 minutes before turning out onto a wire rack.
Note: For 100% whole wheat baked goods, I prefer Gold Medal Whole Wheat Flour. It has a higher gluten content than other whole wheat flours, which allows this bread to rise better, turning out lighter and not as dense as other brands. If using another brand and you’re nervous about the texture, consider substituting 2-4 tablespoons of all-purpose flour for some of the whole wheat.
Make sure your banana is extra ripe! You’ll want to use one that’s at least half covered in dark brown spots. For less ripe bananas, add in a touch more honey (or to taste).
I prefer wild blueberries for their smaller size and intense flavor. Regular frozen blueberries may be substituted as well. Try choosing organic if possible; their quality is usually slightly better.
A 9x5” loaf pan may be used instead. The bread will bake faster with more surface area, so begin checking for doneness around 25-30 minutes.
I had some REALLY ripe bananas that needed to be used so obviously I needed to make banana bread! I used this recipe with the blueberries and it was awesome! The texture is fantastic….love the addition of Greek yogurt. Thanks!
I’m so glad you enjoyed the banana bread Melissa! 🙂
Hi Amy; I have frozen banana’s . Can I use these in any recipes that need more spotted banana’s? Like the blueberry banana one? Thanks in advance for answering. I love your lo fat recipes. My e-mail is: judithmacdonald@bellaliant.net
It means so much that you’re enjoying my recipes, Judith! I really appreciate you taking the time to let me know.
I haven’t tried using frozen bananas to make my banana bread recipes, so I’m not personally sure. However, if I’m remembering correctly, I think other readers have had decent success when doing that, so it may be worth a try! I’d recommend letting your frozen bananas completely thaw and thoroughly draining any excess liquid (or even patting them dry with paper towels first!) before mashing them to use in a recipe. (That excess liquid can often cause baked goods that rise to collapse while cooling, which gives them a much denser texture. Patting them dry should help prevent that!)
I’d love to hear what you think of this banana bread — or any of my other recipes that you decide to try! 🙂
I made these last night and used coconut oil. I love them, the texture straight out of the oven was perfect and zapping it in the microwave just a few seconds this morning made it just as good. Love the healthy alternative, thanks for sharing your recipe! I’ve been wanting to try a few of your recipes for a while but have yet to purchase the vanilla stevia so I was excited to find this recipe!
I forgot to mention I made it into 8 muffins instead of a loaf, baked for 22 minutes!
I’m so glad you enjoyed the recipe Courtney! Muffins sound wonderful, especially for someone like me who lacks self-control around banana bread. 😉 I can’t wait to hear what you try next!
I’ve made this before and the kids love it. I’m currently doing bulk school snacks and I was wondering if I would be able to freeze this beautiful delight?
Yes, this freezes really well if you cut it into individual slices first! 🙂 I’m so glad you and your kids love the banana bread Kayla!
Hello, can I substitute whole wheat flour for spelt flour?
Thank you.
Klara
I really appreciate your interest in my recipe Klara! I don’t have much experience with spelt flour, so I’m not entirely sure. If you’ve been able to sub spelt for whole wheat flour in other similar recipes, I’m guessing it should work here as well. 🙂 I’d love to hear what you think if you try this banana bread!
Did not work out.
Bitter bitter bitter and Dry dry dry…aside from the egg, and dashes of honey, yogurt and oil there are no other liquids.
Maybe my wheat flour was the wrong type or the plain yogurt is not correct.
Oh well cost me just a few hours this morning.
I really appreciate your interest in my recipe Craig! Let’s figure out what happened. 🙂 How did you measure your flour? Did you use measuring cups or a kitchen scale? If the former, can you describe in detail how you measured it? That info will really help us solve the issues that you saw!
Winner
We made this and the whole family enjoyed it
There’s a few bites left but not for long
I’ve been using parchment paper to line pans when I cook, it made it a snap to pull out and check the progress and when it was finally done to just pop out and unload onto the cooling rack.
I sprayed the paper too, not sure if that’s necessary.
The banana blueberry bread was beautiful and delicious.
I’m so glad you and your family enjoyed this banana bread Linda! That’s the best kind of compliment if it disappeared that quickly — thank you for sharing that with me! 🙂 I love your tip about the parchment paper too. I started doing that recently as well; it makes clean-up such a breeze!
Made your Whole Wheat Blueberry Banana Bread yesterday evening for my son (4 years old) to enjoy today as breakfast. I let it rest as you recommended. It was a big win! 🤩 Thank you from Sweden ❤️
I’m so glad you and your son enjoyed this banana bread, Emmilie! Thank you for taking the time to let me know — that truly means a lot! 🙂
why isn’t calories added to recipes, for us on weight watchers
The full nutrition information (including calories!) is actually included directly underneath the recipe box! I know it can be easy to miss. 😉 I’d love to hear what you think if you try making this banana bread, Christine!
I will do when I make it thank you soo much for responding and for your delicious recipes
It’s my pleasure, Christine! I’m happy to help. 🙂 I’m really looking forward to hearing what you think!