With a few new projects in the works and taking up much of my spare time recently, I fell into the bad habit of ignoring the state of my desk. Up until last week, a precarious stack of notebooks sat one side, a messy pile of papers on the other, and multiple receipts lay scattered in between. As someone who’s typically very organized and a bit of a neat freak, it started to drive me nuts!
So this past weekend, I finally tackled all of those stacks. The notebooks found their way to a shelf, the papers tucked themselves away into binders, and the receipts slipped inside of folders. I even dusted off the desk, one of my least favorite chores….
It feels like spring here with temperatures consistently near (or above!) 70°F for the past two weeks, so that must have been my motivation for cleaning!
My mom must have felt the same inspiration from the warm sunshine because she took charge of the kitchen while I slowly moved through cleaning the rest of my office. She wiped lingering flour spills from the countertops, put away the clean dishes from the drying rack, and placed my photography props back on their shelves.
While she whirled about, Mom discovered a bunch of very ripe and speckly bananas tucked away next to the toaster. Although tempted to bake banana bread, I decided to make something else — something with a little more chocolate — as a thank you to Mom for helping me. (I inherited my chocoholism from her — she was a huge inspiration for my Healthier Chocolate Treats cookbook!)
So I baked these healthy chocolate chip banana bread brownies instead! They have the same familiar flavor as banana bread, warm and sweet and fruity, but the extremely fudgy texture of my favorite brownies. It’s quite a fun combination, and when my dad told me he took in a few to share with people at the office, he reported that they all raved about these treats.
Knowing the people my dad works with, that’s quite a compliment!
HOW TO MAKE HEALTHY BANANA BREAD BROWNIES
Let’s talk about how to make the best banana bread brownies!
This easy recipe begins with white whole wheat flour. I know its name sounds a little strange… But white whole wheat flour is made by finely grinding a special type of white wheat, whereas regular whole wheat flour comes from a heartier type of red wheat. This gives white whole wheat flour a lighter taste and texture, similar to that of all-purpose flour, which makes both the banana flavor and fudgy texture of these “brownies” really shine! Even better, white whole wheat flour still has all of the same health benefits of regular whole wheat flour. How’s that for a perfect combination?
Note: Whole wheat pastry flour would be the perfect substitute! If you’d like to make your healthy banana bread brownies gluten-free, then check the Notes section of the recipe. I’ve included my gluten-free recommendations there!
Many typical banana bread or brownie recipes call for ½ cup or more of oil and a couple of eggs. Yikes! However… These sweet treats only contain 1½ tablespoons of coconut oil and absolutely no eggs! The rest of their fudgy texture comes from two key ingredients: mashed banana and Greek yogurt. Yes, the mashed banana provides both flavor and texture! It also replaces the eggs in this recipe, so it’s perfectly safe to eat the batter raw. (Not that I tried or anything…)
As for Greek yogurt, it’s one of my favorite ingredients in healthier baking! It provides the same moisture as extra oil or butter for a fraction of the calories, and it gives your healthy chocolate chip banana bread brownies a protein boost too.
Tip: For a vegan version of these healthy chocolate chip banana bread brownies, substitute additional mashed banana for the Greek yogurt! Or if your bananas are extremely large and you end up with more than ¾ cup of mashed banana, you can add the extra in place of the same amount of the Greek yogurt. This recipe is very forgiving and easily adaptable to what you have on hand!
To give these fruity brownies a little more sweetness than what’s simply in the bananas, you’ll use one of my favorite ingredients: liquid stevia. Stevia is a plant-based, no-calorie sweetener that’s clean eating friendly, and it’s very concentrated. A little goes a long way! I buy this one because I love its sweet flavor and don’t notice any strange aftertastes like with some other brands, and you can find it in many health-oriented stores. However, I’ve found the cheapest price is online here! (You’ll use it in all of these recipes of mine, too!)
Note: Many stevia brands and products have different sweetness levels, so they’re not necessarily 1-for-1 substitutes for each other. For the best results, I highly recommend using the same liquid stevia that I do!
And finally, the most important part… (Well, at least to a chocoholic like me!) You’ll use miniature chocolate chips for this recipe because their smaller size ensures that every bite contains at least a morsel of chocolate. I love these ones because they melt really well, and when chocolate is warm and gooey straight from the oven…
It’s just so hard to resist! 😉 And when you make your own, remember to snap a picture and share it on Instagram using #amyshealthybaking and tagging @amyshealthybaking IN the photo itself! (That guarantees I’ll see your picture! 🙂 ) I’d love to see your healthy chocolate chip banana bread brownies!
Healthy Chocolate Chip Banana Bread Brownies
Ingredients
- 1 ¼ cups (150g) white whole wheat flour or gluten-free* flour (measured like this)
- 1 tsp baking powder
- ¼ tsp salt
- 1 ½ tbsp (21g) coconut oil or unsalted butter, melted
- ¾ cup (195g) mashed banana (about 2 large – and see Notes!)
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- ½ cup (120g) plain nonfat Greek yogurt (see Notes!)
- ¾ tsp liquid stevia (see Notes!)
- 2 tbsp (30mL) nonfat milk
- 3 tbsp (42g) miniature chocolate chips, divided
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 300°F, and lightly coat a 9”-square pan with nonstick cooking spray.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt. In a separate bowl, stir together the coconut oil, mashed banana, and vanilla. Mix in the Greek yogurt, stirring until no large lumps remain.* Mix in the stevia and milk. Add in the flour mixture, stirring just until incorporated. Fold in 2 ½ tablespoons of chocolate chips.
- Spread the batter into the prepared pan, and sprinkle the remaining chocolate chips on top. Bake at 300°F for 17-20 minutes. Cool completely to room temperature in the pan, and let the brownies rest for an additional 3+ hours before slicing for the fudgiest texture.
Notes
View Nutrition Information + Weight Watchers Points
You may also like Amy’s other recipes…
♡ Peanut Butter Banana Bread Brownies
♡ Banana Chocolate Chip Cookies
♡ Banana Cupcakes with Chocolate Frosting
♡ Banana Cake with Fudgy Chocolate Peanut Butter Frosting
♡ Chocolate Chip Banana Oatmeal Cookies
♡ Chocolate Chip Banana Bread
♡ …and the rest of Amy’s healthy banana recipes and healthy dessert bar recipes!
Amy these look divine!! I can never wait until baked goods have cooled, I always have to sample them straight from the oven! Such a problem haha
I hear ya Marina! That’s why I used to bake everything right before bed so I wouldn’t be tempted… And so I’d have extra sweet dreams! 😉
Under notes you write that we can use 5-6 tablespoons of coconut sugar. Shouldn’t it be teaspoons?
Tablespoons is correct. The amount of vanilla creme stevia listed is the same as 6 tablespoons of sugar, but you’re welcome to adjust the amount of coconut sugar to suit your personal taste. I hope you enjoy the brownies Bodil!
I really REALLY want to try this recipe, I love that it has minimal oil and no eggs. But I’m very wary of the liquid Stevia. I have the exact product you link to, but I can’t get past the chemical aftertaste the few times I’ve tried it. Does the powdered version have a similar flavor? Is there another sweetener you can recommend?
My taste testers didn’t detect any “stevia aftertastes” because of the strong flavor of the sweet banana! The powdered version has a stronger aftertaste than the vanilla creme stevia, so if you’re already sensitive to that, I wouldn’t recommend it. As for substituting other sweeteners, I also address that in the Notes section beneath the Instructions. I’m excited to hear what you think of the brownies Krithika!
I’m excited to make these when I get home! Quick question…recipe calls for 3/4 cup mashed banana, 1/2 cup yogurt. Then the notes say both ingredients combined should equal 3/4 cup. I’m confused? Thanks for all you do! I’m a huge fan of your recipes!!
Thank you SO much for catching that Amie!! I’ve updated the recipe — it should read 1¼ cups now. I’m excited to hear what you think of the brownies!
Did these and they didnt last 24 hrs…..Amy you amaze me with your recipes…..you should open a healthy sweet shop….start a kind of franchise or something….they are super yummie,,,,I can never have enough of your recipes,,,,I am a super fan of yours xxx
You’re too kind Roberta — thank you so much!! 🙂 I’m so glad you enjoyed the brownies, and I can’t wait to hear what you try next!
Hi Amy,
I just tried this recipe and even after 24 minutes, the finished product is undercooked. I put it back in the oven right now for 5 more minutes at 350 degrees. I’m gonna see wha happens. The 300 degree temp baking for 17-20 minutes didn’t work. Thanks!
Same thing happened to me! After 20 minutes, most of the middle was undercooked. I bumped the oven up to 350F for another 10 minutes and that did the trick. It just came out of the oven, so I have to wait to try it, but it smells really good!
I appreciate your feedback Erika! They should be fudgy like brownies, and although the middle may look underdone when you first pull out the pan out, it should continue to cook through as the pan cools to room temperature and rests for the additional 3 hours. 🙂 I can’t wait to hear what you think of their flavor!
I just made these. They were fantastic! Had to try one right away! They have a smooth, creamy texture that is to die for! I did make a few swaps though. I used the coconut oil, 1 egg (always use in brownies as my binder), 1 tsp vanilla + 1/2 tsp almond extract (because I ran out of the vanilla), unsweetened coconut milk yogurt (sub for the greek yogurt), 2 packets of stevia, almond milk, and 3 tsp of ground flax seed. Cannot live without the chocolate chips. I will definitely be making this one again!
I’m glad you enjoyed the banana bread brownies! 🙂
I found this recipe through a random Google search and decided to make them immediately. I subbed an egg, because I didnt have butter or coconut oil, and because all I had for flour was white or mochiko, I used the latter. Kept everything else the same. I know the flour made it much less brownie like and I ended up cooking it longer, but I think I got the idea behind the brownie and feel more confident about baking healthy desserts. The mochiko gave it a very interesting texture.
I really appreciate that you tried my recipe Rebecca! (I’m really curious about your Google search — would you mind sharing what you were looking for?) I hope you enjoyed the banana bread brownies’ flavor! The mochiko flour definitely would’ve given them a less brownie-like texture. When baking with gluten-free flours, I always recommend to blend together a few different types to better simulate the texture of wheat-based flours since each gluten-free flours has a distinct texture. 🙂 I’d love to hear what you think of the texture if you’re able to try the recipe with wheat-based flour next time!
I googled “banana brownies.” On my phone there are photos of recipes at the top and it was the 5th or 6th to the left, but the chocolate chips and banana bread description drew me in. The mochiko was a spontaneous decision, but I thought it might blend better. I like the texture of the mochiko, too. I like Japanese mochi and I made a Hawaiian cake using rice flour, so I really like the sponginess. I didn’t even think about it being gluten free. I should try your gluten free mix and the wheat flower.
Thanks for sharing that with me Rebecca! I’m excited to hear what you think of the version with either my gluten-free mix or wheat flour!
Just made these and they turned out beautifully!!
I used about a million substitutions in order to make a gluten-free, dairy-free version with the ingredients I had around the house, which I was very worried about, but they surprised me and turned out!
Subbed a combination of buckwheat, white rice and tapioca flours for the white whole wheat flour, combination of white and cane sugars instead of the stevia, and extra banana + almond milk instead of using Greek yogurt.
I did find that it needed to bake for a while longer, and I ended up even turning my oven up to 350 F, but that was no problem!
Thank you so much for this recipe xx
I’m so glad you enjoyed the banana bread brownies Aiden! Thank you for sharing your recipe modifications; I always love hearing what tweaks work. 🙂
I just pulled these brownies out of the oven! I ate one piece now because I couldn’t wait, and they are already good. I’m letting the rest sit. I added some cinnamin and used a combination of stevia and coconut sugar. They taste really good, but next time I’ll add more banana and less greek yogurt for a stronger banana flavor.
I’m glad you enjoyed the brownies Allie! Often, the banana flavor intensifies as the brownies cool, so hopefully that happens with your batch too. Cinnamon sounds like a lovely addition — I need to remember that for next time! 🙂