The summer before my senior year of high school, a friend and I organized a Halloween party to be held in the beginning of August. Since October 31 is often chilly and rainy, we thought it’d be fun to celebrate when the weather was still nice—and thankfully, everyone else in our circle of friends agreed!
Our friends came dressed in costume, and we prepared all kinds of cute Halloween sweets, like caramel covered apples, chocolate cupcakes with orange frosting, and chocolate-dipped pretzels covered with bat-shaped sprinkles. We even watched “The Nightmare Before Christmas” (the only type of “scary” movie I can handle)!
Partway through the evening, we filled a big cooler with water, and we added plenty of small green apples. None of us had ever bobbed for apples before, so we thought it’d be fun to try!
After just a few minutes, we realized why none of us had tried… It’s so much harder than it sounds! The apples scoot and roll and shimmy around the water as soon as you touch them. Most of us ended up just trying to bite the stem to lift an apple out of the water, but one guy actually managed to sink his teeth into the apple’s flesh—and we were completely amazed!
That night of fun taught me two things… (a) I love apples and (b) I don’t want to work very hard to eat one! Which is why I love this super easy Healthy Cinnamon Apple Banana Bread! It requires very little effort (no mixer required!), and it’s full of sweet fruit and cozy spices. Fall flavor perfection!
HOW TO MAKE HEALTHY CINNAMON APPLE BANANA BREAD
This simple recipe starts with whole wheat flour (or gluten-free, if you prefer!), along with lots of cinnamon and a hint of nutmeg. This is my current favorite cinnamon. It has a bolder, slightly sweeter flavor than the cinnamon I grew up using. I’m obsessed! And that little pinch of nutmeg makes a huge difference. It rounds out and deepens the spice flavor, making this quick bread absolutely irresistible! Which could be dangerous… If you ask me…
With just ½ tablespoon of butter or coconut oil (yes, that’s it!), the rest of this loaf’s tender texture comes from Greek yogurt and mashed banana. If you’ve been around my blog for a while, you know how much I ♡ Greek yogurt! It’s packed full of protein, and it adds the same moisture to your baked goods as extra butter or oil would.
As for the bananas, pick the ripest and spottiest ones you can find! The ones that are more brown than yellow are my favorite for baking. They contain more natural sweetness than their pure yellow friends, which means you only need to add a couple tablespoons of pure maple syrup (like this)!
Hopefully you don’t have to work as hard to get your apples as we did at our Halloween party! I prefer baking with red Fuji apples because they’re so sweet and firm, but just about any apple will work. Cut it into small pieces about the same size as chocolate chips to ensure your banana bread bakes evenly!
How does that look for a cozy breakfast treat? ♡ 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 cinnamon apple banana bread!
Healthy Cinnamon Apple Banana Bread
Ingredients
- 2 cups (240g) whole wheat flour or gluten free* flour (measured like this)
- 1 tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp baking soda
- 1 ¼ tsp ground cinnamon
- ¼ tsp ground nutmeg
- ¼ tsp salt
- ½ tbsp (7g) unsalted butter or coconut oil, melted and cooled slightly
- 2 large egg whites, room temperature
- 1 ½ tsp vanilla extract
- ¼ cup (60g) plain nonfat Greek yogurt
- ¾ cup (200g) mashed banana (about 2 medium – see Notes!)
- 2 tbsp (30mL) pure maple syrup (see Notes!)
- ¼ cup (60mL) nonfat milk
- 1 ⅓ cups (167g) finely diced apple (see Notes!)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line a 9x5” baking pan with foil, and lightly coat with nonstick cooking spray.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt. In a separate bowl, whisk together the butter, eggs, and vanilla. Mix in the mashed Greek yogurt, stirring until no large lumps remain. Mix in the mashed banana and maple syrup. Alternate between adding the flour mixture and milk, beginning and ending with the flour mixture, and stirring just until incorporated. (For best results, add the flour mixture in 3 equal parts.) Reserve ½ tablespoon of the diced apple, and gently fold in the rest.
- Spread the batter into the prepared pan, and gently press the reserved apple pieces into the top of the batter. Bake at 350°F for 40-50 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool in the pan for 10 minutes before carefully lifting out the loaf by the foil and transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
Notes
View Nutrition Information + Weight Watchers Points
You may also like Amy’s other recipes…
♡ Healthy Cinnamon Apple Pancakes
♡ Healthy Simple Cinnamon Apple Cake
♡ Healthier Cinnamon Apple Beer Bread
♡ The Ultimate Healthy Banana Nut Muffins
♡ Healthy Chocolate Chip Banana Oatmeal Breakfast Cookies
♡ Healthy Chocolate Chip Banana Mini Muffins
♡ …and all of Amy’s healthy banana bread recipes!
Can I skip the ½ tbsp (7g) unsalted butter or coconut oil? I very much hope I could. If I can’t’ can I use light olive oil instead? Thank you.
Is it possible to leave out the apple without it affecting the recipe thanks Amy for your lovely recipes and the work
that goes into them to make them low calorie for us girls.
Can I use apple pie spice and how much?
I really appreciate your interest in this other banana recipe of mine too, Gail! I haven’t tried substituting apple pie spice, so I’m not personally sure of the results. However, you’re welcome to try! My best guess would be to use 1 ½ teaspoons to replace both the cinnamon and nutmeg as a starting point.
If you do end up making this banana bread, I’d love to hear what you think of it!
Actually made this into muffins. I doubled the recipe and used whole eggs and cooked them for 18-19 minutes at 350 and they came out phenomenal. Thank you!
I’m so glad you enjoyed this recipe, Courtney! What a great idea to make them into muffins! Thanks for taking the time to let us know. It really means a lot! 🙂
Hello Amy!
I am going to try this recipe for a 1 year old’s ‘smash birthday cake’ … I’m at my cottage so I do have most of the ingredients (it’s a 45 minute drive one way, to the closest grocery store).
Do you have any advice for baking in two round 6” cake pans?
And can I substitute applesauce for the oil?
Marcia
I’m so honored that you’d want to make this for a one-year-old’s smash cake, Marcia! That’s such a special occasion, so it truly means a lot that you’d consider making one of my recipes. 🙂
I don’t recommend substituting applesauce for the oil. It’s a small amount of oil (only ⅛ teaspoon per serving, or about 1 calorie! 😉 ), but it makes a big difference in the texture. Without it, this banana bread is more gummy and almost a bit rubbery. If you don’t have butter or coconut oil, then stick-style vegan “butter” or any other neutral-tasting oil will work!
I haven’t tried making this in 6″-round cake pans, but I think that should be fine. They’ll probably take less time to bake, so I’d recommend checking them earlier. Since I haven’t personally tried, I’m honestly not sure how long they’ll require, but I’d err on the side of caution and start checking around 20-ish minutes. They’ll probably require longer, but they’ll be done when the tops feel firm to the touch and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean (or with a few crumbs attached). Since it’s a birthday cake, I’d also recommend lining the bottoms of the round cake pans with wax paper or parchment paper, instead of foil, so the edges are smoother (and prettier! 😉 ).
I can’t wait to hear how it turns out — and happy birthday to the lucky little one-year-old!!
Hi Amy! The cake was a hit! For my granddaughter’s first birthday.
It only needed 22 minutes in the oven for the 6” pans.
We frosted with yogurt, vanilla & maple syrup, topped with a ring of fresh strawberries.
We gave baby girl a slice instead of letting her smash it, as she was already successful at smashing a slice up! We didn’t want to ruin the cake as everyone else… 6 adults, wanted some too!
This is so exciting to hear, Marcia! We are truly honored you used our recipe for such a special occasion! I love the idea of the added frosting and strawberries to this apple banana bread for such a sweet celebration. It sounds both beautiful and delicious! I’m so happy to hear baby girl and adults all enjoyed it! Thank you so much for taking the time to share and rate this recipe. It truly means so much! 🙂
I have just made banana and apple.
My house smells great 👍
It tastes bloody delicious 😋
I’m so happy to hear you enjoyed this recipe, Tonka! Thanks so much for taking the time to share and rate this recipe, it really means a lot! 🙂