The day after Christmas, my parents and I drove from their house in the San Francisco suburbs to sunny San Diego. I set my alarm for 5 am to squeeze in a short workout, shower, pack snacks, and load my bags into the back of their SUV before we hit the road at 7 am.
With a bit more traffic than we anticipated, especially in LA, we ended up taking a few detours… Plus lots of potty breaks (we brought my parents’ two golden retrievers with us!), so we finally arrived at Grandma’s nearly 10 hours later.
And for the second half of the drive, my parents’ older 85-pound dog turned slightly anxious and therefore decided he wanted to sit on my lap to calm his nerves. Oof!
Over the next few days, my family spent part of their afternoons helping out around my house, taking care of chores and small projects. We pruned the bushes bordering my garage, fixed a haywire electrical switch in the guest bathroom, and even built a new set of shelves for all of my photography equipment. (I have the best family in the world!)
Because of how generous my family was with their time, I made sure to keep some of their favorite treats and refreshments on hand in my kitchen. Dark chocolate and chai for Mom, rich dark roast coffee for Dad, special egg-free lemon cookies for my brother… And lots of fresh fruit for snacking too!
But since they also munched on Christmas cookies at Grandma’s before coming over, the fresh fruit on my counter went uneaten… And by the time they left town over New Year’s weekend, I ended up with several very brown and spotty bananas.
So I turned them into this Healthy Morning Glory Banana Bread! It’s really tender and full of naturally sweet flavor, along with plenty of fun mix-ins. (Just wait until you see them all!)
Even better, this wholesome banana bread is so easy to make (put away your mixer—you just need regular ol’ forks and bowls!) and contains no refined flour or sugar. Plus it’s just 135 calories for a slice!
To make this easy banana bread recipe healthier, you’ll use with whole wheat flour (or gluten-free, if you prefer!), egg whites, and a mere ½ tablespoon of melted butter (or coconut oil!). Yes, just ½ tablespoon! Even with that teensy of an amount of butter, your banana bread still turns out supremely tender…
Thanks to Greek yogurt and mashed banana! If you’ve been around my blog for a while, you know how much I ♡ Greek yogurt. It adds the same moisture to your batter as extra butter or oil—but for a fraction of the calories! And it gives your banana bread a protein boost, too.
See those bananas? That’s the minimum amount of brown spots I recommend. I actually prefer bananas that are even riper than that!
The banana actually plays multiple parts in the batter—flavor (obviously!), tender texture, and natural sweetness—and that last role is why you want really brown bananas. The bananas with more brown color than yellow contain more natural sweetness, which means you’ll only need to add a hint of pure maple syrup (like this!).
Now for the mix-ins! You’ll use the same ingredients that go into traditional morning glory muffins…
♡ Freshly grated carrots. Don’t use store-bought pre-shredded carrots! They’re thicker and drier, and they don’t soften enough while baking.
♡ Diced apple. I use Fuji apples because they’re naturally sweet and have a great texture for baking!
♡ Raisins. Have you ever noticed that really old raisins are much stiffer and drier than freshly bought raisins? It drives me nuts! So here’s my secret trick to perfectly plump raisins… Add those old dry raisins to a bowl, and add enough water to cover them. Tightly cover the top of your bowl with plastic wrap, and microwave on HIGH for 1 minute. Let the raisins sit until you’re ready to mix them in; then drain and add them to the batter. Works like a charm!
♡ Finely diced pecans. I found these pre-diced ones at the grocery store, and they’re the perfect size!
♡ Shredded unsweetened coconut. I prefer the unsweetened variety to avoid unnecessary refined sugar… But if you only have sweetened, that works too!
How incredible does that look? I’m secretly glad my family skipped the healthy bananas on my counter… It meant I got to make this loaf and keep it all to myself! ? 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 banana bread!
| Healthy Morning Glory Banana Bread | | Print |
- 2 cups (240g) whole wheat or gluten-free* flour (measured like this)
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1 tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp baking soda
- 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)
- 2 tbsp (30mL) pure maple syrup
- 6 tbsp (90mL) nonfat milk
- 1 ½ cups (160g) freshly grated carrot (about 2 medium, peeled first!)
- ¾ cup (94g) finely diced apple (about 1 small)
- ¼ cup (40g) raisins
- 2 tbsp (14g) finely diced pecans
- 2 tbsp (10g) shredded unsweetened coconut
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Lightly coat a 9x5” loaf pan with nonstick cooking spray.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. In a separate bowl, whisk together the butter, eggs, and vanilla. Mix in the 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.) Gently fold in the carrots, apple, raisins, pecans, and coconut.
- Spread the batter into the prepared pan. Bake at 350°F for 45-55 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool in the pan for 10 minutes before carefully transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
White whole wheat flour, whole wheat pastry flour, or all-purpose flour may be substituted for the whole wheat flour.
For best results, use the ripest, darkest, most spottiest bananas you can find! The ones with more brown color than yellow are ideal.
The mashed banana and Greek yogurt combined need to measure 1 cup. If you have slightly more than ¾ cup mashed banana, then reduce the Greek yogurt by the same amount, and vice versa.
Honey or agave may be substituted for the maple syrup.
Any milk may be substituted for the nonfat milk.
Do not substitute store-bought pre-shredded carrots! They’re too thick and dry, and they don’t soften properly while baking.
I prefer red Fuji apples. They’re firm enough for baking and naturally sweet. Cut them to be no larger than the size of chocolate chips. (I actually prefer dicing mine smaller, about the same size as mini chocolate chips!)
For a shortcut, I used these pre-chopped pecans! They’re SO handy to have around!
This is the shredded unsweetened coconut that I used. Shredded sweetened coconut may be substituted.
I’m not a huge fan of nuts or coconut in my baked goods, which is why the amounts are fairly small. You’re welcome to increase either or both, if you prefer!
To see how this banana bread is made, watch my video here (it’s for a similar banana bread recipe!).
{gluten-free, clean eating, low fat}
View Nutrition Information
You may also like Amy’s other recipes…
♡ Healthy Morning Glory Bran Muffins
♡ Healthy Cranberry Pecan Banana Bread
♡ Healthy Cinnamon Apple Banana Bread
♡ The Ultimate Healthy Banana Nut Muffins
♡ Healthy Morning Glory Gingerbread
♡ Healthy Blueberry Buttermilk Banana Bread
Can I use all purpose flour? Thank you!
I really appreciate your interest in my recipe, Anna! I’ve actually answered this already in the Notes section, located directly underneath the Instructions. It can be easy to miss! 😉 I can’t wait to hear what you think of this banana bread!
thank you so much for your reply! Can’t wait to try it using all-purpose flour!
My pleasure, Anna-Marie! I’m so excited to hear how your banana bread turns out!
Could I make this into muffins instead?
Thank you:)
Definitely! I can’t wait to hear what you think of them Becci! 🙂
Hi Amy – This recipe is a favorite with the family. I wanted to check with you to see if I could potentially replace about a quarter of the whole wheat flour with oat flour, or add an extra 1/4 cup chia seeds. Would this alter the liquid ratio? Thanks so much.
I’m so glad your family loves this banana bread Ila! That means so much to me. Thanks for taking the time to know! 🙂 Yes, you can definitely substitute ½ cup of the whole wheat flour with oat flour. If you’d like to add ¼ cup of chia seeds, then it might be good to add a bit more liquid since they’re really absorbent — I think I’d recommend an extra 1 tablespoon of milk. I’d really love to hear how that version turns out if you try it!
can i substitute the flour with oat flour?
I really appreciate your interest in my recipe, Almira! I typically don’t recommend that substitution in my quick bread recipes, including this banana bread. This is because gluten is the protein in wheat-based flours that helps baked goods rise and maintain their shape while cooling. Oat flour lacks that, so when you substitute it for wheat-based flours in my recipes that rise (like cupcakes, cakes, muffins, quick breads, etc!), your baked goods will often turn out denser and may collapse while cooling. Does that make sense?
However, if you don’t mind that texture difference with oat flour (where your banana bread may collapse and turn out denser), the flavors will still remain the same! 🙂 I’d love to hear what you think if you decide to try making this banana bread!