Last week, right after I posted this banana bread brownie recipe on my Instagram account, a friend of mine sent me a message. She explained how had tried to adapt a banana bread recipe she found on the internet to fit her family’s dietary needs (no gluten, dairy, eggs, or nuts!) the day before and… It ended in a total disaster. Her banana bread crumbled into a million pieces!
However, after reading over my recipe, she realized she could easily switch just one ingredient in my banana bread brownies so her entire family could enjoy the dessert! The only issue? She self-consciously mentioned that she’s not the greatest at baking… So she called me from the grocery store the next day to make sure she bought the correct ingredients!
That evening, she shared a little video of sampling the dessert bars on her own Instagram stories. She revealed the banana bread brownies turned out perfectly, and everyone loved them!
I felt so excited… It’s the best feeling in the world when I’m able to show people how to make the treats they’ve been missing because of different dietary constraints!
But of course… I started craving the banana bread brownies after seeing her video clips! But because I only had one teeny banana, not nearly enough to make the dessert recipe…
I turned my little banana into these Healthy Banana Buttermilk Scones instead! They’re really moist and tender on the inside with just a hint of a crust on the outside, and the sweet banana flavor absolutely shines. Plus these healthy scones have no eggs, refined flour or sugar, and they’re ready in just 30 minutes!
That’s definitely my kind of easy breakfast!
So let’s go over how to make these healthy banana buttermilk scones!
You’ll start with white whole wheat flour (like this!). Yes, such a thing actually exists… And it’s not a combination of white (aka all-purpose) flour and whole wheat flour!
White whole wheat flour is made by finely grinding a special type of soft white wheat (hence the name!), whereas regular whole wheat flour comes from a heartier variety of red wheat. They both have the same health benefits, but white whole wheat flour has a lighter taste and texture—and that lets the moist and tender texture of these scones truly shine!
Hint: I’ve also included my favorite gluten-free option in the Notes section of the recipe!
Next comes butter! Whereas traditional scone recipes use ½ cup or more, these healthy banana buttermilk scones only require 2 tablespoons of butter. That really helps keep them low-calorie! 😉
However, it’s extremely important that your butter is straight from the fridge and very cold. (Freezing isn’t necessary!) When you put the baking sheet in the oven, the butter melts and creates tender little pockets in the scones. So you definitely don’t want the butter to soften or melt ahead of time!
This is why I highly recommend against using coconut oil. Coconut oil melts right around room temperature, so it’s nearly impossible to keep it from melting while you mix up the dough.
Hint: I’ve included a non-dairy vegan option in the Notes section, too!
Then these healthy banana buttermilk scones get the rest of their tender texture from two ingredients: Greek yogurt and mashed banana. If you’ve been around my blog before, then you already know how much I love baking with Greek yogurt! It adds the same moisture to your scones as extra butter but for a fraction of the calories. (And it gives your scones a protein boost, too!)
As for the banana, make sure you use the spottiest, ripest banana you can find! More brown than yellow is ideal. See those bananas in that picture? That’s the minimum amount of brown spots I recommend. More is even better! The riper bananas have a much stronger flavor and moister texture than the pure yellow ones.
Of course, we can’t forget another key ingredient… Buttermilk! I’ve made these healthy banana buttermilk scones with regular low-fat buttermilk, as well as this powdered buttermilk. I couldn’t tell the difference! I love keeping that powdered buttermilk on hand because it’s shelf-stable, keeps for ages, and tastes just like the regular kind in my baking recipes.
Once you’ve transferred your dough onto the baking sheet, you’ll flatten it with a spatula (I use these—aren’t they cute??) and slice it into 8 wedges with a sharp knife. No need to separate them! Then brush the tops and sides of the scones with milk. This seals moisture into the dough to keep the insides soft and tender, and it also creates a hint of a crust on the outside.
One last thing! I made an optional (but highly recommended!) glaze for my healthy banana buttermilk scones with confectioners’ style erythritol (like this!), almond extract (like this!), and milk. YUM! Almond extract is my favorite baking extract, so I’ve been using it a lot lately!
How tempting do these scones look?? 😉 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 banana buttermilk scones!
Healthy Banana Buttermilk Scones
Ingredients
FOR THE SCONES
- 1 ½ cups (180g) white whole wheat flour or gluten-free* flour (measured like this)
- 1 ½ tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- ¼ tsp salt
- 2 tbsp (28g) unsalted butter, cold and cubed
- ¼ cup (60g) plain nonfat Greek yogurt
- ¼ cup (65g) mashed banana (see Notes!)
- 3 tbsp (45mL) pure maple syrup
- 3 tbsp (45mL) low-fat buttermilk (see Notes!)
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 tsp nonfat milk
FOR THE GLAZE (optional)
- 2 tbsp (20g) confectioners’ style erythritol
- ¼ tsp almond extract
- 2 – 2 ½ tsp nonfat milk
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 425°F, and line a baking sheet with a silicone baking mat or parchment paper.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt. Cut in the butter with a pastry cutter (highly recommended!) or the back of a fork until the mixture resembles fine crumbs. Make a well in the center. Add in the Greek yogurt, banana, maple syrup, buttermilk, and vanilla. Stir until just incorporated.
- Transfer the dough to the prepared baking sheet. Using a spatula, shape the dough into a ¾” tall circle, and brush with the nonfat milk. Slice the dough into 8 triangular segments with a sharp knife. (No need to separate them!) Bake at 425°F for 19-22 minutes, or until the tops and sides are lightly golden. Cool on the pan for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack.
Notes
View Nutrition Information + Weight Watchers Points
You may also like Amy’s other recipes…
♡ Healthy Chocolate Chip Banana Bread Scones
♡ Healthy Banana Buttermilk Pancake Bites
♡ Healthy Honey Peach Scones
♡ Healthy Blueberry Buttermilk Banana Bread
♡ Healthy Chocolate Chip Banana Oatmeal Breakfast Cookies
♡ The Ultimate Healthy Banana Buttermilk Waffles
Would monk fruit extract work as a substitute sweetener? Thanks for your great recipes!
You’re so sweet, Sheyda! We really appreciate your interest in our recipes. We’d love to talk more about using monk fruit for these scones, but first, it would be helpful to know the exact product (brand + product name!) that you’d like to use. That will give us a much better idea of whether it’ll work and what potential modifications you’d need to make to the recipe. 😉
Thanks for the reply! I was thinking about using the Lakanto classic monk fruit sweetener for the scones and the powdered one from the same brand for the glaze!
Great! That’s very helpful, Sheyda! You won’t need to make any changes for the glaze! For the scone dough, if it’s Lakanto’s classic white granular product that sweetens cup-for-cup like sugar, then the easiest thing to do is to mix 3 tablespoons of that with 2 ½ tablespoons of milk prior to adding it to the dough. Using that mixture to replace the pure maple syrup should achieve a similar dough consistency and scone texture! We’d love to hear what you think if you decide to try this recipe!