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Healthy blueberry almond banana bread – YUM! This easy banana bread is a great healthy breakfast recipe! This healthy banana bread with greek yogurt and no sugar is clean eating and low calorie. It includes a gluten free option too! Really moist with a cake-like texture, this blueberry banana bread is a simple healthy baking recipe everyone will love. It's truly the BEST banana bread recipe!

Healthy Blueberry Almond Banana Bread

© Amy's Healthy Baking
Yields: 1 loaf, 12 slices
This banana bread is supremely moist and tender with lots of naturally sweet fruit flavor! The bananas and juicy blueberries pair beautifully with the almond extract. It’s my favorite baking extract, and it makes this easy banana bread taste elegant and classy, perfect for serving to company or at weekend brunches! Leftovers will keep for at least 4 days (if not longer!) if stored in the refrigerator in an airtight container or tightly sealed inside of plastic wrap.
4.50 from 4 votes
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Ingredients 

  • 2 ¼ cups (270g) white whole wheat flour or gluten-free* flour (measured like this)
  • 1 ½ tsp baking powder
  • ¾ tsp baking soda
  • ¼ tsp salt
  • ½ tbsp (7g) unsalted butter or coconut oil, melted and cooled slightly
  • 3 large egg whites, room temperature
  • 2 ½ tsp almond extract
  • 1 tsp liquid stevia
  • ¼ cup (60g) plain nonfat Greek yogurt
  • 1 cup (260g) mashed banana (about 2 medium – see Notes!)
  • 2 tbsp (30mL) distilled white vinegar
  • 6 tbsp (90mL) nonfat milk
  • 1 ½ cups (210g) fresh blueberries, divided

Instructions

  • Preheat the oven to 350°F. Coat a 9x5” loaf pan with nonstick cooking spray.
  • In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. In a separate bowl, whisk together the butter, egg whites, almond extract, and liquid stevia. Add in the Greek yogurt, stirring until no large lumps remain. Stir in the mashed banana. Stir in the vinegar. 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 4 equal parts.) Gently fold in 1 cup + 5 tablespoons of blueberries.
  • Spread the batter into the prepared pan. Gently press the remaining blueberries into the top. Cover the top with foil, crimping the edges around the pan’s rim to seal, and try to push up the foil in the center to ensure it doesn’t touch the batter while baking. Bake covered at 350°F for 35 minutes. Acting very quickly, remove the pan from the oven, and carefully remove the foil. Immediately put the pan back in the oven, and continue baking the banana bread for an additional 30-35 minutes (for a total of 65-70 minutes) or until the top feels firm to the touch and looks golden or a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean or with a few crumbs attached. Cool in the pan for 10 minutes before carefully transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

Notes

IMPORTANT MEASURING NOTE – READ BEFORE BEGINNING: It's extremely important to measure the flour with this method or a kitchen scale. (← That’s the one I own!) Too much will make your banana bread dry and bland.
 
IMPORTANT BANANA NOTES – READ BEFORE BEGINNING: For the best flavor and texture, use the ripest, darkest, and most spotty bananas you have! Do not use purely yellow bananas. The ones that are purely brown are ideal. They have a stronger and sweeter banana flavor than purely yellow bananas. They also yield a moister texture in your banana bread.
 
Measure the bananas by cups or grams, not by “two medium bananas.” Not all “medium” bananas are the same size!
 
The mashed banana and Greek yogurt combined need to measure 1 ¼ cups. If you have slightly more than 1 cup of mashed banana, then reduce the Greek yogurt by the same amount, and vice versa.
 
IMPORTANT STEP 3 NOTE – READ BEFORE BEGINNING: You must cover the batter with foil during the first stage of baking. This allows the center to cook through without the top turning overly brown or burnt. Work very quickly when removing the foil! If you leave the pan out of the oven for too long, the loaf will start to collapse, and it won’t recover to fully rise properly.
 
FLOUR ALTERNATIVES: Whole wheat pastry flour, regular whole wheat flour, or all-purpose flour may be substituted for the white whole wheat flour.
 
EGG WHITE NOTES: This banana bread requires 3 egg whites. The protein in the whites helps prevent it from collapsing while cooling. If you'd prefer to use whole eggs, then use 3 large eggs AND reduce the milk by 1 tablespoon to compensate for the added volume from the yolks.
 
ALMOND EXTRACT ALTERNATIVE: If you aren’t a fan of almond extract or don't have any, substitute vanilla extract instead.
 
STEVIA NOTES + ALTERNATIVES: I do not recommend substituting for the liquid stevia, if at all possible. 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, use the same liquid stevia that I do. I buy it online here (← that’s the best price I’ve found!), and you’ll use it in all of these recipes of mine too. (It's one of my favorite ingredients!)
 
However, if you really prefer to omit the liquid stevia, substitute 6 tablespoons (72g) of granulated sugar or light brown sugar AND reduce the milk to 3 tablespoons (45mL), but your banana bread will no longer be clean eating friendly. You may also substitute 6 tablespoons (72g) of coconut sugar AND reduce the milk to 3 tablespoons (45mL) to keep your banana bread clean eating friendly. Alternatively, substitute 6 tablespoons (90mL) of pure maple syrup, honey, or agave AND omit the milk. The baking time may vary slightly with any of these substitutions.
 
VINEGAR NOTES + ALTERNATIVE: The vinegar reacts with the baking soda to help the banana bread rise and create a more tender texture. Don’t skip it! (And I promise you can’t taste it!)
 
If you don’t have or can’t find distilled white vinegar, try to find another vinegar with a similar pH level of around 2.5 to maintain the same texture. Lemon juice has a pH level around 2-3, so it should also work.
 
MILK ALTERNATIVES: Any milk may be substituted for the nonfat milk.
 
FRESH BLUEBERRIES ALTERNATIVE: Frozen blueberries may be substituted for the fresh, but they’ll most likely dye your batter a funky gray color. The baking time will most likely increase a bit as well.
 
GLUTEN-FREE OPTION: For the gluten-free flour, use as follows: 1 cup (120g) millet flour, ¾ cup (90g) tapioca flour, ½ cup (60g) brown rice flour, and 2 teaspoons xanthan gum. Many store-bought gluten-free flour blends (I like this one from Bob's Red Mill) will also work, if measured like this.
 
HOW TO STORE: Store leftover banana bread in the refrigerator tightly wrapped in plastic wrap (I love this one because it seals more tightly than other brands!) or inside of an airtight container. It should keep for at least four days, if not closer to a week or longer.
 
{gluten-free, clean eating, low fat, lower sugar}
DID YOU MAKE THIS RECIPE?I'd love to hear what you think of it in a comment below! If you take a picture, tag @amys.healthy.baking on Instagram or use the hashtag #amyshealthybaking.