Healthy Cranberry Orange Banana Bread
This delicious banana bread is perfect for the fall! It’s supremely moist and tender, packed with bright fruit flavors, and simple to make. I love enjoying it for breakfasts and snacks… Or even a little pre-bedtime treat! Leftovers will keep for at least five days (if not longer!) if stored in the refrigerator in an airtight container or tightly sealed in plastic wrap. (This is my favorite plastic wrap. It clings much better than other brands, which keeps my baked treats tasting fresh much longer!)
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
- 2 tsp orange zest (about 1 medium – see Notes!)
- ½ tbsp (7g) unsalted butter or coconut oil, melted and cooled slightly
- 3 large egg whites, room temperature
- 2 tsp vanilla 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) plain white vinegar
- 6 tbsp (90mL) orange juice (about 2 medium – see Notes!)
- 1 ½ cups (150g) fresh whole cranberries, diced (see Notes!)
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. Whisk in the orange zest. In a separate bowl, whisk together the butter, egg whites, vanilla 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 orange juice, 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 the cranberries.
- Spread the batter into the prepared pan. 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 33-38 minutes (for a total of 68-73 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 lifting out and transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
Notes
For the gluten-free flour, use as follows: 1 ¼ cups (150g) millet flour, ½ cup (60g) tapioca flour, ½ cup (60g) brown rice flour, and 2 teaspoons xanthan gum. Many store-bought gluten-free flour blends (like this one!) will also work, if measured like this.
Whole wheat pastry flour, regular whole wheat flour, or all-purpose flour may be substituted for the white whole wheat flour.
Remember to measure the flour with this method or a kitchen scale. (← That’s the one I own and love!) Too much will make your banana bread dry.
I do not recommend substituting for the liquid stevia, if at all possible. (It’s one of my favorite ingredients, and you’ll use it in all of these recipes of mine, too! I buy it online here because that's the best price I've found.) However, if you really prefer to omit the liquid stevia from the banana bread, substitute 6 tablespoons (72g) of coconut sugar, brown sugar, or granulated sugar and reduce the orange juice to 3 tablespoons (45mL). Alternatively, substitute 6 tablespoons (90mL) of pure maple syrup, honey, or agave and omit the orange juice. The baking time may vary with any of these substitutions.
For best results, use the ripest, darkest, most spottiest bananas you can find! The ones that are purely brown or with more brown color than yellow are ideal. They have a stronger and sweeter banana flavor than pure yellow bananas. Measure the bananas by cups or grams. 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 mashed banana, then reduce the Greek yogurt by the same amount, and vice versa.
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!)
Measure the orange zest and orange juice with measuring spoons! Do not measure by “medium” oranges. Not all “medium” oranges are the same size! This is especially important for the zest. Too much zest will overpower the banana, and you won’t be able to taste the banana flavor.
To quickly dice fresh cranberries, pop them in a food processor and pulse a few times! Frozen and thawed cranberries may also be substituted.
If you prefer using dried cranberries… Add ¾ cup of dried cranberries to a microwave-safe bowl, and pour water on top until they’re completely covered. Seal plastic wrap over the top (or place a plate on top!), and microwave the bowl on high for 1 minute. If you let the cranberries sit while mixing together the batter, this little trick hydrates them so they’re soft and plump!
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. You can see how I cover the pan with foil in my video here above the recipe (it's for a similar recipe!).
{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.