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Whole Wheat Banana Bread Recipe (one bowl!) – with VIDEO

4.6
/5
1 hr 35 mins
46 Comments
Jump to Recipe
By: Rachel GurkPosted: 05/16/2018Updated: 06/14/2021

This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure policy.

Whole Wheat Banana Bread is a staple in my house - my kids adore it and it's the perfect use for ripe bananas. People are always shocked when I tell them this is healthy! It freezes well and it's going to become a staple in your house, too.

Whole Wheat Banana Bread is a staple in my house – my kids adore it and it’s the perfect use for ripe bananas. People are always shocked when I tell them this is healthy! It freezes well and it’s going to become a staple in your house, too.

image of whole wheat banana bread cut on a tray

When I realized I hadn’t posted this recipe, I knew I had to get on it, right away! It’s one of my favorites and one that I make so frequently. I even let my type-A personality take the backseat sometimes and let my kids help me out with this one. They love using the potato masher to mash the bananas. They also love talking me into adding some chocolate chips.

I’ve shared a few varieties of this bread — whole wheat caramel banana bread, whole wheat banana bread with chocolate chips and coconut, reduced-fat chocolate banana bread, and skinny banana bread muffins! We really do love this whole wheat banana bread in every shape and form.

Even with all its different variations, this version is the one I go to most often. If I have enough bananas, I almost always make two loaves. I’m all about doubling up on things because it isn’t too much more work to use a bigger bowl and wash two loaf pans, and then I have a loaf to freeze. This banana bread freezes super well – you can freeze it whole or you can freeze it cut up into slices so you can easily grab one and go.

Banana bread in metal loaf pan on wooden tray.

When I first began making this banana bread, I’d always use three bowls. One bowl for mashing the bananas, one for the wet ingredients, and one final bowl for the dry ingredients. It’s the type-A in me again, probably. Then I remembered that I don’t like doing dishes, so I switched to the method I use now. It uses one bowl…usually my big giant stainless steel bowl that is typically reserved for holding my precious popcorn.

Sliced loaf on wooden tray, front slice with melting pat of butter.

I start off by mashing the bananas in the bottom of the bowl. To the bananas, I add the rest of the wet ingredients. On top of them, I gently add the dry ingredients. I’ll give those a little toss together before stirring them into the wet ingredients. I’ll let you in on a secret – it turns out the exact same way! And it’s a third of the dishes. It’s a beautiful thing, right?

Sliced loaf of banana bread on wooden tray, wrapped stick of butter and another loaf in background.

I know you guys are going to absolutely love this banana bread as much as we do – make sure to watch the video, too!

Enjoy this whole wheat banana bread today!

Looking for more banana recipes?

 

  • The Best Banana Cake
  • Banana Chocolate Chip Cake with Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting
  • Triple Chocolate Banana Muffins
  • Healthy Banana Pancakes — Whole Wheat
  • Skinny Banana Bread Muffins
  • Banana and Chocolate Pudding Dessert Bites
  • Peanut Butter Chocolate Banana Milkshake
  • Banana Split Pancakes
  • Creamy Mango Banana Smoothie

Did you make this? Be sure to leave a review below and tag me @rachelcooksblog on Facebook, Instagram, or Pinterest!

Whole wheat banana bread, partially sliced.
Recipe

Get the Recipe: Whole Wheat Banana Bread

4.6 from 54 votes
Prep Time: 15 mins
Cook Time: 1 hr
Additional Time: 20 mins
Total Time: 1 hr 35 mins
10 servings
Print Rate Recipe
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Whole wheat banana bread is a staple in my house - my kids love it and it's a perfect way to use ripe bananas. It freezes well and makes a great lunchbox treat!

Ingredients

  • 1 1/2 cups mashed ripe bananas (3 large bananas)
  • 2 large eggs, beaten
  • 3/4 cup sugar
  • 1/2 cup applesauce
  • 2 tablespoons oil (vegetable, canola, or coconut)
  • 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
  • 2 cups whole wheat flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 350°F.
  • Place mashed bananas in a large bowl (I'd mash them right in this bowl to save dishes!). Add eggs, sugar, applesauce, oil, and vanilla. Whisk to combine wet ingredients.
  • On top of wet ingredients, add whole wheat flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Gently mix the dry ingredients together before stirring into the wet ingredients.
  • Whisk all ingredients together just until combined.
  • Spray a 8- or 9-inch loaf pan with nonstick cooking spray. Add banana bread batter and smooth out into an even layer.
  • Bake for 55-60 minutes or until a toothpick or knife inserted in the center comes out clean or with a few crumbs.
  • Cool for 10-15 minutes in the pan before turning out of the pan onto a cooling rack. Cool completely before slicing.

Notes

  • Banana bread, wrapped well, will keep at room temperature for a few days. For longer storage, store in refrigerator for up to 1 week or in freezer for up to a month. If desired, slice first before freezing so individual slices can be removed.
  • If desired, replace whole wheat flour with all-purpose flour, or a combination of the two.
  • Sugar can be reduced to 1/2 cup, if you'd like to reduce added sugar. The bananas and applesauce add lots of natural sweetness.

Nutrition Information

Serving: 1slice, Calories: 213kcal, Carbohydrates: 42g, Protein: 5g, Fat: 4g, Saturated Fat: 1g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g, Monounsaturated Fat: 2g, Trans Fat: 1g, Cholesterol: 33mg, Sodium: 261mg, Potassium: 230mg, Fiber: 4g, Sugar: 20g, Vitamin A: 75IU, Vitamin C: 3mg, Calcium: 27mg, Iron: 1mg

This website provides approximate nutrition information for convenience and as a courtesy only. Nutrition data is gathered primarily from the USDA Food Composition Database, whenever available, or otherwise other online calculators.

© Author: Rachel Gurk
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  1. Jack Jones says

    February 11, 2020 at 6:21 am

    You have fantastic recipes, and living in the UK, there are (very few) ingredients I sometimes have to replace. But your site has relegated my 15+ cookbooks to a dust collecting shelf. Thank you.

    Reply
    • Rachel Gurk says

      February 12, 2020 at 10:26 am

      I’m so glad to hear that! Thanks for taking the time to let me know!!

      Reply
  2. josephine ramos says

    February 4, 2020 at 1:10 am

    Hi Rachel, I’ve made this cake basically every week since I found your recipe. I have my happy Monday night using up the overripe fruit and veg cook party. Well, this time I added to the recipe: cut crystalized ginger, cut crystallized lemon slices, hazelnuts and ground cardoon seeds, touch of mace. Oh my, so good. Your master recipe is extraordinary, thank you for sharing  

    Reply
    • Rachel Gurk says

      February 6, 2020 at 6:14 am

      I’m so glad you like it! And I love that you’re adding some fun additions. Thanks for sharing!

      Reply
  3. Lino says

    August 31, 2019 at 7:25 am

    Hi Rachel, I followed this recipe yesterday, the cake texture was very good, I used plain yogurt instead of apple sauce, cut the sugar to 1/2cup and used 1.5 cups wheat flour and 1/2 cup flaxseed grounded, and added few chocolate chips, so cake was healthy and tasty too… Thank you for this recipe, will stick to this recipe for future banana breads

    Reply
    • Rachel Gurk says

      September 4, 2019 at 12:41 pm

      So happy you liked this recipe! Thank you for taking the time to come back and leave a comment!

      Reply
  4. Kara Plantinga says

    July 25, 2019 at 9:06 am

    Followed the recipe except subbed 1 cup of regular flour for whole wheat and added 1/4 cup of flax seed meal…oh and a 1/2 cup of chocolate chips. :) It was delicious! My mother-in-law had some and said she needed the recipe.

    Reply
    • Rachel Gurk says

      July 28, 2019 at 7:59 am

      So glad you liked it! The kids and I were thinking about making a couple loaves today, we have some brown bananas to use up..

      Reply
  5. Patricia Schmidt says

    June 30, 2019 at 5:52 pm

    Can you make this in a bread machine?

    Reply
    • Rachel Gurk says

      July 1, 2019 at 9:16 pm

      I don’t think that would work for this recipe since it’s a quick bread and not a yeast bread.

      Reply
  6. Fran B. says

    May 9, 2019 at 7:26 pm

    Since I didn’t have any applesauce, but did have the same amount of pumpkin puree, I decided to try this route. It was really good. I love this one bowl mix–so easy less clean-up.

    Reply
    • Rachel Gurk says

      May 10, 2019 at 7:01 am

      I’m so glad it worked out and you liked the recipe! Thanks for taking the time to come back and leave a comment!

      Reply
  7. Kien says

    April 19, 2019 at 8:54 am

    Could I possibly use 2 tbsp of melted butter and plain yogurt instead? So excited to try this.

    Reply
    • Rachel Gurk says

      April 19, 2019 at 9:32 am

      I’m assuming you mean plain yogurt instead of the applesauce? And butter instead of coconut oil? I haven’t tested it that way, but I imagine it should work.

      Reply
  8. Estef says

    February 17, 2019 at 5:13 pm

    I followed the recipe as it is and made my own applesauce, and it turned out delicious! Thanks!

    Reply
    • Rachel Gurk says

      February 17, 2019 at 8:45 pm

      I’m so glad to hear that! Thank you for taking the time to come back and leave a comment!

      Reply
  9. Linda says

    February 14, 2019 at 11:47 am

    Absolutely delicious, I’ve tried several whole wheat bread recipes yours’  is the best.  

    Reply
    • Rachel Gurk says

      February 14, 2019 at 12:25 pm

      Wow, thank you so much! I’m so happy that you like it! Thank you so much for taking the time to come and leave a comment – it means so much to me!

      Reply
  10. Theresa says

    January 27, 2019 at 10:21 pm

    I was looking for a banana bread recipe using wheat flour. I followed the recipe as written. It is delicious! I have found a keeper.

    Reply
    • Rachel Gurk says

      January 28, 2019 at 7:48 am

      So glad you liked this recipe, Theresa! We just made a batch on Saturday but my kids talked me into adding chocolate chips. This is one of my most-used recipes in my own home and I’m so glad you’re enjoying it too! Thanks for taking the time to come back and leave a comment!

      Reply
  11. Leonora says

    January 8, 2019 at 3:28 pm

    I cut the sugar to 1/2 C. brown sugar, and added 1/2 C. walnuts and 1/2 C. chocolate chips.  It’s delicious.  Thanks for the recipe!  I’ll try the version with coconut next.  

    One note on timing:  Usually my oven takes a few minutes longer than a recipe states, but for this recipe, it needed a few minutes less.  At 57 minutes, I could smell it really needed to come out and took it out of the pan immediately.  Next time I’ll take it out at 50 min and let it cook in the pan IAW recipe. 

    Reply
    • Rachel Gurk says

      January 10, 2019 at 6:52 am

      Loving the addition of walnuts! It could be your loaf browned faster due to the brown sugar? But I’m glad it worked out! Thanks for taking the time to leave a comment!

      Reply
  12. Nicole says

    September 1, 2018 at 7:56 pm

    Can honey be used as a substitute for sugar?

    Reply
    • Rachel Gurk says

      September 4, 2018 at 6:05 pm

      I haven’t tested this recipe that way, but I bet it would work great!

      Reply
  13. Inem Sam says

    August 7, 2018 at 1:10 pm

    Can I substitute fresh pineapple puree for the applesauce. Cos I don’t have applesauce. Or is there a way to make applesauce at home?

    Reply
    • Rachel Gurk says

      August 9, 2018 at 9:08 am

      You can make applesauce at home by cooking peeled and cored apples on the stove until they are soft, adding water as needed to get the right consistency. Pineapple puree will drastically change the flavor of this recipe…but it might be tasty nonetheless. Let me know what you end up trying!

      Reply
  14. Penny Pombert says

    July 18, 2018 at 4:43 pm

    don’t have any apple sauce.

    Reply
    • Rachel Gurk says

      July 23, 2018 at 10:24 pm

      Try plain yogurt instead!

      Reply
      • Lisa says

        June 26, 2019 at 3:37 pm

        Just made this recipe with my kids!! My picky eaters devoured their piece and asked for more!! The only thing I did different was I made it as mini muffins, same recipe, same oven temp, for 13 minutes. Thank you sooo much!!! This was everything you look for in banana bread.. sweet.. moist!! I enjoy mine with butter also!

        Reply
        • Rachel Gurk says

          June 29, 2019 at 2:07 pm

          Yesssss!!!! I’m so happy to hear that! Thank you for taking the time to come back and leave a comment!

          Reply
  15. Denise says

    May 16, 2018 at 5:01 pm

    this looks good, unfortunately, I have a food sensitivity to bananas and can no longer eat them

    Reply
    • Rachel Gurk says

      May 17, 2018 at 6:42 am

      Oh no! So sorry to hear that. Try my applesauce bread!

      Reply
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