This is the best banana bread recipe that’s healthy, easy to make and moist! There’s no butter, add walnuts or chocolate chips or even make muffins instead!
We eat a lot of bananas. They’re cheap all year long and easy to consume. High fives for a no-cook snack!
The problem, though, is they often go brown before we can eat them all – ESPECIALLY when it’s warm outside.
In the past, my go-to recipe has been this banana muffin recipe. If I’m feeling extra sassy, I’ll make chocolate chip banana bread muffins.
But when I came across a caramelized banana bread recipe, I was intrigued. I mean, how could anything that has been “caramelized” taste bad?
Turns out, it can’t!
Not only is this banana bread recipe DELICIOUS, but it’s also:
MOIST + HEALTHY + EASY + SIMPLE = the best banana bread recipe I’ve ever made.
MOIST Banana Bread
We’re using 3 bananas in this homemade banana bread, and couple that with coconut oil and somehow when you add it all up, it magically turns into THE MOST MOIST banana bread recipe you’ve ever made.
Without falling apart in your hands, of course. I promise, there’s no crumbing going on here.
HEALTHY Banana Bread
I don’t believe fat is bad for you, and in fact, we’re conscious of ways to eat more coconut oil on a daily basis. Sugar, on the other hand, is the enemy. Doing the Whole30 as a family taught us that!
Fortunately, this banana bread has just 1/3 cup for the whole loaf! Next time I make this, I’m cutting it back to a ¼ cup to see what will happen, because really, this healthy banana bread recipe is just SO GOOD with very little sugar!
EASY Banana Bread
At the risk of sounding like a broken record, this easy banana bread recipe really is easy!
Once you caramelize the bananas, everything happens in one bowl. Then you pour into the pan and bake. Clean-up is minimal!
I’ve been known to caramelize the bananas early in the day, and then bake the bread later on. You can totally do that, too! In fact, I bet you could even caramelize the bananas and blend up the eggs a day or two ahead of time, and then bring them to room temperature before baking without affecting the bread at all.
SIMPLE Banana Bread
We’re not using fancy ingredients here – everything in the recipe can be found in your pantry. Simple ingredients means a simple banana bread recipe you’ll want to make over and over again, whether or not your bananas have turned brown!
(And yes, I’ve tested with ripe and over-ripe bananas and you’re good to go either way!)
How to Make This Caramelized Banana Bread Recipe
This recipe is pretty straightforward, with the most involved step being caramelizing the bananas.
Start with melting your coconut oil in a medium saucepan over medium low heat.
Then add the sugar and bananas and stir gently, bringing the heat down to low. At this point, the sugar needs to caramelize and the bananas need to cook for about 15 minutes or so, with the occasional stir.
Let it cool and the hard part is over, because all that’s left is blending the bananas with the eggs in a blender (I have and LOVE a Blendtec) and then adding this to the dry ingredients in a big bowl.
Pour the batter into a prepared loaf pan (these are the loaf pans I use and recommend) and bake. You’re done!
Is this Banana NUT Bread Recipe… or is it nut-free?
Good question! My kids always pick the nuts off, so I usually don’t make banana NUT bread… however, I added walnuts on a whim and OH MY GOODNESS. Game-changer. Somehow, someway, the walnuts become IRRESISTABLE when combined with the banana bread.
Don’t ask me how, because I don’t know. But I do know that my husband literally could not stop eating this banana bread.
And I also know that my kids pump their fists in the air when I tell them I’m making this banana bread. So, if that doesn’t say this recipe is a winner, I don’t know what will!
Banana Bread Ingredient Breakdown
As I mentioned, the ingredients are pretty straight-forward.
Flour. I used einkorn all-purpose flour for these photos, but I’ve made it using freshly ground whole grain einkorn and it’s just as good! (I saved up for this grain mill, and here’s my honest review compared to another popular model.)
You can substitute with regular all-purpose flour, whole wheat flour or even a combination between the two without adjusting anything else.
Sugar. I used Turbinado, which is one step better than granulated white sugar. You could use palm sugar, coconut sugar or maple sugar without making any other changes.
I have not tested this recipe using maple syrup or honey, primarily because einkorn is slow to absorb liquid and I didn’t want to disturb the dry/wet ratio.
Bananas. Use whatever you have – over-ripe, under-ripe or just perfect. They’ll all work!
I know your time is valuable, so I have a few “hacks” to share with you to help you get this banana bread recipe on the table faster, with less work.
Can banana bread be frozen?
YES! You can make this, let it cool, slice it and then freeze for later. I recommend wrapping twice – once in plastic wrap and then again in a freezer-safe bag – to prevent freezer burn. (Read the whole article on freezing bread here).
Can the banana bread BATTER be frozen?
Yes, again! I shared my hack for freezing muffin batter before, and it will work here, too! I recommend bringing the batter to room temperature if you’re doing loaf, but muffins can go straight from the freezer to the oven with a few extra minutes of baking time.
Can this banana bread recipe be used for muffins?
Oh, yes! Just about any quick bread recipe like this one (and my zucchini muffin recipe and my pumpkin bread recipe) can be made into muffins. Just adjust the cooking time!
Does banana bread need to be refrigerated? Or can it sit out?
We keep this banana bread out on our kitchen counter for about 3 days. By that time, it’s all gone!
If you want to store it longer, or if it’s exceptionally warm in your home, I’d recommend keeping it in the fridge.
Caramelized Banana Bread
This is the best banana bread recipe that’s healthy, easy to make and moist! There’s no butter, add walnuts or chocolate chips or even make muffins instead!
- Prep Time: 20 mins
- Cook Time: 42 mins
- Total Time: 1 hour 2 mins
- Yield: 1 loaf 1x
- Category: Bread
- Method: Bake
- Cuisine: American
Ingredients
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350F.
- Melt the coconut oil in a medium saucepan over medium-low heat. When it’s melted, cut the bananas into 1” pieces and place them and the sugar in the pan. Turn the heat to low and let the bananas and sugar caramelize for about 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Meanwhile, combine the flour, baking soda and salt in a large bowl.
- Grease and flour a 4 ½” x 8 ½” loaf pan.
- When the bananas are caramelized, set them aside to cool for about 10 minutes.
- Combine the cooled bananas and eggs in a blender and process until smooth. Add this to the flour and using a stiff spatula, mix until JUST combined. Do not overmix.
- At this point you can gently fold in the walnuts if using – OR – pour the batter into the prepared loaf pan and sprinkle the top with the nuts.
- Bake for 42 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean when inserted into the middle.
- Allow the banana bread to cool in the pan for 10 minutes, and then cool on a wire rack for at least 30 minutes.
- Store at room temperature for 3 days, or covered in the refrigerator for 5 days.
Notes
Inspired by Einkorn: Recipes for Nature’s Original Wheat.
Keywords: Banana bread recipe
A Delicious Caramelized Banana Bread Recipe
*Sometimes we just need to change up a basic banana bread and try something different. Thankfully this recipe is so moist! And it only takes a couple extra minutes to caramelize the bananas.
*Don’t forget this can be made ahead and frozen, and this can be made into muffins instead.
*Caught the Baking Bug? Try these other banana, pumpkin, and zucchini bread recipes:
Is it possible to replace bananas with an other fruit? My kid can´t have bananas. Thank you.
Florence,
Bananas add moisture to this banana bread recipe. You could try applesauce – but then it wouldn’t be banana bread. This is a nice alternative recipe: https://dontwastethecrumbs.com/chocolate-zucchini-bread/. Hope this helps. 🙂
If using wholemeal flour, this 1 loaf is 2,500 calories
★★★★★
This sounds so good I make banana cake will use this recipe in future
I had a pretty tasteless loaf as well – its possible I used too much flour, but the batter was much stiffer than a typical banana bread batter should be. Are there really no other liquids besides the bananas, eggs, and oil?
Katie, those are the liquids. You can add a second egg or another banana if you need to, also make sure not to bang it around in the pan because that can make it more dense.
The first time I baked this loaf, I measured the coconut oil in its solid state. It baked in 42 minutes and it was moist and delicious. The second time I baked the loaf, it was a hot day and the coconut oil was partially melted when I measured it. This time the batter came out thicker. It took 57 minutes to bake until a toothpick inserted the center came out clean. I think next time I will refrigerate the coconut oil to firm it up prior to measuring. I am discovering that using grams as a measurement and a kitchen scale yields more consistent results. Hope this helps. I also added a teaspoon of vanilla. I really like this recipe.
★★★★★
Thanks for sharing Iris! Glad you liked it. 🙂
The batter was too dry, and got over mixed as there was not enough liquid. I added some milk but the loaf came out too dense. I liked the idea of caramalizing the bananas but the cake batter didn’t work for me.
I made this today for the first time and accidentally over-baked it by 5-10 minutes (didn’t hear my timer.) Needless to say it a bit dry and hard, but what surprised me is the lack of flavor overall. It didn’t taste like banana bread (I used 3 very ripe bananas and followed recipe to a T except for over-baking it.) Could the over-baking mess with the flavor that much? It smelled SO good while baking and I’m sad I messed up my timing, but am hesitant to try this again considering the flavor issues.
★★★★
If your bread tasted lack of flavor, I’d say it was the over-baking. I’ve made this loaf numerous times and every time it’s been delicious!
Do you have a gluten free version of the carmelized banana bread?
I don’t Sharon. 🙁 My daughter is sensitive to gluten, but tolerates einkorn so I have not mastered GF flours.
I mashed my bananas when I put them in with the oil and sugar. Will they still caramelize?
They will slightly – I’ve partially mashed on accident and the bread still came out delicious!
Hi Tiffany, You had me at caramelized. I thought it looks so delicious that I have to try making it right now (as muffins). As I am almost done, I realize that I don’t see the oven temperature. Can you add it to the recipe? Thanks!
Oh yes – I’m so sorry Marie! It’s 350F.
I don’t see an oven temperature listed.
Sorry about that Kathi – it should be 350F.
I’ve eaten caramelized bananas before, but not caramelized banana bread. What a clever idea — now I must try it!
Muffins are probably my favourite quick bread, but I love biscuits and loaf breads too!
Basically, if it’s yummy I’ll eat it!