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Healthy Honey Banana Bread with Cinnamon Swirl

This healthy banana bread is filling and delicious, with whole wheat flour and sweetened with honey and bananas, in between there's a luscious honey cinnamon swirl, making this banana bread the ultimate brunch experience without the guilt. Both the banana and the honey make it so moist, this is definitely my very favorite and simple banana bread recipe.

 

Three slices of banana bread stacked on top of each other.

 

When you've got ripe bananas and honey, you honestly do not need any sugar. This is sweet enough on its own. And what's actually the craziest about everything is that there's no oil or butter and I looove my butter.

 

This healthy banana bread is made with yogurt instead, and because of all the flavors from the banana, vanilla, honey, and cinnamon, you don't need butter either. It's insane, I know.

 

But of course, a little smear of butter for serving, is super delicious though. When the banana bread has no butter, you can spread it on top without the guilt! For some healthier muffins too, I can redirect you to these delicious pumpkin banana muffins!

 

If baked banana recipes are your thing, I also highly recommend fluffy and healthy banana pancakes, banana snickerdoodles, and moist double chocolate banana muffins.

 

Slice of banana bread with a dollop of butter, coffee in the background.

 

Is banana bread good for you?

 

Bananas are definitely good for you, being high in potassium, vitamin B6, magnesium and a lot of other vitamins and minerals. Bananas contain a lot of carbs and fiber, very little protein and almost no fat.

 

However, a ripe banana contains less nutrients than unripe bananas, and you need ripe bananas in order to make a good banana bread. They are only 105 calories, and are great for keeping you full for longer, which will be good for weight loss.

 

This healthy banana bread recipe has a lot of good stuff for you, such as eggs, greek yoghurt and milk and whole wheat flour.

 

Banana bread with halved bananas on top, still in the load pan.

 

  • Whole wheat flour contains a lot of riboflavin, B1, B3, B6, iron, magnesium and other nutrients.
  • Eggs are super nutritious and high in protein.
  • Greek yogurt is great for gut health because of the probiotics, high in calcium and B12 too. If you want more breakfast options for your Greek yogurt, I highly recommend this lemon protein chia yogurt bowl.
  • Milk will vary depending on what kind you choose. I use 1% cow's milk which is lower in fat but equally nutritious as any cow's milk. Great for bone health.
  • Honey is antibacterial, and has anti-inflammatory effects (why it's great in a sore throat tea!) but it is sugar after all.

 

In conclusion, I would say this particular banana bread is good for you, but keep in mind that ripe bananas and honey are sugar, which should be eaten in moderation.

 

Is banana bread good for weight loss? And is it healthier than cake?

 

First off, this will depend upon the banana bread recipe. A lot of banana bread recipes have a lot of sugar, and therefore wouldn't be good for weight loss, and is probably not healthier than cake either.

 

If I were trying to lose weight, I likely wouldn't go for banana bread for breakfast. I would go for whole wheat bread rolls with scrambled eggs. I need my breakfast to be really filling, and that is filling and healthy and not overly sweet.

 

However, if you've got a sweet tooth for breakfast, this banana bread recipe is 178 calories per slice, and I think that's pretty good too!

 

Sliced open banana bread, sunflowers in the background.

 

Keep in mind that I only make recipes that taste good, and so I wouldn't create a banana bread recipe just for the sake of weight loss, hence why I use honey and all purpose flour as well. BUT, it is healthier than a lot of banana bread recipes, and to me, it's just the right amount of healthy - it's all about the balance!

 

And yes, this banana bread is definitely healthier than a slice of cake. But what would life be without cake?

 

To make the bread into muffins

 

Banana bread isn't exactly bread as there's no yeast, but a quick bread, which contains similar ingredients to muffins and cakes already. That means there will be no problem in making banana bread into muffins.

 

Using a muffin tin with liners, fill them ⅔ the way up and bake on 350F (175C) for about 20 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean.

 

And when you need that chocolate fix, here are my delicious and moist double chocolate banana muffins.

 

One bite siced piece of banana bread on a fork.

 

How to make this super simple honey banana bread

 

Pre-heat oven to 350F (175C) and grease a 9x5 in (or 27x10cm) loaf pan with cooking spray or use parchment paper.

 

Gather your ingredients and mash your bananas. Add the dry ingredient to a medium bowl: flours, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt (1). In a large bowl, mix honey and eggs until combined (2) and then add in greek yoghurt, milk, vanilla and bananas (3). Fold in the dry ingredients with a spatula (4).

 

Steps to make banana bread batter.

 

Pour ⅓ of the batter into the loaf pan (5). Mix 3 tablespoon honey with 1 teaspoon cinnamon and drizzle half of it on top of the batter (6). Continue with ⅓ batter, ½ cinnamon swirl, and end with ⅓ batter (7). If you want, you can take a third banana and slice it lengthwise, press it a little down on top of the batter (8).

 

The banana on top is not only for decoration, I really like the extra banana flavor and texture, but it's not crucial to make a delicious banana bread!

 

Steps to pour batter and cinnamon swirl in bread pan.

 

Bake in the middle of the oven for about 1 hour or until a toothpick comes out mostly clean with just a few moist crumbs. Let it cool in the pan for about 10 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to continue to cool.

 

I can never wait for the banana bread to be completely cool before I slice it, but lukewarm should be ok. Smear a little butter on top, because you're worth it! This is delicious with a cup of apple caramel latte macchiato too.

 

If you're interested in more quick bread recipes, I recommend this lemon zucchini bread.

 

Did you like this recipe? Here's more I think you'll like:

 

 

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📖 Recipe

Three slices of banana bread stacked on top of each other.

Healthy Honey Banana Bread with Cinnamon Swirl

Yield: 10 slices
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 1 hour
Total Time: 1 hour 15 minutes

Healthy banana bread only sweetened with honey and bananas, inside there's a luscious honey cinnamon swirl, making it the ultimate brunch without the guilt.

Ingredients

  • 1 cup all purpose flour, 125g
  • 1 cup whole wheat flour, 120g
  • 2 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon cinnamon
  • ½ teaspoon nutmeg, optional
  • ¼ teaspoon salt
  • 2 large ripe bananas, mashed (+ 1 sliced lengtwise for decoration, optional)
  • 2 eggs
  • ½ cup honey, 170g
  • 4 tablespoon greek yoghurt
  • 4 tablespoon milk, of your choice
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, optional

Cinnamon Swirl

  • 3 tablespoon honey
  • 1 teaspoon cinnamon

Instructions

  1. Preparations: Pre-heat oven to 350F (175C). Lightly grease a 9x5 in (27x10cm) loaf tin with cooking spray or oil. You can also use parchment paper if you want to.
  2. Mix the dry ingredients together: flours, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt, in a medium bowl.
  3. Mix wet ingredients: Mash the bananas. In a large bowl, mix eggs and honey together, then add in bananas, greek yoghurt, milk and vanilla. Mix until combined.
  4. Mix dry into wet: Working in batches, fold in the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients, until just incorporated. Try not to overmix!
  5. Make cinnamon swirl: Mix honey and cinnamon into a thin paste.
  6. Pour into the loaf pan: Start by adding ⅓ of the banana bread batter into the pan. Drizzle half of the cinnamon paste over, before pouring over another ⅓ of the batter. Now swirl the rest of the cinnamon paste over, before the last ⅓ of the batter.
  7. Optional: Slice a banana lengthwise and top the batter with it, lightly pressing down. I like the extra texture and banana flavor this gives, it's not just a decoration!
  8. Bake: On the middle rack for 1 hour. Optional: brush with butter on top for that sweet and salty combination.
  9. Cool: Cool 5-10 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool 'completely' (this just means cool enough to slice because slightly warm banana bread is the BEST!)
  10. Serve: Slice into 12-ish slices. Best with some butter on, but delicious either way!
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 10 Serving Size: 1-inch slice
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 178Total Fat: 1.9gSaturated Fat: 0.4gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 1gCholesterol: 28mgSodium: 65mgCarbohydrates: 37.9gFiber: 2.3gSugar: 20gProtein: 4.2g

Nutrition information isn't always accurate, estimate for informational purposes only.

Did you make this recipe?

Please leave a comment on the blog or tag @thegingerwithspice on Instagram, I'd love to see!

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LIz

Thursday 13th of August 2020

Hello! This looks amazing :D I have a few question I'd like to ask; Is it okay if iI use only whole wheat flour? Also could I add in some cocoa powder?

Thank! can't wait to bake these <3

Stine Mari | Ginger with Spice

Friday 14th of August 2020

Hello! Yes, you could use only whole wheat flour, but it will not be as fluffy. And you can add in some cocoa powder too. To add cocoa powder you need to use less flour, about the same in weight. So 20g cocoa powder means 20g less flour. Hope this helps! And thank you so much! :)

Ramona

Tuesday 12th of May 2020

I love how moist your banana cake is, I was thinking of making one soon and your recipe looks so delicious that I may bring the plans of making a banana loaf way forward now. Lovely a quick recipe, thanks so much for sharing.

Stine Mari | Ginger with Spice

Wednesday 13th of May 2020

I hope you do, and that you will like it as well. Thank you so much!

Julie @ Running in a Skirt

Tuesday 12th of May 2020

This healthy banana bread is not only gorgeous but so tasty. The honey in this is perfection and the flavors are so tasty. Love how it all comes together.

Stine Mari | Ginger with Spice

Wednesday 13th of May 2020

Thank you, Julie. I'm so glad you liked it!

April

Tuesday 12th of May 2020

This healthy banana bread looks incredible! Seriously, I've never seen a healthy banana bread recipe look so good. I can tell it's moist. I love butter too,so it's going to be hard to leave it out of banana bread, but I'm going to make this recipe to the "t" and see what happens! I just want to reach out and grab it! Yum!

Stine Mari | Ginger with Spice

Wednesday 13th of May 2020

Yes, I was so sceptical about leaving out the butter too, but it was amazing! I hope you will like it, and thank you so much!

Emily

Sunday 10th of May 2020

Everything about this banana bread is amazing! The texture, the flavor, the presentation!

Stine Mari | Ginger with Spice

Sunday 10th of May 2020

Thank you so very much!

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