This is my all-time favorite banana bread recipe.
I found this banana bread recipe when I was looking to incorporate healthier substitutes into my baking and frankly I like it better than the recipe I grew up making with my mom. It uses canola oil instead of butter, maple syrup instead of sugar, and whole wheat flour instead of AP flour. Feel free to *zhuzh* it up as you please; my personal favorite thing to do is add as many chocolate chips as I’m feeling that day.
A few notes:
- The bananas: The more ripe your bananas are, the better. We often freeze our ripe bananas so if you also have frozen bananas around, leave them out to defrost on the counter for a few hours before mashing and adding them to the batter.
- Oil and Sweetener: I use maple syrup and canola oil whenever I make a loaf of this banana bread, however, other neutral oils like vegetable oil or other sweeteners like honey will work just as well.
- Add more cinnamon: You can never have too much cinnamon in banana bread! If you love cinnamon, you can always add more and adjust to your taste.
- Make the loaf extra pretty: One hack to make your banana bread look picture-perfect every time is to sprinkle a handful of chocolate chips (my favorite are the 60% Ghirardelli ones) on top of the batter before you bake your bread.
Whole Wheat Chocolate Chip Banana Bread
This is my favorite banana bread recipe to date (even beating out my family recipe). With a few easy healthy ingredient substitutions, both your waste line and your taste buds can be happy.
Ingredients
- 1/3 Cup Canola Oil
- 1/2 Cup Maple Syrup
- 2 Eggs
- 3 Medium Bananas Very ripe and mashed
- 1/4 Cup Milk
- 1 tsp Baking Soda
- 1 tsp Vanilla
- 1/2 tsp Salt
- 1/2 tsp Cinnamon
- 1 3/4 Cups Whole Wheat Flour
- 3/4 Cup Chocolate Chips
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350℉ and grease a 9×5 inch loaf pan.
- In a small bowl, mash the bananas together until soupy.3 Medium Bananas
- In a large bowl, beat oil and maple syrup together. Add eggs and beat well.1/3 Cup Canola Oil, 1/2 Cup Maple Syrup, 2 Eggs
- Stir in bananas, milk and vanilla.1/4 Cup Milk, 1 tsp Vanilla
- Add in the baking soda, cinnamon, and salt. For the cinnamon and salt, I would recommend the 1/2 teaspoon to be slightly heaping, not level.1 tsp Baking Soda, 1/2 tsp Cinnamon, 1/2 tsp Salt
- Stir in the flour, just until combined, and then add in the chocolate chips to taste.1 3/4 Cups Whole Wheat Flour, 3/4 Cup Chocolate Chips
- Spread batter into the greased loaf pan and bang on counter top to release any air bubbles. Sprinkle a few more chocolate chips on top if you want to make it look extra pretty.
- Bake for about 55-60 minutes or until a knife or toothpick comes out clean when inserted in the middle.
- Let the bread cool in the loaf pan for 5 minutes, then transfer it to a wire rack to cool for 30 minutes to an hour before slicing.
Notes
- The bananas: The more ripe your bananas are, the better. We often freeze our ripe bananas so if you also have frozen bananas around, leave them out to defrost on the counter for a few hours before mashing and adding them to the batter.
- Oil and Sweetener: I use maple syrup and canola oil whenever I make a loaf of this banana bread, however, other neutral oils like vegetable oil or other sweeteners like honey will work just as well.
- Add more cinnamon: You can never have too much cinnamon in banana bread! If you love cinnamon, you can always add more and adjust to your taste.
- Make the loaf extra pretty: One hack to make your banana bread look picture-perfect every time is to sprinkle a handful of chocolate chips (my favorite are the 60% Ghirardelli ones) on top of the batter before you bake your bread.
