No butter, no oil. 100% whole wheat and actually good tasting whole wheat banana bread!
Happy new week to you! How was your weekend? Delicious plans? I sure hope so. We had our monthly game night filled with food, friends and cake batter desserts. It was one of those nights where I went completely off track but hey, worth it.
I’m getting a little personal here on a Monday, but I’ve had the opportunity to take a step back and relax mentally lately. Forcing myself out of structure and routines has been quite a challenge but enjoyable at the same time. We have a lot going on in our life right now and I’m trying to not stress about it but instead find the joy and sense of accomplishment in it all. Sometimes we lose sight of the little things because we are so busy with life. Later this week we head up north for a week at the beach to see family. It’s the first trip back since the passing of my father-in-law in late June. And while we can’t wait to see family, it’s just a weird feeling. Idk, I’m just feeling all the feels right now.
Ok, enough deep thoughts.
Time to dig in to this↓
I always say I’m obsessed with my recipes because well, it’s food and I like to eat. Duh. But this whole wheat banana bread is no exception. I had zero expectations and was shocked at the end result: so flavorful and moist. Even Chris’ co-workers raved about it (<– a bunch of guys I might add)! After 1 bite I was in heaven.
No lie when I tell you I made this break 3x in one week. You read that right. SO MUCH BANANA BREAD.
No butter, no oil, no tricks; just two bowls– one dry, one wet and mix together.
I love banana bread– it’s one of those “welcome anywhere” breads. But when it’s for dessert you slather on a nice helping of Nutella? I do.
100% actually good tasting whole wheat banana bread.
Take THAT full-fat banana bread.
Whole Wheat Banana Bread
- Total Time: 1 hours
Ingredients
- 6 tablespoons unsweetened applesauce
- 1/4 cup honey
- 2 tablespoons packed light or dark brown sugar
- 2 large egg whites
- 1 large egg
- 2 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1/3 cup unsweetened almond milk*
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 2 1/4 cups whole wheat flour
- 1 1/4 teaspoons baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 4 medium ripe bananas, mashed (about 1 and 1/2 cups)
- 3/4 cup chopped walnuts
- optional: 1/3 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
Instructions
- Adjust the oven rack to the lowest level; this prevents the top of your bread from browning too much too soon. Preheat the oven to 350°F (177°C) and spray a 9×5 inch load pan with non-stick spray. Set aside.
- In a medium bowl, whisk the applesauce, honey, brown sugar, milk, vanilla and eggs until combined. Then, whisk in the mashed bananas. The mixture should be *almost* smooth; I like to leave some chunks to the bananas. Set aside. In a large bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt. Gently fold in the walnuts. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and slowly whisk together until *just* combined. Overmixing = too dense.
- Pour the batter into the prepared loaf pan. Bake for 50-55 minutes, making sure to loosely cover the bread with aluminum foil halfway through to prevent the top from getting too brown. The bread is done when a tooth pick inserted into the center comes out clean with only a few moist crumbs. The loaf in the pictures took exactly 52 minutes, so be sure to start checking at the 50 minute mark since every oven is different.
- Allow the bread to cool completely in the loaf pan on a wire rack before slicing. The bread will stay fresh in an airtight container (it always tastes better on day 2!) at room temperature or in the refrigerator for up to 7 days. Baked bread can be frozen for up to 3 months and thawed overnight in the refrigerator.
Notes
If you’re adding semi-sweet chocolate chips, add them in step 2 with the walnuts. This will prevent overmixing when combining the ingredients.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 45 minutes
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