When I have ripe bananas on my counter, I always crave this moist banana bread recipe made healthier with applesauce in place of butter.
Best Banana Bread Recipe
With overripe bananas, applesauce, and vanilla extract, this classic banana bread is soft, flavorful, and incredibly moist. I tested this recipe a dozen times to make the best banana bread with amazing banana flavor and only a little fat. Whether you’re a seasoned baker or a newbie, this is perfect for any occasion, such as breakfast, back-to-school snacks, or even as a sweet gift. For more healthy banana bread recipes, try my Banana Nut Bread, this Blueberry version, and this Gluten-Free Banana Nut Bread.
Why You’ll Love This Banana Bread Recipe!
- Healthy: I swap the oil or butter for applesauce, making this loaf much lighter than most banana bread recipes.
- Easy: This quick bread is quick and easy! You don’t have to wait for it to rise. Just mix the ingredients and bake.
- Make It Ahead: Banana bread is perfect for meal prep. It’ll last all week in your fridge or freezer.
- Dairy-Free: I used coconut oil instead of butter to keep it allergy-friendly.
Ingredients
- Bananas: Mash three large, ripe bananas. You should have 1 1/3 cups (11 ounces) of mashed bananas total.
- Flour: You’ll need 1 ½ cups of all-purpose flour.
- Baking Powder and Baking Soda cause the bread to rise and makes it more tender.
- Salt improves the flavor and texture and balances the sweetness.
- Coconut Oil: Just two tablespoons of coconut oil adds some moisture while keeping the bread light. You can also swap this for butter or vegetable oil, if you prefer.
- Brown Sugar: I used Lakanto monkfruit for a healthier option, but light brown sugar will also work.
- Egg: You’ll need one large egg.
- Applesauce: Unsweetened applesauce replaces most of the oil.
- Vanilla Extract for flavor
How to Make Banana Bread
- Prep: Preheat the oven to 350°F, and grease an 8×5-inch loaf pan with baking spray.
- Dry Ingredients: Whisk the flour, baking powder, salt, and baking soda.
- Wet Ingredients: Cream the coconut oil, applesauce, and sugar with a stand or hand mixer. Add the egg and vanilla and beat at medium speed until thick. Scrape down the sides of the bowl.
- Combine: Add half of the dry ingredients and blend on low speed until combined. Pour in the remaining flour mixture and the mashed bananas and blend on low, ensuring you don’t overmix.
- Bake: Pour the batter into the loaf pan and bake on the center rack for 45 to 50 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean but moist.
- Serve: Let the pan cool for at least 10 minutes, then turn it over to remove the loaf from the pan. The bread should be at room temperature before slicing to ensure it doesn’t fall apart.
Variations
- Whole Wheat Flour: Swap out half the all purpose flour for whole wheat.
- Chocolate Chip Bread: Add ¾ cups of regular or mini chocolate chips.
- Spices: Add cinnamon, nutmeg, or pumpkin pie spice.
- Banana Nut Bread: Try this recipe if you prefer your bread with walnuts or pecans.
- Peanut Butter: Swirl in some peanut butter to the batter before baking.
- Double the recipe to gift one to a friend or freeze for later.
- Banana Muffins: Pour the batter into a muffin tin and bake for 20 to 25 minutes, checking with a toothpick to confirm they’re ready.
How To Ripen Bananas Quicker
Place bananas in a paper bag and leave them in a warm area for quicker ripening. When the peels get spotted and blacken slightly, and become soft they will be ready.
How to Store Banana Bread
Once the bread cools, store it in an airtight container for one day on the counter and then in the fridge for up to a week.
FAQs
The riper the bananas, the better for baking. Ripe bananas with lots of brown and black spots taste sweeter than yellow ones.
If you put too much banana in your bread, it will be very dense and may not bake all the way in the middle. Since bananas are different sizes, measuring them before adding them to the batter is essential. Once you mash them, measure 1 1/3 cups or weigh them on a kitchen scale.
Baking soda reacts with the acidic ingredients (brown sugar and bananas) to make the bread rise.
Insert a toothpick into the center of the loaf. If it comes out wet or with a lot of crumbs on it, keep baking it. When it is ready, it should be fairly clean.
Don’t overmix the batter. Fully combine the wet ingredients before gently folding in the dry. Stir just enough to combine everything without overdoing it.
Don’t overbake. Check your bread at the 45-minute mark with a toothpick or even a few minutes early if your oven runs hot.
Wait for the loaf to cool completely before wrapping it up.
Yes, I love to freeze baked breads for quick breakfasts or snacks. Here’s how I do it:
Let the bread cool. Slice the loaf and wrap each piece in foil or plastic wrap.
Store the slices in a zip-locked bag, label the bag with the name and date, and freeze for up to three months. To eat, thaw it in the fridge beforehand or microwave it straight from frozen until warm.
More Bread Recipes You’ll Love
- Pumpkin Banana Bread
- Chocolate Chip Zucchini Bread
- Mango Nut Bread
- Apple Nut Bread
- Roasted Strawberry Banana Bread
Banana Bread Recipe
Equipment
- Mixer
Ingredients
- baking spray
- 3 large ripe bananas, (11 oz in weight or 1 1/3 cup total), mashed chunky with fork
- 1 1/2 cups unbleached all purpose flour, (8 ounces total weight)
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 2 tablespoons coconut oil, butter works too
- 1/2 cup light brown sugar, I used Lakanto monk fruit 3.2 oz
- 1 large egg
- 1/3 cup unsweetened apple sauce
- 1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease a 8×5 inch loaf pan with baking spray.
- In a medium bowl, combine the dry ingredients; flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt with a wire whisk. Set aside.
- In a large bowl cream coconut oil, apple sauce and sugar with an electric mixer or stand mixer. Add egg and vanilla, and beat at medium speed until thick.
- Scrape down sides of the bowl.
- Add 1/2 of the dry ingredients and blend at low speed until combined, add remaining 1/2 of the dry ingredients and the mashed bananas and blend at low speed until batter is combined. Do not over mix.
- Pour the batter into the loaf pan and bake on the center rack for about 45 to 50 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, but moist.
- Let the pan cool at least 10 minutes, bread should be room temperature before slicing.
AMAZING!! I make this once a week. The applesauce makes the bread so moist!
Would a flax egg or chia egg work for a substitute?
Super delicious and so easy!
I had overly ripe bananas and tried this recipe. OMG, it is so good! I used brown sugar as that was all I had on hand! I will be making this recipe from now on. My whole family loved it!
Perfect!
One of the best easiest recipes I’ve used in a long time
I also wanted to use applesauce and reduce sugar, recipe easy to follow. Added dried cranberry (craisins) very good! Will make again.
No more DRY Banana bread. Love the fact it’s less sugar and moist as moist can be
I liked this banana bread better than many other recipes for it that I’ve tried. It was a nice bonus that this one was on the healthier side. I was a little short on mashed banana but it still worked out beautifully. Lovely rise and lots of compliments on it. I topped it with a few chocolate chips and chopped nuts before baking. A keeper!
I don’t normally leave reviews (even though like 80% of my recipes come from Gina), but I have my making this banana bread for about two years and my daughter loves it. I usually make more than one batch and freeze it. My daughter eats it for breakfast every morning.
So glad she enjoys it!♥
Decided to stray from my normal family recipe in order to reduce sugar content. Loved the outcome of this bread! I mixed by hand and added walnuts; delicious!
Love this recipe! It’s lighter than most banana bread recipes I’ve tried but has awesome flavor and it’s not dry or heavy. My husband says , “Another great Skinnytaste recipe!”
Thank you both! ♥
Made several times and always comes out great!
Aw, thank you! I’m so glad you loved this one—it’s one of our favorites too. Hearing it’s a hit in your kitchen makes my day!
Made such a yummy and perfectly moist banana bread. 10/10!
Great recipe, turned out perfect. I used butter instead of the oil. Added cranberries and swirls of cream cheese to ours and it was so good!
I try your version and it was fantastic!!! Thanks for the tip!
Great banana bread basic recipe. I held my breath as I did do a bit of change which was: since didn’t have 11 ounces of banana, more like 9.3, added a half cup applesauce, I also usually get away with no butter but did add one tab light butter. There was a difference in directions of 1.5 cup flour or 8 ounces but 1.5 cup weighs more like 6.3 ounces–so I went with the 6.3. They turned out perfectly–I made 12 muffins. So either I was lucky or this is a forgiving recipe. I also added a dash of cinnamon, nutmeg and cardamon as I love spices. So worked out great and would do again.
I agree the recipe is very forgiving. I make this recipe all the time and regularly add some extra applesauce if my bananas don’t come up to 11oz. It always turns out great! Also doesn’t seem to matter if the coconut oil is solid or liquid prior to creaming. I like to double the recipe and make a loaf to give away and keep mini loaves for my family. The mini loaves cook quicker but other than that they all work beautifully
Delicious!!!! I do add nuts pecans and walnuts. Beyond yum!!!
A lot of nice flavor! I made muffins (portion control) and used splenda brown sugar rather than sugar. I baked for 28minutes and they are perfect, light and full of flavor. Thanks for the recipe, Gina.
This comes together quickly and doesn’t last long in my house. So yummy.
Delicious!
Delicious recipe! I used half whole wheat and half all purpose flour. I also chopped up some almonds, cranberries and chocolate chips and added them to the batter. Looking forward to a delicious treat in the morning, if I can wait that long!
Made these into muffins and added some cinnamon/clove spice. These are a hit with my toddlers and myself 🙂 Thanks Gina for all your great recipes!
Another winner! I used half whole wheat flour, as Gina suggested, and the options of brown sugar and avocado oil, then threw in a small spoonful of plain nonfat Greek yogurt because my batter seemed a bit dry. Delicious and absolutely no difference in taste or texture from a higher fat recipe. I’ll keep this as my go to banana bread recipe from now on.
Deliciously moist and not overly sweet. Yum
What have you found to be a great egg substitute? My son is allergic. I have tried flaxseed and water mixture in place of egg but it never binds enough for my recipes.
One of the best banana bread recipes I’ve tried (and I’ve tried many)! I didn’t have applesauce so subbed oil … still delicious.
Only banana bread recipe that turns out for me. Usually they turn out a hard shell and completely undercooked inside. Thank you!
My husband loves morning glory bread. I was thinking of trying to use this recipe but add the shredded carrots, dried cranberries, shredded coconut, shredded apple.
Easy, delicious & healthy!
I love this recipe! Simple to make. Tastes delicious. I added some Lilly’s chocolate chips and pecans to a recent loaf.
he best banana bread/ Made iut vegan wthout the egg.
I have had trouble with my quick breads, and this one worked out 10/10. I added pumpkin spice and nutmeg too. Delicious!
This recipe is delicious! Added chocolate chips and turned out perfect.
Delicious! I added in 3/4 cup of Lillys sugar free dark chocolate chips and it was great!
Moist, delicious, and easy to prepare. Note the weight given for the flour is incorrect. 1-1/2 cups of flour = 180 grams = 6.34 ounces (not 8 ounces!).
What did you do–the 6.3 ?
When I weighed 8 oz of flour, it was over 2 cups, much more than the 1.5 cups in the recipe. Do I default to the 8 oz of flour or the 1.5 cups?
This recipe is so delicious!! Do you have suggested cook times for mini muffins and regular muffins?
Husband approved best banana bread ever. I did not, however read instructions until after was in oven and just whisked dry, then wet ingreds with sugar and the banana good with my whisk, combined the two and baked! Was nice and moist and light! Will be my go to bread from now on. Also did add 2 Tbsp molasses!
The first time I made it I used the loaf pan. This time I made a dozen muffins and baked for 20 minutes. I added some pecans as well and they were outstanding!
I follow the directions exactly and it was delicious, some of the best I’ve ever baked! I’m going to try them as cupcakes. How long do you think I should bake them?
Wife and I are on Weight Watchers. You mention the points, however, you mentioned using monk fruit instead of brown sugar. Are the WW points reflected in that substitution? Can’t wait to try this out either way!
Yes. 🙂
How many slices of bread does this make? Not sure how big 1 slice is considered
12 slices.
I love this recipe and make it all the time. Any tips for adding protein powder into the recipe?
I would think the best way to add protein powder would be to subtract the amount of protein powder from the flour,if that makes sense. If your protein powder is sweetened maybe add a little less sugar…
This came out great and I’m not much of a baker. Love all your recipes.
Thanks Kathy!
Absolutely great!
I have always baked your banana blueberry one( I have it bookmarked). Today I baked this recipe. Delicious! A little variation: instead of vanilla I added pumpkin spice and cardamom. Plus put some chopped walnuts. And substituted coconut oil. Excellent recipe!
Made this tonight with my daughters, ages 5 and 7. They both enjoyed the process! And my pickier eater enjoyed the banana bread a lot! The youngest just wanted the chocolate chips she added on top. 🙂 Definitely an enjoyable baked good without the guilt (so if you want something super rich and sweet and buttery and indulgent – this isn’t it). It was exactly what I wanted!
loved this recipe. The use of coconut oil and applesauce for less fat, and using brown sugar instead refined granulated sugar makes me happy. I have made this a couple times, and on this last batch I used the reciple doubler button at the top right of the recipe to double the recipe. While the calculator correctly did the math for all the ingredients, it does not correct for the ounces or cups of mashed banana that is printed in parenthesis in the recipe. I measure my bananas by cups since they are all previously mashed and frozen and I did not realize until too late that I doubled everything except the bananas on this last batch. We will have to see how it turns out.!! I don’t know if there is any way to correct the calculations in the recipe doubler or tripler buttons. Thank you!
I will look into it! Thanks for letting me know!
Bread 🍞 Banana
I’m going to make this for an elderly
man I take care of. Sounds good !
I made this but reduced the sugar to 2 tablespoons and used canola oil. Surprisingly tasty! Will continue to make it. Thanks for all the great recipes.
Perfect..moist and delicious
I love to bake, and I really like having healthier quick breads to snack on.
This recipe is great. I’ve made it several times and it’s now my go-to banana bread. At Christmas I made my father-in-law my previous banana bread recipe (not meant to be a healthy recipe) and I couldn’t really tell a difference.
I added a handful of pecans the last time I made it. Yummy!
Turned out perfectly moist and delicious! Didn’t change any ingredients listed other than using butter instead of coconut oil. Thank you for the great recipe!
The bread came out moist and tasted great! I love that it has less oil and sugar.
Delicious. The first one I made I followed the directions exactly. It was delicious, moist and perfectly cooked. No wet spots. I think my pan was smaller than the one suggested so I increased the cooking time to 55 min. The second time I made small ones as gifts for some friends and I added chocolate chips.
Second recipe I have tried (first was the cottage cheese bagels which are also good). This made the best banana bread ever! I live in high altitude and it’s always dry, but this came add perfect. I added chocolate chips to mine. Yummy!
I’ve never commented on a recipe before but this one is surprisingly good! The taste and texture is great! I turned these into ‘muffins’ and used silicone cupcake liners so I didn’t have to use additional oil or flour, replaced the oil in the recipe with sugar free maple syrup to lower the calories further, used brown Swerve, and added a couple teaspoons of pumpkin spice. Baked at 350 degrees for 20 minutes.
Excellent, added extra egg, used brown sugar, cooked and cooled bananas. Two pans I used Theo pure extra dark 85 chocolate chopped saved a little sprinkled on top before baking used 3 small pans.
This was such a good bread, so moist and chewy, healthy and yes, delicious.I made a couple of small changes due to available ingredients on hand, and cutting calories. I used 1 large serving spoon of molasses, the same measurement for three tablespoons of honey, 3 large spoonfuls of grd flax, olive oil, and pumpkin seeds on top of loaf. Really good, not sweet at all. Love it!
I love that you include the ounces in the ingredients. I was a few ounces short with my bananas but it still came out delicious. Great recipe! I used a 9.5 x 5 pan and decreased the time by a few min and it turned out great.
Super moist and great flavor.
This banana bread is fabulous. Being able to weigh the ingredients has meant that regardless of the size of my bananas I always get a perfect loaf. I also love the flavour of your chocolate chip banana bread, but find it often is too dense and not cooked through well enough. Never a problem with this one!
Apologies, I meant the blueberry banana bread is often too dense for me. Perhaps add the banana weight instruction to that one too? They are both delicious
Amazing! It’s our new favorite banana bread!
Very easy to make and it is delicious.
Delicious! I needed to let it cook for 6 minutes longer than the recipe called for, but it came out perfect. I used half whole wheat flour, and half all purpose white flour. For the sweetener I used golden Lakanto monk fruit.
Thank you so much for including weights for ingredients! It makes things so much easier.
Great!!!
A new family favorite! The first time I made it I added some chocolate chips and the second time I swapped out plain greek yogurt for applesauce since I didn’t have any and it turned out great both times!
Wonderful!
Your recipe is the best. So simple to make. The texture is classic. It’s yummy 😋
Straight up misled and lied about being vegetarian. If you don’t know what you put in your recipes please don’t be adding these recipes to these categories if you don’t know anything about them. Very disappointing.
How has she lied or straight up “misled” you? Vegetarians and Vegans are different- many vegetarians consume eggs. It’s pretty easy to amend a recipe to fit one’s dietary needs.
Your banana bread recipe is an absolute classic! 🍌💛 The combination of overripe bananas, applesauce, and vanilla extract really makes it stand out. Plus, the fact that you’ve tested it multiple times for that perfect balance of flavor and moisture shows your dedication to baking excellence.
So happy you enjoyed it!
Doubled it – took it as part of a meal for an ill friend, sampled it at her house – came home and froze half of mine – was planning on freezing it all- but can’t wait for more —- but still need self control
Delicious is all I can say. Easy to make and so incredibly moist. Will make it a lot!
Sounds great I have copied the recipes,and will be making all.!!!!
Super awesome and healthy. Thanks so very much for this recipe 😀
What can I substitute for apple sauce?
Gluten free flour ok?
See the link above for the gluten-free recipe.
Thank you so much for including ounces/cup measurements for the banana! It’s so hard to bake consistently when recipes just say “1 medium” etc.
I have some buttermilk powder – how could I incorporate that into this recipe?
Banana bread should not include vanilla extract ever! It’s overpowering and takes away from the taste of the bananas especially that quantity of extract. Extra ingredients for no reason especially one with alcohol in it.
Can you use frozen bananas
I never tried but assume its ok of you thaw them?
This is my favorite banana bread recipe.