Healthier Banana Bread

Healthier Banana Bread

I love making banana bread, and I’ve tried quite a few different recipes (like cream cheese banana bread and nutella swirl banana bread!) over the years. Overall though, my favorite recipe continues to be this best ever banana bread. It’s just so good! I had a bunch of over-ripe bananas a few weeks ago and decided to mix up my favorite bread. Although, as I thought about sharing some with Zeke, I started thinking that maybe I should try to make it a little healthier. So I played around with the recipe, cutting down the sugar and adding in some whole wheat flour, and came up with this version. It’s definitely better for you, but still tastes just as good as the previous version. If anything, it has a more pronounced banana flavor, which we love! I actually have some more bananas on my counter right now, and I’m just waiting for them to turn brown so I can bake some more of this banana bread. Enjoy! 🙂

Healthier Banana Bread

Healthier Banana Bread

Yield: Makes 2 loaves

Ingredients:

  • 1/2 cup butter, at room temperature
  • 3/4 cup sugar
  • 2 eggs
  • 5 overripe bananas
  • 1 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 cup whole wheat flour
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 2 tsp baking soda
  • 2 Tbsp wheat germ

Directions:

  1. Preheat the oven to 350. Grease 2 loaf pans (I used 8 1/2 x 4 1/2 size pans) and set aside.
  2. In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar. Add in the bananas and mix until thoroughly mashed. Beat in the eggs until well blended.
  3. In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, salt, baking soda, and wheat germ. Mix the dry ingredients into the banana mixture until just blended. Pour the batter into the prepared loaf pans, dividing it evenly. Bake for 40-50 minutes. The bread is done when the top springs back after being pressed in the center with fingertips.