Whole wheat banana bread is moist, one-bowl banana bread that’s made with simple ingredients. It’s a wholesome twist on classic banana bread, is easy to make, and is perfect for breakfast, snacks, or lunchboxes.
This Whole Wheat Banana Bread is proof that using whole wheat flour doesn’t mean sacrificing moisture or flavor. It’s the heartier take on my popular banana nut bread recipe.
This simple, one-bowl recipe bakes up soft and perfectly sweet thanks to ripe bananas, making it an easy go-to for everyday baking. It’s quick to mix up by hand, uses pantry staples, and delivers that classic banana bread flavor you love with just a little extra heartiness.
Whether you’re baking for breakfast, snacks, or to use up ripe bananas, this recipe is one you’ll make again and again.
Ingredient notes and substitutions
- Bananas: Use very ripe bananas (yellow with brown spots) for the best flavor and moisture.
- Oil: I use olive oil or light olive oil in this recipe. Any neutral oil will work.
- Brown sugar: Light or dark brown sugar will work.
- Flour: Be sure to properly measure the flour by either weighing it (click “metric” immediately above the ingredients for the weights) or sifting, lightly spooning into a measuring cup, and leveling. Too much flour will give you dry or doughy bread.
- Cinnamon: Feel free to use more cinnamon or add additional spices like nutmeg if you prefer.
- Nuts: You can omit the nuts or replace with chocolate chips, raisins, or dried craisins if you prefer.
How to make whole wheat banana bread
Here you’ll find instructions and step-by-step photos showing how to make this recipe. The full recipe, including ingredients, is given below.
Step 1: Preheat the oven to 350F. Grease an 8×4-inch loaf pan or line with parchment paper. Set aside. Be sure to use an 8×4 loaf pan, which is a smaller pan.
Step 2: In a large bowl, whisk mashed banana and oil together until well-combined. I recommend mixing by hand to avoid overmixing.
Step 3: Whisk in sugars until incorporated.
Step 4: Add egg and vanilla, and whisk until well-combined.
Step 5: Stir dry ingredients (flour, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon) into the wet ingredients just until combined.
Step 6: Add nuts, if using, and whisk until just incorporated.
Step 7: Pour the batter into your prepared pan, and sprinkle with additional nuts, if using.
Step 8: Bake for about 45-60 minutes, or until a wooden toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. I check the bread around 25-30 minutes and tent with foil if it is browning too quickly.
Step 9: Let cool in pan for a 5-10 minutes.
Step 10: Remove bread to wire cooling rack, and let cool completely before slicing.
Recipe Tips!
- Mixing: I highly recommend mixing the banana bread by hand. Using an electric mixer can overmix it, which will give you a heavier loaf.
- Toppings: You don’t want to go too heavy with the toppings on the batter as it can prevent the loaf from rising fully.
- Serving suggestions: I like to serve the bread with cream cheese, butter and honey, or cinnamon honey butter.
- Freezing: You can freeze the whole loaf or freeze slices of bread. Let the bread cool completely on a wire cooling rack, wrap the loaf or slices tightly in plastic wrap, and place in a freezer-safe container. Freeze for up to 1 month.
Storage
Store any leftover banana bread in an airtight container at room temperature. The bread will keep for about 2-3 days when properly stored.
More banana bread recipes!
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Whole Wheat Banana Bread Recipe
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 cup mashed banana about 3 medium bananas
- ⅓ cup neutral oil
- ½ cup brown sugar packed
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 ½ cups sifted whole wheat flour properly measured
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ½-⅔ cup chopped pecans or walnuts plus extra for sprinkling on top
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350F. Grease an 8×4-inch loaf pan. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, whisk mashed banana and oil together until well-combined.1 cup mashed banana, ⅓ cup neutral oil
- Whisk in sugars until incorporated.½ cup brown sugar, ¼ cup granulated sugar
- Add egg and vanilla, and whisk until well-combined.1 large egg, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Stir in flour, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon until combined.1 ½ cups sifted whole wheat flour, 1 teaspoon baking soda, ½ teaspoon salt, ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- Add nuts, and whisk until just incorporated.
- Pour the batter into your prepared loaf pan, and sprinkle with additional nuts, if using.½-⅔ cup chopped pecans or walnuts
- Bake for about 45-60 minutes, or until a wooden toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. I check the bread around 25-30 minutes and tent with foil if it is browning too quickly.
- Let cool in pan for a 5-10 minutes.
- Remove bread to wire cooling rack, and let cool completely before slicing.
Notes
- Bananas: Use very ripe bananas (yellow with brown spots) for the best flavor and moisture.
- Oil: I use olive oil or light olive oil in this recipe. Any neutral oil will work.
- Brown sugar: Light or dark brown sugar will work.
- Flour: Be sure to properly measure the flour by either weighing it (click “metric” immediately above the ingredients for the weights) or sifting, lightly spooning into a measuring cup, and leveling. Too much flour will give you dry or doughy bread.
- Nuts: You can omit the nuts or replace with chocolate chips, raisins, or dried craisins if you prefer.
- Nutrition values are estimates.
Nutrition
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