Healthy Oat Banana Bread is 100% whole grain and uses no butter or refined sugar but the texture and flavor are out-of-this-world good! It is made with instant oats and spelt flour (or regular all purpose flour), wonderfully fluffy and moist at the same time. Your whole family will love it, buttered or plain!
Jump to:
Healthy Oatmeal Banana Bread Recipe
I often experiment with various kinds of banana bread because somehow we always end up with leftover overripe bananas at the end of the week.
Plus, there are SO MANY things you can do with extra bananas. Peel them, cut into chunks and freeze in baggies to make delicious smoothies, smoothie bowls or nice-cream (banana-based “ice cream”).
For this banana bread recipe, I wanted to incorporate oats for some great nutrition and chewiness. I like the texture of quick oats in this bread the best.
If you're looking for banana bread that's both healthy and delicious, this one is a winner! It's dairy-free, kid-friendly, naturally sweetened with maple syrup and perfect for breakfast.
If you feel like baking with bananas, make sure to also try my Flourless Banana Peanut Butter Banana Cookies, Chocolate and Cherry Oatmeal Cookies or this Sweet Potato Banana Bread, of course! I also recommend checking out this list of 45 Healthy Banana Breakfast Ideas.
Ingredient notes
-
Bananas: you will need 4 large very ripe bananas (about 2 cups mashed) for this recipe. Brown spots or brown skin is fine.
-
Instant Oats: also known as quick oats, these work the best for this recipe. Rolled oats will not produce fluffy texture. However, if that’s all you have, you can grind them in a food processor or a blender to make oat flour and use that instead.
-
Spelt Flour: it’s similar to whole wheat flour but I like its flavor and texture better in baked goods. It can usually be found in health stores, organic section of most grocery stores or online. If you don't have spelt flour, you can use white wheat flour or regular all purpose flour instead.
-
Eggs: use 2 large eggs, preferably organic.
-
Maple Syrup: this recipe uses ¼ cup pure maple syrup to sweeten the bread. If you like your banana bread to be on the sweeter side, you can increase the amount to ⅓ or ½ cup although personally, I think ¼ cup is just right, especially if your bananas are very ripe.
-
Coconut oil: you can use refined or virgin coconut oil. I’ve tried both and didn’t notice much difference.
-
Baking Powder and Baking Soda: to help the bread rise.
-
Vanilla extract, Cinnamon (not pictured) & Salt: used to balance out the flavors.
-
Note: I forgot to include cinnamon in the ingredients photo but make sure not to skip it!
How to make banana oat bread
- Step 1: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit, lightly grease a 9x5 in loaf pan and line it with parchment paper.
- Step 2: Mash the bananas in a bowl. You can use a fork but I find that potato masher works best for this task.
- Step 3: Add wet ingredients to the mashed bananas: eggs, melted coconut oil, vanilla and maple syrup. Stir together.
- Step 4: In a separate bowl whisk together the oats, flour and all other dry ingredients.
- Step 5: Add dry ingredients to wet and stir gently to combine with a spatula. Don’t overmix the batter.
- Step 6: Transfer the batter into a prepared loaf pan and sprinkle with chopped walnuts and mini chocolate chips, if you’d like. You can also just leave it “naked” but I think toppings make it more fun.
- Step 7: Bake for about 50 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Remove from the oven and let cool for 10-15 minutes before lifting out of the pan and transferring to a wire rack to cool completely (or ALMOST completely).
What is spelt and why it's healthy
Spelt is an ancient grain that’s in the same family as wheat, rye and barley. Unlike wheat though, spelt flour is made with the entire grain which makes this flour 100% whole grain.
Spelt flour is commonly used in breads and baked goods in Poland, where I grew up, and I’ve always liked the nutty flavor of spelt bread.
Spelt has been around for at least 7,000 years and unlike wheat, it has not been altered from its original form. Spelt has more protein, fiber and some nutrients compared to wheat. It is also easier to digest than wheat.
Is spelt flour gluten free?
In short: no. Both wheat and spelt include gluten and should be avoided by people who suffer from celiac disease. However, the kind of gluten in spelt is different than the gluten in wheat, which apparently makes it better tolerated by people with mild gluten sensitivity.
Substitutions and toppings
- If you don’t have spelt four, substitute with white whole wheat flour or regular all purpose flour.
- If you would like this banana bread to be oil free, you can replace coconut oil with applesauce.
- Instant oats can be swapped for oat flour in this recipe but I would not try to make it with old fashioned rolled oats or steel cut oats. They will weigh the bread down too much and it won’t come out right. See my tip above on how to make oat flour using rolled oats.
- Maple syrup can be swapped for brown sugar or coconut sugar
- Optional toppings include chopped up nuts (walnuts, pecans), regular or mini chocolate chips, fresh bananas cut lengthwise, rolled oats and unsweetened coconut flakes. You can also stir nuts and/or chocolate chips into the dough before baking. My kids don’t like “stuff” in their banana bread so I usually only add nuts and chocolate on top, or make it plain. It’s delicious either way!
Serving, storage and freezing tips
Serve healthy banana oat bread sliced on its own, with butter, almond butter or peanut butter on top. Personally, I like to serve it in thick slices with some Greek yogurt and fresh fruit and eat it with a fork.
Store banana bread in an airtight container or wrapped in plastic wrap at room temperature for up to 5 days. Make sure the bread is completely cooled before wrapping or placing in a container.
To freeze, let cool completely, wrap tightly with plastic wrap or place in a freezer bag (letting most of the air out) and store in the freezer up to 3 months. When ready to serve, take out of the freezer, let thaw and slice.
This post contains affiliate links.
Recipe
Healthy Banana Oat Bread
Ingredients
- 1 cup quick oats
- 1 ½ cups spelt flour or white whole wheat flour
- 2 eggs
- 4 very ripe bananas
- ¼ cup maple syrup
- ¼ cup refined coconut oil melted
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 2 teaspoon cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
Optional toppings
- chopped walnuts
- mini chocolate chips
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and line a 9 x 5in loaf pan with parchment paper.
- In a large bowl mash the bananas with a fork or potato masher until smooth.
- Add eggs, maple syrup, melted coconut oil and vanilla and stir well.
- In a separate bowl combine all the dry ingredients: oats, spelt flour, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda, salt and cinnamon.
- Add dry ingredients to the banana-egg mixture and stir with a spatula until combined. Do not overmix!
- Pour the batter into the prepared loaf pan, top with walnuts and mini chocolate chips (if using).
- Bake in the preheated oven for 50 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
- Place on a cooling rack and let the bread cool for at least 20 minutes. Take out of the pan and let cool more before slicing.
- Serve on its own or with butter or almond butter.
Notes
Nutrition
You may also like
Meet the Author
Hi, I'm Agnieszka. I'm a mom of three and recipe developer, writer and photographer behind Wholly Tasteful. I love creating comforting, delicious, family-friendly recipes that you can feel good about.
Biana says
We love banana bread, but have not made it with oats before. Sounds so healthy and delicious!
Beth says
Yummy! My family and I are going to absolutely love this recipe! I can't wait to give this a try!
Katherine says
So many healthy ingredients in this amazing banana bread! Yum!
Julie says
What a beautiful loaf of bread. Perfect for a breakfast or a snack.
Traci says
Banana and oats are always a winning combo. Great recipe! Nice spin on a classic...thanks for sharing 🙂
Jere Cassidy says
I use to bake with spelt flour then stopped so I am glad to find this recipe to get me back to using that again. I love the toppings you added to this loaf for some extra crunch and flavor on top.
Debra says
Delicious and I loved how easy it was to make. The entire family enjoyed this one. Pinning because we will definitely make it again.
Marysa says
We love making banana bread, and this sounds like a nice twist on our usual recipe. I'll have to try this out some time.
Brianna says
Such a tasty banana bread! Love the nuttiness from the oats and the spelt
Jazz says
I’ve made this recipe twice, and both times have been amazing.
I used oat flour instead of oats and avocado oil instead of coconut oil. Also, I used 1/4 cup of granulated monk fruit (Lakanto brand) instead of maple syrup (have some family members watching their sugar) and it is still sweet enough for us, not too much. Lastly, used bourbon vanilla extract from Trader Joe’s.
Thanks for a great recipe with spelt flour! I plan on trying to do the same recipe with pumpkin instead and see how it turns out this fall.
Agnieszka says
So glad you enjoyed the recipe! I love all your substitutions. Need to try that bourbon vanilla extract from Trader Joe's! It sounds amazing.
Shrilatha says
Love the flavour of banana and oats.
Thank you for this recipe.
Jeannie says
oats and bananas make a perfect combo for banana bread, we made this and enjoyed it as an afternoon snack.
Nora says
This oat bread turned out perfectly! Made it for my daughter and she loved it! Thank you for sharing!
Jerika says
Healthy Banana Oat Bread is one of my favorites! YUM! I will share it with my fam. Thanks!:) So delish!
Marcellina says
I've never used spelt flour but this banana bread looks so amazing I'm going to the store to buy the flour. Thanks!
amanda says
This bread turned out so delicious. I love the oat and banana bread together. Went perfect with my coffee!
nancy says
i can't believe this bread is 100% whole grain with no butter or sugar! so tasty!!
Ingrid says
I just made it but i used whole wheat flour and oat flour instead bc that’s what i had and i put avocado oil.
It is delicious!! thank you!!
Agnieszka says
You are welcome! Glad it worked!
Bogusława says
Easy recipe. My whole family loved it.