You’re enjoying your morning cup of coffee when you look over and notice your bananas are browner than they are yellow. *OH NO, NOT AGAIN.* Fear not, this healthy whole wheat chocolate chip banana bread recipe is here to rescue those ripe bananas and turn them into a delicious treat.
When I think of banana bread, I’m reminded of the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. Everyone and their mother was making banana bread and sourdough bread. But after being locked down inside for a year, that trend has fizzled. Well, I’m here to reignite the spark because healthy chocolate chip banana bread deserves a leading role in our recipe rotation.
The best thing about this banana bread recipe is that it was made as healthy as possible. No matter your dietary restrictions or allergies, you’ll be able to make this (maybe with a few modifications). There are only a few simple ingredients that you’ll need but none of them are added sugars or dairy.
Since this bread was made to be a healthier alternative, you can eat it anytime of day. I love to toast mine and pair it with yogurt for breakfast or eat before bed as a late-night snack. You do you girl!
Ingredients & Alternatives
Ripe bananas: You know those brown bananas sitting on your counter? Yeah, you’ll need 2 of those. The riper the better but you could also make this recipe with bananas that are still yellow. I’d strongly recommend NOT using green bananas for this recipe. Give them a few more days to ripen up before making this.
Whole wheat flour: I always have whole wheat flour on hand so that’s what I used for this recipe. But you could easily swap for all purpose flour. I have not tested the recipe with anything other than whole wheat flour, but I assume you could swap for whatever you have in your kitchen. If you are going to use almond, coconut or oat flour to make it gluten free, you may need to add additional flour to the batter since these are lighter than whole wheat flour.
Baking powder & baking soda: The basics.
Egg whites: You can either use egg whites from a carton or use the egg whites from whole eggs. Alternatively, you could use 2 eggs instead of the egg whites. I have not tested the recipe with normal eggs but it should work just fine.
Vanilla extract: Don’t sweat it if you don’t have vanilla extract, you can omit if needed. It adds a little bit of flavor but nothing crazy.
Cinnamon: You should already have some cinnamon in your kitchen. If not, I’m concerned.
Stevia: I used stevia for this recipe to reduce the calories and omit added sugars. You can swap for cane sugar, brown sugar, coconut sugar, whatever your heart desires. Do not swap for a liquid sugar like honey or maple syrup — those will change the consistency of the batter.
Chocolate chips: Totally optional but highly recommended. I’ve been loving mini chocolate chips lately since it disperses the chocolate better throughout the baked good. Mini, milk or dark chocolate will work great for this recipe.
How to make banana bread
First thing’s first — preheat the oven to 350 degrees so that can heat up while you prepare the dough.
In a large mixing bowl, combine all of your dry ingredients — whole wheat flour, baking powder, baking soda and stevia. Mix well with a fork and ensure there are no clumps from the baking powder or baking soda.
In another medium or large mixing bowl, mash your 2 bananas. If you have a stand mixer or a hand mixer, you can use this. If not, use a fork or a potato masher to break up and whisk the banana as much as possible. Once you’re bananas are essentially pureed, add in your remaining wet ingredients — egg whites and vanilla extract — and stir.
Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and mix well. If you are using a stand mixer, pour the dry into the wet that should be in your stand mixing bowl. Once the dough is well combined, add in your chocolate chips and fold. I prefer to add 2 tablespoons to the batter and sprinkle 1 tablespoon on top, but it’s totally up to you!
Take your bread pan and spray with oil (olive, coconut, avocado, canola oil will all work). Slowly pour the dough into the bread pan and spread it around to evenly distribute. If you want to add more chocolate chips on top, now is the time to do that.
Put the bread pan into the oven for 45-50 minutes or until the outside starts to brown. You can test the bread by sticking a toothpick or knife in the center of the bread. If it comes out clean, your bread is done baking!
Let the bread cool before slicing and enjoying! You can store the bread in an airtight container in the fridge for up to a week or in the freezer for 3 months. I like to cut my bread in slices and freeze so I can take a piece out at any time and pop it in the toaster.
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Healthy, Whole Wheat Chocolate Chip Banana Bread Recipe
Equipment
- 2 mixing bowls
- Bread pan
Ingredients
Dry Ingredients
- 2 cups whole wheat flour 270g
- 1¼ tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp baking soda
- 3 tbsp stevia
- 1 tbsp cinnamon
- 3 tbsp chocolate chips 54g
Wet Ingredients
- 2 ripe bananas ~257g
- 1/2 cup egg whites (122g) or 2 eggs
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- In a large mixing bowl, combine all of your dry ingredients — whole wheat flour, baking powder, baking soda and stevia. Mix well with a fork and ensure there are no clumps from the baking powder or baking soda.
- In another medium or large mixing bowl, mash your 2 bananas with a hand mixer, stand mixer or fork.
- Once mashed, stir in your remaining wet ingredients — egg whites and vanilla extract — until well combined.
- Combine wet and dry ingredients. If you are using a a stand mixer, pour all ingredients in there. Otherwise, pour the wet ingredients into the dry. Mix until well combined.
- Fold in your chocolate chips.
- Spray bread pan with oil and pour in bread dough. Using a spoon or spatula, spread dough so its evenly distributed.
- Put bread pan in the oven for 45-50 minutes, or until fully cooked. The top will get a little brown when it’s done.
- Let the bread cool before eating or storing. You can store the bread (whole or sliced) in a Tupperware in the fridge for a week or in the freezer for 3 months.