This healthy banana walnut bread swaps butter and sugar for flavorful and nutritious extra virgin olive oil and honey. Warming spices and Medjool dates bring a Mediterranean flair, and the oil keeps this not-too-sweet treat fluffy and delicious for days!
This walnut banana bread is a total game-changer: delicious, super moist, and perfectly sweetened. I make a mean baklava if I do say so myself, but when it comes to cakes I am all for easy options that require one bowl and one pan. That’s why this healthy banana bread is one of my favorite goodies to make.
Three super-ripe bananas turning brown on your counter are not much to celebrate. But just as a day-old loaf can become pan con tomate, overripe bananas can become a healthy breakfast or afternoon pick-me-up that still feels like a special indulgence. Particularly with freshly brewed coffee or Arabic tea!
Table of Contents
Banana Walnut Bread Ingredients
You likely already have a lot of what you’ll need for this healthy banana bread on hand. Here are the ingredients for banana walnut bread:
- Extra virgin olive oil: Replaces the butter which is more traditional. Olive oil has a stronger flavor than butter so it’s essential to use a smooth, high-quality oil with a pleasant flavor. I like our extra smooth Private Reserve Greek or buttery Italian Nocellara.
- Honey: Sweetens and holds the batter together. Use high quality, full flavored honey–I like our Greek Alfa Honey.
- Eggs: Hold the batter together.
- Bananas: Allow the bananas to ripen on your counter until they turn brown; the delightful sweetness and tender texture of overripe bananas are best for banana bread.
- Dairy: Fat free plain yogurt and low fat or nonfat milk add richness.
- Baking soda: Gives the banana bread a nice rise.
- Vanilla extract: Adds depth.
- Spices: Ground cardamom, cinnamon, and nutmeg are the major flavor-makers for this recipe.
- All purpose flour: You can substitute one for one with gluten free flour if you’d like.
- Medjool dates: Add bursts of sweetness and a pleasant gummy texture. They are also high in fiber, and packed with antioxidants and essential nutrients. You can substitute with other dried fruit, like raisins or blueberries, if you’d like.
- Walnuts: Unsalted, unroasted walnuts–sometimes labeled “raw”–add crunch and protein.
How to Make Banana Walnut Bread
Making healthy banana bread is easy, just be careful not to overmix the batter once you add the flour. This will keep your bread light and fluffy! Here’s how to make banana bread:
- Get ready. Preheat the oven to 325°F. Lightly oil a non-stick 9 x 5-inch loaf pan.
- Begin combining the wet ingredients. In a large mixing bowl, whisk together 1/3 cup of olive oil and 1/2 cup of honey. Add 2 eggs and whisk again to combine.
- Season. Mash 3 extra ripe bananas with a fork and add, along with 2 tablespoons of yogurt and 1/4 cup of milk. Add 1 teaspoon of baking soda and vanilla extract, 1/2 to 3/4 teaspoon of ground cardamom (start small if you’re unsure), and 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon and nutmeg. Whisk well to combine.
- Add the flour, dates, and walnuts. Using a spatula, fold in 1 1/3 cup all-purpose flour until just combined. Add 6 chopped dates and 1/3 cup of chopped walnuts and gently stir the batter once more.
- Bake. Pour the batter into the loaf pan and shake or tap on your counter so it evens out. Bake on the center rack until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, about 50 minutes.
- Cool. Remove from the oven and let the bread cool for 10 minutes, then turn the loaf out onto a wire rack to cool for another 20 minutes or so. Slice and enjoy!
How to Store Banana Bread
This healthy banana bread will keep very well for up to one week in the refrigerator, and up to 3 months in your freezer. In fact, I often make an extra loaf or two to freeze for later use.
First, allow the bread to cool completely. Then wrap tightly with plastic wrap. From there, here’s how you store banana bread:
- On the counter: Set the wrapped bread in an airtight container and enjoy within four days.
- In the refrigerator: Set the wrapped bread in an airtight container and enjoy within one week.
- In the freezer: Wrap it with freezer plastic wrap or heavy-duty freezer bags. Enjoy within three months, allowing it to thaw overnight at room temperature.
What to Serve with Banana Walnut Bread
I love healthy banana bread as a quick breakfast or afternoon pick-me-up. Serve at room temperature. Or, warm banana bread slices in your oven right on the rack at 325°F, in your toaster or toaster oven.
Delicious on its own, this walnut banana bread doesn’t need any embellishment. If you’d like to dress it up a little, try a drizzle of olive oil, some quick berry compote, and/or a scoop of Greek yogurt. If you’re feeling indulgent, spread on some butter, mascarpone, or cream cheese for a special treat, and serve alongside freshly brewed coffee or Arabic tea with fresh mint.
More Not-Too-Sweet Treats
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Buttery, Smooth Italian Extra Virgin Olive Oil–Perfect for Baking!
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Banana Walnut Bread
Ingredients
- 1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil, plus more for greasing the pan
- 1/2 cup honey
- 2 eggs
- 3 extra ripe bananas, mashed
- 2 tablespoons low fat plain yogurt
- 1/4 cup low fat milk
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 to 3/4 teaspoon ground cardamom (if you're not sure you'll like it, start with the smaller amount)
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1 1/3 cup all-purpose flour or gluten free flour
- 6 Medjool dates, pitted and chopped (about 1/2 cup chopped dates)
- 1/3 cup chopped walnuts
Instructions
- Get ready. Preheat the oven to 325°F. Lightly oil a non-stick 9 x 5-inch loaf pan.
- Begin combining the wet ingredients. In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the olive oil and honey. Add the eggs and whisk again to combine.
- Season. Now add the bananas, yogurt, milk, baking soda, vanilla extract, cardamom, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Whisk again.
- Add the flour, dates, and walnuts. Using a spatula, fold in the flour until just combined; then add the dates and walnuts and gently stir the batter once more.
- Bake. Pour the batter into the loaf pan and shake very gently so it evens out. Bake on the center rack until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, about 50 minutes.
- Cool. Remove from the oven and let the bread cool for 10 minutes, then turn the loaf out onto a wire rack to cool for another 20 minutes or so. Slice and enjoy!
Video
Notes
- Use the best extra virgin olive oil you can or you may risk a rancid or bitter-tasting loaf. I used our Private Reserve Greek extra virgin olive oil here; it adds great depth and keeps the loaf tasty and moist.
- To store: Properly-stored, fresh banana bread will keep for 1 to 2 days at room temperature or up to 1 week in the fridge. Allow to cool completely, then wrap the banana bread in plastic wrap, then store it in an air-tight container to keep it moist. And because I use olive oil in this banana bread recipe, it is even more rich and moist the next day! I often make an extra loaf or two to freeze for later use.
- To freeze: Let your freshly-baked banana bread cool completely, then wrap it with freezer plastic wrap or heavy-duty freezer bags. Properly stored, it will keep well in the freezer for 2 to 3 months.
- Visit our shop to browse quality Mediterranean ingredients including olive oils, honey, jams, and spices.
Nutrition
Note: This post originally appeared on The Mediterranean Dish in the fall of 2018 and has recently been updated with new information and media for readers’ benefit. Enjoy!
The best banana bread I’ve made in ages, love it!
Thank you! So glad
Heavenly banana bread. To reduce the sugar, I substituted 4 ounces unsweetened applesauce for the honey, then reduced the liquid by eliminating the 1/4 cup of milk. Used the full 3/4 tsp ground cardamom.
Thanks for sharing you variation, Dayna! So glad you enjoyed it!
This came out perfectly and is so scrummy even though I forgot to add the eggs! I therefore think you could adapt With almond or or coconut yoghurt and make a delicious vegetarian banana, nut and dare loaf. Thank you for this recipe.
Thanks for shaking, Nikki! So glad you enjoyed it!
Best banana bread recipe ever!
Thanks so much, Natalie!
This is one of my favorite and go-to recipes, especially when I have bananas that are too ripe to put in my lunch bag for lunch. I don’t change any of the ingredients but I bake it in mini-loaf pans at 325 and I start checking on it at 35 minutes. On average, I would say I bake it about 40 minutes in the mini-loaf pan. The recipe makes three mini-loaves – one for me, one to share and one to freeze. Thank you Suzy for another amazing recipe.
Thanks for sharing, Rosemary!
actually a question.
I do not want to use dairy ingredients. I am thinking coconut milk would be good to substitute for milk, but I don’t know what to do about not adding yogurt. I love the idea of the dates & the spices you’re using, so I’d like to try it.
Do you have a suggestion for leaving out the yogurt?
Thank you,
Cheryl
Hi Cheryl, you can try something like almond milk or coconut milk. As far as the yogurt, there are dairy-free yogurt substitutes in stores. Some have used apple sauce. I can not tell you 100% as I have not tried that.
This baby is baking as I type. Smells delicious! First off, thank you for all your amazingly delicious recipes!! I use them all the time. I just had a question on the size of the loaf pan. The size listed is for a mini loaf pan. I don’t have that size so I just put it in a regular size loaf pan. There was plenty of batter to fill it up and could see there was no way all that batter could fit in a mini. So I checked out your video and it looks like you used a regular size pan. So is that the correct size in the recipe? Or am I missing something here? Thanks again for all your delicious recipes. Your website is the one I always turn to.
Hi Connie, thank you for your kind note. You are right, this recipe is made in a regular loaf pan not a mini loaf pan.
I do not have date so I added 1 more tbsp of yogurt 1 tbp of sugar to keep it sweet enough and moisturiser. And 2 tbsp of baking powder.It turn out comes sooo good and tasty ?and not too sweet, your recipe is amazing, I just never tried to delete butter in my bread/ cake but still taste super good or even better✨✨✨thanks! My boyfriend and I are enjoying this in Covid -19 at home happily now.
Awesome! So glad you liked it! Thanks for sharing your variations!
it is actually 2 tsp baking powder? make it again today
Ha!! Hope you enjoy the next batch 🙂
One week in of a 3 week lockdown & can no longer resist the lure of Banana Bread.. Saw a saying the other day ” You obviously not in Covid-19 lockdown if you haven’t made banana bread!”. I have an old faithful recipe & think I must give yours a bash as it sounds so delicious. Just one thing I need to check on. I see there is baking soda (bicarbonate soda) but no baking powder. Is this enough to make it rise? Thanks.
Hi, Kathy! It always rises for me :). Hope you enjoy it!
Hi ,
Can I substitute honey for sugar ?
Thanks
Soniya
Hi there, we do use honey in fact in this recipe 🙂
How can I alter this when I can’t have egg yolks? I hope you can help.
Carolyn, I have not honestly tried it without egg yokes. Some folks use a bit of apple sauce instead.
I would love to make your recipes, but unfortunately I cannot have gluten and a lot of your baked good are made with white or whole wheat flour. Is it possible that when posting a recipe you can post an alternative flour along with it?
Thank you!
Thank you for sharing, Linda! I will keep this in mind as much as I’m able.
This is the best banana bread I’ve ever tasted. I traded almond milk for skim milk and golden raisins 4 dates. Even my pickiest friends liked it.
So glad!Thank you for sharing
I did make muffins! Even my husband who cringes at anything healthy loved them. Thanks for this recipe!
Great idea to turn them into muffins! Great to hear the recipe got a thumbs up from the hubby!
Hi! May I know leh at can I substitute the plain yoghurt with if I don’t have one at home? Is avocado possible? Also, can I use a full cream milk instead?
Hi Mika. I know some folks have substituted avocado for yogurt with success before, but I have not personally tried it. Full cream milk will work.
Thumbs up from the whole family!! I used 1 cup of whole wheat flour and 1/3 LSA. Also made it vegan by subbing eggs for egg replacer, coconut yoghurt and 1/4 c rice malt syrup instead of honey which was sweet enough. Mel from New Zealand
Thanks so much for sharing, Mel!
This was really amazing!! I can’t wait to make it again!
So glad!