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 ⅓ cup of olive oil and ½ 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 ¼ cup of milk. Add 1 teaspoon of baking soda and vanilla extract, ½ to ¾ teaspoon of ground cardamom (start small if you’re unsure), and ½ teaspoon of cinnamon and nutmeg. Whisk well to combine.
- Add the flour, dates, and walnuts. Using a spatula, fold in 1 ⅓ cup all-purpose flour until just combined. Add 6 chopped dates and ⅓ 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
Browse all Mediterranean recipes.
Visit Our Shop.
Buttery, Smooth Italian Extra Virgin Olive Oil–Perfect for Baking!
Extra Virgin Olive Oil from hand-picked, cold-extracted Nocellara olives.
Banana Walnut Bread
Ingredients
- ⅓ cup extra virgin olive oil, plus more for greasing the pan
- ½ cup honey
- 2 eggs
- 3 extra ripe bananas, mashed
- 2 tablespoons low fat plain yogurt
- ¼ cup low fat milk
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ to ¾ teaspoon ground cardamom (if you're not sure you'll like it, start with the smaller amount)
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1 ⅓ cup all-purpose flour or gluten free flour
- 6 Medjool dates, pitted and chopped (about ½ cup chopped dates)
- ⅓ 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!
I’m curious about why all-purpose flour is used in so many of these recipes, since we are trying to eat healthier foods, less sugar, healthy fats, etc. Wouldn’t white whole wheat or whole wheat pastry flour work and be “healthier?” For Ex, in the Banana Bread or the Tahini Chocolate Chip Cookies. I haven’t tried these yet but have been making banana bread with those whole wheat flours for years. Thanks!
Hi, Anita! I'm Summer and I work here at The Mediterranean Dish. Sometimes making things healthier is about swapping a few things rather than EVERYTHING. You can absolutely use whole wheat flours in this recipe as you mentioned, but for most people switching from their more familiar high refined sugar, white flour, saturated fat based baked goods to whole wheat, low sugar, no saturated fat would be too big of a change all at once. In this recipe, we replace butter, which is high in saturated fat, with olive oil, which has good healthy fats and polyphenols, and we also use honey and dates for natural sweetness (and fiber for dates) and Greek yogurt to maintain moisture but also add a little protein. The other reason you might see all-purpose flour used in some recipes is because this site features Mediterranean Diet recipes and cultural or traditional recipes of Mediterranean Countries, some of which do use white flour. I hope this helps to answer your question.
I have made this recipe so many times and everyone loves it now I’m curious I’m on a sour dough kick and how would you suggest adding sourdough?
I actually made it from the cookbook, but I think it is about the same. It was incredible! So moist and scrumptious. It did not last three days here. I did throw in some dark chocolate chips in addition to the dates, used gluten-free all-purpose flour (King Arthur's), and your Early Harvest EVOO. So tasty, I can't wait to have some overripe bananas to make it again!
Perfect first time, will make this again and again. I used Greek yogurt, wholmeal flour and only added walnuts as I had no dates but will try it with dates one of these days!