Make Ahead

Whole Wheat Oatmeal Banana Bread

by:
March 19, 2018
3.8
4 Ratings
Whole Wheat Oatmeal Banana Bread
Photo by Lindsay Howerton-Hastings
  • Prep time 10 minutes
  • Cook time 1 hour 10 minutes
  • Makes 1 loaf
Author Notes

It's healthy - promise! Tons of wholesome ingredients including whole wheat flour, rolled oats, and honey. Applesauce takes the place of oil or butter, and we have a banana bread that can actually be nourishing for breakfast. This is made in about 10 minutes in one bowl, and the house smells incredible as the bread bakes. Bonus: chocolate chips for breakfast.


This recipe was inspired by a post several years ago at Ambitious Kitchen. —Lindsay Howerton-Hastings

What You'll Need
Ingredients
  • 1 cup mashed banana (about 4 small very ripe bananas, it's ok if you have more than a cup)
  • 1/3 cup honey
  • 1/2 cup applesauce (one individual cup)
  • 1 egg
  • 3/4 cup half and half (you can use any milk you like, but I love the richness of half and half here)
  • 1 1/5 cups whole wheat flour
  • 1 cup old-fashioned oats
  • 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 2/3 cup dark chocolate chips
Directions
  1. Preheat the oven to 350F and spray a loaf pan with cooking spray.
  2. In a large bowl combine the banana, applesauce, honey, egg, milk, and vanilla until creamy. Make a well in the center of the wet ingredients and add the remaining ingredients, reserving a few oats for sprinkling over the top if you'd like. Combine the dry ingredients gently, then fold into the wet mixture until just mixed. Pour into a loaf pan and sprinkle with extra oats.
  3. Bake for 60-70 minutes until a toothpick inserted in the center of the loaf comes out clean. Let cool for 5 minutes in the pan, then remove from the pan to a rack to cool completely before covering or slicing and serving. Adapted from Ambitious Kitchen
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10 Reviews

SophieL
SophieL July 7, 2021
1-1/5 cups whole wheat flour is an odd amount; did you mean 1-1/3 or perhaps 1-1/4 cups? Also, how much vanilla?
 
Wendy S.
Wendy S. January 17, 2020
After trying this recipe, and guessing 1-teaspoon of baking soda (prior to the typo correction by the author) I did not find that to be enough for the bread to properly set (I had to add additional baking time, and the bread is still a bit unbaked.

I’d recommend also adding baking powder to the recipe.
 
Katie O.
Katie O. November 25, 2019
Don’t know why I didn’t read the comments or question the baking soda... but the quantities are still incorrect in the recipe despite the authors comment and I just wasted a bunch of food :(
 
khumphreys2000
khumphreys2000 December 10, 2019
Yes! I questioned it, but charged ahead anyway. I still don’t know what the right answer is, but this loaf of banana bread is going in the garbage. 🤢
 
Eileen C.
Eileen C. February 5, 2019
Please let us all know if you really mean 3/4 C baking soda! Otherwise I’ll be in the kitchen using my best judgement and hoping for the best!
 
John1210
John1210 September 30, 2018
3/4 cup of baking soda?
 
Marie
Marie March 20, 2018
How long do you bake it for? Step 2 and step 3 are the same.
 
Lindsay H.
Lindsay H. March 21, 2018
Fixed it. Sorry about that, enjoy! This is one of my most-used recipes, hands down.
 
Wendy S.
Wendy S. January 15, 2020
Can you please provide the correct measurement for the baking soda? I’m assuming it’s 1 teaspoon. Is that correct?
 
Matt
Matt September 12, 2020
You mention vanilla in the directions but it is not quantified in the ingredients list.
What is the correct amount of baking soda??