Whole Wheat Banana Bread with Sea Salt

This nutritious salted whole wheat banana bread has plenty of flavour and attitude.  The combination of sweet, caramel notes of baked bananas and sea salt is pure deliciousness and you don’t even have to be a banana bread fan to love this recipe!

Today on the blog a delicious and easy to make recipe for salted whole wheat banana bread.  There are countless versions of banana bread as it’s easy to make, economical (a great way to use up your overripe bananas) and loved by adults and children alike.

Despite its popularity I have never come across a banana bread with salt – until I made one myself:)

Why this recipe works

If you are not convinced that sweet and salty make a good pairing think what it is about certain savoury snacks, such as potato crisps/chips for example, that makes them so moreish.

These snacks tend to be very salty, but I don’t think it’s just the salt alone that we crave.  I think it’s the combination of salt and sugar that these savoury snacks inevitably contain.

The same is true for sauces (think ketchup!), tinned foods, chutneys etc.  And what about salted caramel that we’ve recently come to love so much?  Sweet-and-salty dessert can absolutely work.

So why not salted banana bread?

Whole wheat banana bread with baked bananas

Another slightly unusual aspect of this particular banana bread recipe is the fact that the bananas are baked (whole) first and then mashed up and added to the batter (see also my vegan chocolate banana mousse where I’ve used a similar technique).

I know it takes a little longer to do so perhaps this is not the quickest banana bread recipe, but it is so worth spending a little extra time to do this step!  Baked bananas are sweet, juicy and really delicious – if you’ve never tried them I strongly recommend you do, whether you make this bread recipe or not.

And it’s really easy to make baked bananas too!  Simply pop them whole in the oven and bake for about 25 minutes until they turn brown and soft (see photo above).  You can enjoy them with ice cream, add them to porridge, smoothies and muffins.  Or you can make this healthy wholemeal banana bread!

Equipment you’ll need

• • Baking sheet and parchment paper
  • Small bowl and fork for mashing the bananas
  • Large bowl, whisk and large spoon
  • 23 cm loaf pan

How to make wholemeal banana bread: step-by-step

1.Once you’ve prepared the bananas and allowed them to cool preheat the oven to 180 C. Mash the bananas (along with the juice released in baking) using a fork.

2. Combine with the eggs, honey, milk, salt and stir.

3. In another bowl combine the flour, baking powder and cinnamon and stir using a whisk.

4. Add the butter and rub the mixture until crumbly and the butter has been fully incorporated.

5. Combine the wet and dry mixtures and stir only until the dry ingredients are no longer visible.

6. Pour the batter into the loaf pan, smooth out the top and bake in the centre of the oven for 1 hour.

7. Remove from the oven and set aside for 5 minutes then lift out of the pan along with the paper and place on top of a rack.  Allow it to cool completely before slicing.

Top tips

• Bananas: Use very ripe bananas as they are sweet and likely to release more juice than bananas that aren’t very ripe.
• Baked bananas: When the bananas come out of the oven they are juicy and there is likely to be some juice around them.  It is important to add all this delicious juice into the batter along with the mashed bananas.  The banana mixture may seem a little runny at first but it will thicken as it cools.
• Spices: I used cinnamon but you can swap it for mixed spice/pumpkin spice or simply omit the spices.
• Batter: Do not overstir the batter – it should be lumpy. Stop stirring once the dry ingredients have been incorporated.
• Storing: Leftover banana bread can be stored in a plastic container and enjoyed over 2-3 days.

You might also like

• Moist Banana Bread with Quinoa
• Banana Pear Bread with Ginger (Dairy Free)
• Fresh Spinach Quick Bread with Buttermilk
• Beetroot Bread with Walnuts
• Persimmon Bread with Orange Icing

You may also like this collection of 18 healthy, easy vegetable breakfast recipes.

Keep in touch!

If you make this healthy banana bread recipe I’d love to know how it turned out for you. Let me know in the comments below, thanks!

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Salted Whole Wheat Banana Bread

This healthy whole wheat banana bread has plenty of flavour and attitude - the combination of sweet, caramel notes of baked bananas and the sea salt crystals is pure deliciousness and you don't even have to be a banana bread fan to love this recipe!

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Course: Breakfast, Brunch, Snack

Cuisine: International

Prep Time: 45 minutes

Cook Time: 1 hour

Total Time: 1 hour 45 minutes

Servings: 8 portions

Calories: 316kcal

Author: Monika Dabrowski

Ingredients

• 4 medium/large very ripe bananas
• 5 tbsp runny honey/maple syrup
• 2 medium eggs lightly beaten
• 70 ml semi-skimmed milk
• 120 g salted butter softened, cubed
• 240 g whole wheat flour
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1/3 tsp bicarbonate of soda
• 1.5 tsp cinnamon
• 1/3 tsp fine sea salt

Metric - US Customary

Instructions

• Preheat the oven to 375 F/ 190 C/ gas mark 5. Place the bananas on a baking tray and bake for about 25 minutes until soft and dark brown. Remove from the oven, carefully peel off the skin and mash the bananas (with the juices) using a fork (the mixture should be a little lumpy). Leave to cool completely, stirring once in a while.
• Preheat the oven to 350 F/ 189 C/ gas mark 4. Grease a medium loaf pan (approx. 13x25cm) and line with baking paper. Set aside.
• In a large bowl combine the flour, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda, cinnamon and salt, and stir using a whisk.
• Combine the mashed banana (once cooled) with the beaten eggs, honey and milk and stir thoroughly.
• Combine the dry and wet mixtures and stir only until the dry ingredients are no longer visible (the batter will be lumpy).
• Pour the mixture into the pan, smooth out the top and bake for 1 hour. Remove from the oven and leave to cool for 5 minutes. Lift out of the pan along with the paper and place on a cooling rack.

Notes

• Bananas: Use very ripe bananas as they are sweet and likely to release more juice than bananas that aren't very ripe.
• Baked bananas: When the bananas come out of the oven they are juicy and there is likely to be some juice around them.  It is important to add all this delicious juice into the batter along with the mashed bananas.  The banana mixture may seem a little runny at first but it will thicken as it cools.
• Spices: I used cinnamon but you can swap it for mixed spice/pumpkin spice or simply omit the spices.
• Batter: Do not overstir the batter - it should be lumpy. Stop stirring once the dry ingredients have been incorporated.
• Storing: Leftover banana bread can be stored in a plastic container and enjoyed over 2-3 days.
• Preparation time includes the time needed to bake the bananas.

Nutrition

Serving: 1serving | Calories: 316kcal | Carbohydrates: 45g | Protein: 6g | Fat: 14g | Saturated Fat: 8g | Cholesterol: 74mg | Sodium: 260mg | Potassium: 454mg | Fiber: 5g | Sugar: 16g | Vitamin A: 481IU | Vitamin C: 5mg | Calcium: 80mg | Iron: 2mg

*Nutritional information is automatically generated and should be considered as an estimate.

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