Easy Wholemeal Banana Bread with Sea Salt

This nutritious Easy Wholemeal Banana Bread with Sea Salt has plenty of flavour and attitude.  The combination of sweet, caramel notes of baked bananas and sea salt crystals 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 Wholemeal Banana Bread with Sea Salt. 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:)

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?

Baked banana bread recipe

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 – and that’s all there is to it!  You can enjoy them with ice cream, add them to porridge, smoothies and muffins.  Or you can make this healthy wholemeal banana bread!

Note

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.

How to make wholemeal banana bread

Once you’ve prepared the bananas and allowed them to cool combine with the eggs, maple syrup (or honey), salt and stir.  In another bowl combine the flour, baking powder and cinnamon, add the butter and rub the mixture until crumbly.  Alternatively use a food processor.

Then simply combine the two mixtures and stir until the dry ingredients are no longer visible.  Pour the batter into a prepared tin and bake for 1 hour.

This healthy banana bread is very moist (no point inserting a skewer to check if it’s done as it will be moist).  Allow it to cool completely before slicing.

More healthy banana bread recipes

If you like this easy whole wheat banana bread recipe you might also like this Quinoa Banana Bread (Dairy Free). This recipe uses ripe bananas as well as banana chips!  Check out also this Ginger Pear Banana Wholemeal Bread.  Both make fantastic healthy snacks and easy lunchbox ideas.

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

Print Recipe

Easy Wholemeal Banana Bread with Sea Salt

This healthy wholemeal 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!

Prep Time45 mins

Cook Time1 hr

Total Time1 hr 45 mins

Course: Breakfast, Brunch, Snack

Cuisine: International

Keyword: banana bread, wholemeal

Servings: 1 Medium Loaf

Author: Monika Dabrowski

Ingredients

• 4 large ripe bananas
• 4 tablespoons maple syrup or runny honey
• 2 large eggs lightly beaten
• 100 g butter with sea salt crystals plus a little for greasing, cubed
• 210 g wholemeal flour
• 1.5 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 heaped teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt

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 bread tin (approx. 13x25cm) and line with baking paper. Set aside.
• Combine the bananas (once cooled), maple syrup (or honey) and eggs, sprinkle with the salt and stir thoroughly.
• In a large bowl combine the flour, baking powder and cinnamon and stir using a whisk. Add the butter and rub with the palms of your hands to obtain a crumbly consistency (or whizz in a food processor until crumbly).
• Pour in the wet mixture all at once and stir only until the dry ingredients are no longer visible (the batter will be lumpy).
• Pour the mixture into the tin and bake for 1 hour. Remove from the oven and leave to cool for 5 minutes. Lift out of the tin and place on a cooling rack.

Pin Easy Wholemeal Banana Bread with Sea Salt!

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RECIPE LINK PARTIES

I am bringing this easy whole wheat banana bread with sea salt to #CookBlogShare. This week’s host is Eb@Easy Peasy Foodie.  Also sharing with Recipe of the Week.