A light and ultra soft blueberry banana bread recipe, bursting with sweet blueberries… no refined sugar or oil required!
So… apparently everyone is making banana bread right now.
This simple homemade blueberry banana bread can be vegan, gluten free, whole grain, and completely delicious.
Leftover slices freeze well, making it the perfect recipe for breakfast meal prep!
Also Try These Keto Blueberry Muffins
After taking the loaf from the oven and discovering some of the blueberries magically resembled tiny hearts, I decided to run with the heart theme, using a cookie cutter to make a vegan butter heart and taking a few liberties with Photoshop to really play up the natural shape of the berries and add a cartoon-like finish to the photo. Sometimes I have way too much fun with my job.
More Banana Bread Recipes
(View The Video Above)
The video above gives a visual of how to make banana bread, in case you’re a visual learner like I am and would prefer to see the steps. The movie is for plain banana bread, so don’t forget to throw the blueberries in!
You want to add them at the very end and stir as little as possible… unless you like the idea of banana bread that turns purple… which actually might be fun… Hmmm…
The blueberry banana bread is good plain or spread with jam or almond butter, but my favorite way to eat it is topped with Coconut Butter.
Leftover Blueberries? Make this Blueberry Crisp Recipe
Adapted from my favorite Healthy Banana Bread recipe
Blueberry Banana Bread
Ingredients
- 2 cups spelt, white, or oat flour
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 3/4 tsp baking powder
- 3/4 tsp salt
- 1/8 tsp cardamom, optional
- 1 1/2 cups mashed overripe banana (for banana-free, try this Blueberry Bread Recipe)
- 1/2 cup pure maple syrup, honey, or agave
- 1/4 cup milk of choice
- 1/4 cup oil OR additional milk of choice
- 2 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup blueberries, fresh or frozen and fully thawed
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350 F. Grease a 9×5 pan, and set aside. In a large bowl, combine first 4 ingredients (and cardamom, if using). Whisk all remaining ingredients except the blueberries in a separate bowl, then pour wet into dry and stir to form a batter. Very gently add the blueberries, stirring only enough to incorporate them, so as not to break the berries and turn the entire loaf purple. Smooth batter into the 9×5 pan. Bake on the center rack 38 minutes, then do not open the oven door but turn off the heat and leave in the closed oven for 10 additional minutes. If still undercooked after this time, put back into the oven (and turn the oven back on) for 5 more minutes, then check the bread again. Let cool completely, then loosely cover so there is room for moisture to escape. Taste and texture will be much better the second day (and even better the third day as it will get sweeter), and I’d recommend refrigerating after a day, for freshness. Leftovers can also be sliced and frozen if desired. As with all my recipes, I can only vouch for the results if made with one of the flours listed, but please feel free to experiment!View Nutrition Facts
Have you made this recipe?
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Paige Flamm says
Yum! I’m totally going to give this bread a try with our leftover bananas next Sunday!
Paige
Deb-do says
Very nice looking!! So does oat flour work well with this recipe too? ? I’ve been trying to eat less gluten lately, so no all purpose flour for me lol!
Jason Sanford says
It does – oat flour version will be chewier and denser, almost like a giant chewy cookie. It will be a little sweeter as well.
Emily says
This looks so comforting! Love the inclusion of cardamom. 🙂
xo,
Em
Shonda says
This was so yummy. I used oat flour. I’ve been looking for a healthier banana bread.
Luci says
I made this tonight and it is delicious! I followed your directions exactly as written. It is very sweet w the 1/2 cup maple syrup since my bananas were very ripe/sweet. Next time I will cut down the syrup to 1/4 cup. The recipe was very quick to put together while dinner was cooking on the stove.
Samantha P. says
Made this last night! I added some walnuts and cinnamon and it turned out wonderful. Thank you for the recipe 🙂
Cecile says
I’m doing the happy dance because it’s just out of the oven smelling soooo good!!!
I used 3/4 oats floor 1/4 millet floor so I have it gluten free and not too chewy, I’ll taste and report tonight!
Cecile says
I love it!!
In my case the blueberries didn’t behave and went all to the bottom and stuck together, but still its delicious and the oats / millet combination is perfect!
Very sweet for me, but I’m pretty sure my kids won’t complain at breakfast…
Thanks for this great recipe!
Laura says
Cecile, next time try dusting the blueberries in a tbsp of whatever flour you are using. This stops them from sinking to the bottom of the batter. Or add the berries to the top of the batter after it’s been put in the baking pan, the gently swirl into the batter & smooth.
🙂
K says
Thank you!
Cassie Thuvan Tran says
Blueberries in any kind of breakfast pastry or dessert are my favorite! I am such a sucker for blueberry muffins and loaves. This will probably be no exception! I love how the blueberries are still in tact and haven’t exploded in each slice, even though there’s nothing wrong with that!
Jen says
Can you substitute applesauce for the 1/4 cup of oil?
Jason Sanford says
Subbing applesauce sounds like it might work perhaps, but just curious, why not just use the extra milk option instead, if you want it to be oil-free?
Cordelia says
I always opt for applesauce. Some of my family members are allergic to regular dairy and some are allergic to all nut milks. All of them hate coconut and soy milk, thus, applesauce to the rescue. Thanks!
Skye says
I used oat flour it was very dense and gummy in texture, I didn’t get any rise and the amount of sweetener was way to much considering how sweet bananas already are so I reduced it to 1/4 cup and that was perfect. Didn’t use the cardamom. Not a bad recipe nice flavours but wouldn’t make again.
kristy says
Love the loving emo on the bread. Very sweet and much preferable for breakfast. 🙂
Mukesh says
Very good write-up. I certainly love this website. Thanks!
Elizabeth says
I made this yesterday and was so happy with how moist it was. I love that there is no oil in it and thought it tasted better than the versions that have it in the recipe. Thanks so much for sharing your recipe!
Nina says
I could definitely eat some of that right about now!
Carly says
Looks delicious. Do you think I could use Banana, cassava or coconut flour maybe?
Jason Sanford says
You never know unless you experiment but it sounds like a fun experiment. Be sure to report back if you try! You might need a binder though.
Diane says
Thank you for this recipe! it’s so tasty and I was so proud of myself after making it + it’s so tasty for a vegan recipe ❤
Richard Irish says
I made mine with wheat flour, and didn’t add any salt. In addition I added flaxseed and chia seed to my ingredients. Tastes delicious thank you for the great idea!
Emily says
I made mine with Bob Mill GF 1:1 Flour- did not work. Would not cook through all the way.
Jason Sanford says
Hmm just cook it a little longer and it should be fine! Oven temperatures can vary, especially if you haven’t calibrated yours. Climate can also affect baking time. But it should be fine with a little more time!
Monika says
Hi. Looks great. I just wanted to clarify: the frozen blueberries have to be completely thawed, or do you mean that you can use frozen blueberries as is OR they have to be completely thawed? Thanks!
Jason Sanford says
Thawed fully.
Matalie says
Could these be made intomuffins? If so, what would you recommend for the baking time?
Patti says
Yum! I made t with Cup4Cup GF flour blend, coconut oil, and a vanilla bean infused maple syrup…so I left out the vanilla extract. This flour is super dense, so I added extra cashew milk. I was nervous, but it came out great! Fairly dense, but amazing flavor so you don’t need much anyway. Everyone loved it!
Yaffi Lvova, RDN says
I made standard sized muffins from this recipe. They are delicious. I baked them at 350*F for 25 minutes and then left them in the hot oven for another 10 minutes. They are perfect. Also note, I used half oat flour and half whole wheat.
Kristen says
I made this last night! It was amazing and easy to follow recipe. Will definitely be making again and trying different combonations. Thanks!
Nicole says
Healthy breakfast never looked so good. I love the fact that I can use oat flour. Im going to try this out.
Lisa says
Delicious!!! Made it just as recipe says except I only used 1/4C syrup. So good!! No refined sugar or oil, thanks so much for this recipe!
Catherine says
This recipe turned out absolutely delicious!! One of the best breads I’ve made that is refined sugar fre.. you can feel good about eating this for breakfast, a snack, or serving it to friends and family. HIGHLY recommend this. I added walnuts for a crunch.
Leann Mullender says
This turned out amazing! I underestimated how much banana I would need and had to use some applesauce but it still came out delicious. I can’t wait to try it again with the correct amount of banana for the true banana bread flavors.
Poonam Neupane says
I will definetly give a try soon. Looking so tasty.
Natalie says
I made this using whole wheat flour, unsweetened almond milk, and three tsp of baking powder (instead of the baking soda and baking powder combo) and it still turned out delicious! Featured your recipe on my most recent blog post. Thanks for sharing!
Natalie
Lucinda says
Yumm! I also looked at the blueberry bread, but there you leave the bread in the oven to fully cook. Is that also possible with this bread? Or is it better to look and check like the recipe? I’ve made this one pretty often, but I usually cook it for like 45 minutes, check, put it back in (because it’s always a bit too wet), but then the bread collapse so bad.
Monique says
I made this with regular white flour and only 1/4 cup of honey. It is delicious and so easy to make. Will definitely make this again.
Ginny says
I’m wondering if anyone has tried Almond Flour?
I really want to make this. The banana chocolate bread is one of my favorites as well as the baked oatmeal, but I have bananas and blueberries and just made peanut butter baked oatmeal so I want to try this next. Appreciate any feedback. I’ve loved your site for 5 years now!
Jason Sanford says
Would probably work but be dense/not rise. If you’re not vegan, you could try doing it and adding an egg or two. Or for vegan, try some egg replacer. I’m just thinking of Katie’s Keto Muffins https://chocolatecoveredkatie.com/2019/06/10/keto-muffins-recipe/
Trina says
Tried it…does not work😩 so sad
James says
I make this recipe all the time using oat flour. It’s awesome thanks!
Ellen says
This was the most delicious bread I’ve made to date. Oh wait, not including the orange cranberry or chocolate zucchini or … i guess i love them all. but this was a huge hit with the entire family and barely lasted two days. I followed the recipe and didn’t have any problems with blueberries sinking. It was delicious and will become a staple.
Martina says
One of the best banana bread recipes I’ve tried (and I’ve tried MANY)
Justine says
Can this be made without baking powder? Just using baking soda? Thanks!
CCK Media Team says
Sorry we have never tried it so really can’t say.
Amanda says
One of my family’s favorite weekend breakfasts! I usually make 1.5x the recipe and bake it in a 9″x13″ glass pan. It’s more cake than loaf-style, but it bakes quickly that way. I grind oats (and mix all dry ingredients) in a bullet blender to save time. I use olive oil and dairy or almond milk. I leave out the added salt, reduce maple syrup to about 1/4 cup (for the entire 1.5x batch) and increase berries (use frozen mixed berries, thawed). I smash/mix the bananas and wet ingredients in the same bullet blender, again to save time. Thanks for the great recipe!
CCK Media Team says
Thank you so much for making it!
Trina says
This recipe does not work with almond flour😩
Carolyn Urwin says
Does anyone know the cooking times if you divide the mixture into two 1lb loaf tins?