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Healthy Banana Oat Bread with chocolate chips makes a low calorie and lower sugar treat using just a few ingredient swaps. It's flourless, dairy-free, and lower calorie making it a baked good that's better for you! Lightly sweetened with maple syrup, this oat flour banana bread tastes great too!
Nothing is better than a warm slice of banana bread with a cup of coffee or tea! It's the sweetest snack around and contrary to popular belief, banana bread is NOT a breakfast food - it's a TREAT food.
I always tell my fat loss clients to think about how they can make treats foods better so that they don't feel restricted or like they're on a diet.
Treat foods are part of a healthy lifestyle, but they do not replace nutrient dense meals for hormonal weight loss and key nutrients we should be prioritizing.
This Healthy Banana Oat Bread recipe is better balanced and made calorie conscious for you! I love serving it as a healthy holiday brunch recipe.
What Makes This Oat Flour Banana Bread Healthier?
Here are a few more reasons why I love this healthier banana oat bread and why it's also considered low calorie.
- Low Calorie: Each slice is 134 calories but it's the quality of the ingredients that's more important than the calories. I work hard to ensure the components of each of my recipes is better balanced and not just about being a low number.
- Low Sugar: Unsweetened applesauce, bananas, cinnamon and maple syrup sweeten this banana bread recipe. There is just a quarter cup of honey in the recipe and that is divided among 12 slices.
- Low Fat: There is just 2 grams of fat per slice, 1 being saturated fat. There is no oil added to the recipe as the applesauce acts as the oil in this recipe.
- Higher Fiber: Each slice has 3 grams of fiber thanks to the rolled oats in this recipe. I've shared so many times how important fiber is for hormones and weight management. I talk all about this in my free weight loss class for middle aged women if you're interested.
Looking for more healthy banana bread recipes to try? I highly recommend my coconut flour banana bread, this easy strawberry bread recipe, or my chocolate banana bread recipe too.
Ingredients
Here's what you will need to make your low calorie banana oat bread. I also recommend having a loaf pan, blender and parchment paper.
- Bananas: You want to use very ripe bananas -- almost black! Black bananas are much sweeter and since this is a lower sugar recipe, you want most of the natural sweetness of this bread to come from the bananas.
- Applesauce: Unsweetened applesauce is infusing our oat flour banana bread with plenty of moisture so you don't miss the oil.
- Honey: We're using the smallest amount of honey to simply boost the sweetness slightly. Overall it's a pretty minimal amount per piece of banana bread. You can also use maple syrup or a zero calorie flavored monkruit sweetener like this one.
- Rolled Oats: It's ok to substitute regular rolled oats if you are not following a gluten free diet. I do not recommend using instant oats. Oat flour also works instead of the oats but I recommend using 2 cups instead. I have not yet tested gluten free all purpose flour or almond flour. If you test these, please leave a comment as this helps others. Coconut flour will not work with this recipe so do not use it as a substitute.
- Vanilla Extract: Intensifies the natural sweetness and adds warmth and aroma to the bread.
- Leaveners: You will need both baking powder and baking soda to give your oat flour banana bread some lift.
- Cinnamon: The cinnamon adds natural sweetness which helps flavor this lower sugar oatmeal banana bread. You can leave it out if you prefer.
- Mini Chocolate Chips: I am using dairy-free but you can also use regular chocolate chips and you can leave them out too.
Keep in mind that whenever you substitute an ingredient the nutritional facts shown in the recipe card will change. Be sure to check the recipe card for the amounts of each ingredient you need.
Banana Oatmeal Bread Variations
This recipe is very versatile and you can definitely add to it if you like.
- Nuts and Seeds: Add your favorite nuts or seeds to the banana bread batter in place of all of half of the chocolate chips. You can also sprinkle some on top if you want.
- Berries: Feel free to mix in your favorite berries instead of the chocolate chips for a fruity banana bread.
- Other Mix-Ins: You can use cacao nibs in place of the chocolate chips, add some coconut flakes, or any other banana bread mix-ins you enjoy.
How To Make Banana Bread with Oat Flour
Step 1: Add the bananas, vanilla, honey and applesauce to a small blender.
Step 2: Blend until the mixture is very smooth.
Step 3: Add everything else to a blender except the chocolate chips and blend again until the oats are broken down and the ingredients are fully combined.
Step 4: Stir in the chocolate chips.
Step 5: Transfer the batter into a prepared loaf pan. I recommend lining your loaf pan with parchment paper for easy removal.
Step 6: Bake the bread 30-35 minutes in a preheated oven. Remove it allow it to cool to room temperature. Slice and enjoy!
Expert Tips
- Storing: Store your oat flour banana bread tightly wrapped in the refrigerator after it has cooled fully to room temperature. Storing the bread at room temperature may cause it to become soggy. Don't refrigerate too quickly as it may lose more moisture.
- Use a Blender: A blender works best to break down the oats but you can also use food processor too.
- Line Your Pan: Using parchment paper in your pan makes it easier to remove the bread from the baking pan. I like to use a piece that's long enough to extend past the long edges of the pan. This makes lifting the bread from the pan easier. If you skip it, make sure to spray the pan very well.
- Freezing: Cool the bread fully for two hours at room temperature before freezing. Slice the bread after it has cooled fully then store in a freezer friendly container wrapped in plastic wrap or plastic storage bag wrapped in plastic wrap before placing in the freezer. Store for up to three months.
More Popular Banana Oat Recipes
If you tried this oat flour banana bread recipe or any other recipe on my website, please please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how you go in the 📝 comments below.
Oat Flour Banana Bread with Chocolate Chips
Ingredients
- 3 bananas very ripe
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ¼ cup unsweetened applesauce
- ¼ cup honey
- 2 ¼ cups Rolled Oats gluten free as needed, substitute with 2 cups of oat flour or regular flour if gluten-free not necessary.
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon sea salt
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- ⅓ cup mini chocolate chips dairy free
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Spray a 9-inch x 5-inch loaf pan with nonstick cooking spray or place parchment paper in it.
- To a blender, add the bananas, vanilla extract, honey, applesauce, and blend until smooth.
- Add the oats, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and salt and blend until well combined.
- Remove the batter from the blender and fold the chocolate chips into batter by hand to disperse evenly throughout the batter.
- Pour the batter into the prepared loaf pan. Spread the batter evenly with a rubber spatula
- Bake 30-35 minutes or until a toothpick can be removed from the center of the loaf clean.
- Cool the bread in the pan 30 minutes on a wire rack. Remove from the pan, cut into 12 slices and enjoy!
- Store in the refrigerator in a container up to one week.
Notes
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- Storing: Store your oat flour banana bread tightly wrapped in the refrigerator after it has cooled fully to room temperature. The bread can be left covered at room temperature but may get soggy. Don't refrigerate too quickly as it may lose more moisture.
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- Use a Blender: A blender works best to break down the oats but you can also use food processor too.
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- Line Your Pan: Using parchment paper in your pan makes it easier to remove the bread from the baking pan. I like to use a piece that's long enough to extend behind the long edges of the pan so I can simply lift it out when it's done baking. If you skip it, make sure to spray the pan very well.
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- Freezing: Cool the bread fully for two hours at room temperature before freezing. Slice the bread after it has cooled fully then store in a freezer friendly container wrapped in plastic wrap or plastic storage bag wrapped in plastic wrap before placing in the freezer. Store for up to three months.
Nutrition
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