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Healthy Coconut Banana Bread

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The intoxicating smell of coconut banana bread will be drifting throughout your house as soon as you pop this in the oven! Super moist and tender; you will want to make a double batch!

Our favorite type of bread is banana bread. I know it seems so basic and boring but it’s classic and I have always loved the banana bread smell drifting through the house when we were younger. My mom would make banana bread often because not only was it our favorite, it was also my dad’s favorite.

If you’ve followed my blog for some time, you’ll know that I love to bake my dad goodies for his birthday. His favorite is my original banana bread recipe and it literally lights up his face whenever I present him with banana bread on any given day. This year, for my dad’s birthday (in August), I decided to make him this coconut banana bread. I decided to take the liberty to change up classic banana bread. He enjoys coconut so why not combine the two? It was a fantastic decision!

The intoxicating smell of coconut banana bread will be drifting throughout your house as soon as you pop this in the oven! Super moist and tender; you will want to make a double batch!

This coconut banana bread is so moist and has so much banana flavor! You really gotta use ripe bananas. Like ripe ripe. Like pretty much black bananas. They have the most flavor. I also love that this bread is speckled all over with unsweetened coconut flakes. It gives it great texture and a slight crunch, if you’re into that kind of thing. The bread is SO moist and it smells amazing. The coconut on top of the bread gets toasted the *right* amount, too.

Healthy is definitely a subjective word. What I think as healthy, you might not think as healthy. I hesitated to even call this healthy coconut banana bread but you know what? I think it’s healthy. It uses all natural sugars and instead of bad oils, it is using coconut oil (which ties in perfectly with the coconut banana flavor!).

The intoxicating smell of coconut banana bread will be drifting throughout your house as soon as you pop this in the oven! Super moist and tender; you will want to make a double batch!

The intoxicating smell of coconut banana bread will be drifting throughout your house as soon as you pop this in the oven! Super moist and tender; you will want to make a double batch!

Who wouldn’t love waking up to a slice of this every morning? My dad loved it! I wish I had made a double batch because I would’ve loved a loaf for ourselves but thankfully, my dad likes to share so I was able to have a couple slices ;)

The intoxicating smell of coconut banana bread will be drifting throughout your house as soon as you pop this in the oven! Super moist and tender; you will want to make a double batch!

Toasty coconutty banana goodness right here!

The intoxicating smell of coconut banana bread will be drifting throughout your house as soon as you pop this in the oven! Super moist and tender; you will want to make a double batch!

Healthy Coconut Banana Bread

The intoxicating smell of coconut banana bread will be drifting throughout your house as soon as you pop this in the oven! Super moist and tender; you will want to make a double batch!
5 from 2 votes
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 1 hour
Total Time: 1 hour 20 minutes
Servings: 9 slices
Author: Julie Chiou
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Ingredients 

  • cup melted coconut oil
  • ½ cup maple syrup, room temperature
  • 2 large eggs, room temperature
  • 1 cup large ripe bananas, mashed (about 3)
  • ¼ cup unsweetened almond milk, room temperature
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • ½ teaspoon kosher salt
  • ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1 ¾ cups whole wheat flour
  • 1 cup unsweetened shredded coconut flakes, divided

The default measuring system for this website is US Customary. Unit conversions are provided for convenience and as a courtesy only. While we strive to provide accurate unit conversions, please be aware that there may be some discrepancies.

Equipment

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 325 °F and grease a 9x5-inch loaf pan with coconut oil spray or similar.
  • In a large bowl, whisk together coconut oil, maple syrup, eggs, bananas, and almond milk.
  • Add the baking soda, vanilla extract, cinnamon, and whole wheat flour to the bowl. Gently fold together dry and wet ingredients until batter forms.
  • Pour 1/2 cup of coconut flakes into the batter and fold into the mixture.
  • Pour batter into prepared loaf pan and gently tap it against the countertop to let air bubbles escape and to smooth out the top.
  • With the remaining 1/2 cup of coconut flakes, generously sprinkle on top of the batter.
  • Bake in the middle rack in the oven for 60 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
  • Let cool in pan for 10 minutes before placing on a wire rack to cool completely.
  • Slice and put in an airtight container for up to one week in the fridge.

Recipe Notes

Room temperature liquids are very important in this recipe because you don't want your coconut oil to re-harden up and cause you to have clumps of coconut oil in the batter. If you notice that your coconut flakes on top of the bread are starting to brown/burn, you can place a piece of aluminum foil on top of the pan. It is very important to have your oven racks in the middle of the oven as opposed to the top. Your coconut flakes will be burnt or toasty if it's at the top!

NUTRITION FACTS

Serving: 1 slice | Calories: 268 kcal | Carbohydrates: 36 g | Protein: 5 g | Fat: 13 g | Saturated Fat: 10 g | Fiber: 4 g | Sugar: 14 g

This website provides approximate nutrition information for convenience and as a courtesy only. Nutrition information can vary for a variety of reasons. For the most precise nutritional data use your preferred nutrition calculator based on the actual ingredients you used in the recipe.

Course: Bread
Cuisine: American
Keyword: banana, coconut

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Recipe Rating




Tracey Pope

Wednesday 9th of June 2021

This is divine, I swapped the allpurpose flour for a combination of almond flour1 cup, coconut flour 1/4 cup, and 1/2 cup of ground golden flaxseed and added extra 1/2 tsp new of baking powder, for it to be gluten free, moist and so moreish.

Connie Basnett

Tuesday 23rd of February 2021

Hi there! Can I use plain wholemeal flour instead? And can I swap coconut oil for unsalted butter?

Julie Chiou

Wednesday 24th of February 2021

yes you can for both those items!

Fiona Whelan

Monday 4th of May 2020

I’ve made this so many times now- the recipe is just perfect!! It’s all I ever make when we have over ripe bananas. I also love the fact that you don’t have to use baking paper as this prevents waste-it still comes out perfectly every time with just some fry lite! 160 degrees celcius works perfect in my oven for exactly 1 hour :)) Thank you!!

Bhavna Singhsachthep

Sunday 9th of February 2020

Do you think I can make this recipe with almond flour instead of regular flour? If so, any idea how to adjust the almond milk for moistness?

Julie Wampler

Sunday 9th of February 2020

to be honest, i have no idea since i didn't test the recipe for this kind of substitution. almond flour tends to be denser so the texture may not come out right; you could try to play around if you want.

Shridevi Karkera

Wednesday 5th of June 2019

Hi Julie! Oh my god!!! I can't even begin to describe how well this turned out and how amazing it tasted. Come to think of it, I replaced the maple syrup with honey and the almond milk with regular milk. But my oh my even with these big changes the bread tasted heavenly. Bonus being it has absolutely no sugar and refined flour. Win win for me as a mother to a young fussy eating gal. Big thumbs up and a thank you for this innovative recipe Much love from India,

Julie Wampler

Friday 7th of June 2019

I'm so glad you enjoyed this so much!