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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!
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!).
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 ;)
Toasty coconutty banana goodness right here!
Healthy Coconut Banana Bread
Equipment
Ingredients
- ⅓ cup (79 ml) melted coconut oil
- ½ cup (161 g) maple syrup, room temperature
- 2 large eggs, room temperature
- 1 cup (150 g) large ripe bananas, mashed (about 3)
- ¼ cup (59 ml) unsweetened almond milk, room temperature
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 ¾ cups (210 g) whole wheat flour
- 1 cup (93 g) unsweetened shredded coconut flakes, divided
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325 °F (163 °C) and grease a 9×5-inch loaf pan with coconut oil spray or similar.
- In a large bowl, whisk together coconut oil, maple syrup, eggs, bananas, and almond milk.1/3 cup (79 ml) melted coconut oil, 1/2 cup (161 g) maple syrup, 2 large eggs, 1 cup (150 g) large ripe bananas, 1/4 cup (59 ml) unsweetened 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.1 teaspoon baking soda, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt, 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon, 1 3/4 cups (210 g) whole wheat flour
- Pour half of the coconut flakes into the batter and fold into the mixture.½ cup (46 ½ g) unsweetened shredded coconut flakes
- 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 coconut flakes, generously sprinkle on top of the batter.½ cup (46 ½ g) unsweetened shredded coconut flakes
- 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.
Notes
Nutrition
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Beautiful recipe, thank you. I added dark chocolate chips, dates, some oats and toasted walnuts and coconut.
I didn’t have maple syrup so I used golden syrup too. Perfect postpartum breastfeeding hunger treat lol. I whipped some nuttalex with golden syrup and cinnamon to spread on it when serving