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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.
- 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.
Notes
Nutrition
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I am a coconut junkie, this bread is amazing.
I don’t use coconut oil, used unsalted butter instead,
did use the coconut milk as I have that for my coffee.
Will make this again and again!
I had banana coconut loaf in mind and amongst the recipes on line, yours looked the most interesting. I just made it and it’s very good! I used 3/4 cups unbleached flour and 1 cup of buckwheat/spelt/oat flour blend. Do you notice that coconut oil, while tasty, kind of coats the inside of your mouth? Oh well … still good.
Oh interesting, no – I haven’t noticed that at all!
This looks fabulous Julie ! I will definitely try it !
Hi, I tried to make this the other day but it turned out really dry, the batter was very dry too, it was more like dough. I thought I measured everything out right, the only thing was my eggs were not big ones and I only used 2 bananas as they were large and made up 1 cup when mashed. Do you have any idea’s on what I have done wrong. Another thing I did was subsitute the Almond milk for coconut milk and the flour for coconut flour. It still had a very nice taste, but so dry. :(
Hi, I would follow the recipe as written next time, mainly because I have tested this recipe four times and this is my go-to recipe for banana bread so I know it works. However, more importantly, you substituted all the flour for coconut flour??? If so, that is 100% the reason why your bread turned out dry. Coconut flour is extremely dense and dry should ONLY be used in small increments. You absolutely cannot substitute regular flour for coconut flour. The ratio is not the same and you would need a TON of liquid for it to work out. I hope you make it again with these notes in mind!
can i take out the maple syrup completely? or should i replace it with applesauce for the consistency?
sorry for the delay – i actually haven’t taken out maple syrup of the recipe completely so i’m not sure how it’ll turn out. you could definitely try applesauce!
Do you think I could substitute honey for maple syrup or would that change it too much?
I haven’t tried this myself and not sure how it would taste or the consistency of the batter. You can certainly try though!
I love coconut with EVERYTHING! SO delicious!
Not sure what you mean by “melted coconut oil”
Does the coconut oil come in solid form as opposed to liquid that isn’t solid ? And if in liquid form, do you mean that it has to be heated ? I’m confused.
The bread sounds delicious.
Thank You
Yes, coconut oil, in temperatures below 76 degrees Fahrenheit will be solid. So you need to melt the coconut oil and measure it that way. If your coconut oil is already melted because it’s warmer than 76 degrees Fahrenheit, then measure it out that way. The coconut oil has to be in liquid form, is what I’m trying to say.
I would love to have this for breakfast!
coconut is my FAVORITE!!! it adds the most awesome texture to everything, particularly banana bread — this looks so dope! xo