Healthy Chocolate Banana Bread is baked with healthy olive oil, spelt and oat flour for a banana bread recipe that will fast replace your old one!
BEST Banana Bread Recipe – Right Here!
Everyone claims to have the best banana bread recipe. I know, because I’ve baked, tasted, and politely nodded my way through more versions than I can count. Some are too sweet, some too dry, some trying so hard to be “healthy” that they forget to be good.
And then there are the ones that lean fully into indulgence, leaving you wondering why banana bread needed quite that much butter or sugar in the first place.This recipe lives happily in the middle, and I say that with confidence.
Can The Best Banana Bread Be Healthy Too?
It’s deeply chocolatey, naturally sweet from a generous pile of overripe bananas, and made with olive oil, spelt flour, and oat flour, ingredients that feel nourishing without announcing themselves as such.
It’s the kind of banana bread you cut “just a thin slice” of… and then quietly go back for another. Less sugar, better fats, real flavor, and a texture that stays tender for days.
Is it bold to suggest this might be the best banana bread you’ll ever make? Maybe. But I’ve learned that when a recipe is this good, humility can step aside and let the loaf speak for itself. Bake it, share it, argue with me if you must, but try it first.
Healthy Chocolate Banana Bread
This healthy chocolate banana bread recipe is made with olive oil instead of butter, naturally sweetened with ripe bananas, and baked with a blend of spelt flour and oat flour for a wholesome, tender crumb.
It’s lower in sugar than traditional banana bread, yet rich in flavor, making it a perfect everyday bake, equally suited for breakfast, snacking, or dessert. If you’re searching for a healthier banana bread that doesn’t taste “healthy,” this recipe was written for you.
Yes I’m Crazy About Natural Healthy Ingredients!
Yes, I’m a health nut. Have been since I was a teen and that was a long time ago, and about a gazillion recipes between then and now!
For me, healthy food that still satisfies both hunger and taste are so easy to prepare, if we just focus on ingredients that help rather than hurt.
I knew I needed to create a healthy chocolate banana bread for all those banana bread lovers, like me, who wanted it ‘healthy’, which is why I often create other healthy recipes to include a bit of chocolate.
- Chocolate Apple Muffins – because Autumn’s orchard apple slices, dipped in melted chocolate are a favorite treat, so why not a muffin.
- Homemade Chocolate Almond Milk Ice Cream – made with homemade almond milk.
- Almond Crust Chocolate Pie – because I love a good cookie and so I make pie crusts like a cookie and filled it with a silky chocolate egg custard.
- Healthy Chocolate Date Candy – sweetened only with dates and pureed with raw cacao and nuts.
- Savory Chocolate Chili Pasta – oh yes, chocolate pasta with a savory chestnut sauce.
Healthy Banana Bread
Recipes for banana bread are about as available as there are recipes for Zucchini Bread!
Zucchini Bread, which I also boast as being the healthier recipe, got that way because of my mindful ingredient choices. Kefir and rapeseed oil are my contributions to a healthy zucchini bread, that and the use of coconut sugar.
But back to my banana bread, can you believe I lived in Brazil for a few years where there are more types of bananas then we have types of apples here in America.
Can you believe also that nowhere did I find a home, a bakery or a recipe in Brazil for Banana Bread? Hah, that’s changed now because I made it for every new person I met while I lived there.
Banana Muffins Are Really Just Banana Bread
Banana Muffins have been in my family for a long time. Bran, barley flour and olive oil have been the secret ingredients to my healthy banana muffins for my kids.
Muffins have been the way I hide lots of healthy ingredients, both sweet or savory. In fact, I will boast here too that I have the best Muffin Cookbook on the planet!!
Why Make Healthy Chocolate Banana Muffins?
Instead of making unhealthy, heavily sugared, nutrition weak flour banana bread, I knew I could do better. Especially since I raised four children as a single mom, healthy food was my priority.
Since I had an at-home (hair salon), business, long before it was a thing, it was easier for me to meet this challenge.
I was able to whip up recipes fast, in between hair clients, and muffins suddenly became more than just a breakfast bite.
Obviously my kids benefited from an easy, yet healthy breakfast, and I had peace of mind that I fed them well.
Healthy Chocolate Banana Bread
What is chocolate anyway? Down to basics, it’s a bean that has been roasted, like a coffee bean, ground into a powder and is bitter.
Chocolate as we know it, like from the store and already made into chocolate, is where chocolate has gotten a bad rap for being unhealthy, or fattening.
Bad chocolate is often that candy bar, or cooking chocolate bar loaded with sugar and fats I’ve never heard of.
Healthy Chocolate
Buying chocolate should be a mindful purchase. Select 70% or higher cacao ingredients. Cooking with chocolate, especially sweet recipes, should always be with raw cacao.
Simply the roasted raw bean, ground into a powder. Add your own selections of sugar and fat to it.
Olive oil, coconut oil or butter are way better fats to use in making chocolate than buying the chocolate already made into a bar.
Healthy Sweet Banana Bread
Overripe bananas are the absolute best what to make a sweet banana bread or cake. Since the natural sugar levels in the banana continue to rise as they ripen, they are almost sweet enough to leave out sugar.
Sugar, as you will see in this recipe, is barely a scant 1/4 cup. Not much and even that can be substituted with alternative sweeteners.
How To Make Chocolate Banana Bread
There are four quick steps with no special equipment, just a whisk, a bowl, a pan and an oven!
- First, we want to whisk the soft, mushy bananas until they become creamy.
- Second, we begin to layer in the wet ingredients.
- Then the dry ingredients gets whisked in.
- Last the bread is ready to bake and once cooled, a drizzle of 70-85% chocolate chips gets melted and a small drizzle goes on top of the bread.
Equipment Needed
This is the kind of recipe that doesn’t ask much of you, no fancy equipment, no extra steps, just a few everyday kitchen staples and a little anticipation while the oven does its thing.
- Mixing Bowl – One good-sized bowl is all you need to bring everything together. This is a simple, stir-and-pour kind of batter, no overthinking required.
- Whisk – A whisk helps the eggs, oil, and bananas come together smoothly, creating a batter that’s well mixed but never overworked.
- Measuring Cup and Measuring Spoons – A few quick measurements keep the balance just right, especially important when you’re relying on natural sweetness rather than excess sugar.
- Loaf Pan – The classic vessel for banana bread. It gives the loaf its familiar shape and helps the center bake up tender while the edges turn just slightly crisp.
- Basting Brush – Optional but lovely. A quick brush of olive oil on the pan (or even on top of the loaf before baking) helps prevent sticking and adds a beautiful finish.
- Oven – Where the magic happens. As the bread bakes, the kitchen fills with the unmistakable aroma of bananas, chocolate, and warm spice, arguably the best part of the whole process.
Ingredients That Make This Banana Bread Special
This isn’t banana bread that pretends to be healthy. Every ingredient here earns its place, working together to create a loaf that’s deeply chocolatey, naturally sweet, and satisfying in a way that feels both indulgent and wholesome.
- Ripe Bananas -The heart of the recipe. Overripe bananas bring natural sweetness, moisture, and that unmistakable banana bread flavor, so much so that you can dramatically cut back on added sugar without sacrificing pleasure. The riper, the better.
- Eggs – Eggs give the bread structure and richness, helping everything rise and set beautifully while keeping the crumb tender rather than dense.
- Olive Oil – Instead of butter or processed oils, this recipe uses olive oil for a moist, velvety texture and a healthier fat profile. It lets the banana and chocolate flavors shine without heaviness, and the loaf stays soft for days.
- Milk – Just enough milk to bring the batter together and keep the crumb light. Dairy or non-dairy both work well here, making the recipe flexible and forgiving.
- Sugar – Used thoughtfully and sparingly. Because the bananas do so much of the sweetening, the sugar here simply rounds out the flavor instead of overpowering it.
- Cacao Powder – Deep, rich cacao gives this bread its chocolate soul. It’s bold but not sugary, adding complexity and that grown-up chocolate flavor that makes this feel like more than a snack cake.
- Oat Flour – Oat flour brings a subtle nuttiness and a soft, comforting texture. It also makes the bread feel hearty and satisfying without being heavy.
- Spelt Flour – Spelt adds structure and a gentle, slightly sweet wheat flavor. It’s an old-world grain that pairs beautifully with bananas and chocolate, giving the loaf depth and balance.
- Baking Powder – Just enough lift to create a tender, well-risen loaf, never dry, never dense.
- Salt – A small but essential ingredient that sharpens the chocolate, enhances the banana, and keeps the sweetness in check.
- Nutmeg – A quiet supporting note that adds warmth and coziness. You may not notice it outright, but you’d miss it if it weren’t there.
- Chocolate Chips (Optional) – For those moments when you want to lean fully into dessert territory. They melt into little pockets of joy, but the bread is just as good without them.
Healthy Chocolate Banana Bread
Equipment
- Loaf pan
Ingredients
- 4 Overripe bananas lightly mashed
- 3 Eggs
- 1/4 cup Olive oil
- 1/2 cup Milk
- 1/4 cup Sugar
- 1/4 cup Cacao
- 1 1/2 cups Oat flour ground oats
- 1 cup Spelt flour
- 1 1/2 tsp Baking powder
- 1/2 tsp Salt
- 1 tsp Nutmeg
- 2 tbsp Chocolate chips
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350, and brush olive oil inside the baking pan.
- In a large bowl, whisk the bananas until creamy. Add the remaining wet ingredients and whisk.
- Whisk in the dry ingredients. Transfer to the prepared baking pan.
- Bake until tester comes out clean. about 45 minutes. Cool.
- Once the bread is cool, melt the chocolate chips and with a fork, drizzle across the top of the bread.
Video
Notes
- For garnish, I dipped freeze-dried banana chips in the drizzle and placed on top of the bread.
- The bread freezes well, so if you’ve got lots of bananas turning brown, simply double the recipe, bake and freeze. Drizzle can be added once the bread is thawed.
I believe the table... that place that draws people to gather, is the most powerful symbol of togetherness. All that happens before the table is set, the planning, the gathering, the preparing, are all an intricate part of the dance that create the mood of celebration to share with friends and loved ones.