I absolutely LOVE a banana bread recipe. It’s such a great snack to take on the go, is filling, satisfying and can make a great food option for kids too. It’s also easy to make a vegan version of it too, if you just switch the butter for soya spread.
There are also so many ways to make banana bread – you can add in chocolate pieces, fruits, peanut butter to add texture and alter the flavours too.
The problem with many banana bread recipes you see online – LOTS of sugar. Often I see banana bread recipes with way over the amount of sugar that they actually need. So….I decided to come up with my own, which uses less than half the sugar that is in some recipes. The best way to do this is to use super ripe bananas, which end up very sweet when baking and this means you can use less sugar in the final product.
This is a banana recipe I’m proud of – it took a while to get it perfect, but I think I’ve managed it. I’ve had lots of positive feedback on this recipe too. Do let me know if you try it!
Ingredients
- 140g unsalted butter
- 80g dates – soaked in boiling water to soften
- 2 free range eggs
- 140g self raising flour (I use ½ wholemeal flour and ½ plain flour to add texture)
- 1tsp baking powder
- 3 very ripe bananas, mashed well
- 40g sultanas (can soak in water for 20 minutes before hand to make them more juicy).
Method
- Grease a loaf tin and heat the oven to 180 degree celcius
- Add the dates to a blender / food processor with a little of the water and blend into a smooth paste
- Cream butter and date paste together until fairly fluffy
- Use a blender or a whisk to add the eggs a little at a time – add a large pinch of the flour to stop the mixture separating
- Once blended, fold in the flour and the baking powder until the ingredients are mixed well
- Add the mashed bananas and whisk or stir together
- Finally add the sultanas
- Add the mixture to the loaf tin and pop in the middle shelf of the oven for around 50 minutes. Keep checking every now and then from around 30-40 minutes and pop some tin foil on top if it’s browning too much.
If you like this banana bread recipe, then please check out my other healthy recipe ideas.
