This honey banana bread is soft, moist and sweetened only with honey. It is perfect for breakfast or as a snack. Add chocolate chips or honey glaze to turn into an easy and tasty dessert.
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Do not get me wrong, I love classic banana bread, but this honey banana bread is now how I make it most of the time. It is made without refined sugar, but it is still as just satisfying, if not better. The sweetness comes from overripe bananas and real honey, giving the bread deeper, more cozy flavor. It bakes in just under an hour, and you only need about 15 minutes to mash and mix everything together.
As I mentioned in my blog post about baking with honey, using honey as a 100% substitute for sugar does not always work. But this is one of the recipes where it truly shines. The banana bread comes out with the most tender crumb, slightly chewy crust and just the right amount of sweetness. It is perfect for breakfast, a snack or even a light dessert with a cup of tea.
Interested in more baking recipes with honey? Try my honey raspberry scones, easy honey cake, honey sponge cake, honey muffins or honey cookies.
Honey banana bread ingredients
You can use any type of honey, but I recommend looking for local, ethically sourced honey. This time, I used wild flower honey.
A lot of banana bread recipes use only baking soda. I also recommend adding about ½ teaspoon of baking powder for lighter crumb and better rise, since all the ingredients are "heavy".
How to make honey banana bread
1. In a large bowl, mash overripe bananas using a fork or potato masher.
2. Add honey, melted (not hot) butter, eggs, sour cream and vanilla extract. Whisk well to combine.
Note: You can also use electric mixer to make the batter.
3. In a separate bowl, whisk flour, cinnamon, baking powder. baking soda and salt. Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients and mix. Do not over mix. Now, you can fold in chocolate chips, nuts or dried fruit, if using.
4. Pour and the batter into the bread loaf pan lined with parchment paper.
5. Bake at 350F for about 55-60 minutes or until the top cracks and the toothpick comes out clean. Let it cool slightly. Remove from the pan and set it on a cooling rack to completely cool.
How to store honey banana bread
This recipe is made without, so it does not store exactly the same as classic banana bread.
After the bread has cooled completely, wrap it tightly in a plastic wrap, or foil or place it in an air tight container. Store it at room temperature for 1-2 days (not longer) or in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.
For longer storage, you can freeze banana bread for up to 2 months.
Note: Honey adds extra moisture, so the bread might become slightly sticky overtime, this is normal.
Recipe tips
- Use very ripe bananas. They add more natural sweetness especially important when you are not using sugar.
- Measure the honey correctly. Honey is sticky, and when it seems like you have poured it all, there will be still some left. Make sure to scrape it out well with a spoon, or you can lightly coat the measuring cup with neutral oil before adding honey so it releases easily.
- Lower the baking rack. Bake the banana bread on the lower third rack so the top does not brown too quickly. Honey causes baked good brown faster.
- Do not over mix the batter. Once you combine dry and wet ingredients, mix just until combined. Over mixing will have the bread dense.
- Tent with foil if needed. Check on your bread in about 30 minutes, and if you see the top is too brown, cover it loosely with some foil.
- Check for doneness properly. Do not rely on the crust color, honey makes everything brown faster. Use a tooth pick (clean or a few crumbs) or even better to check that the internal temperature reaches 200-205F.
Variations and Add-ins
Add about ½-3/4 cup total of any mix-ins so the batter does not weight down.
- Chocolate chips: A great option for a school snack or a more dessert-like loaf. Use a semi-sweet or dark chocolate chips.
- Nuts: Chopped walnuts or pecans add a nice crunch. Lightly toast the nuts before adding them to the batter for more flavor.
- Dried fruit: You can add dry raising, cranberries, cherries, chopped dried apricots for extra texture and sweetness.
- Honey glaze: warm 2-3 tablespoons of honey with 1 tablespoon of milk or cream, then brush or drizzle over the warm loaf.
- Make it sweeter: This banana bread is not very sweet (which we love). But if you prefer sweeter breads, you can add about 2 tablespoons of brown sugar to the batter.
📖 Recipe
Honey Banana Bread
Equipment
- 1 Large Mixing Bowl
- measuring cups
- standard sized loaf pan (5x9)
Ingredients
- 1½ cups mashed over-ripe bananas 3 large or 4 medium bananas
- 2 large eggs
- ½ cup honey
- ⅓ cup sour cream
- 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350℉. Position the oven rack in the lower third of the oven. Line the loaf pan with parchment paper or grease it with oil.
- In a large bowl add over-ripped bananas. Mash them well with a fork. Add 2 eggs, ½ cup of honey ⅓ cup of sour cream, 6 tablespoons of melted butter, 2 teaspoons of vanilla extract. Whisk well until combined.
- In a separate bowl, combine 2 cups of flour, 1 teaspoon of baking soda, ½ teaspoons of baking powder, ½ teaspoons of salt and ½ of cinnamon. Add dry ingredients to the wet ingredients. Mix just until combined. Do not over mix it. Optionally, fold in ½-¾ cup of chocolate chips, dried fruit on nuts.
- Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Spread it if needed. Bake at 350℉ for about 55-65 minutes or until the toothpick comes out clean, few wet crumbs are OK. The thermometer inserted in the middle should reach 200-205℉. Check the bread half way though the baking time. If it browns too fast, cover it loosely with foil.
- Let it cool in a pan for about 10 minutes, then set it on a cooling rack to cool completely before slicing. Store leftovers in an air tight container for up to 2 days or for up to 6 days in the fridge.
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