One of my pet peeves is when people label a dessert as “healthy,” and not because that is grammatically incorrect, but rather because desserts have sugar of some form and that will never be “good” for you no matter how much whole wheat flour you throw in there. Of course, you could say one dessert is more healthful than another or that it will lead to the demise of your health less quickly than its traditional counterpart. But to call a dessert healthful because we use yogurt instead of butter, but then add in 3 cups of sugar, is just plain delusional.
Would you call me a hypocrite if I told you I have a recipe for a healthful dessert? I don’t blame you, but stay with me here. I know of a sweet something that calls for no sugar of any kind — not even my favorite, maple syrup. Don’t be silly, I am not going artificial on you! It is a delicious banana bread sweetened only with ripe bananas and pureed dates. Dates grow locally in Southern California, so we have access to some fantastic varieties here, my favorite being the Medjool. If you are ever craving something sweet, but don’t want to give in to processed junk, take a pitted date or two and stick a pecan in the middle. Amazing. I digress. The dates do double duty as sweetener and add moistness so we cut back on some of the butter, too. The key, though, with any banana bread is using super ripe bananas, well-speckled with lots of black dots (the kind many people toss in the garbage — arrgh!).
Banana bread freezes beautifully and makes a terrific muffin, as well. I adapt this recipe according to the season, adding blueberries in the summer, fresh cranberries in the fall and walnuts or pecans in the winter. This banana bread is not as sweet as the ones you may be used to, so yes, you can add chocolate chips or a drop of maple syrup if you must. Just don’t call it healthy!
Date-Sweetened Banana Bread Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 cup dried dates, about 7 ounces, pitted
- 1/2 cup hot water
- 4 Tablespoons 1/2 stick unsalted butter or unrefined coconut oil, , at room temperature
- 2 large eggs, at room temperature
- 1 Tablespoon pure vanilla extract
- 2 cups white whole wheat flour, spelt flour or sprouted spelt flour
- 1/2 teaspoon fine grain sea salt
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon aluminum-free baking powder
- 3 large ripe bananas,, mashed
- 1/2 cup raw walnuts or pecans, coarsely chopped (or fresh blueberries or cranberries)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9 x 5 x 3 loaf pan. (Can be lined with parchment if it is aluminum.)
- Place the dates in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Add the hot water and allow the dates to soften for at least 10 minutes. (I usually get the rest of my ingredients ready while the dates are softening.)
- Turn the mixer on low speed and blend until the water has incorporated with the dates. Turn the mixer to medium low speed and beat the dates until a smooth puree forms.
- Add the butter or coconut oil and beat until well blended. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add the vanilla extract and mix.
- In a medium bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Add to the butter-date mixture and mix until just combined.
- Fold in the mashed bananas and walnuts.
- Pour the mixture into the prepared pan and bake for 50-60 minutes (I made it in many different ovens with this range of time), or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out barely clean. Cool in the pan for 10 minutes. Remove from the pan and cool on a rack.
Like this recipe? Rate & comment below!
Love this recipe as it is! used coconut oil and walnuts! nThank you for sharing.
perfect! Glad you enjoyed it.
Can this recipes be made into muffins?
yes but the timing will be different. Figure 18-25 minutes depending on the size of your muffin tin
Is that 1/2 cup plus 4 tbsp of butter? So, 3/4 cup butter?
Sorry, my brain registered ‘stick’ as ‘cup’, and hence my confusion. I see that the total is 4 tbsp butter (1/2 stick). Recipe looks lovely.
Exactly. 1/2 stick which is equivalent to 4 Tablespoons. 🙂
Thank you for this amazing recipe.
I made it today and wow. ..it is delicious. A great occasional treat for our grandchildren with no added refined sugar. The sweetness from the ripe bananas is just right.
Glad you enjoyed it! It is definitely a recipe for people who appreciate subtly sweetened baked goods. 🙂
This recipe turned out fantastic. However because I don’t like the taste of very very ripe bananas I added 4 tablespoons of date syrup and used bananas that were at a nice eating stage. It turned out moist and delicious. My whole family liked it which is win when trying to improve our nutrition. I baked it in a cast iron loaf pan from Lodge, oiled with organic coconut oil and it didn’t stick at all. I baked it to 203 degrees measured with a probe thermometer. Great recipe! Thank you very much 🙂
All great suggestions! And very smart! Thanks for sharing 🙂
Hi Pamela
I’ve baked this cake twice and it amazing! The family have loved it.
How many calories is one average slice?
Glad you loved it! I honestly don’t know, sorry!
I have frozen bananas. So don’t know what 3 bananas will equate to. How many cups?
If you’re using frozen bananas, thaw them first, discard excess liquid if there’s a lot, then mash and measure out 1½ cups.
This was delicious – just the right amount of sweetness. Next time I might add some cinnamon or nutmeg
love that idea! So glad you found this bread to your liking. It’s for people who appreciate subtle sweetness. 🙂
Made this yesterday with black walnuts and it was delicious! I’m making another loaf because my family ate the first one already.