Whole Wheat Roasted Banana Bread
Updated March 26, 2019
And so the brown bananas strike again. They don’t strike as often since we’ve had Caleb. That kid loves bananas. Somedays I wonder if he is half monkey. He would eat bananas at every meal if we let him…and he climbs on everything! Hmm…maybe he really is part monkey. We better watch to see if he starts growing lots of hair:)
Anyways, we finally had a bunch of bananas turn brown so I jumped at the chance to make banana bread. I usually make Buttermilk Banana Bread, but I wanted to make a new recipe. Big surprise, huh? I am always itching to make new recipes:) I had an open bag of Whole Wheat Flour (we made pancakes the day before) so I put the flour to good use and made Whole Wheat Roasted Banana Bread.
First, I roasted the bananas in the oven. Don’t be scared by the ugly brown and blistered bananas. They bring out the best flavor in the bananas. And roasting them is easy. Just place the unpeeled bananas on a baking sheet, pop them into a 350 degree F oven and let them roast for about 15-20 minutes. That’s it!
The rest of the recipe is easy too! I bet you have everything in your kitchen to make this bread right now. Unless, you have a little monkey eating all of your bananas:)
This recipe will make 2 (8×4 loaves) or 4 mini loaves. I made mini loaves this time around so we could share with our friends. Plus, they are super cute and everything cute tastes better:)
We love this Whole Wheat Roasted Banana Bread. I will have to hide the bananas from Caleb so I can make it again! Have a great weekend!
Make sure you check out our post on How to Make the BEST Banana Bread!
Whole Wheat Roasted Banana Bread
Ingredients
- 4 medium ripe bananas
- 2 cups whole wheat flour
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup canola oil or vegetable oil
- 2 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Cinnamon/Sugar mixture-for sprinkling on top of bread optional
Instructions
- 1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease two 8×4-inch loaf pans or four mini loaf pans; set aside.
- 2. Place bananas on a baking sheet and roast, with peels on, for 15-20 minutes. They will darken and blister. Set aside to cool.
- 3. In a medium bowl, whisk together the whole wheat flour, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon; set aside.
- 4. Remove the roasted bananas from the peels, placing the insides in a medium bowl. Mash the bananas with a fork.
- 5. In a large bowl, combine the bananas, sugar, canola oil, eggs and vanilla extract. Using a mixer or whisk, mix until well combined. Add the flour mixture and mix until completely blended.
- 6. Divide the mixture into the prepared pans. Sprinkle cinnamon/sugar mixture on top of each loaf, if desired. For large loaves, bake for 35 to 45 minutes, or until a thin knife inserted into the center comes out clean. For the mini loaves, bake for 25 minutes, or until a thin kinve inserted into the center comes out clean. If the loaves begin to get too dark before they are done in the middle, cover with foil. Let the banana bread loves cool in the pan for 10 minutes. Remove from pans and let cool completely on a wire cooling rack.
Have you tried this recipe?
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I love that you roasted them first! That’s awesome!
I love the idea of roasting the bananas before putting them in the batter! How yummy-totally trying this!
Great idea roasting them! The bread looks amazing! I love a good banana bread!!!
I often cook the bananas that way to serve them as a dessert, just hot from the oven, with melted chocolate or caramel! Never thought of roasting them prior to making a bread, though, thanks for sharing this great idea!
oh I have been meaning to try doing my bananas like that, yummy!
Love the idea of roasting the bananas! Looking forward to giving this a try!
@emmanuelle, when you roast them for dessert do you have to start with brown bananas like making the bread? BTW, this bread recipe looks yummy!
I can’t get the recipe to come up on the Cafe Zupas blog. I would love to try this!
I’m a fan of nearly any banana bread. Love this Maria!
I couldn’t access the recipe on Cafe Zupas either! Help please!
Their mobile site doesn’t show the blog, but you can switch to the regular site at the bottom.
Oh, I think it was because I was trying to access via my phone. The link only seems to work using you computer otherwise you get the CZ mobile site which doesn’t have the blog.
Could I use frozen bananas in the recipe if I defrosted them? Or would they be too mushy from the extra water?
I haven’t tried roasting frozen bananas. I am not sure how they would roast. If you try it, let me know!
I kinda just want to jump into the banana skins and eat my way out – that’s normal, right?
Bananas that are turned brown or just ripe ones???
You want to use ripe brown bananas.
That looks divine! I’ve been thinking about banana bread the last couple of days. This will hit the spot.
Love that you roast the bananas before using them in the bread!
That sounds amazing! I would never have thought to roast the banana first! I have a couple bananas on the counter & I can’t wait to give this a try!
Gorgeous moist loaf! There’s nothing quite like good banana bread.
I love that you roasted the bananas!! That’s such a great concept that I never have done myself. This bread looks so moist and I would love it for breakfast this weekend 🙂
good call on roasting the bananas!! can’t wait to try that!
Love that the bananas are roasted! I have a few bad bananas that need to be used. I think I will make some of this bread. Yum!
Mmm, nothing like a classic banana bread! I agree with Caleb, I’d eat them *at least* 3 times a day if it was good for me. 😉
Roasting the bananas really add to their flavor ~ love this recipe Maria!
ROASTED banana bread?! GENIUS!!!
WHYYY did I use my bananas yesterday to make boring plain-old banana bread!? I should’ve waited JUST ONE MORE DAY!
What a gorgeous bread! So delicious looking! And easy too!
Oh I like this spin! I don’t think I’ve ever had a roasted banana before.
I watched an episode of America’s Test Kitchen and they roast bananas to get a deeper banana flavor in one of their experiments of banana bread.
I”m very picky about my bananas so I always seem to have ones that are “too brown” around! This bread is the perfect way to use them up!
This is the second recipe I have seen in the last couple weeks that calls for roasting bananas. I am going to have to try it!
Very cool idea to roast the bananas! I don’t think I’ve ever tried baking banana bread with whole wheat flour either, lots of uniqueness going on in this banana bread 🙂
Can I ask what brand mini loaf pans you have? I’m thinking about buying some. You’re right, they make such cute little loaves!
Made it. It’s delicious! http://ink361.com/#!/photo/372039215545637089_4561845
I remember when my kids were little and went through a bunch of bananas like there was no tomorrow. We’d go through several bunches a week! Love the idea of roasting bananas – it must bring out even more flavor and sweetness.
How fun to roast the bananas first. I can practically taste how delish!
ROASTED bananas! Genius. Thank you for this post- we’ll be making this soon!
In all the times I’ve made banana bread not once did I even think about roasting the bananas. It’s a no-brainer really, yet it never even crossed my mind. This looks so amazing. Can’t wait to try it this way!
Banana bread is my favorite! Roasting the bananas can only make it better I’m sure, great idea!
Roasting bananas is genious. I recently did some Banana Muffins where they are roasted with brown sugar, vanilla extract and rum and I kinda wanted to just eat them as they were. Soooo good. You should totally try these: http://greenteaandcookies.wordpress.com/2013/01/23/roasted-banana-muffins/
Made this and it was delicious. But…… It did not rise as banana bread usually does. It baked up more as a log then a bread. Should there be baking powder in the recipe or did I do something wrong?
My bread didn’t rise either, and it made more like 1 loaf rather than 2. It was still delcious though!!
I just made this yesterday and took it to work for some coworkers and they all said it was the best Banana Bread they ever had!! I did add some mini chocolate chips and toasted chopped pecans. The roasting of the bananas absolutely brings out the flavor and made all the difference. This is now my go to recipe for Banana Bread!! Thank you so much for sharing!!
I am so glad your coworkers enjoyed the banana bread!
Thank you for this recipe. Everyone loves it. I made a few changes that I hope you guys try some time!
Substitute 3/4 cup honey for the sugar and reduce the canola oil to somewhere between 1/3 and 1/2 a cup.
Add sliced strawberries and crushed pecans.
I made this last night and loved it! Tweaked a tiny bit. Used one of those 4 oz. cups of applesauce in place of the oil, and cut the sugar back to 1/2 c (split white/brown sugar) and added a little fresh ground nutmeg since I am obsessed with fresh ground. It seemed a little skimpy for two large loaf pans so I put it all into one large. Had to cook for a hour–rose beautifully. Brought it to the office today–rave reveiws. This is a keeper–thank you!
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Can I add peanut butter to this?
I am on my computer & see no recipe!
How nice Whole Wheat Roasted Banana Bread !! I don’t recommend for this food because it’s very popular and favorite in the world.
When I roasted the bananas, they released quite a bit of liquid. Do I include the liquid in the batter?
Wow! This was fantastic! We bake a lot in our home. My little ones (4 1/2) love to pretend that they are chefs. We have made dozens of types of banana muffins and breads. This one may be our new favorite! Roasting the bananas brought out a delicious sweetness in the muffins. I was wondering, have you tried baking these with either apple sauce or Greek yogurt instead of canola oil? If so, how did the substitution alter the taste? We’re always looking for ways to up the nutrition factor in our foods.
Thank you for a delicious recipe!
Oh I will have to try this roasting bananas trick! I have a few going ripe on my counter and might get inspired to make this tonight actually. I’ve been itching to bake banana bread for weeks now.
I just made this. Although the flavor is great, the bread did not rise at all. The bread is about an inch high. If I use the entire batter in one loaf pan, how long would I need to cook it?
I hate to be the one poster to say this but…I don’t get it!!! Roasting the bananas (to me) just added a step, time and another dish to wash….I don’t feel it did anything to the flavor….Is there a textural/water content difference? Its good banana bread don’t get me wrong…I just feel it would have been just as good without roasting them.??
Can you use brown sugar instead of regular sugar? If so, how much?
Sure, I would do the same amount.