This super moist apple cider banana bread is made healthy with whole wheat flour, ground oats, applesauce and honey and gets the apple cider kick from an apple cider drink mix. Delicious as is or make it a little naughty with an apple cider oat streusel!
Jumping all in with the fall flavors for this healthier quick bread! The recipe starts with a healthy banana bread that gets a fall flavor upgrade with the addition of apple cider. Get ready to fall in love with this moist and flavorful bread!
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If you've followed along for any time, you know that I love putting a healthy spin on breakfast recipes. This easy, quick bread definitely starts that way! We have eaten this on repeat for the last several weeks and it gets "double thumbs up" from my whole family.
How is this apple cider banana bread healthy?
This banana bread recipe uses applesauce and coconut oil for the moisture. It uses honey (only ⅓ cup!) for the main sweetener and a mixture of whole wheat flour and ground oats.
The recipe does get some added sugar with the apple cider drink mix powder, but overall meets my criteria for a healthier bread.
Let's make this apple cider banana bread!
Start by preheating the oven and greasing a loaf pan with non-stick spray and lining it with parchment paper. If you don't have parchment paper, just make sure your pan is greased well.
Next, take the rolled oats and place them in a food processor. Pulse until the oats become more fine in texture, this takes less than a minute. I love using my Cuisinart mini prep for this task!
If you are going to add the apple cider oat streusel, now is a good time to make it! The streusel adds another layer of texture and flavor, but trust me, this bread is DELICIOUS without it as well!
How do you measure rolled oats?
Measuring rolled oats should be done the same way you should measure flour; the spoon and level method. This means you should spoon the oats into the measuring cup and then use a knife to level it off. If you scoop directly into the oats you will likely end up with more oats than required for the recipe and will get different results.
Then whisk together the whole wheat flour, ground oats, baking power, baking soda and salt. I love using my Duralex stackable bowls for this recipe.
In another bowl, mash the bananas, then add the applesauce, eggs, honey and melted coconut oil and mix well. Then add the dry ingredients and mix until just combined.
Roughly split the batter in two, it doesn't have to be a perfect split! Add the apple cider drink mix and cinnamon to one half of the batter and lightly mix it together.
Now you will drop large spoonfuls of batter into the prepared loaf pan; alternating the plain banana batter and the apple cider batter. Again, this does not need to be perfect in any way. Once all the batter is in the pan, give it a quick swirl with a knife.
Now is the time to add the apple cider oat streusel, if you are using it. Then place the loaf pan in the oven and bake 50-60 minutes, until a tester comes out with just a few moist crumbs. Remember that your oven is different than mine and this time may vary a little bit!
what apple cider drink powder should I use?
I used Alpine Spiced Apple Cider mix for this recipe because it is what I had in my pantry. Any instant apple cider mix should work. I haven't tried it with a homemade mix, but I have a feeling it would work fine.
what is the quickest way to ripen bananas?
Banana bread reaches it's full sweet and flavorful potential when you use very ripe bananas. Ideally, you want a lot of brown spots on the peel. Brown spots = sweeter bananas. But what if your bananas are still nice and yellow?
Simply place your unpeeled bananas on a foil or parchment lined baking sheet and bake them for 15-20 at 250°F. The peels will turn very dark, almost black, and the bananas may seep a little juice onto the pan. Allow the bananas to cool enough that you can handle them, then peel them and place the fruit and any liquid into your recipe.
Can I use frozen bananas for banana bread?
Yes! Just allow the frozen bananas to defrost completely. Then use the fruit and any accumulated juice in your recipe.
September has proven to be very busy as we adapt to 100% virtual learning. Big E is rocking Fourth Grade and is doing a fantastic job with managing her time and daily tasks! Little e started Kindergarten and it's definitely a learning curve for Mr. two sugar bugs and I to keep her on task and learning some new skills. Sending lots of love and patience to anyone who is also in our situation!💗
Remember to snap a picture and tag me @twosugarbugs on Instagram if you make this Apple Cider Banana Bread. It warms my heart to see you bring these recipes to life! Thank you for being here and happy baking!
If you make this recipe {or any recipe!} from two sugar bugs please come back and leave a review and a ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ star rating. I read every comment, and I LOVE hearing from you!
more healthy breakfast recipes to enjoy ~
- Baked Cinnamon Donuts
- Baked Donuts with Two Glazes
- Blueberry Zucchini Bread
- Healthier Cherry Lime Muffins
- Healthier Chocolate Zucchini Bread
- Healthy Breakfast Cookies
Apple Cider Banana Bread
A super moist apple cider banana bread is made healthy with whole wheat flour, ground oats, applesauce and honey and gets the apple cider kick from an apple cider drink mix. Delicious as is or make it a little naughty with an apple cider oat streusel!
Ingredients
- 1 cup rolled oats (95g), ground to flour consistency
- 1 ¼ cups whole wheat flour (150g)
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 ½ cups bananas, ripe and mashed (380g/about 4 medium bananas)
- 2 large eggs
- ½ cup unsweetened applesauce (113g)
- ⅓ cup honey (80mL)
- 2 tablespoons coconut oil (30mL), melted
- 2 packets apple cider drink powder (42g) (hold out 1 tablespoon if making the streusel)
- 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
apple cider oat streusel
- ½ cup old fashioned oats (50g)
- ¼ cup brown sugar (50g)
- 1 tablespoon apple cider drink powder
- 1 ½ tablespoons unsalted butter (21g), melted
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F and prepare a 9x5 loaf pan by greasing it and lining it with parchment paper.
- Place one cup of rolled oats (measure with the scoop and level method) in a food processor and process 30-60 seconds until oats are a flour-like consistency.
- If using the apple cider oat streusel, prepare it now. Mix oats, brown sugar and 1 tablespoon apple cider drink powder together in a bowl. Add the melted butter and mix until a crumbly streusel forms. Set aside.
- In a medium bowl, mix oat flour, whole wheat flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Set aside.
- In another bowl, mash bananas. Then add eggs, applesauce, honey, and melted coconut oil and mix well. Add the dry ingredients and mix until just combined.
- Roughly divide the batter in half and add the cinnamon and apple cider drink powder to one half of the batter.
- Drop alternating scoops of batter to the prepared pan. Then use a knife to swirl the batters together. If adding the optional streusel, top the batter with it now.
- Bake for 50-60 minutes or until a tester comes out with a few moist crumbs. Allow to cool 10 minutes in the pan and then move to a wire cooling rack. (my bread was consistently done at 50 minutes)
Notes
Store leftovers covered tightly at room temperature for a day or two or in the refrigerator for up to one week. Bread can be frozen for up to 3 months, wrap tightly in plastic wrap and then place in a zip top bag. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator and then serve at room temperature or warm to your liking.
Recipe adapted from ifoodreal.com
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
10Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 304Total Fat: 7gSaturated Fat: 4gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 2gCholesterol: 42mgSodium: 296mgCarbohydrates: 57gFiber: 5gSugar: 23gProtein: 7g
The nutrition information is an estimate and may not be entirely accurate. The information provided here includes the apple cider oat streusel. If you omit the streusel, you will save about 60 calories and 2g fat per serving.
Katherine | Love In My Oven
Delicious idea for fall, Tasia! Banana bread with a fall twist. I"m sure it's so flavorful, and the texture is spot on!!
Tasia
Thanks Katherine! The smell and taste of apple cider just screams fall for me and I love how it works in this banana bread!
Christie
I have never tried apple cider banana bread but what a great combination of flavours! My husband and I love baking together especially banana bread. So we need to add this to our list!
Tasia
Thank you Christie! I hope you and your husband get to try this banana bread. We have been enjoying it so much; the flavor of the apple cider really enhances the banana bread in a really good way!
Aarthi | Prepbowls
Love to have this Bread warm with a cup of coffee, perfect fall bread. I have lots of ripe bananas and applesauce, yeah! I am excited to bake. Thank you for sharing, Tasia!
Tasia
Yay! I hope you enjoy this recipe as much as we have! Thank you Aarthi!