Healthy Low Fat Banana Nut Bread Recipe

Published October 10, 2011 · Last updated June 20, 2022 · By Martha McKinnon · 23 Comments

Jump to Recipe

Here's my take on Healthy Low-Fat Banana Nut Bread.

I love love love all things banana, which becomes quite obvious when you take a look at all the banana recipes I've posted here on Simple Nourished Living. I especially love banana nut bread and have tried dozens of different banana bread recipes from simple to complicated through the years.

These days I'm having fun trying to make my favorite foods lighter and healthier and as simple as possible, without sacrificing flavor. Or texture—which can be a real problem when you try to decrease too much fat from baked goods.

Healthy Low-Fat Banana Nut Bread

This low fat banana bread recipe comes from an unexpected source. Not from my Weight Watchers cookbooks or Ellie Krieger cookbooks, but from my very first cookbook—The Fannie Farmer Cookbook (affiliate link) by Marion Cunningham.

Recipe Notes

Marion describes this low fat banana nut bread as pure and simple banana bread, heavy, moist and dark. And she is so right.

This recipe doesn't call for any special ingredients usually associated with low fat baking. No egg whites. No applesauce. All the moisture necessary comes from lots of ripe mashed bananas.

The only fat in the recipe comes from the egg yolks and walnuts—two very healthy sources of fat, in my opinion.

WW Low-Fat Banana Bread Batter

I tweaked the recipe slightly. Instead of using 2 cups of all-purpose flour, I used 1 cup all-purpose and ¾ cup whole wheat pastry flour, which is finer in texture than regular whole wheat. I also swapped out ¾ cup of sugar for ½ cup of light brown sugar and cut the amount of nuts in half.

For the best banana bread make sure your bananas are very very ripe.

I don't think you'd ever guess that this banana nut bread is low fat. If you like moist and dense banana bread, you're going to love this one.

Preparing to bake low-fat banana nut bread

I enjoyed a slice spread with peanut butter and topped with banana slices for breakfast this morning. It was one of the best peanut butter and banana sandwiches ever.

WW Homemade Banana Walnut Bread

How Many Calories and WW Points in this Banana Nut Bread?

According to my calculations, each slices has about 154 calories and:

Healthy low fat banana bread that is pure and simple, heavy, moist and dark. If you like moist and dense banana bread this is the recipe for you.

Prep Time10 minutes mins

Cook Time1 hour hr

Total Time1 hour hr 10 minutes mins

Servings (adjustable): 12

Calories: 154

Author: Martha McKinnon | Simple Nourished Living

Ingredients

▢ 4 large ripe bananas, well mashed (1-¾ cups)
▢ 2 eggs
▢ 1 cup all-purpose flour
▢ ¾ cup whole wheat pastry flour
▢ ½ cup light brown sugar
▢ 1 teaspoon salt
▢ 1-½ teaspoons baking powder
▢ ¼ cup chopped walnuts

Instructions

Preheat your oven to 350F degrees and grease a 9x5-inch loaf pan (affiliate link).
In a large mixing bowl (affiliate link), mix the bananas and eggs together until they are well combined.
In a separate bowl, stir together the flour, whole wheat pastry flour, sugar, salt and baking powder until well combined.
Stir the flour mixture into the banana mixture, just until blended and then stir in the walnuts.
Put the batter into the prepared baking pan and spread it out evenly.
Bake for 1 hour or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean or with just a few moist crumbs.
Remove from the oven and let cool for about 5 minutes. After 5 minutes, remove the loaf from the pan and let it cool completely on a wire rack.

Equipment

Mixing Bowls

Whisk

Loaf Pan

Recipe Notes

My loaf took about 1 hour and 5 minutes to be done. It was still a little underdone at 1 hour.

This low fat banana bread is great warm or cooled, however you like it best.

Serving size: 1 slice (1/12th recipe)

Click here to see your WW PersonalPoints for this recipe and track it in the WW app or site.

4 *SmartPoints (Green plan)

4 *SmartPoints (Blue plan)

4 *SmartPoints (Purple plan)

4 *PointsPlus (Old plan)

Nutrition Facts

Healthy Low Fat Banana Nut Bread Recipe

Amount Per Serving (1 slice)

Calories 154Calories from Fat 21

% Daily Value*

Fat 2.3g4%

Carbohydrates 29.7g10%

Fiber 12.6g50%

Protein 3.8g8%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

Course: Breakfast, Brunch

Cuisine: American

Keyword: banana bread, banana bread with walnuts, low fat banana bread

Did you make this recipe?Mention @simplenourishedliving on Instagram and tag #simplenourishedliving - we love to see your creations!

Source: The Fannie Farmer Cookbook (affiliate link)by Marion Cunningham

*Points® calculated by WW. *PointsPlus® and SmartPoints® calculated by Simple Nourished Living; Not endorsed by Weight Watchers International, Inc. All recipe ingredients except optional items included in determining nutritional estimates. SmartPoints® values calculated WITHOUT each plan's ZeroPoint Foods (Green plan, Blue plan, Purple plan) using the WW Recipe Builder.

If you like this low-fat banana nut bread, you might also like:

Skinny Healthy Banana Coconut Date Muffins
Low-Fat Banana Cake
Banana Cranberry Muffins
Skinny Chocolate Banana Muffins
Moist Banana Nut Bread
Skinny Banana Oatmeal Muffin and Bread Recipes

Martha is the founder and main content writer for Simple-Nourished-Living.

A longtime lifetime WW at goal, she is committed to balancing her love of food and desire to stay slim while savoring life and helping others do the same.

She is the author of the Smart Start 28-Day Weight Loss Challenge.

A huge fan of the slow cooker and confessed cookbook addict, when she's not experimenting in the kitchen, you're likely to find Martha on her yoga mat.

More about Martha McKinnon

This post contains affiliate links to products I like. When you buy something through one of my Amazon links or other (affiliate links), I receive a small commission that helps support this site. Thank you for your purchase!

Subscribe to Get: Top 10 Reader Favorite Recipes

The Top 10 Most Popular Recipes (PDF) on Simple Nourished Living + Weekly Support Emails with Tips & Easy Healthy Recipes Not Found Anywhere Else!