Not every morning in my life is filled with Chocolate Chip Buttermilk Pancakes and Chocolate Chocolate Chip Banana Bread… not when things like my ten year class reunion and bathing suit season loom just around the corner. For real friends, those are two scary things. At least I don’t have to go to my ten year reunion in my bathing suit. Can you imagine the horror!? Yea… so there’s always a silver lining.
I’d like to introduce you to Low Fat Oatmeal Banana Bread. If this bread were one of your dear friends from high school, it would be that friend who wore old lady shoes because they were the most practical, and played the trombone, and was the super smart editor of the school newspaper. This bread would be the friend that was super sensible, and sweet and just downright made you feel good about your day.
Go ahead, think of this Low Fat Oatmeal Banana Bread as your friend… and then it eat. No, there’s nothing weird about that.
This bread is packed full of happy, heart-healthy oats, cinnamon spice and crazy ripe bananas. It’s just the thing to throw together over the weekend, slice up, wrap individually, and freeze for breakfast for the entire week. I just grab a slice from the freezer as I’m running out the door, and by the time I have a chance to eat it, it’s perfectly defrosted. Of course the microwave and toaster oven work wonders too.
Low Fat Oatmeal Banana Bread
adapted from the Weight Watchers site
makes 1 loaf of 10 slices, 4 points per slice
- 1 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/4 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon
- 3 tsp canola or walnut oil
- 1 large egg, beaten
- 2 medium egg whites, beaten
- 3 large bananas, ripe
- 1 cup uncooked old fashioned oats
Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease and flour a loaf pan and set aside. In a large bowl, stir together dry ingredients including the oats and cinnamon.
In a smaller bowl, mash bananas with a potato masher or fork. Add oil and whole egg and mix thoroughly.
Add the wet ingredients to the dry and mix well. Batter will be fairly thick.
In a medium sized bowl, with an electric hand mixer, beat the egg whites until medium stiff peaks form. Fold the egg whites into the batter in three additions.
Pour batter into pan and bake until top of loaf is firm to touch, 45 to 50 minutes. Remove from oven and allow to cool in pan for 5 minutes. Flip out and cool on a wire rack for another 10 minutes. Slice loaf into 10 equally sized slices.
{ 135 comments… read them below or add one }
← Previous Comments
very good, I put brown sugar and butterscotch chips on top to give it some extra flavor
Doesn’t that defeat the point of this being Weight Watchers? Hahaha
What if I want to make this vegetarian? What should I substitute to get the same consistency?
I used 2 whole eggs instead of the egg whites and just stirred them in. The batter was definitely very thick but I didn’t want to bother with folding the egg whites into the batter. The bread smells quite good, I’ll have to see how it tastes after it cools.
Hi Jenny – I’m curious to know if the two whole egg method worked. I’d also prefer not to bother with the egg whites. Thanks!
I made this last weekend and another loaf is in the oven right now. Very good recipe. Moist and flavorful but not too sweet. A great alternative to the full fat recipes!!
Made this into muffins today!! Bake @350 for 18-20 minutes.
Best low fat recipe ever! I made this today- replaced oil with yogurt & buttermilk (same amount) and carameralised 1/2 of the bananas I used before I mixed it in. Came out fantastic, I think I will be making this whenever I have extra banana. Guilt free too =) I might soak half of the oat in buttermilk or something next time I make this though.
How do you caramelize bananas? Thanks:)
“If this bread were one of your dear friends from high school, it would be that friend who wore old lady shoes because they were the most practical, and played the trombone, and was the super smart editor of the school newspaper.”
So, you basically just described me … Except I graduated in June, not years ago. I wore old lady-ish shoes all the time, they were vintage or my orthopedic black heels (that made me feel like a witch and a housewife all at once). I play the cello, which is even more awkward to carry around in its case (while wearing my old lady shoes) than a trombone. I was a staff reporter on the school newspaper and the unofficial copy-editor.
I always feel weird commenting entries on old blog posts.
This just made my day. I want to be best friends with you.
I also always feel weird commenting on old blog posts.
I read comments before making bread, used Crystal’s ideas; added oats to non-fat yogurt (used instead of oil)and let set for 5 minutes and caramelized bananas before using in recipe. Made two small loaves and some muffins, great taste and very moist.
Because I didn’t have any regular eggs, I used 1/2 c. of Eggbeaters (equals 2 eggs). I also used 2 bananas and 1 fresh peach, chopped up and mashed. I used a little less sugar (because I like it less sweet), not packed. I might use even less next time. These changes reduced the WW points to 3 for 10 slices. Turned out great, really moist and yummy.
I made this recipe last night and am delighted with the results. I used 2 large eggs instead of the 1 large and 2 egg whites because, like others before, I didn’t feel like taking the extra time to use the whites. The bread still came out delish. I also added a dash of nutmeg, used light brown sugar and sprinkled the top with a bit of extra brown sugar as Amy suggested. Would definitely recommend! Thanks for the recipe!
I tried this recipe last weekend and was a big fan. I did use a few variations:
- Substituted nonfat plain yogurt for oil
- Used instant oats (which is what I had on hand)
- Caramelized the third banana (which was less ripe than the others, so it worked out well)
- Added a bit of freshly made applesauce- just a tablespoon or two, as I was worred that my bananas were on the smaller side
- Added a dash of ground cloves and some freshly grated nutmeg
- Walnuts! No banana bread is complete without them, so I added about a half cup of them, chopped. They may add calories, but they’re a great source of healthy fats, including omegas.
It turned out fabulous! I don’t think I’d ever tell anyone that its a lowfat recipe and honestly, they’d never know the difference. I made my loaf on Saturday afternoon and, per the author’s suggestion, sliced it and froze the individual portions. It’s now Wednesday and I just realized that I had stuck a couple of slices in the fridge (in plastic wrap) for more immediate consumption and I still had one in there. Despite the drying conditions of the fridge, this piece was still beautifully moist and delicious 5 days later- very impressive for a no oil, no butter recipe. This will definitely be my go-to banana bread recipe in the future! Thanks so much!
Love this recipe! With all the guilty pleasures this season, it is nice to have something warm, sweet and comforting that is actually good for us! I called it cake and the kids gobbled it up! Thank you.
A co-worker or mine brought the bread in one day for a meeting and I had absolutely NO idea it was low-fat until she gave me the blog and I found the recipe. I love that it has the oats in it (I’m a big oatmeal cookie fan) and that it wasn’t too sweet. Absolutely wonderful recipe. I can’t wait to try others on this site!
made this with whole wheat + white flour and adding choco and butterscotch chips on top!! delicious! thanks for the recipe:)
Love this recipe. My first go around with this recipe I had replaced the oil with the applesauce and it tasted great. Perfectly moist and I made muffins.
This is my second time making it. I substituted applesauce, same portions, for the oil. I made it into 3 little loaves so we’ll see how it comes out. Baking it @350degrees for 35 minutes and I’ve added chocolate chips.
I’m also on WW so this is great to have in the house.
Thanks for this recipe!
Sheryl Victor Levy
@MktgMavn
savvystrategy.com ;)
This is fantastic banana bread! I used oat flour, wheat flour and added a small amount of apple sauce and skim milk to balance out the flours. Yummy!!!!
Hi, Loved the recipe. I used pastry wheat flour and low-fat yogurt. I doubled the recipe and made a loaf and muffins. Oh I also added vanilla extract. But I still do not know what carmelize the bananas means? can somebody explain please?
Great recipe! Perfect with a cup of coffee for breakfast this morning yum!
Great bread! I substituted 1/2 the flour with whole wheat flour and added raisins and walnuts (baking times hardly changed) It is an absolutely wonderful way to use over-ripe bananas to make a great breakfast quick bread, thanks for the recipe.
Sorry no one is responding about carmelizing the bananas, slice em up, put in a pan with a little sugar
or brown sugar heat them up till you have a syrup. I’m guessing this is how it’s done. not to complicated. Hope this helps.
my go-to banana bread recipe! love it!
i also made a few changes:
used coconut oil in place of walnut or canola
added only 1 cup of all-purpose flour and the rest buckwheat flour
added 1/2 cup of quinoa flakes along with the rolled oats
so, so, so delicious!! a favorite in our house!
Like others I substituted apple sauce for the oil except I used sweetened apple sauce and reduced the sugar to 1/3 cup. I also added a 1/2 tsp of vanilla extract. Then, instead of loaves, I made 12 perfect sized muffins. On the new WW Points Plus program they turned out to be 3 points each (the current recipe is more points since WW revamped their classic points system). Bon apetite!
I hope all your lower fat recipes taste this great! So excited I found this blog. I used 1 cup whole wheat flour and 1/4 all purpose flour, 2 whole eggs, a large dollop of 2 percent Greek yogurt, about 3 tblsp of applesauce and a splash of low fat milk because the batter needed some extra liquid. Tastes delicious!
I just made this and it is wonderful! Next time im going to add nuts though. Im not sure if i cooked it long enough its really moist but oh well its great. :)
I added a bit of non fat/sugar free chocolate pudding to the mix. A hint of chocolate flavor without the full fat/guilt of chocolate chips. It’s a good alternative and helps the bread stay moist!
Well I see you all are like me…add this..add that. Well I didn’t have brown sugar so added white but a lesser amount. I know the brown is definitely the way to go though. Instead of using all white flour, I used half wheat flour. Added Coconut oil (instead of Canola) and some sour cream too. Made other additions like walnuts, raisins, nutmeg, allspice, and vanilla. Next time I may try grating some carrots. ……It smells great
I am tyring this reciepe, right now. I used 1/4 c. maple syrup instead of the sugar. Added walnuts.. It smells heavenly.. hope it is as good as all of you have reported! I am feeling like I want a “treat I can share with my daughter in law who is pregnant and has gestational diabetes. used the maple syrup because of the low GI. hoping for the best!
Ok, wow. I have been baking your breads for a minute now, I love all of the options for ingredients (applesauce, yogurt, chocolate chips, flax seed). Everything I try works out so perfectly. I look like a baking genius! Haha! Thank you Joy. We all still worship you over here in SF. <3A&C
Made and posted! This was recipe was so delicious! Now I can’t wait to make the peanut butter one :)
I didn’t have oatmeal, just museli. :) But it turned out great with the extra grains and raisins. The raisins made it a tad too sweet, so less sugar next time. But still….YUMMMY! Thanks for the recipe!
WOW!! I made this bread twice now and added nuts to both the second time I also added cinnamon chips and A-M-A-Z–I-N-G!!!
I had a problem with the bread sticking both times to my glass pan so I have decided to go with aluminum next time… next problem I couldn’t stop eating even before it cooled I had a huge dent in one of the breads. yikes. I did use half whole wheat flour and half white and what an amazing eating experience
I love this blog Joy and I am thrilled to have found it!
thanks for making me a superior banana bread maker.
Sandy
Thankyou for this recipe! I made it today and this banana oatmeal bread is now my most favorite bb recipe! I used three whole eggs because we raise our own chickens and have an abundance of eggs. Then since some of the comments said it wasn’t very sweet, I decided to add just a little extra brown sugar. Ohmygosh it’s delicious! Thankyou for sharing! We found a new family favorite!!! Lea
← Previous Comments
{ 43 trackbacks }