Moist Banana Bread With Coconut Oil

Written by
Katie Workman
Award-winning food writer, blogger, and author of two cookbooks. She frequently appears on broadcast media sharing her expertise.
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Katie Workman
Updated 06/11/19
Banana Bread

The Spruce / Katie Workman
  • Total: 65 mins
  • Prep: 10 mins
  • Cook: 55 mins
  • Yield: 1 loaf (serves 12)
Nutritional Guidelines (per serving)
265 Calories
13g Fat
34g Carbs
4g Protein
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Nutrition Facts
Servings: 1 loaf (serves 12)
Amount per serving
Calories 265
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 13g 16%
Saturated Fat 8g 40%
Cholesterol 76mg 25%
Sodium 254mg 11%
Total Carbohydrate 34g 13%
Dietary Fiber 3g 10%
Protein 4g
Calcium 38mg 3%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.
(Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate.)

Coconut oil is a very handy ingredient to consider if you have someone who is lactose intolerant in your house. A natural, plant source of saturated fat, coconut oil is said to offer a host of health benefits as it has antibacterial, antiviral, and antioxidant properties and is purported to speed up metabolism and promote weight loss.

Ingredients

  • 4 ripe bananas
  • 1/3 cup coconut oil
  • 3/4 cup sugar
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • Optional: 1/2 cup dark chocolate chips

Steps to Make It

  1. Gather the ingredients.

    Banana bread ingredients
     The Spruce 

  2. Preheat the oven to 350 F. Grease a 9 x 5-inch loaf pan, or spray with cooking spray.

  3. Place the bananas in a large mixing bowl and mash them with a fork. Add the coconut oil and sugar to the bananas, and beat with a fork or an electric mixer until smooth.

    Bananas for banana bread
     The Spruce

  4. Beat in the eggs and vanilla.

    Eggs and vanilla for banana bread
     The Spruce

  5. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt.

    Dry ingredients for banana bread
     The Spruce

  6. Gradually add the flour mixture to the banana mixture, on low speed with the mixer (or using a rubber spatula or fork) just until well-incorporated, but do not over-mix, which will yield a tough banana bread.

    Banana bread batter.
     The Spruce

  7. Stir in the chocolate chips, if using.

  8. Scrape the coconut banana bread batter into the prepared loaf pan.

    Homemade banana bread
     The Spruce

  9. Bake for about 55 minutes until a wooden skewer or a sharp knife inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool in the pan on a wire rack for 10 minutes, then turn out of the pan and finish cooling upright on the wire rack.

    Fresh banana bread.
     The Spruce

  10. Enjoy!

Tips

  • When substituting coconut oil for butter in any recipe, remember that coconut oil is a little fattier than butter — but a 1:1 ratio of coconut oil for butter is best. 
  • You can also make these as muffins, and they will make about 14 to 18 regular muffins. Reduce the cooking time to about 25 minutes. Cool in the pan for about 10 minutes, then turn them out onto a wire rack to finish cooling.

What the Kids Can Do

Mash the bananas, measure the ingredients, mix up the batter, and don’t forget – preheat the oven! It’s never too early for them to know how to do that! You might let them decide on whether or not to ​add chocolate chips — though, in my experience, the answer to that will always be yes.