Oatmeal Blueberry Banana Bread with less added sweetener. This moist, fluffy, berry studded banana bread is perfect for those who love the combination of blueberries and banana together.
This oatmeal blueberry banana bread was inspired by my Blueberry Oatmeal Banana Muffins, but in loaf form for those who prefer baking quick bread recipes over muffins.
In case you havenโt tried the muffins, the gist of this recipe is weโre getting a nice fluffy moist loaf of banana bread that is only lightly sweet. It is also dairy-free, lower in fat, and a great option for a healthier treat.
I designed the recipe to be a delicious celebration of both banana bread and blueberry muffins combined into one yummy treat.
The majority of the time, I keep my baked goods low in added sweetener so the bread is sweetened mostly with ripe bananas and a touch of pure maple syrup to bump up the sweetness a little.
If youโre looking for a truly decadent blueberry treat, try my Gluten-Free Blueberry Muffin Bread with Streusel Topping!
For those of you who follow a low-carb diet, try out my Keto Blueberry Coffee Cake or my Keto Cinnamon Swirl Bread.
Now letโs chat about the simple ingredients in this moist oatmeal blueberry banana bread.
Ingredients for Blueberry Banana Oat Bread:
Rolled Oats: We blend up some old-fashioned oats in a high-speed blender to make our own whole grain homemade oat flour.
This oat flour takes the place of all-purpose flour and generates a dense banana bread with a lovely nutty flavor.
You can use quick oats or instant oats instead of rolled oats, but I find rolled oats provide the best texture. I use sprouted gluten-free oats that are also glyphosate-free.
Ripe Bananas: Mashed bananas serve as moisture, volume and natural sweetness in this recipe. Because the majority of the sweetness comes from the bananas, be sure to use extra ripe bananas that have plenty of brown spots.
Eggs: A couple whole eggs help to fluff up the bread for a lovely texture. Take the eggs out of the refrigerator 10 minutes before making the recipe to bring them to room temperature if you have the time.
Avocado Oil: While I have baked this bread without avocado oil and it still comes out, I do prefer it with a little oil to add moisture to the bread. This results in the best texture. If you prefer, you can use melted coconut oil or use โ cup of melted butter.
Pure Maple Syrup: Lightly sweetened with pure maple syrup, this healthier banana bread recipe is refined sugar-free and lower in added sugar.
If you look at the nutrition facts in the recipe card below, youโll notice there is a decent amount of sugar in each slice of banana bread. This is primarily due to the ripe bananas.
For a sweeter banana bread, you can add any type of granulated sugar to your heartโs delight. I would start with 2 to 4 tablespoons of either cane sugar, brown sugar, coconut sugar, or sugar-free sweetener and adjust up if necessary.
Baking Powder, Baking Soda, Apple Cider Vinegar: The leavening agents here. Both baking powder and baking soda bring rise to the banana bread and generate that golden brown layer on top. Combining baking soda with an acid like apple cider vinegar or lemon juice ensures weโre getting the right chemical reaction.
Sea Salt & Ground Cinnamon: Salt enhances all of the flavors in the bread and cinnamon brings that yummy warmly spiced flavor that we all love so much in traditional banana bread.
Fresh Blueberries: Little bursts of juicy blueberries studded in each slice of banana bread makes such a fresh tasting treat! Frozen blueberries also work but I recommend thawing them first because they tend to hold more water.
Recipe Adaptations:
- If youโre a chocolate lover like me, feel free to add up to 1 cup of chocolate chips in addition to or in lieu of the blueberries.
- Add โ to 1 cup of chopped walnuts or pecans if you like banana nut bread.
- For sweeter banana bread, add 2 to 4 tablespoons of brown sugar, regular cane sugar, or sugar-free sweetener of choice.
- Toss in โ cup to โ cup of raisins, dried cranberries or other dried fruit.
- If you already have oat flour at home, measure out a scant 2 cups (just under 2 cups) to replace the whole oats.
- If you prefer using gluten-free flours over oats, make my Gluten-Free Blueberry Banana Bread.
- For a vegan option, make my Vegan Oatmeal Banana Bread and swap the chocolate chips for blueberries (or leave the chocolate chips, because party).
Now that weโre experts on the ingredients, letโs bake a loaf of bread!
How to Make Oatmeal Blueberry Banana Bread:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and line a 9โ x 5โ loaf pan with parchment paper. You can also spray the pan with cooking spray if you don’t have parchment paper.
Transfer the oats to a high-powered blender and blend for 30 seconds on a high speed or until a flour forms.
In a large mixing bowl, mash the bananas until theyโre nice and creamy. Add in the avocado oil, vanilla extract and cider vinegar and whisk until the wet ingredients are well-combined.
Pour in the oat flour, baking powder, baking soda, sea salt and cinnamon (dry ingredients). Mix the dry ingredients into the wet mixture until a thick batter forms.
Gently fold the blueberries into the batter.
Pour batter into the prepared baking dish. If youโd like, top the batter with extra blueberries.
Cover the bread pan with aluminum foil and bake on the center rack of the preheated oven for 40 minutes. Remove the bread from the oven, take off the foil and bake for another 20 to 35 minutes uncovered (for a total of 60 to 75 minutes in the oven).
Bread is considered fully cooked when it reaches an internal temperature of at least 190 degrees Fahrenheit. To verify the bread is cooked through, you can insert an instant read thermometer into the center of the bread to get an accurate temperature read.
Allow the bread to cool for at least 30 minutes before slicing and serving.
I love enjoying a thick slice of this delicious banana bread warm with a pat of butter on top. Fresh fruit is a lovely sidekick too!
To store the bread, wrap the pan tightly in plastic wrap (or use the foil you used to bake the bread) and refrigerate for up to 5 days. You can also store leftovers in an airtight container. Cut any remaining bread into slices, transfer to a zip lock bag and freeze for up to 3 months.
This bread tastes even better after it has had a chance to sit overnight as it becomes sweeter and the flavors develop more. If youโre able to bake it ahead of time, itโs not a bad idea!
And thatโs it! A cozy, comforting healthy blueberry banana bread recipe that can easily become a household staple. Whip it up for a healthy breakfast, snack, or sweet treat.
If you’re a big fan of quick bread recipes, also try out these gems.
More Quick Bread Recipes:
- Cassava Flour Banana Bread
- Gluten-Free Apple Bread
- Grain-Free Hummingbird Bread
- Chocolate Oatmeal Banana Bread
- The Best Almond Flour Zucchini Bread
- Healthy Cinnamon Swirl Banana Bread
- Low-Carb Carrot Cake Bread
Enjoy slices of this tasty blueberry oatmeal banana bread with a mug of coffee or tea!
Oatmeal Blueberry Banana Bread
Equipment
Ingredients
- 2 cups rolled oats or 1 3/4 cups oat flour
- 2 ripe bananas 1 cup mashed
- 2 large eggs
- 3 Tbsp avocado oil
- 3 Tbsp pure maple syrup
- 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 1 tsp apple cider vinegar
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1/4 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp sea salt
- 1.5 tsp ground cinnamon optional
- 1 cup fresh blueberries
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and line a 9โ x 5โ loaf pan with parchment paper. You can also spray the pan with cooking spray if you don't have parchment paper.
- Transfer the oats to a high-powered blender and blend for 30 seconds on a high speed or until a flour forms.ย If you have oat flour on hand, skip this step and use 1 3/4 cups of oat flour.
- In a large mixing bowl, mash the bananas until theyโre nice and creamy. Add in the eggs, avocado oil, pure maple syrup, vanilla extract and cider vinegar and whisk until the wet ingredients are well-combined.
- Pour in the oat flour, baking powder, baking soda, sea salt and cinnamon (dry ingredients). Mix the dry ingredients into the wet mixture until a thick batter forms.
- Gently fold the blueberries into the batter.
- Pour batter into the prepared baking dish. If youโd like, top the batter with extra blueberries.
- Cover the bread pan with aluminum foil and bake on the center rack of the preheated oven for 40 minutes. Remove the bread from the oven, take off the foil and bake for another 20 to 35 minutes uncovered (for a total of 60 to 75 minutes in the oven).
- Bread is considered fully cooked when it reaches an internal temperature of at least 190 degrees Fahrenheit. To verify the bread is cooked through, you can insert an instant read thermometer into the center of the bread to get an accurate temperature read.ย
- Allow the bread to cool for at least 30 minutes before slicing and serving.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
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Can you use frozen blueberries that have been thawed for this recipe? Any changes I would need to make?
Hi there! Thawed frozen blueberries should work great without the need for any changes. If you notice the blueberries let out a lot of liquid during the thawing process, I wouldn’t include the liquid but other than that you should be safe to proceed! xo
Amazing and super easy. Just throw the ingredients together (in 1 bowl!) and let it bake. Couldn’t be easier. I used slightly less than 3 TBS of maple syrup because my bananas and blueberries were very ripe and in season. The loaf did not miss the extra syrup.
Thank you for a wonderful way to use up all of the New Jersey (the best, in my opinion) blueberries I just picked!
All of that sounds wonderful, Tina! Thanks so much for sharing your experience!
The recipe is good but the amount of salt used in the recipe totally ruined the whole loaf. It would have been better if I balanced it out with sugar or less salt
Whst a super yummy bread! I put the extra blueberries and only made one exception. I substituted the same amount of fresh lemon juice for the apple cider vinegar. Thank you! Definitely one of my favorite recipes now!
Thanks so much for sharing, Jennifer! I’m happy you enjoyed the recipe, and I bet it was amazing with extra blueberries! xo
Could this also be baked as muffins? I substituted a bit brown sugar. Delicious!
Hi Mary Ellen! The recipe can definitely be made into muffins! Bake them at 350 for 20-25 minutes ๐
Hej. Silly question.
Can I skip the foil when is ready to bake??
I now realise I don’t have at home :/
Thanks for helping:))
Kind regards
Hi Marina! You can bake the bread without foil but the top will become fairly brown. To try to avoid the top from getting too brown, you can bake the bread on a lower shelf in the oven, away from the top heating element. Hope you enjoy!
Guessing this should work still with an egg replacer like “No Egg” due to anaphylactic allergy & maybe a bit more baking powder? I have to substitute in so many recipes because of allergy in our house (eggs, ALL nuts/most seeds & gluten) ๐
Hi Donna! I would use gluten-free flour instead of the oats for the best result, because oats tend to turn out pretty dense without eggs. To do so, use 1 2/3 cups gluten-free flour blend instead of the oats ๐ Hope you enjoy!
Wow! This is the first oatmeal recipe that I have seen that is just that – oatmeal! Well done
So thrilled you like the concept of it, Margaret! I’ve shared a lot of recipes that use only oats and no flour out of my own personal preference ๐ Hope you enjoy!
The first time I made this it didn’t rise at all. I did like the flavor and the fact that it has so little sweetener. I made it again and substituted 1/2 of the oat flour with regular flour. This time I got good rise and the flavor was still good. Maybe not quite as healthy, but if you’re having trouble with the rise, this is an option.
Thanks for sharing, John!
A W E S O M E is all I can get off tongue. Lol. A great addition to my morning breakfast for sure. My only change was using Organic Agave in place of the Maple Syrup. Thank you for this recipe.
LOL So happy you enjoy the banana bread, Robert! Thanks so much for sharing your feedback! xo
So beautiful and scrumptious! I can’t wait to make this.
I hope you enjoy it, Elle! xo
NUTRIENT RICH DELIGHT , HEALTHY !
So happy you enjoy it! xo
Would really like to know the weight in grams of the ground oats, weight measure is far more accurate and results more consistent, thanks.
@Christine, You can Google this information! It’s especially easy if you have Google Voice. Just ask it how much 2c of rolled oats in grams, and it will let you know. Hope this helps!
I use Google Voice for EVERYTHING, from baking info to giving it a song title and asking it to take me to the song on YouTube. Works great, especially if you know song title, but not the artist!
Hi Christine! Use 250 grams of oats. I would weigh them before blending them into a flour. ๐ Enjoy!
When do you add the maple syrup into the recipe?
Thanks for catching that, Andy! The pure maple syrup gets mixed in with the rest of the wet ingredients (eggs, oil vanilla extract, vinegar). I made the change to the recipe ๐