One of my pet peeves is when people label a dessert as “healthy,” and not because that is grammatically incorrect, but rather because desserts have sugar of some form and that will never be “good” for you no matter how much whole wheat flour you throw in there. Of course, you could say one dessert is more healthful than another or that it will lead to the demise of your health less quickly than its traditional counterpart. But to call a dessert healthful because we use yogurt instead of butter, but then add in 3 cups of sugar, is just plain delusional.
Would you call me a hypocrite if I told you I have a recipe for a healthful dessert? I don’t blame you, but stay with me here. I know of a sweet something that calls for no sugar of any kind — not even my favorite, maple syrup. Don’t be silly, I am not going artificial on you! It is a delicious banana bread sweetened only with ripe bananas and pureed dates. Dates grow locally in Southern California, so we have access to some fantastic varieties here, my favorite being the Medjool. If you are ever craving something sweet, but don’t want to give in to processed junk, take a pitted date or two and stick a pecan in the middle. Amazing. I digress. The dates do double duty as sweetener and add moistness so we cut back on some of the butter, too. The key, though, with any banana bread is using super ripe bananas, well-speckled with lots of black dots (the kind many people toss in the garbage — arrgh!).
Banana bread freezes beautifully and makes a terrific muffin, as well. I adapt this recipe according to the season, adding blueberries in the summer, fresh cranberries in the fall and walnuts or pecans in the winter. This banana bread is not as sweet as the ones you may be used to, so yes, you can add chocolate chips or a drop of maple syrup if you must. Just don’t call it healthy!
Date-Sweetened Banana Bread Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 cup dried dates, about 7 ounces, pitted
- 1/2 cup hot water
- 4 Tablespoons 1/2 stick unsalted butter or unrefined coconut oil, , at room temperature
- 2 large eggs, at room temperature
- 1 Tablespoon pure vanilla extract
- 2 cups white whole wheat flour, spelt flour or sprouted spelt flour
- 1/2 teaspoon fine grain sea salt
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon aluminum-free baking powder
- 3 large ripe bananas,, mashed
- 1/2 cup raw walnuts or pecans, coarsely chopped (or fresh blueberries or cranberries)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9 x 5 x 3 loaf pan. (Can be lined with parchment if it is aluminum.)
- Place the dates in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Add the hot water and allow the dates to soften for at least 10 minutes. (I usually get the rest of my ingredients ready while the dates are softening.)
- Turn the mixer on low speed and blend until the water has incorporated with the dates. Turn the mixer to medium low speed and beat the dates until a smooth puree forms.
- Add the butter or coconut oil and beat until well blended. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add the vanilla extract and mix.
- In a medium bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Add to the butter-date mixture and mix until just combined.
- Fold in the mashed bananas and walnuts.
- Pour the mixture into the prepared pan and bake for 50-60 minutes (I made it in many different ovens with this range of time), or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out barely clean. Cool in the pan for 10 minutes. Remove from the pan and cool on a rack.
Like this recipe? Rate & comment below!
Dear Pamela;
I made this for my mum’s birthday a couple days ago and I simply felt obliged to write a few words to thank you. Your recipe and everything about the way you explained the steps were so perfect that I managed to bake this as a cake (round and with less height).. Side note: I had never actually made a cake that was not either stuffy and undercooked, or brick-like and overcooked. My cakes never gained any volume.
So thank you for this. Keep going, you’re amazing!
“10 STARS!” ^_^
Oh and not to mention it was super delicious. (I baked the coconut oil version and added no sugar.. loved it)
I’m delighted to hear that, thank you!
Lovely!
Hi Pamela, I look forward to trying this recipe! I purchased date paste at my local farmers market. Do you have an idea of how much date paste would be equivalent to the 10 Medjool dates in your recipe? Thanks!
Hmmmm, 1/2 cup maybe?? I’m just guessing but it can’t be far off that.
Lovely banana bread recipe! I am cutting added sugars so the dates I added (+ the banana) gave it just enough sweetness! Thank you so much for the recipe!
I didn’t mean to rate it 2 stars! It should have been 5 stars!! 🙂
🙂
Glad you enjoyed it!
Hi,
I made date puree today and was looking for a banana bread made with dates as the solo sweetener. I’ll make the bread tomorrow but wish to comment right now regarding the use of the words healthy vs healthful to describe a food. I have a friend who has the same pet peeve re use of healthful. However, according to the Oxford English Dictionary both healthy and healthful can be used describe a healthy banana bread. Quote: “It’s OK to use healthy and healthful as synonyms for conducive to good health: have a healthy snack or a healthful one. But if you’re referring to someone who enjoys good health, however, use healthy because it’d be weird to call a person healthful. Save healthful for the granola and healthy for your personal trainer.”
I agree that calling something healthy or healthful when it’s loaded with sugar is not a good practice, though I have caught myself doing just that. 😉
Thank you for the recipe.
Ah, yes. You make perfect sense. My mother has her PhD in linguistics and has told me that many words and grammatical structures which used to be incorrect have now become acceptable. I assume that if people say things a certain way long enough, there’s no fighting it ;)!
Thank you for this lovely banana bread. I have tried many sugar free versions and this is my favourite. I’m sure you get sick of people playing around with your recipe, however I am gluten intolerant, so I subbed the flour for 1 cup almond flour (ground almonds) and 1 cup cornflour, ( I think you call it cornstarch). It worked a treat. so again thank you for this lovely recipe
Actually, I LOVE hearing how people tweaked the recipes with success! Thank you for sharing that. 🙂
How to substitute oil or butter?
You’re looking for something to substitute to omit the butter? You could try subbing an equal amount of avocado or apple sauce. I don’t know if they would work, but you could try.
First of all this recipe is the only one I ever commented on because I am so pleased!!! I used an avocado instead of the oil and it turned out perfectly. Thank you!!
I am so honored, thank you! It’s an oldie, but goodie!
I just re-read your comment which originally I thought said you used avocado oil. But you used AN AVOCADO! I’m so intrigued! Awesome!
This is my go-to banana bread recipe! I purchase fresh medjool dates from the Coachella Valley which are already gooey and blend easily. I like to add frozen cranberries or blueberries and top with a sprinkling of Trader Joe’s super seed blend.
Ooooh! I never thought to sprinkle with the TJ’s super seed blend. Good idea!
Hello. How many cups are the bananas? I find bananas vary in size so I don’t want to end up using too much or too little.
I never measure the bananas and the bread always turns out well. I would guess 3 medium bananas is about 1 generous cup of mashed banana.
Tried this today and it turned out great!! I blended the dates (after they were soaking for 10 minutes) to make more of a puree out of them. I also ground the walnuts (my children prefer them ground) and I added about 1 T of pure maple syrup. Also, I ended up just mixing the batter by hand. It turned out perfectly! Thanks for a great recipe, one that truly is healthy!
I love all your adaptations. Lately I have been pureeing the dates too because my son prefers the bread that way. Thanks for sharing, Marina 🙂
Very easy and delicious banana bread-not too sweet, which is the best!
That’s the way I like cakes and breads — not too sweet 🙂