I may be prone to hyperbole, but this Blueberry Banana Bread is ridiculously delicious. Imagine the very best banana bread crossed with the ultimate blueberry muffin. Epic!
There are few things I love more than a slice of banana bread—and when you add in blueberries, well, it’s the best! This recipe is super easy to stir together, bakes without any work from you, and stores so well in the fridge for days.
We love it cold, warmed, or toasted with a little butter. It’s great for an easy breakfast or as a snack. We sometimes even pack it as a no cook kids lunch idea!
It’s a really delicious version of my classic Lower Sugar Banana Bread that is a perfect use for very ripe bananas. And fresh blueberries or frozen blueberries. It is, for sure, one of our very favorite banana bread recipes.
(You may also like my Blueberry Banana Smoothie, How to Freeze Blueberries, and Overnight Blueberry Baked Oatmeal.)
Table of Contents
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Ingredients You Need
To make this blueberry banana bread recipe, you’ll need to have the following ingredients on hand.
- Very ripe bananas: Very ripe bananas with some brown spots are the key to success with this recipe. The brown spots indicate natural sweetness and flavor, so be sure to use this type of banana.
- Unsalted butter: I like to use unsalted butter in my baking so I can control the level of salt. Butter, in conjunction with the yogurt below, ensures that the bread is super moist.
- Whole-milk plain Greek yogurt: You can use all butter or half butter and half yogurt as you prefer.
- Eggs: Eggs help the bread have a tender crumb and the classic texture of banana bread. If you need to make this egg-free, try a store-bought subsitute like the one from Bob’s Red Mill.
- Vanilla extract and cinnamon: Vanilla and cinnamon add a nice undertone of flavor so I like to add it here.
- Whole wheat flour: I like to make this bread with whole wheat flour for extra nutrients and also because this hearty flour can hold up to the high moisture content of the other ingredients. (To bake with all-purpose flour, add an extra 2 tablespoons.)
- Sugar: I use regular sugar in this recipe, in an amount that is half of what’s usually added to banana bread, for sweetness. I find that using granulated sugar ensures a moist and tender bread a little better than something like honey or maple syrup. (You can use either of them if you prefer, just know that I do prefer sugar.)
- Baking soda: Fresh, active baking soda is the key to ensuring this bread rises and bakes through. Check yours before you start baking.
- Blueberries: You can use fresh or frozen blueberries in this recipe, regular or wild, so use the ones you have access to.
Step-by-Step Instructions
Here’s a look at the process in this Blueberry Banana Bread recipe so you know what to expect. Scroll down to see the full recipe at the bottom of this post, including the timing and the amounts.
Step 1. Mash the banana and add to a bowl with the wet ingredients.
Step 2. Stir in the dry ingredients.
Step 3. Add to a greased loaf pan.
Step 4. Bake until golden brown and a cake tester or toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
TIP: I like to add a piece of foil to cover the loaf toward the end of baking to ensure it cooks through without over-browning.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes, fresh or frozen berries work well in this recipe. If using frozen berries, just know that they may make the batter seize up a bit (just because they’re very cold!) Use some muscle to stir and it’s fine.
I like to let the bread cool completely, then slice and store in an airtight container. You can also individually wrap slices for easy future meals or store the slices in a zip top freezer bag in the freezer.
For one year olds, you can dice it up into small pieces or cut it into sticks. Other than that, you can try it cold out of the fridge, warmed slightly or toasted. Add butter or nut butter or cream cheese if you’d like. It’s very versatile!
How to Store
Let blueberry banana bread cool completely, then slice and store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days.
You can also individually wrap slices of Blueberry Banana Bread for easy future meals or store the slices in a zip-top freezer bag in the freezer for up to 3 months.
Best Tips for Success
- You can use fresh or frozen blueberries in this recipe.
- Add a handful of chocolate chips if desired.
- I like to add a piece of aluminum foil to cover the loaf toward the end of baking to ensure it cooks through without over-browning.
- This bread takes a while to bake due to the bananas and berries.
- Try it cold out of the fridge, warmed slightly, or toasted. Add butter or nut butter or cream cheese if you’d like.
Related Recipes
I’d love to hear your feedback on this recipe if you try it, so please comment and rate below!
Favorite Blueberry Banana Bread
Ingredients
- 1 cup mashed very ripe bananas (about 2 large)
- ¼ cup unsalted butter (melted and slightly cooled)
- ¼ cup whole-milk plain Greek yogurt
- 2 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 cups whole wheat flour
- ½ cup sugar
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 2 cups blueberries
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and grease a 9×5-inch loaf pan with nonstick spray. (I use classic Pam.)
- Add the banana, butter, yogurt, eggs, and vanilla to a large bowl. Stir to combine.
- Stir in the flour, sugar, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt. Gently stir in the blueberries.
- Pour batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top with a spatula so it’s even. Bake for 60 minutes. (If around the 40-minute mark the bread is starting to brown a lot, place a piece of foil loosely over the top and continue baking.) The bread is done when it's golden brown and a cake tester inserted into the center comes out clean.
- Cool in the pan for 5 minutes, then remove from pan (carefully) and let cool on a wire rack completely.
- Slice and serve.
Equipment
Video
Notes
- You can use fresh or frozen blueberries in this recipe.
- You can lower the sugar to ⅓ cup if you prefer. You can also swap in ¼ cup honey or maple syrup. It won’t be as sweet and the texture may vary a little.
- I like to add a piece of foil to cover the loaf toward the end of baking to ensure it cooks through without over-browning.
- This bread takes a while to bake due to the bananas and berries.
- Try it cold out of the fridge, warmed slightly, or toasted. Add butter or nut butter or cream cheese if you’d like.
- Let bread cool completely, then slice and store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days
- You can also individually wrap slices for easy future meals or store the slices in a zip-top freezer bag in the freezer for up to 3 months.
Nutrition
This post was first published April 2021.
I love this recipe! I just wanted to let you know how much I appreciate the easy meal ideas on your site. Also, there’s a typo where you said after baking to “Place a piece of foil and bake an additional 20 mins.” My bread was getting a little brown so I just assumed foil was supposed to be the last 20 minutes of the original 1 hour bake time and it turned out great! I used a blend of oat flour and Gluten free flour from Bob’s Redmill, so maybe I’m wrong about the total bake time…
Thank you, I fixed it!
Hi I’m planning to bake this for my 11 months old baby boy and I’d like to know if I can omit using sugar or any other sweetener…
You can omit it. It won’t be as sweet but it should work just fine!
Can you use frozen banana?
Yes, but you’d want to thaw it first so you can mash it
This banana bread is fantastic! I have my fourth loaf in the oven right now. I have used frozen wild blueberries every time and it turns out great. I usually slice it all and freeze half for the following week. My whole family loves it. Thank you for another wonderful recipe!
This is delicious! The first time I made it I loved it, but when I made it today I noticed a bug – I switched the recipe scaling to 2x, then back to 1x, and it messed up the flour quantities – switching it to 2x kept the flour at 2c, and then switching it back to 1x changed it to 1c so it messed up the proportions of my bread. It’s much better as written. 🙂
Oh no! I have no idea why that is happening but I am trying to get it fixed. Thank you for letting me know of the issue.
I had a few bananas that were very overripe so I was looking for a healthier option than my usual banana bread recipe and found this. I didn’t have any wheat flour or greek yogurt and didn’t want to run to the store so I opted to use Oat flour (ground oats in my blender until very fine) and used 2 and 3/4C of it going off a conversion I found online since I had never done this before. It worked out but as expected did not rise up like yours and was done baking by the hour, would probably have been good at 45/50mins but I didn’t check it often enough. Would you have any suggestions for adding yeast to help it fluff up some?
I really like that this was not too sweet and I will plan to try this as written next time. My little one ate it up as I made it and I’m sure he would love your original recipe.
Hi- Oat flour is a lot denser so I’m not surprised that it didn’t rise the same. I don’t think I’d use yeast but maybe adding 1/2 teaspoon baking powder would help it. Let me know if you try the original recipe though since I know that rises as it’s meant to!
I made this and it turned out just like the photos! My family of 4 ate it up in a day. Loved it. Thanks so much for the recipe. I’ll be making it again.
I’m so glad!
This bread turned out delicious! Great texture and flavor with the blueberries, plus so easy to make!
So we’ve got a gluten free and egg free house here. I tried the recipe with King Arthur measure for measure gluten free flour and used “neat egg” as an egg substitute (it’s a chia seed based powder you can buy, and I just had some on hand so I thought I’d give it a try). The batter was a bit thick, and I didn’t get as much rise as your images but the results were still tasty! I took your suggestion in the other comments and cut down the berries to about 1.5 cups as well. We put some honey pecan cream cheese on it for the adults to enjoy, and it was yummy! Thanks for all the work you do for us moms! Much appreciated!
These look amazing! Is it possible to sub the wheat flour for a gluten free flour?
I haven’t tested it that way so I can’t say for sure. With other recipes, I’ve had good success using the cup for cup Gf flour blend from King Arthur. My only concern with this is that the batter and berries make the batter very moist so it’s possible it might have a little bit of a hard time cooking through. I might reduce the berries to 1 or 1.5 cups to help it
Looks promising. Would it be ok to add one more banana or some soaked and pureed dates so that I could avoid using sugar?
Congrats to your amazing work by the way.
Thank you! I would just omit the sugar. I think adding more banana would make the bread hard to cook through.
How would you suggest making this egg free? Thanks!
I haven’t tested this egg-free. I’ve had good success replacing eggs with 1/4 cup milk and 1/2 tsp baking soda, which may work but again I haven’t tried that out in this one!
Hi! We are egg free so I tried making this today with the above substitution. It came out good overall, a little dry but I’m not sure if that was because of the missing egg or if I may have over baked it a little bit. I wasn’t keeping a very close eye on it.
That’s good to know. (It’s not always possible for the egg-free version to be exactly the same as the regular one, in texture or baking time, since it does inherently change the recipe but I do my best with suggestions.)
I also made them into mini muffins, because my son loves everything muffin and they were a great hit! Super fluffy and delicious.
How long did you cook them for to make the minis and at what temp?
The temperature should be the same. Someone commented that they baked for 25 minutes for mini muffins, but they may not need that long. I’d check them in the 18-20 minute range.
What can one substitute for eggs? Flax egg or chia egg?
I haven’t tested this without eggs, but I’ve had good success using 1/4 milk and 1/2 tsp baking soda in place of each egg in other baked goods. Let me know if you try it!
I just made these and they are fantastic.
I subbed the yogurt for sour cream because I didnt have greek yogurt on hand, otherwise stuck to the recipe.
I made them into mini muffins and baked for 25 min. Turned out perfect!
I’m so glad (and thank you for the comment!)
Can we use regular flour instead?
I haven’t tried it that way—it may take a little longer to bake since it won’t absorb liquid exactly the same. I know a few people have used ap flour to make this recipe as muffins and it was fine though!