honey rye banana bread

an earthy twist on a classic - banana bread made with rye flour and naturally sweetened with honey

A few weeks ago I shared a recipe for rye chocolate chip cookies and since then I have been wanting to find other ways to incorporate rye in my baked goods because I just love the nutty taste it adds. This recipe for honey rye banana bread is the result. The nutty earthiness of the rye combined with the sweetness of the bananas and honey and rounded out with some finely chopped walnuts is truly such a treat. I chose to add walnuts to this recipe because they pair so nicely with the rye but you can leave them out, add other nuts (like pecans), or add in chocolate chips or dried fruit. There's a pretty minimal amount of sweetener in this recipe (just 70 grams of honey) so definitely make sure to use extra ripe bananas where the peel has turned dark. If you like your banana bread more on the sweet side, you can go ahead and increase the amount of honey as well.

As noted, honey is the natural sweetener I chose to use in this recipe. To learn more about honey and other natural sweeteners, check out my natural sweeteners 101 post. I generally recommend using raw honey as it is only very lightly filtered and has a more balanced flavor than traditional honey. If you can find a local beekeeper selling honey near you that’s always a good choice, otherwise a brand I enjoy is Nature Nate’s Raw Honey.

If you're anything like me and tend to have overripe bananas on hand, this honey rye banana bread is a great way to use them up. I hope you give it a try and if you are looking for other similar recipes, check out my banana bread with honey, sucanat & sourdough or my banana date jam bars with coconut sugar. Enjoy!

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this time two years ago …

double chocolate brownies with sucanat & sourdough

this time last year …

cashew butter chocolate chunk cookies with sucanat

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honey rye banana bread

makes 1 9x5 loaf

ingredients

• 375 grams mashed banana (about 3)

• 70 grams honey

• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

• 2 large eggs

• 1 teaspoon cinnamon

• 1 and 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda

• 1 teaspoon salt

• 300 grams rye flour

• 80 grams light tasting oil

• 100 grams whole fat yogurt

• 50 grams walnuts, finely chopped

• optional: sucanat or coconut sugar for sprinkling on top

directions

1. Preheat your oven to 350 F and grease a 9x5 loaf pan.

2. In a medium bowl, mash the 375 grams of bananas. Stir in the 70 grams honey, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, and 2 eggs.

3. In a separate small bowl, whisk together the 1 teaspoon cinnamon, 1/2 teaspoon baking soda. 1 and 1/2 teaspoons baking powder, 1 teaspoon salt, and 300 grams rye flour.

4. Add the dry ingredients to the bowl with the bananas and stir until combined. Then stir in the 80 grams oil and 100 grams yogurt. Finally, add the 50 grams finely chopped walnuts. Pour the batter into the loaf pan (optional: sprinkle with sucanat or coconut sugar at this point if you would like) and bake for about 50 minutes, until fully cooked through and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.