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Oatmeal Blueberry Banana Bread

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.

Slice of blueberry banana oatmeal bread on a white plate with fresh blueberries and banana to the side and a gold fork.

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 haven’t tried the muffins, the gist of this recipe is we’re 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 you’re looking for a truly decadent blueberry treat, try my Gluten-Free Blueberry Muffin Bread with Streusel Topping!

Loaf of banana oatmeal bread cut into slices with ripe bananas and blueberries to the side.

For those of you who follow a low-carb diet, try out my Keto Blueberry Coffee Cake or my Keto Cinnamon Swirl Bread.

Now let’s 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 ⅓ 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, you’ll 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 heart’s 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 we’re 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.

Loaf of blueberry banana bread cut into slices with fresh berries and bananas to the side.

Recipe Adaptations:

  • If you’re 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 ⅔ 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 ⅓ cup to ⅔ 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 we’re experts on the ingredients, let’s bake a loaf of bread!

How to Make Oatmeal Blueberry Banana Bread:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and line a 9” x 5” 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. 

Rolled oats in a blender, ready to be blended into a flour.

In a large mixing bowl, mash the bananas until they’re nice and creamy. Add in the avocado oil, vanilla extract and cider vinegar and whisk until the wet ingredients are well-combined.

Fork mashing banana in a mixing bowl

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.

Mixing bowl with the wet ingredients mixed up and dry ingredients on top.

Gently fold the blueberries into the batter.

blueberries on top of coffee cake batter

Pour batter into the prepared baking dish. If you’d like, top the batter with extra blueberries.

blueberry oatmeal bread batter in a loaf pan with blueberries on top, ready to go into the oven.

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).

Freshly baked blueberry banana bread in a loaf pan fresh out of 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!

Thick slices of blueberry banana bread on a white background.

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 you’re able to bake it ahead of time, it’s not a bad idea!

And that’s 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.

Loaf of blueberry oatmeal bread in a bread loaf pan with ripe bananas and blueberries to the side.

If you’re a big fan of quick bread recipes, also try out these gems.

More Quick Bread Recipes:

Enjoy slices of this tasty blueberry oatmeal banana bread with a mug of coffee or tea!

Loaf of banana oatmeal bread cut into slices with ripe bananas and blueberries to the side.

Oatmeal Blueberry Banana Bread

This Flourless oatmeal blueberry banana bread contains less added sweetener and oil yet is still moist and sweet. A lovely breakfast and snack!
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 1 hour
Total Time: 1 hour 15 minutes
1 loaf

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 tsp sea salt
  • 1.5 tsp ground cinnamon, optional
  • 1 cup fresh blueberries

Instructions

  • Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and line a 9” x 5” 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. If you have oat flour on hand, skip this step and use 1 3/4 cups of oat flour.
    Rolled oats in a blender, ready to be blended into a flour.
  • In a large mixing bowl, mash the bananas until they’re 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.
    Mashed banana, eggs, pure maple syrup and vanilla extract in a large mixing bowl, ready to be mixed
  • 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.
    Dry ingredients on top of wet ingredients in a mixing bowl
  • Gently fold the blueberries into the batter.
  • Pour batter into the prepared baking dish. If you’d like, top the batter with extra blueberries.
    blueberry oatmeal bread batter in a loaf pan with blueberries on top, ready to go into the oven.
  • 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).
    Freshly baked blueberry banana bread in a loaf pan fresh out of 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.

Video

Notes

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.

Nutrition

Serving: 1slice (of 8)Calories: 224kcalCarbohydrates: 31gProtein: 7gFat: 9gSaturated Fat: 1gPolyunsaturated Fat: 4gCholesterol: 47mgSodium: 470mgFiber: 4gSugar: 5g
Course: Breads
Cuisine: American
Keyword: banana oat bread, blueberry oat bread, blueberry oatmeal banana bread, flourless oatmeal banana blueberry bread, gluten free quick breads, healthy quick breads, oatmeal blueberry banana bread
Servings: 1 loaf
Calories: 224kcal
Author: Julia

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Recipe Rating




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Jennifer

Monday 22nd of January 2024

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!

Julia

Tuesday 23rd of January 2024

Thanks so much for sharing, Jennifer! I'm happy you enjoyed the recipe, and I bet it was amazing with extra blueberries! xo

Mary Ellen

Wednesday 13th of December 2023

Could this also be baked as muffins? I substituted a bit brown sugar. Delicious!

Julia

Sunday 17th of December 2023

Hi Mary Ellen! The recipe can definitely be made into muffins! Bake them at 350 for 20-25 minutes :)

Marina

Saturday 2nd of September 2023

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

Julia

Monday 4th of September 2023

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!

Donna

Monday 10th of July 2023

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) 😆

Julia

Monday 10th of July 2023

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 :) Hope you enjoy!

Margaret

Friday 19th of May 2023

Wow! This is the first oatmeal recipe that I have seen that is just that - oatmeal! Well done

Julia

Friday 19th of May 2023

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 :) Hope you enjoy!

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