Banana Coconut Bread
This banana coconut bread is soft, moist and of course bursting with coconut flavor!
Happy Monday. How was your first weekend of 2014? I hope it was a good one. How are the resolutions coming? This banana coconut bread should help out a little if your resolution entails delicious healthier foods that satisfies the sweet tooth.
We had a great first weekend of 2014! My sister who was up a few weeks ago came back up to NY after visiting some relatives and friends in MD and VA. She spent her last two weeks with us before finally heading back to Sierra Leone. Guess what I did for her this weekend? I made her a birthday cake!!! See, to any normal person that is totally normal but it’s a HUGE deal to me because my sister and I have not been in the same continent for her birthday in 10 years. No kidding.
I left home in 2003 to study abroad in Singapore and at the time my sister was 17 and I just turned 19. I haven’t lived there since but I do go home to visit and it always seems to be in the summer months and because of that her January 4th birthday is always celebrated over the phone. But this year, I didn’t have to call her at midnight to wish her happy birthday. Instead, I was baking her a chocolate cake recipe!! I feel so so blessed to have had this opportunity. I guess I knew that the little things of life mean the most, but never realized it to the fullest I suppose.
But enough about my weekend. How about we talk about this banana coconut bread? I have had the idea for this bread floating around in my head for months actually but never got to it. The idea was to make a classic banana bread with whole wheat flour using coconut oil, yogurt and applesauce to give a moist and soft bread that is a little lighter on the calories. That, my friends, is exactly what we have in this banana coconut bread.
You know by now I am coco loco with all the coconut recipes I keep sharing but discovering coconut oil has seriously sent this over the top. Coconut oil is a healthier oil to bake (or cook) with and it smells so amazing. It makes this bread delicious, moist and well, slightly coconut-y. If you are not a fan of coconut (what a travesty!!), you can leave out the coconut oil (replace with vegetable oil) and make this a traditional banana bread. It’s still very good!!
I hope you all have a great start to your week!! I know I am because I am about to watch Downton Abbey 🙂
Banana Coconut Bread
This banana coconut bread is soft, moist and of course bursting with coconut flavor!
Ingredients
- 2 cups white whole wheat flour
- 1 ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon
- 2 large eggs, lightly beaten (at room temperature)
- ¾ cup brown sugar
- ½ cup coconut oil (measure solid and melted)
- ½ cup greek yogurt
- 1½ cups mashed bananas, about 3 medium very ripe bananas
- 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
- ¼ cup coconut flakes (I used unsweetened, toasted)
- ¾ cups chopped walnuts
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a regular loaf pan (9 x 5) and line with parchment paper. Grease parchment.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt and cinnamon.
- In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat the eggs and sugar on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Reduce speed to low and slowly add the oil. Mix in yogurt, bananas and vanilla extract and beat until combined. Using a rubber spatula, fold in flour mixture, coconut and walnuts. Make sure there are no flour streaks in the batter.
- Pour batter into prepared loaf pan. Bake until golden brown and a tester inserted into the center comes out clean, about 45 minutes. Let cool in pan for 30 minutes before releasing from pan.
What a sweet big sister you are! Your sis must have loved your chocolate cake!
And I think I would love this healthy banana coconut bread – the texture of it looks so good!
Thanks Shashi. I try lol! She did enjoy her cake and took a few slices with her on the plane.
I’m so happy for you that you got to spend your sister’s birthday with you!!! I’ve never used coconut oil….gasp! I need to get on this starting with this amazing banana bread. Love me some coconut!
Thanks Julie! We had fun these past few weeks. You need to try coconut oil soon. I know you will love it!!
I thought I have tried all the banana bread variations under the sun. I can’t believe I never thought of banana coconut bread! This looks SO good!
It is always nice to have a new version Cathleen! Let me know if you try this. It’s delicious 🙂
That’s so great you got to spend her birthday together! And this bread is FABULOUS. I love banana + coconut!
Thank you Dorothy!!
Awww I’m so glad you got to spend your sisters birthday with her! And what a great cake to bake. Who can resist chocolate?! Ahhh, I love this bread. What a beautiful loaf. Pinned. Have a great evening and stay warm, Zainab!
Thanks Julie! There is no resisting chocolate at all. I used her as a guinea pig for a new chocolate recipe I was trying out and she felt even more special lol! Thank you so much fro sharing. I hope you are staying warm too with the unexpected cold weather in FL.
Sounds like a great combination!
Wow, it really touched my heart to read about how special this weekend was… you are so brave to move so far from your family at such a young age. Your banana bread sounds wonderful, and it looks gorgeous on that pretty blue background 😉
Thanks Allie!! It is hard sometimes, especially when there are celebrations at home that I am missing out on. But it’s easier now with Mr J and having his family around.
What a lovely story about your sister. I think birthdays are so special and how wonderful that you were able to bake your sister a delicious chocolate cake.
This bread sounds wonderful! Coconut and banana sound like a delightful combination. Plus you can never have too many banana bread recipes. 🙂
Thanks Jamie!! There is nothing like too many banana breads indeed 🙂
It is so awesome that you got to spend time with your sister!! I cannot imagine living on a different continent than my family, different sides of the country is hard enough. Well I am one of those strange people that does not like coconut, it’s a texture thing. I love the flavor, so the oil is fine, coconut milk is fine, I will just leave the flakes at the grocery store. 😉 I can’t wait to try it Zainab, I can’t wait to try it!!
Thanks Lisa!! It is hard…although it does get easier with time and visits during the year. What you don’t like coconut?? I still love you though!! At least you enjoy the flavor. The oil will be perfect then 🙂
Aaw, that’s awesome that you got to spend your sister’s birthday with her and make her a chocolate cake, I’m sure she loved it and enjoyed the quality time spent with you as well 🙂 This banana bread sounds amazing and looks so good! Love how much coconut flavor is packed in here and the coconut flakes look so pretty peaking through too 🙂
Thanks Kelly! It was a great day..she ate way too much cake and took some with her on the plane the next day. You are so right..coconut flakes are so pretty!!
I’m so happy you got to spend some quality time with your sister! So special to have celebrated her birthday together. I’m sure you’ll cherish those memories! Coconut and banana together sounds right up my alley. Love this bread!
Thank you so much Sally!! I was very excited to see her a few weeks ago and when I realized she would spend her birthday with me, I was over the moon 🙂
Always love a delicious banana bread, especially if it includes coconut! Glad that you were able to celebrate your sister’s birthday with her. And I hope that you have a delicious chocolate cake recipe to share with us in the near future 🙂
Thanks Ashley!! I’ll share the recipe later…it wasn’t up to my liking at the first try. Have to tweak a few things!