Florencia Baldini Last Updated on December 21, 2025This is hands down one of the easiest banana bread I’ve ever made—just six simple ingredients, no flour, no refined sugar, and all the festive flavours. Ripe bananas bring natural sweetness, oats make it wholesome, and a touch of gingerbread spice mix gives that cosy Christmas feel.
Everything goes into a food processor for a few seconds (no overmixing here!), then straight into the oven. The result? A super soft, lightly spiced banana bread that’s perfect on its own or topped with a little yoghurt and honey.
You can enjoy it for breakfast as a delicious but nourishing treat, as a snack or even a dessert if you are looking for a healthy option.
If you’re serving it to impress, top with a swirl of yoghurt ganache, a sprinkle of shredded coconut, and—why not—a couple of cute gingerbread cookies for a festive touch.
How To Make It
Step 1
Preheat the oven to 180°C and line a loaf tin with baking paper so it overhangs the sides for easy lifting later. Add the ripe bananas, eggs, rolled oats, baking soda, maple syrup and gingerbread spice mix to a food processor.
Step 2
Blitz for just a few seconds, only until everything is combined and you can’t see big pockets of dry oats. Stop as soon as it looks mixed. This is the key to a light, soft loaf. If you keep blending, the oats get overworked and the bread can turn heavy and a bit doughy.
Step 3
Scrape down the sides of the food processor with a spatula, then give it one quick pulse to finish mixing. The batter should look thick but pourable, with little flecks of oats throughout.
Step 4
Pour the batter into your lined tin and tap the tin gently on the worktop to level it out and knock out any big air bubbles. Smooth the top lightly if needed.
Step 5
Bake for 35 to 40 minutes at 180°C, until the top feels set and a skewer inserted into the centre comes out mostly clean. If it’s browning too quickly on top, loosely cover with foil for the last 10 minutes.
Step 6
Let the loaf cool in the tin for 10 minutes, then lift it out using the baking paper and transfer to a cooling rack. Let it cool completely before slicing so it sets properly and you get clean slices.
Step 7
Toppings are optional, but I love a quick healthy “frosting” made by mixing yoghurt and a little honey, then spreading it over the cooled loaf. And yes, the gingerbread man cookies on top are completely unnecessary… but they look so cute.
Tips
- Use rolled oats: not all type of oats are the same.
- The most important tip: when using the food processor make sure to only pulse of blitz for just a few seconds. When processing oats, it’s important not to overmix because the blades of a food processor are very powerful and can break the oats down too much, turning them into a fine powder or oat flour; this can affect the texture of your final recipe by making it dense, gluey and sticky instead of light and fluffly.
Swaps
Eggs: I get asked a lot if you can replace eggs, the answer is yes, flax-egg is the best substitute for eggs. I made as similar version of this cake vegan for all my vegan friends or those who don’t like or can t eat eggs, you can find it here Vegan Banana Bread
Maple syrup: you can swap with honey.
Ginger Bread Spice Mix
Gingerbread spice mix isn’t easily available in the UK, so I always make my own — it’s so simple, and the flavour is far better than anything pre-made.
If you want that classic gingerbread flavour, my Gingerbread Spice Mix Recipe (Traditional Lebkuchen Blend) is the one I use. It’s simple, aromatic and gives this granola the perfect festive warmth. I usually make a small jar at the start of the season so it’s always ready to go.
If you’re in a rush or don’t have all the spices on hand, a quick shortcut is to use :
- 1 tsp Ceylon cinnamon
- 1 tsp ginger powder
- 1/2 nutmeg powder
- 1/4 clove powder
Storage
Fridge: To store your Healthiest Gingerbread Banana Bread, let it cool completely before wrapping it in cling film or placing it in an airtight container. Keep it at room temperature for up to 3 days or store in the fridge for up to 5 days for extra freshness.
Freezer: For longer storage, freeze individual slices wrapped tightly for up to 3 months
More Sweet Bread Ideas
- 6-Ingredient Best Healthy Banana Bread
- Healthy 6 Ingredients Cottage Cheese Bread
- Vegan Banana Bread
- Spiced Pumpkin Bread
Healthiest Gingerbread Banana Bread
Video
Ingredients
- 3 bananas, ripe
- 2 eggs
- 160 g rolled oats
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 80 g maple syrup
- 2 tsp gingerbread spice mix
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F) and line a baking tin with parchment paper.
- Add all the ingredients to a food processor and blitz for just a few seconds, only until combined. This short blend is key for a light, soft bread — overmixing will result in a heavier, doughy texture.
- Pour the batter into the prepared tin and bake for 35–40 minutes, until set in the centre and lightly golden on top.
- Transfer to a wire rack and allow to cool completely before slicing.
- Toppings are optional, but I love finishing it with a simple, healthy frosting made by mixing yoghurt and honey. The gingerbread man cookies on top were completely unnecessary… but very cute.
I’d like to make this but I don’t have a food processor. Any suggestions how to do so? Thank you.
Hi Jerilyn, Absolutely! You can still make it without a food processor 😊
Ideally, use ground oats. If you only have whole or jumbo rolled oats, they won’t work as well without a processor, as the texture will be too chunky.
Mash the bananas really well with a fork until smooth, whisk in the eggs, then add the remaining ingredients and mix until just combined. Try not to overmix to keep the banana bread light and soft.
Hope that helps — enjoy!
Flo x