Cranberry Banana Bread with Chocolate Chips
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Published Dec 10, 2018, Updated May 08, 2023
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This healthy cranberry banana bread is studded with dried cranberries and chocolate chips. Perfect for a festive holiday breakfast or treat! It’s made with whole grain flour, gluten-free and dairy-free.
Who else is excited about this recipe just from the title?! SAME. I am a banana bread fanatic so when I had the idea to use cranberries and chocolate chips to add a little texture, flavor and color, I was so excited to develop this recipe! I used my healthy banana bread recipe as a guide and came up with this variation.
When it comes to the holidays, one of my childhood memories is waking up and coming downstairs to find delicious baked goods on the counter. Sometimes we had cinnamon rolls, sometimes we had monkey bread and sometimes we had banana bread.
I’m slyly going to send my mom this cranberry banana bread recipe so she can help me make it again while she’s here for Christmas.
Make This Loaf as a Special Holiday Gift
I also remember my mom always making baked goods for her friends around the holidays. She has the cutest mini loaf pans and some years she would put cookies in cute tins or make a little loaves of bread, wrap in plastic wrap and tie a ribbon around it to give as a thoughtful gift. SO CUTE! I want to be you when I grow up, Mom. Aka to all my friends reading this you may or may not be getting a mini loaf of this banana bread this year…
Cranberry Banana Bread Ingredients
- oat flour and almond flour – the combination of these flours makes the perfect texture! You can make your own oat flour if you’d like or use store bought. I use Bob’s Red Mill oat flour. As for the almond flour, make sure you get almond flour and not almond meal! Bob’s Red Mill almond flour is what I typically buy.
- baking soda – a leavening agent.
- sea salt – brings the flavors together.
- coconut oil – helps to keep the bread moist.
- coconut sugar – the less-processed upgrade for brown sugar. You can sub brown sugar if you don’t have any coconut sugar on hand.
- maple syrup – my favorite natural sweetener!
- bananas – those bananas you forgot about on the counter that are now overripe? They’re perfect for banana bread! You’ll need 3, so go head and buy 3 bananas and “forget” about them if you want to make this.
- eggs – to bind the ingredients together.
- vanilla extract – a flavor enhancer.
- dried cranberries – make sure you find cranberries that are unsweetened or sweetened with just fruit juice if possible. Made in Nature’s organic dried cranberries are a good option and sweetened with just a touch of apple juice instead of cane sugar.
- mini chocolate chips – I used Enjoy Life mini chocolate chips for this recipe.
Substitutions and Notes
- Flour – I haven’t tested this recipe with any different types of flour so I don’t recommend subbing the flours.
- Coconut sugar – If you don’t have coconut sugar on hand, you should be able to sub regular sugar or brown sugar. I don’t recommend swapping the coconut sugar for more maple syrup. That will likely result in a liquidy bread.
- Eggs – I haven’t tested this recipe with flax eggs, chia eggs or an egg replacer so I’m not sure the bread will turn out well with these substitutes. If you decide to try an egg substitute be sure to let me know in the comments below!
- Dried cranberries – I haven’t tried using fresh cranberries, but I think it would work just fine for this bread. I would probably use about 2/3 cup chopped cranberries. Let me know if you do try using fresh cranberries and how it works for you.
Making Healthy Cranberry Banana Bread
This banana bread is so festive (thanks cranberries!), a crowd pleaser and pretty healthy! Because of the three bananas, it doesn’t need a lot of extra sugar. Instead of white flour, I use a combination of oat and almond flour which makes the loaf gluten-free without a bunch of different flours and/or gums. I always love when I can take a traditional baked good and upgrade them to something that tastes awesome, but won’t leave me feeling overly full and bloated.
Do you have certain dishes or meals that you make every year for the holidays? I love hearing your traditions around food!
Storing Cranberry Banana Bread
After letting your bread cool completely, store in an airtight container on the counter for up to three days. It will last for up to a week in the refrigerator and up to three months in the freezer. Store in an airtight container to make sure the bread stays nice and moist!
More Quick Breads to Try
- Coconut Flour Banana Bread
- Vegan Apple Bread
- Low Sugar Pumpkin Bread
- Tahini Banana Bread
- Strawberry Banana Bread
- Healthy Zucchini Bread
- Healthy Lemon Loaf (Starbucks Copycat)
More Cranberry Recipes to Try
- Cranberry Energy Balls
- Sweet Potato Cranberry Muffins
- Cranberry Coconut Granola Bars
- Sparkling Vodka Cranberry with Lime
- Healthy Cranberry Sauce
Cranberry Banana Bread
Ingredients
- 1 ¼ cup oat flour
- ¾ cup almond flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon sea salt
- 2 Tablespoons melted coconut oil
- ⅓ cup coconut sugar
- 2 Tablespoons maple syrup
- 3 medium overripe bananas, mashed
- 2 eggs
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- ⅓ cup dried cranberries, chopped
- ⅓ cup mini chocolate chips
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Line an 8×5-inch loaf pan with parchment paper, letting the excess hang over the long sides a bit. Spray the inside with cooking spray.
- In a large bowl, combine flours, baking soda and salt.
- In a separate mixing bowl use a hand mixer (or stand mixer) to combine coconut oil, coconut sugar and maple syrup. Add in mashed bananas, eggs and vanilla until well blended.
- Add flour and mix until just blended. Don’t over mix. Gently stir in cranberries and chocolate chips.
- Pour batter into loaf pan, smooth top and bake in preheated oven for 60 to 65 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into center of the loaf comes out clean. Let bread cool in pan for 15 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack to cool completely.
Notes
- To make mini loaves, line three mini loaf pans with parchment. Bake for 30-35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into center of the loaf comes out clean.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Looks stunning, friend! xoxo
Thanks lovely. <3
I can’t even remember the last time I’ve made banana bread; it’s been way too long! I love using almond and oat flours too; yum! 🙂
GIRL!! You’ve been missing out. You need a loaf of banana bread in your life. 🙂
This sounds so good, Britt! I love the idea of combining oat and almond flour – mmmm!
Me too! They are my favorite flours to bake with.
This sounds so good!! I have it down on my meal plan for the week! I have a quick question though: what are the benefits of using coconut sugar versus pure cane sugar? I have never used it!
I like using coconut sugar because it’s less processed than white sugar, contains small amounts of minerals, antioxidants and fiber and raises the blood sugar slightly less than regular sugar. At the end of the day, it’s still sugar though. 🙂
This bread has all the favorite ingredients Reeni, Banana bread is our family weakness.Thanks for sharing!!
H, What temperature do you preheat the oven to? It just says “bake in a preheated oven”
350°F
What can you use instead of almond flour if you have a tree nut allergy in your home?
Hey Molly, I haven’t tried it, but you should be able to just use 2 cups of oat flour instead of the 3/4 cup almond flour. Let me know how it works for you!
I have a pack of frozen cranberry, do you think I could use them instead of the dried version? If so, I much should I put? Thanks in advance!
Hey Isabelle – I haven’t tried using frozen cranberries, but I think they should work just fine. I would probably use about 2/3 cup of the frozen cranberries and make sure to let them thaw out completely and drain them before mixing them in. 🙂 Let me know how it turns out for you if you end up making the bread!
This sounds delicious! Do you think I could substitute applesauce for the banana? And if so do you think about 3/4 cup? Thanks so much!
Hey Andrea – I haven’t tried it, but yes, I think applesauce would work just fine instead of the bananas and I’d say using 1 cup should be good. 🙂 Let me know how it turns out for you!
We loved this recipe. My family has a typical “go-to” banana bread recipe, but I wanted to try something different so I was so pleased when I tried this one. I subbed a few of the ingredients since I didn’t have all of them in my kitchen (subbed oat flour for AP flour, coconut oil for unsalted butter, 3 bananas with 2, and chocolate chips with pecans and walnuts- about 1/2 a cup). It turned out perfectly. I’m so pleased. Thank you so much for a healthier banana bread recipe we are sure to use again and certainly around the holidays.
Ahh yay! That makes me so happy to hear, Isabella! So glad this banana bread recipe was a hit. Thanks for trying it and for sharing the subs you made. It’s super helpful for other readers. 🙂
Nice bread, it looks so stunning ah and also thanks for the recipe
I don’t have oat flour, so replaced it with white whole wheat flour. We were very happy with the result. The aroma of this banana bread is just heavenly! Thank you for sharing this wonderful recipe!
So glad this banana bread turned out for you with whole wheat flour, Liana. Thanks for sharing and for coming back to leave a review. I really appreciate it!
I did this with a few substitutions: 2 cups of whole wheat flour, 2 bananas + 1/3 cup of apple sauce, & brown sugar instead of coconut sugar. It still turned out great! This bread had more life, was crunchier than the zucchini bread but less moist. This could have been a result of the cooking time. Both were very good! This one one tastes *healthier*!
More lift**
I’m glad you enjoyed this bread, Lily. Thanks for making it and for coming back to leave a review and share the subs you made. I so appreciate it!
Lucky to have mom like that. I am going to try it for sure.
I made this tonight after exactly 3 bananas were forgotten for a bit. Turned out delicious. The cranberries add a whole new level of sweetness. And the smell is incredible. Definitely making this again. Thank you for sharing!!
Woo!! So happy to hear this recipe was a hit, Ali. Thanks so much for making it and coming back to leave a review. I really appreciate it!
Hi Brittany, do you think this recipe could be made successfully with fresh cranberries instead of dried? Would I need to make any modifications?
Hey Michelle – I haven’t tried using fresh cranberries, but I think it would work just fine for this bread. I would probably use about 2/3 cup chopped cranberries. Let me know if you do try using fresh cranberries and how it works for you.
So I can’t believe I haven’t commented before now! I’ve been making this banana, cranberry loaf for over a year now and I literally don’t make any other kind of banana bread now. This mix of the banana with the cranberries and choc chips is delicious. I also add in some chopped up pecans to it and it’s seriously the BEST banana loaf EVER!
AH YAY! I am so happy to hear that you are loving this recipe, Amanda! Thank you so much for your review + star rating, I really appreciate it!
Can this recipe be used to make a muffin?
Sure! I haven’t tried it, so I am not sure of the exact baking time, but I would definitely shorten the baking time for muffins. Enjoy!