Spelt Banana Bread is deliciously moist and full of fibre so healthier than your average cake! It’s also the perfect way to use up 4 overripe bananas.
I was completely blown away by this Spelt Banana Bread today and have to say it’s the best Banana Bread I have ever tasted. I have never used spelt flour before and have heard so much about it and yet knew nothing about it until now.
Last weekend I read with great interest an article in the Daily Mail about Roger Saul, the founder of designer label Mulberry and his journey in setting up Sharpham Park. It is here that organic spelt is grown and turned into Bran Flakes, Pearled Spelt, Spelt Flours, Spelt Risottos, Cereal Bars and Artisan Pasta.
Spelt is a great source of fibre and therefore Sharpham Park decided it would be a great idea to work with Bowel Cancer UK for their Bowel Cancer Awareness Month (April).
The British Medical Journal has published research which shows that an increase in fibre, especially cereal fibre and whole grains can help to prevent bowel cancer.
By adding 3 servings (90g) of whole grains into your daily diet you can cut your risk of bowel cancer by about 20%.
To promote their joint message they have collected some tasty high fibre recipes from 30 famous culinary friends which have been published online as “Great British Spelt Recipes”.
This Spelt Banana Bread is from Miss Dahl’s Voluptuous Delights by Sophie Dahl (Harper Collins).
After today’s resounding success I can’t wait to try some more recipes out, I think spelt has put a spell on me! Not only is spelt high in fibre but it also contains plenty of iron, potassium, zinc, riboflavin and other vitamins and minerals.
Also because of its unique gluten structure, it is far easier to digest than its distant cousin wheat and therefore great for people with wheat intolerance.
For more information on Bowel Cancer UK visit www.bowelcanceruk.org.uk or free phone 0800 8403540.
More recipes using Spelt Flour
- Spelt Banoffee Flapjacks with Dark Chocolate
- Apple & Chocolate Spelt Swiss Roll
- Quick Spelt Butternut Squash Cake
- Spelt Danish Apple Ring
- Spelt & Wholemeal No Knead Loaf
- Spelt & Chia Fishtail Plait
- Apple & Pear Cider Spelt Soda Bread
More Banana Recipes
Can you use different flour to spelt flour in this banana bread?
Yes, I have made it with ordinary plain flour but would recommend using wholemeal as it adds a nuttiness similar to that of spelt flour or use a combination of the two. I have also used a mixture of strong plain flour and self-raising flour when that’s all I had and that worked fine too. This is a very forgiving recipe!
I do hope you try this Banana Bread as it’s a great way to use up 4 ripe or over-ripe bananas!
I’m sure you’ll love this quick banana bread so please leave a comment and rating when you make it! If you’re on social media you can also share a photo by tagging @FabFood4All as I love seeing my recipes come to life!
Pin this easy banana bread for later!
Thank you to Sharpham Park for my gifted spelt flour and pearled spelt.
Spelt Banana Bread
Ingredients
- 75 g soft butter plus extra for greasing and serving
- 4 ripe bananas (medium sized) mashed up
- 200 g soft brown sugar
- 1 egg beaten
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
- 1 pinch salt
- 170 g spelt flour (see notes for alternatives)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 180C/160C fan/Gas 4. Grease a 13 x 23-cm/ 9 x 5 inch bread tin. (I used my largest loaf tin).
- Pour the mashed bananas into a big mixing bowl. Mix in the butter, sugar, egg and vanilla extract.
- Add the bicarbonate of soda and salt and mix in the flour last. Pour into the prepared tin.
- Bake for 1 hour, remove and cool, then serve in slices with a little butter.
Dianne Regan
This is the first time I have used spelt flour, so I was a little concerned about the end result. It turned out amazing. The banana bread was very light, moist and very tasty. Best banana bread I have ever made. I definitely will be using spelt flour more often. Great recipe.
Camilla
So glad you like the Banana Bread. It’s such a good recipe and spelt is so delicious. I now add dark chocolate chunks to ring the changes which also works so well.
Rachel
Great banana bread, but I cannot imagine how sweet it would have been – I used coconut sugar & reduced amount to 70g, plus added in some cinnamon.
Camilla
I’ve never had coconut sugar so need to research that. I made this today for Father’s Day and added 65 grams of 85% cocoa dark chocolate which took the recipe to new heights:-)
Vanessa A Mendonca
Can I use maple syrup instead of brown sugar? Have any idea of quantity? Thank you!
Camilla
I’ve Googled and seen on Pure Maple’s website that they use the same amount of maple syrup in a Victoria Sponge as the flour and butter, so I think you would just use the same amount of maple syrup as the sugar in this recipe ie 170 grams. I can’t vouch for this as have never tried but in theory this should work. Let me know how you get on:-)
Komal
Hi there, thank you for such a yummy recipe , I have made it so many times now everyone loves it, so easy , delish and keeps in the fridge very well
Camilla
Thank you Komal, Sophi Dahl’s recipe is a winner isn’t it:-)
Monika Galvin
Do u need so much sugar ? As I’m diabetic is there an other alternative, as I really want to use Ur recipe thanks
Camilla
Hi Monika, I actually lowered the sugar to 150 grams when I made this at the weekend and it was absolutely fine. Since menopause I can’t tolerate sugar like I used to so had gone cold turkey and given up on it as it was giving me sleepless nights and numbness in the small hours. Recently I discovered the Glucose Goddess and can now have the odd sugary treat if I take here advice and have a tablespoon of apple cider vinegar in a glass of water beforehand. It takes away the sharp glucose spike and I don’t get the night time symptoms. Perhaps worth a try, there’s advice about the vinegar hack on the Diabetes UK website which I looked at recently for another reader with a similar conversation about jam I think.
Esther Krishnan
Thank you for the Banana Bread Recipe. I bake it it’s turned up very tasty and soft.♥️♥️♥️
Camilla
So glad you like it Esther, you might like my Banana Cake recipe too which is another favourite here!
Amy
I was wondering if anyone has tried freezing it and how well it freezes? also for how long can it be frozen or any other details someone might have
Camilla
Hi Amy, you can freeze cake for up to 3 months. If you want to keep your cake for longer than a week it’s worth Googling methods of wrapping to avoid freezer burn as single freezer bag with the air removed won’t be enough.
Angela
This is my go to recipe when it comes to banana bread. Foremost I have a friend with a mill and have the best quality of spelt flour at hand. All the family adores this recipe. Actually, whenever I make other cakes, everyone uses your cake as a comparison meter! The only adjustment I make is the amount of sugar which I reduce to 100 g, I sometimes just throw some add-ins whenever I feel like it. Honestly, there is no need to. My 2 sons have been the ones baking it for the last year or so! Oh and it is the perfect school snack.
Camilla
Thank you Angela it is such a fabulous recipe! However I can’t take the credit for it, I was asked to reproduce the recipe from Sophie Dahl by Sharpham Park many years ago and it’s become a firm favourite hear too. I got hooked on spelt flour and went on to post many recipes uses this amazing healthy flour:-)
Emma Bennett
Thank you so much for sharing this recipe.
I have made some adjustments with the recipe and found it to be the most moist and delicious banana cake I have tried so far and have shared banana cake with others and now there are constant requests for it.
*Brown sugar reduced to 100g
*The flour is half white spelt and half buckwheat
*Two bananas instead of 4 bananas, the riper the better
*Crushed some walnuts and pecans and added to the end once the flour has been mixed
*Lined the tray with baking paper as it’s so easy just to take it out. No need to grease it
In my oven reduced it to 45 minutes cooking time
Camilla
A pleasure Emma. Glad you could make Sophie’s recipe your own:-)
Tarryn
This is a delicious recipe. My daughter loved it too and she is 4y8m. This recipe will be going into my book for sure. Thank you
Camilla
It is a joy of a recipe to make and eat isn’t it. I really want a slice now LOL:-)
MRose
Absolutely amazing – probably one of the best banana bread recipes I’ve ever made. All the others using ordinary white flour were so heavy textured and boring in flavour. I never thought a banana bread made with whole meal spelt flour could be so light, nutty and delicious! I adjusted it slightly by using about 2/3 of the sugar and added an extra banana. It was divine! I will definitely make it again, adding some other things that were inspired by some of the other comments.
Camilla
It is such a delicious banana bread as you say plus healthy and easy, what’s not to love:-)
Jen
Love this recipe, thank you for sharing! I’ve been using dairy free butter (nuttelex) due to my child’s allergies and it comes out great. I am now on the hunt for more spelt flour recipes.
Camilla
Excellent Jen, I love this recipe too. I have a lot of recipes that use spelt which you can find here! https://www.fabfood4all.co.uk/?s=spelt
Katherine
I just made this yummy ‘bread’ this morning in northern Norway. It’s still warm but already missing several slices (some with butter and others with almond butter)! I made a few alterations. I halved the amount of sugar to 100g, reduced Spelt flour to 140g and then made up to 170g with almond flour, instead of 1 Tbs of vanilla extract I used 1 tsp vanilla sugar (popular here) and 1 tsp pure vanilla extract, I added the zest of one large orange and a pinch of freshly ground cardamom. My very ripe bananas were defrosted from the freezer. I used organic butter. I baked it for 53 minutes to an internal temp of 99 degrees Celsius. Thanks so much for sharing this recipe. I will be making this again and again I’m sure. It is only the second time I’ve used spelt flour.
Camilla
Fabulous, great to make the recipe with your own twist. I also canabalized Sophie’s recipe to make this Avocado Cake:-) https://www.fabfood4all.co.uk/easy-ginger-avocado-cake-with-lemon-drizzle/
Maureen
I only had 2 bananas and used rice malt syrup instead of sugar. It came out perfect for me. Thank you for the recipe. I did take a picture but can’t upload it.
Camilla
Great Maureen, yes it’s an easy recipe to scale up and down.
Natasha
Loved the recipe!
I used 100 g of sugar instead of 200 but added two table spoons of manuka honey and walnuts. Yum!
Would definitely recommend. Very moist and delicious.
Camilla
Excellent Natasha, I bet those additions tasted amazing!
Freda
This is an excellent recipe. I adapted it slightly, I almost always reduce the sugar in recipes and in this case, reduced it to 120g. I also added some chopped up 80% dark chocolate to the mixture – about 50g to the mixture itself and another 10g dotted on top.
Took about 55 minutes in my Neff Circotherm at 160 degrees, I think I will reduce the temperature a bit next time as the top was a bit darker than I’d like. (I’m still not totally used to the Neff oven.)
The banana bread was absolutely delicious I must say, will definitely make it again, great to have a good recipe that uses Spelt flour.
Camilla
Great Freda, I’ve taken to adding dark chocolate chips too if I have some chocolate to hand. Glad you like the recipe:-)
Suzy McGregor
This recipe I’ve now made over 8 times! It’s totally amazing. I actually use it as a base and add mixed fruit. My friends think it’s the best fruit cake they have ever had. Today I’m adding blue berries and will lop it with cream cheese icing. Spelt flour is my favourite. Thankyou so much for the interesting yummy recipes .
Camilla
So glad you like the recipe, I’ve started adding chocolate chips to it lately but the possibilities are endless and I love the sound of your cream cheese frosting:-)
Amy Woelke
Thank you for this recipe it was actually shared with me by a friend. I have to say I think my bananas were quite large but reading the comments 360 g I’ll see how much they weigh… I had no problems at all using large bananas and at the last minute I talked up some walnuts and stirred them into the pan that I had already poured the banana batter into. It came out delicious and I have one in the oven right now! Thanks from California!
Camilla
Hi Amy, so glad you like the recipe all the way over in California:-)
Amy
OK I have a quick question I love this recipe! And I have made this banana bread multiple times however this time I took it out of the pan and the bottom was stuck to the pan so I reread the directions and it says remove cool and slice… Does that mean you’re supposed to let it cool in the pan? And then we move it? Or does that mean you take it out of the oven remove it from the pan and then let it cool. So I let mine cool probably five minutes and I loosen the sides and we had to scrape all the goodness out of the bottom because we weren’t letting any of it go to waste! Or do you have another suggestion because I used A nonstick pan the one I have used previously and I also buttered it. Should I perhaps put some parchment down?… Thank you so much it’s the best recipe ever!
Camilla
Did you loosen the side with a spatula before turning out? I would leave the cake to cool in the tin for at least 10 minutes as the cake firms up as it cools. I’ve started using baking paper loaf liners which make life a lot easier, you just pop in the loaf pan and no need for any greasing, plus the loaf won’t break on tipping out.
Amy
Thank you so much for your sage advice! I will definitely try leaving it in the pan for 10 minutes (I should’ve known better!) and I’m also going to look for the loaf liners. Can’t wait to try more of your recipes
Camilla
A pleasure Amy:-)
Natalie zemmel
This is absolutely delicious! So moist and soft! Best banana cake ever and the spelt flour feels like it’s slightly more healthy… ! Thank you xx
Camilla
It’s such a good recipe isn’t it, I make it so often:-)
Tim
Loved the recipe, and have now made this several times, thanks for sharing. I have adapted it slightly and removed sugar and added honey and some fresh dates for sweetness.
Camilla
It is a great recipe isn’t it Tim! I bake it all the time and it doesn’t seem to mind which flours your throw at it which was handy when lock down was at it’s worst!
Jessica
I just want to let you know that this is hands down the BEST banana bread I have ever tasted. As soon as one batch is almost gone, I have another one in the oven ready to devour. I think I’ve made 10 so far during this quarantine. Thank you for your wonderful recipe!!
Camilla
I totally agree with you Jessica, we can’t have this banana bread enough:-)
Angela brooks
very easy to make and i lessened the sugar but added dates , nuts and seeds and spme flaxseed.
its baking now ,cant wait to east it x
Camilla
Fab Angela, great to add what you have and make it your own:-)
KerstinM
This is the best banana bread recipe I’ve ever tried! It’s utterly delicious! I’ve varied it a couple of times by adding chopped walnuts, cinnamon. coconut and swapped a bit of butter for vegetable oil and it’s come out perfect each time. I’ve never baked with spelt flour before but it’s been an absolute revelation. Am going to try it with some swirls of Nutella next…. Yum Yum!
Camilla
Excellent Kerstin, it is such a good recipe and I so wish I could get hold of some Spelt flour or any kind of flour for that matter! I resorted to making it with half Strong wholemeal and some self raising flour the other day as really craved it. I turned out fine! Love the sound of your additions!
Gaby
Love this! most banana breads don’t taste enough of bananas but this packs it in! I added cinnamon and chopped walnuts and a little less sugar – i was worried i’d mucked about with it too much but it was delicious!
Camilla
Excellent, great additions:-) I’ll be making this for my mum’s birthday tomorrow!
Anna
I had the same problem as one of the other reviewers. The cake was mushy on the inside despite cooking for longer than the recipe states.
Camilla
Hi Anna, I don’t know what to say. I make this recipe from Sophie Dahl all the time, it’s from her book. I even made it last week with strong wholemeal flour and self raising and it still came out wonderful. Perhaps an oven thermometer is the answer.
Jan Marie
Hiya! This is the first time I baked anything, so I was scared for the result. But it ended beautifully, I love your recipe. Thank you for sharing, I took a photo of it as well, though I cant post it here. Also, 200 g sugar was too much, I put 150 g, but it was still too sweet for me. So if you don’t like it to be sweet, just lessen the sugar to half.
Camilla
Great Jan. The sweetness will depend on the ripeness of your bananas:-)
Marisa Sim
My banana bread sunk and was mushy inside. I baked it longer but it was still quite mushy. What size bananas did you use? Thanks
Camilla
Hi Marisa, it’s been a while since I made this recipe from Sophie Dahl but I would use medium sized bananas. I saw someone else with the same recipe (it was released to many of us at the time) say 360g peeled weight. I hope that helps and sorry you cake sunk, it’s always worked for me and not aware of anyone else have this happen. I shall add medium bananas to the recipe though as large would be too much.
Angela
Perfect every time, the only change is that I use less sugar as the bananas are sweet and of course to reduce the calories
Camilla
Thank you Angela, great to adapt a recipe to your own needs:-)
Kelly McKee
Omg this is delicious!! My little boy devoured it
Camilla
It’s so good isn’t it! So glad he enjoyed it:-)
Heather
Hi what size or weight of bananas do you use ?
Camilla
Average size, not enormous and not tiny.
Heather
Thank you . Have just made will be making again
Camilla
Fab isn’t it. You’d probably like my mum’s Banana Cake too!https://www.fabfood4all.co.uk/banana-cake/
Adele
Omg just made this its so easy and it is delicious
Camilla
I know, such a great recipe:-) You’d probably like my mums Banana Cake too, a little more effort but so good:-) https://www.fabfood4all.co.uk/banana-cake/
Lisa Vertue
Fantastic recipe!!
Love this Banana bread and so yummy!!!
Camilla
It really is, glad you enjoyed it:-)
Laure
Best spelt Banana Bread ever 🙂 and I’ve tried a bunch!
Camilla
It is great isn’t it:-)
Joanna
Really good recipe. I used only 150grams of sugar and it was still very nice.
Camilla
Excellent, good to know:-)
Ray White
Just tried it. Fantastic!!! Thank you
Camilla
Isn’t it just, made some myself this afternoon as it’s so good and so quick and easy to make;-)
Michiemac
Going to make this and was wondering if the the amount of honey was mentioned instead of the sugar. Many thanks. M
Camilla
I’m afraid I don’t know anything about honey!
colin Anderson
looks fab and yummy
Paul Wilson
If there’s an Association of Spelt Producers, they should give you an award for promotion of spelt.
Camilla
I just laughed out loud then Paul!
Carole Cambridge
I love bananas, and this looks ultra yummy – will definitely give it a try x
Camilla
It’s so quick and easy and so very yummy:-)
William Gould
My wife’s friend is always giving us some yummy banana loaf that she makes, must try it ourselves sometime!
Ann Robinson
Banana Bread – i love it
sheila barnett
Please note the error in this recipe! Don’t put in 1 tablespoon of vanilla essence!! It will ruin your cake. The correct amount is ONE TEASPOON!
Camilla
Hi Sheila, thank you for your concern but there is no mistake here, this is Sophie Dahl’s recipe as stated.
Ellie
I’ve been looking for a good banana bread recipe, I will have to try this now, I think i’ll be having a baking weekend 🙂
bev
Looks delicious – pleased to see a review of spelt as I did wonder if it tasted any different.
rockychip
Not strictly gluten free but my sensitive tummy seems to tolerate spelt in small amounts. I made this today with half spelt and half gluten free flour and it was so yummy. Well done!
Camilla
Well we have to thank Sophi Dahl, I do love this recipe too:-)
Louise
I use honey instead of sugar for this recipe and it comes out fab and delicious every time! Each time people ask for the recipe 😉
Sarah
Hi Louise, can you tell me how much honey you used as I’d like to try this minus the refined sugar
Claire
I’ve just made this with ‘help’ from my three year old son Max. We have just finished our first slice and we love it…might be sneaking back to the kitchen for another slice. So tasty and very easy to make. This is going to be a family favourite.
Camilla
Fab, it’s one of my fav cakes too as well as my mum’s Banana Cake which I’ve also posted!
Lexi Davenport
This looks amazing! My mum loves banan bread so I’ll have to surprise her with this.
Camilla
Ooh it’s so good:-)
Paul Wilson
Spelt gives a nice texture.
Heather Haigh
Love banana bread and that’s one cute cat. 🙂
Camilla
Thank you, cat becoming a photo diva LOL:-)
Maya Russell
I wouldn’t have thought spelt flour would have made much of a difference, but it obviously does. Thanks for the recipe!
Ursula Hunt
I have been looking for a good banana bread recipe so will give this a try – thank you
Claire Toplis
I am only just getting into baking and cooking really.
This looks such a simple dish that I am even sure I could manage it.
Camilla
Exacty – report back one you’ve made it, I’d love to see – oh and cat has to be in pic:-)
Chris
Did the cat enjoy eating that lovely bread? Might need to give it a go one day …
Lisa Williams
Looks so delicious and the picture with kitty is brilliant 🙂
Camilla
Aah thank you:-)
The Kitchenmaid
I have four bananas and a bag of spelt – I’m in! I I haven’t had much luck making actual (that’s is, yeasted) bread with spelt flour, but baking with it seems really easy. And it’s nice to feel like you’re doing good while eating what is essentially cake, isn’t it?! Thanks so much for the recipe.
Camilla
Thank you and as cakes go this one is quite healthy as most of the fat is provided by the bananas and with all the extra vitamins and minerals in the spelt it’s even better:-)
Elizabeth
Sounds lovely! I’ve never used spelt flour before either. I looked for it my supermarket the other day but I didn’t see it. Please do share your recipe with the No Waste Food Challenge this month!
Camilla
You can get Sharpham Park products in Waitrose and I’ve heard Sainsbury’s do spelt too, not sure about the other supermarkets! This banana loaf is going to be made by me forever it’s a real winner:-)
tinkertink2010
That looks yummy – great way to use up bananas which we always have excess of! xoxo
Laura Loves Cakes
That’s quite an endorsement if this is the best banana bread you’ve ever tasted…may have to keep this recipe for future use! The cat does indeed look impressed too! 🙂
Camilla
Well I’m careful with my words as my mum’s Banana Cake is still the best cake, but this bread is the best bread I’ve ever tasted. Have made many different ones over the years but these two are the keepers!The best thing about this recipe is that it uses lots of bananas up and its a doddle to make:-) I’m sure my cat would indeed have liked a nibble:-)
Fiona Maclean
Cats need to be in ALL food photography from now on;)
It does look good. I’m still procrastinating here on what to make with my spelt!
Camilla
You’re right Fiona but as cats have very much a mind of their own we’ll have to leave it to them to decide eh! Good luck with your spelt baking:-)
Jacqueline @How to be a Gourmand
Oh Camilla – your cat’s face says it all – so funny! I agree spelt flour seems to be trending at the moment. Glad you could put it to good use in this delicious looking banana bread.
Camilla
Thanks Jacqueline I have well and truly been initiated and am excited to see what else I can make with spelt:-) My cat is funny and I’m sure she’d have had a nibble if I’d let her!