Flaxseed Banana Bread – Fiber & Omega 3

This flaxseed banana bread recipe uses ripe bananas & golden flaxseeds to create a delicious banana bread with extra fiber and omega-3.

Ground flaxseed is a good source of insoluble & soluble fiber. Because of this high fiber content, many people like to eat baked goods with ground flaxseed for “digestive” reasons… if you know what I mean!

Sliced Flaxseed Banana Bread

Recipe Sections

1. Ingredients
2. Instructions
3. Helpful Tips

Flaxseed banana bread is perfect for people who want extra fiber but dislike the taste of whole wheat. Unlike whole wheat flour, ground flaxseeds do not have a very distinct flavor. Some people think that golden flaxseeds have a slightly nutty taste. Others (like myself) think that ground flaxseed has very little flavor. Therefore, ground flaxseed is a wonderful fiber addition to baked goods because it does not distort the flavor of the recipe.

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 Cups – Mashed Bananas – 345 grams – Equals roughly 3 large bananas.
• 2 – Large Eggs
• 1/2 Cup – Vegetable Oil – 115 milliliters – Use a neutral tasting vegetable oil such as corn or canola.
• 1/2 Cup – White Granulated Sugar – 100 grams
• 1/2 Cup – Light Brown Sugar (packed) – 107 grams
• 1/2 Cup – Ground Golden Flaxseeds – 55 grams
• 1 1/2 Cups – All Purpose Flour – 180 grams
• 1 Teaspoon – Vanilla Extract – 5 milliliters
• 1 Teaspoon – Baking Soda – 5 grams
• 1 Teaspoon – Baking Powder – 4 grams
• 1/2 Teaspoon – Salt – 3 grams
• Optional – 1 Cup of Chopped Walnuts – 115 grams – Chopped walnuts will add extra fiber to this banana bread. See the tips section below for more info.
• Optional – 1 Teaspoon – Ground Cinnamon – 3 grams – Some people really like to add ground cinnamon to the batter, especially if their bananas are not super ripe.

Servings – Roughly 12 slices

Equipment Needed – Measuring cup & spoons, mixing bowl, long wooden spoon, 9 by 5 inch metal bread pan, oven mitts, silicon spatula, cooling rack and an oven.

Key Ingredients – Ground Golden Flaxseed & Ripe Bananas

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (163 C).
• Mash the bananas with a fork.
• Lightly beat the eggs.
• In a large mixing bowl, add the mashed bananas, eggs, vegetable oil and sugar together. Stir until thoroughly mixed.
• Then stir in the ground flaxseed. Stir until thoroughly mixed.
• Mix in the remaining ingredients (except the optional nuts). Stir until the batter is fully mixed. Do not overmix this section (with the flour addition) or the banana bread can come out gummy. Therefore, you should NOT use an electric mixer, etc.
• Optional – After the batter is fully mixed, add 1 cup of chopped walnuts (if desired). FYI – I like to mix 3/4 of the chopped walnuts into the batter and sprinkle the remaining 1/4 of the chopped walnuts on top of the batter after it has been poured into the bread pan (in order to make a “crunchy” banana bread topping).
• Pour the finished batter into a nonstick bread pan. Smooth out the top of the batter within the bread pan.
• Bake in the oven at 325 degrees F (163 C) for 65-70 minutes.
• Take bread pan out of the oven and let the banana bread cool down in the bread pan for 10 minutes. Use oven mitts as the bread pan will be very hot coming out of the oven.
• Do not remove the banana bread from the bread pan during this 10 minute cool down period. This finishes the baking process.
• After 10 minutes, remove the banana bread from the bread pan. Place the banana bread on a wire cooling rack in order to completely cool. This cool down may take 1-2 hours. Gently slide a silicon spatula between the banana bread and the bread pan walls if the banana bread is stuck in the pan.
• Please read the tips section below for extra information on how to make this recipe successfully & to avoid common banana bread problems.

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Flaxseed Banana Bread Batter – You can see the tiny flaxseed “shreds” floating in the batter

Helpful Tips

• The tips below are designed to help banana bread “novices” and/or people with limited baking experience.
• Click on this “print recipe” link if you want to print out this recipe. It includes all of the recipe’s ingredients and instructions. However, the recipe print function does not include our tips section. Please read the tips section in order to avoid common recipe problems.
• Warning – Do not add the optional chopped walnuts if anyone who might eat this banana bread has peanut and/or tree nut allergies. Always check with your family and guests for potential food allergies.
• This recipe is part of Bread Dad’s series on easy Banana Bread Recipes such as walnut banana bread, chocolate chip banana bread, Greek yogurt banana bread and blueberry banana bread.

• Use RIPE bananas for the best results!! If you use unripe green or hard yellow bananas, your banana bread might come out bland (with little banana flavor). Unripe bananas have more starch and less sugar than ripe bananas. The natural sweetness of ripe bananas works best when making banana bread recipes. Ripe bananas are SOFT and have many small brown & black spots on the exterior of the yellow banana peel.
• Measure your mashed bananas with a measuring cup. Use exactly 1 1/2 cups of mashed bananas in order to avoid any recipe problems (so the banana bread is not too dry or too wet). FYI – 3 large-sized bananas equal roughly 1 1/3 to 1 2/3 cups of mashed bananas (not sliced bananas). If you have any leftover mashed bananas (after measuring the 1 1/2 cups), you can freeze the mashed bananas for later use.
• You should use a NEUTRAL flavored vegetable oil (i.e. corn or canola oil) in order to make this yogurt banana bread recipe. Stronger flavored oils (i.e. peanut oil or olive oil) may negatively impact the banana bread taste.
• FYI – Banana breads made with vegetable oil tend to taste a little moister than banana breads made with butter. The main reason is because vegetable oil remains liquid at room temperature whereas butter turns back to a solid at room temperature. Therefore, the use of vegetable oil helps to create an extra moist banana bread.

• This is NOT a keto recipe. My flaxseed banana bread recipe is made with regular all purpose flour and ground flaxseeds. FYI – The keto diet is a specialized very low carb diet and regular wheat-based flour is usually part of a keto diet plan.
• Use FRESH ground flaxseed. After you have opened a bag of ground flaxseed, the ground flaxseed can go rancid (bad) quickly. Do not use old ground flaxseed that has been sitting in your pantry in an already opened bag.
• Once the ground flaxseed package has been opened, you should store the ground flaxseed in an airtight container in your refrigerator or freezer. According to Wikipedia, “ground flax seed meal, because of oxidation, may go rancid when left exposed to air at room temperature in as little as a week”.
• If you like flaxseed (and want some fiber in your sandwiches), you should also try my oven-baked Flaxseed Bread recipe. It produces a soft sandwich bread with extra fiber.
• Or if you want to make more banana breads with extra fiber, you should check out my recipes for Chai Seed Banana Bread and Whole Wheat Chocolate Chip Banana Bread.

• As I said at the top of the page, some people think that golden flaxseeds have a slightly nutty taste. Others (like myself) think that ground flaxseed has very little flavor. Therefore, ground flaxseed is a wonderful fiber addition to baked goods because I find that it does not distort the flavor of the recipe.
• However, if the flaxseeds smell bad or fishy in the package, they have gone rancid. Do not use the flaxseed and throw it out.
• Optional – After mixing the batter, you can stir in 1 cup of chopped walnuts, chocolate chips, dried cranberries, etc. FYI – Chopped walnuts are an easy way to add some more fiber to this flaxseed banana bread. 1 cup of chopped walnuts has roughly 8 or 9 grams of fiber.
• Optional – Adding 1 teaspoon of ground cinnamon to the batter can be a great help if your bananas are not totally ripe (because the cinnamon helps to “hide” any missing banana flavor).
• Visitors – What do you like to add to your flaxseed banana bread? Do you add chopped nuts? Chocolate chips? Blueberries? Dried fruit? Coconut shreds? Extra spices? Leave your flaxseed banana bread ideas & suggestions in the comment section below.

• If you do not have ground golden flaxseed, you can use ground brown flaxseed. However, the flaxseed banana bread will be much darker in color.
• According to the WebMD article Benefit of Flaxseed, “Milled = ground = flax meal. Don’t be confused by the different product names for ground flaxseed. Milled or ground flaxseed is the same thing as flax meal. Buy either brown or golden flaxseed. Golden flaxseed is easier on the eyes, but brown flaxseed is easier to find in most supermarkets. There is very little difference nutritionally between the two, so the choice is up to you.”
• Do not use flaxseed that has not been “ground” up. Or you will be eating full seeds and you will get very little of the flaxseed benefit because the fiber, etc. will be encased in a hard seed shell (which is hard to digest).
• I like to use Bob’s Red Mill Golden Flaxseed Meal when making this banana bread. I like how it looks & tastes and how the seeds are finely ground (because some ground flaxseed products contain some “full” seeds that have not been properly shredded). FYI – I am not sponsored by Bob’s Red Mill. I just like their golden flaxseed meal product. You can find other good substitutes online or at major supermarkets.
• Visitors – Why do you like to add ground flaxseed to your baked goods? For extra fiber? Omega-3? Please leave your flaxseed thoughts in the comment section below.

• According to Wikipedia, flaxseeds “contain high levels (20% or more of the Daily Value, DV) of protein, dietary fiber, several B vitamins, and dietary minerals. Flax seeds are especially rich in thiamine, magnesium, and phosphorus (DVs above 90%). As a percentage of total fat, flax seeds contain 54% omega-3 fatty acids”.
• Some people like to eat ground flaxseed in order to improve their digestive health and/or to relieve constipation. Flaxseed bread is consumed because it is seen as a high fiber bread.
• One tablespoon of ground flaxseed contains contains roughly 2 grams of dietary fiber. In contrast, regular bread flour & all purpose flour usually has only 2-4 grams fiber per cup. So flaxseed is often used as an easy way to add fiber to baked goods (i.e. breads & muffins).
• For more information on ground flaxseed fiber benefits, you might like to read this Mayo Clinic article called “Does ground flaxseed have more health benefits than whole flaxseed?“.

• Use FRESH ingredients (i.e. baking soda and flour) for the best results. For example, if you use stale baking soda and/or baking powder, your banana bread will not rise properly and will be too dense. Baking soda & powder is best if used within 6 months of opening the container. Using baking soda from an open container (that has been deodorizing your refrigerator for months) may lead to subpar results. Old & hard baking soda/powder may lead to rising problems and/or leave small bitter clumps in your banana bread.
• Old flour can affect the taste of banana bread. Old flour can spoil and taste bitter, sour, musty, etc. Banana bread made with old flour does not taste great!
• Try to keep your ingredients (e.g. flour) in airtight food containers in order to extend their shelf life and avoid spoilage (e.g. exposure to moisture, pests and dust).
• Flour (if stored in an open bag and not in an airtight container) can absorb a lot of moisture from the air. This extra moisture throws off recipes and can lead to banana bread collapses, etc.

• Do not overmix the batter or your yogurt banana bread will come out dense and gummy. I never use an an electric mixer when making banana bread. It is too easy to overmix the batter with an electric mixer. Stick with a large spoon when mixing your banana bread batter.
• Don’t worry of the top of your finished banana bread has some cracks. Most banana breads crack on the top due to the rapid rising baking soda/powder. This is perfectly normal for banana breads and doesn’t impact the taste. If you don’t believe me… take a look at banana bread pictures online and most will have cracks in the top of the banana bread.

• This doesn’t happen often but if the top of the banana bread looks too moist or under cooked, you should try the “toothpick test”. Gently push a wooden toothpick or wooden skewer into the top of the bread and see if any batter sticks to the toothpick. If batter is sticking to the toothpick then it hasn’t completely cooked. Place the bread pan back into the still hot oven for another 3 to 5 minutes. Make sure to wear oven gloves because the bread pan will be very hot. After the 3 to 5 minutes, remove the bread pan and test the banana bread again with a toothpick.
• Instead of the “toothpick test”, some people like to use a bread thermometer to test if their banana bread is done. Generally, a “quick bread” (e.g. banana bread or pumpkin bread) is done when the internal temperature reaches 200-205 degrees F. Just make sure to measure the temperature in the center of the loaf for the most accurate reading.
• My recipe use a slightly lower temperature (and thus a slightly longer baking time) than many of my peers’ banana bread recipes. Why? Because the lower temp results in a softer & more tender banana bread. Moreover, the lower temp reduces the potential for an over-baked crust and/or an overly dry banana bread.

• To prevent your banana bread from sticking to the bottom of the bread pan, you should consider either “greasing” the bottom of the pan with butter or vegetable oil, using a cooking spray, using a nonstick pan or lining the interior of the bread pan with baking parchment paper.
• However, don’t grease the bread pan near the top of the pan. There will be nothing for batter to cling to as it rises. This could cause the bread top to collapse as it rises.
• Baking parchment paper is probably the best solution to prevent sticking (especially if you are using really sticky ingredients such as chocolate chips or fresh cranberries). It also allows you to lift the banana bread out of the pan without disturbing the top of the banana bread… in case you have added any special ingredients (such as chopped nuts or chocolate chips) to the top of the banana bread.
• FYI – Baking parchment paper is NOT regular paper. It is a specialty paper designed for use with baking.

• Make sure that your oven has been completely preheated. If the oven has not been properly preheated, this quick bread could come out undercooked.
• It takes roughly 10-20 minutes to preheat most ovens with some variability due to the size of the oven, planned baking temperature (hotter takes longer), etc.
• If your oven does not have a built-in thermometer, you can buy an inexpensive hanging oven thermometer that you can place inside your oven (in order to correctly gauge the temperature & see if the oven has been preheated to the correct temperature). Moreover, some built-in oven gauges can be 25-50 degrees different than the actual temperature inside the oven. For the best results, you should know the actual temperature inside your oven (as this reduces the potential for over or undercooked baked products).
• Please use the suggested 9 x 5 inch metal bread pan to make this recipe. If you start using different sized pans, there is a greater potential for bread top collapses (potentially less bread pan “wall” support for the quick bread as it rises), different interior batter to exterior bread ratios (thus the need for different baking time lengths), smaller pans are more likely to overflow, etc.

• If you have a problem with a banana bread recipe, please make sure that you are following the recipe exactly (i.e. using the correct oven temperature), using the correct amounts of ingredients (i.e. don’t eyeball the measurements versus using a measuring cup or accidentally add a tablespoon when a teaspoon is called for), using the correct ingredients (i.e. baking soda/powder versus yeast or all purpose flour versus bread flour), etc. Please don’t “wing” things with recipes.
• Always wear oven mitts/gloves when dealing with a hot oven and bread pan.
• For more banana bread ideas (i.e. chocolate chip banana bread, vegan banana bread or blueberry banana bread), please visit Bread Dad’s main Banana Bread Recipes or Quick Bread Recipes sections.

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Reference Sources

1. Wikipedia, Banana Bread
2. Wikipedia, Flax

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