Sweet Potato Banana Bread

Super moist texture, the perfect balance of natural sweetness, and studded with chocolate chips, this sweet potato banana bread is quick to become a favorite. Easy to make and lighter on sugar than most banana bread recipes. Perfect for a healthier dessert or fun snack option.

Banana bread. It’s a classic. Through and through and loved by (pretty much) everyone.

It also not above being veggie-loaded.

Are you doubting me? My Carrot Banana Bread is, hands down, a reader favorite (their kids love it too!) and the perfect example of how adding veggies to a beloved, classic recipe can help you:

1) eat move veggies without even really noticing it

2) have a positive experience with a veggie that, maybe, you don’t think you are all that fond of and help you realize that maybe, in fact, you do like it in some ways…

How does this banana bread fit into the veggie-loaded approach?

If you follow me on Instagram, you know I talk a lot about the key to learning to love your vegetables is trying them in lots of different ways. I believe this. I have tried this. I live it every day. I am living proof. So is my daughter. And husband. And seeing how preschool students I had for many years who helped me cook up some of my first veggie-loaded recipes (like Oatmeal Green Smoothie Muffins) responded to vegetables after some time with the veggie-loaded approach made me a believer in this method.

And helping all of YOU and your crew love your veggies is my why behind every single recipe I create.

This bread is sweet and fluffy and full of banana goodness just like you want out of banana bread. But it also has sweet potatoes who are (true to their name) naturally sweet like bananas and also happen to be a vegetable.

But because sweet potatoes ARE a vegetable, some people automatically write them off.

Or some people are just downright iffy about the taste of them. My daughter being one. She is not big on sweet potatoes in their natural form. Sweet potato fries or roasted sweet potatoes at dinner do nothing for her. But in this bread. WOW, she loves sweet potatoes.

But the veggie-loaded approach is about so much more than JUST getting your kid, your partner, or even you to eat more veggies. It is about teaching that veggies can be eaten in LOTS of different ways. Some ways you’ll love. Some ways you won’t. And that is okay!

The point of the veggie-loaded approach is to help you (or whoever you are trying to inspire to love their veggies) is open your mind to trying veggies in lots of ways and having a positive relationship with them instead of them feeling like a chore in your goal of being “healthy”.

The getting more veggies in is totally the goal, but the journey to that place is so much more important.

This sweet potato banana bread is so so so good because…

• Perfectly sweet. Without overdoing it! Ripe bananas and the natural sweetness from the sweet potatoes bring the perfect balance that you only need a little honey or maple syrup. And the chocolate chips make it next level yum!
• Moist. It almost melts in your mouth.
• Easy to make! Blend up the wet ingredients for an extra smooth bread and dump it into your dry. Mix and bake. So easy!
• Sweet potatoes. If you follow the veggie-loaded approach, this banana bread is a great way to not only add sweet potatoes to your diet, but to also give an iffy sweet potato eater a positive experience with those orange spuds! My daughter isn’t a fan of roasted sweet potatoes but loves this bread. She will hold onto the memory that she “sometimes likes sweet potatoes because I liked that sweet potato bread mom made” and be open to trying sweet potatoes in new and different place….even if she doesn’t like sweet potatoes in all ways, she is exploring ways she does like them.
• Perfect as a healthier dessert or fun snack. Heck, you could even call it breakfast. Yum!

Tips and tricks for making this sweet potato bread

• Make sure the bananas are ripe. For best results, your bananas should be brown and spotty. As bananas ripen they get sweeter and softer, making them perfect for banana baked goods…like these sweet potato bread!
• Let the loaf cool in pan for at least 20 minutes. Baked goods continue to bake even after they are removed from the oven and will firm up as they sit. Removing this banana bread to early from the pan might make it lose its shape.
• Use parchment paper to line your loaf pan. I love this brand because it is compostable and find its the best for leaving your loaf pan as clean as possible and easily peeling off of your sweet potato bread. Another option is generously grease your loaf pan with some spray or your favorite cooking oil so there is minimal sticking.

How to store this banana bread

I highly suggest storing this loaf in an airtight container or large bag (I use these) in your refrigerator. Because its are so moist and full of banana and sweet potato goodness, storing it in the refrigerator will keep fresh for as long as possible and prevent mold from eating your bread before you get to! Yikes 😬

Also, you can freeze this sweet potato bread. Either slice it so you can enjoy it by the slice whenever you want or freeze the loaf to defrost and share later on! I like to store this in a large freezer bag or freezer-safe large container.

To defrost, I like to take it out of the freezer and leave it on the counter to thaw overnight.

Suggested adaptations

• Omit chocolate chips. Or just sprinkle a few on top for a boost of fun.
• Add chopped nuts to the batter. I think chopped pecans or walnuts would be magical in this sweet potato banana bread.
• Bake as muffins at the same temperature as directed for about 20-23 minutes.
• Replace the sweet potato with butternut squash puree or even pumpkin puree. I find these three orange veggies very interchangeable in many recipes.
• Sub banana with unsweetened applesauce if you are not a banana fan or simply don’t have any ripe fruits on hand.
• Make it gluten free by replacing the flour with a gluten free cup-for-cup flour. I like this one.

More sweet potato recipes that you simply must try!

• Instant Pot Sweet Potatoes
• Sweet Potato Peanut Butter Muffins
• Healthy Blueberry Sweet Potato Bread
• Easy Sweet Potato Cookies
• Baked Apple Sweet Potato Oatmeal
• Sweet Potato Apple Sausage Skillet
• Sheet Pan Sausage and Veggies
• Instant Pot Black Bean & Sweet Potato Chili

Did you try this sweet potato banana bread and now you’re hungry for more? 

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