I tried 7 different banana bread recipes and have concluded that this one is the best by far. It was quite interesting and fun. Here’s what I learned: Adding coconut flour gives the bread an odd consistency and adds nothing to the ultimate result. Using only baking soda and no baking powder, like many recipes call for, results in a denser and less appealing bread. 2 eggs instead of 3 also result in denser and slightly gummy bread. Eliminating the yogurt works, but the bread isn’t quite as tangy and moist.
In my wheat and gluten eating days I baked many a banana bread. I think that this wheat-free option rivals the best of them. I really don’t believe I’m being wishful thinking or forgetting.
Bananas have quite a bit of sugar and carbs in them. So it’s not really proper to call this “low carb” for that reason. But, I did want to let people know that this recipe is low carb compared to a recipe that uses wheat flour. I could have called it “lower carb” but I figured that anyone googling a low carb banana bread would search for “low carb” not “lower carb.”
And, a word on sweeteners – Hawaii has these great little bananas called “apple bananas” (see note at bottom of recipe). They are sweeter than the big, regular bananas. Since banana sweetness varies by type and ripeness, it is difficult to give an exact measurement of how much sweetener should be used. I suggest tasting a bit of the dough to judge for yourself.
Baking is much like a science experiment; there are so many variables and the smallest variation matters. It is much more unforgiving than, say, a chicken dish with sauce. Please let me know your experience with this recipe, I would love to hear any yummy variations that you create.
- 4 regular bananas or 8 apple bananas* (see notes), divided
- 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled a little
- 3 large eggs, lightly beaten
- 1/4 cup plain full-fat yogurt
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 cups finely ground almond flour (also called almond meal), preferably
- Honeyville because it's more finely ground and works best
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 1/2 cup xylitol or a combination of 1/4 cup xylitol and 1/4 cup erythritol** (see notes, taste a bit of the dough to check sweetness and add more to taste)
- Variations: Add these things, if using, as a last step before turning the batter out into the loaf pan.
- Add 1 1/4 cup toasted, coarsely chopped walnuts
- 1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips (contain sugar so this will no longer be sugar-free)
- Adjust oven rack to lower middle position and preheat oven to 350°. Grease a regular 9" x 5" x 3" loaf pan with butter or coconut oil.
- In a large bowl, mash enough bananas to equal 1 1/2 cups (pour into a measuring cup to check and then add back into the bowl). You should need about 3 regular bananas or 6 apple bananas.
- Add butter, eggs, yogurt, and vanilla to bananas in bowl and stir to combine.
- Add almond flour, baking soda, baking powder, and xylitol/erythritol to bowl. With a large spatula, stir to combine well. No need to worry about over mixing since there is no gluten in the almond meal. Add walnuts and/or chocolate chips if using. Stir to combine.
- Pour batter into prepared pan. Slice remaining banana (1 regular or 2 apple bananas) into 1/4" thick rounds and lay, overlapping like shingles, on top of batter, creating 2 rows along the sides. Leave the middle open so that the bread will rise properly. This decorative step is optional.
- Bake for approximately 55 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean when inserted into the center. Let cool in pan for 10 minutes.
- Run a sharp knife around the edges of the pan and gently invert bread to remove.
- Notes:
- * Apple bananas are a variety of banana commonly found in Hawaii. They are smaller and sweeter than a regular banana. Their name comes from the supposed idea that they have a slight apple flavor. It makes no sense to me.
- ** The jury is still out on which sweetener is better for you. So I'm using some of each to hedge my bets.
Hi Janlee,
So sorry I missed your question. Something’s up with my site and it doesn’t properly show me when I have comments. I’ll answer it now – hope it’s not too late!
Yes, the recipe works great with very ripe bananas. Better even. I do the same thing you do and store them in the freezer.
So glad you and your family liked the chicken parmesan and sauce!
Thank you for letting me know and sorry again to have taken forever getting back to you.
Lisa
Hi there, I made the bread but it got very dark and sunk in the middle while still remaining uncooked…do you know what I may have done wrong?
Hi Sara,
I’m so sorry to hear that. Well…I’m not sure. Things that occur to me are that maybe your oven temperature isn’t accurate and it’s actually hotter than the dial listed? Or maybe you cooked it on an upper rack in the oven? Both of those would explain why it got really dark before it was cooked. The bread does sink in the middle a little after it’s come out of the oven and cools, due to the weight of the bananas on top.
Maybe try making it without bananas on top? I just made 2 loaves yesterday without banana on top (because I didn’t have enough bananas) and it came out fine. If you do figure it out please let me know so that I can pass the info on.
Thanks and sorry again that it didn’t work out for you.
Lisa
Oh I should have mentioned I skip the bananas on top. I’m not sure why it happened…it has nice flavour but it’s still gooey in the middle even after an extra 15 minutes. Strange. Maybe I’ll give it another go in a few days 🙂
My oven tends to run cooler…and I did middle rack. Maybe next time I’ll lower the rack even more and see if that helps.
I’m stumped.
One general trick, if you notice that the top is getting too brown but the bread or cake isn’t done yet, is to place a piece of aluminum foil on top. Don’t wrap it, just sit it on top. It will stop the browning but allow the cooking to continue.
This was delicious!! I also added some dark chocolate chips.. Yum!! Thanks for a great recipe!
Really glad you enjoyed it!
Hello; Lisa.
Let me tell you that your recipe is now a staple in my kitchen.
DELICIOUSNESS!!!
I want to make some observations:
I have made this bread twice.
First time; I used 1/2 cup of honey as a sweetener. It worked pretty good.
Second time; I used 1/2 cup of almond butter instead of unsalted butter and 1/2 cup of honey as a sweetener. It was DELICIOUS!
Thanks so much for this recipe.
Hi! I recently started eating low-carb, and just over a year ago my S.O. was diagnosed with celiac, so I was looking for a low-carb, GF banana bread recipe that uses actual bananas (rather than an extract) and found this one, which sounds great! I wanted to ask if it would be okay to use plain Greek yogurt in place of the plain full-fat yogurt. Thank you!
Hi Melanie,
Yes, plain Greek yogurt would work fine. Go for it! I’d love to hear how it turns out.
Hi! I made this today but subbed 1/4 cup organic plain kefir because I was out of yogurt. I also added about 2 teaspoons of cinnamon and two teaspoons of vanilla. I must say, it is very moist, I’m sure from all the oil in the almond flour, and very tasty. I used King Arthur Flour almond flour because it is so finely milled and used 1/4 cup Swerve (erythritol), 1/4 cup brown sugar Truvia, and 6 drops of vanilla Sweet Leaf (liquid stevia). Since I had only used three bananas it was just the right level of sweetness. I do plan to try the Honeyville almond flour in the future because I see it mentioned on so many sites. Thanks so much for taking your time to research and try different combinations until you found this one. My husband says it’s definitely a keeper!
Hi Jo,
I really happy you liked it! Thanks so much for sharing your substitutions. I’m sure other people will find that very helpful. The only reason I use Honeyville is because it’s finely milled (and they sell it at Costco). I’ve never tried King Arthur. From your description it sounds the same.
Hi, do you happen to know about how many carbs this works be? I just got diagnosed with gestational diabetes and am trying to get a variety of recipes I can use. Thanks!
I used coconut flour and the second I started stirring it seized up and is more like cookie dough….any suggestions on how to fix
it?
Hi Holly,
Sorry for the late reply. We were away with spotty internet access. Coconut flour absorbs moisture like crazy. So yes, the amount of liquid in this recipe isn’t suited to all coconut flour. It also has a totally different texture than almond meal. Honestly, when used by itself, I’m not crazy about it. So I really don’t know how to adjust the recipe for all coconut flour. I’m sorry I can’t be more helpful.
Because coconut flour absorbs a lot of liquid and changes the texture significantly, my suggestion if you really want to include coconut flour, is to only use a maximum of 1 part coconut flour to 3 parts almond flour and be prepared to add extra liquid till you get the right consistency. You will need to experiment. It’s hard to get as good a result with coconut flour as you can with almond flour.
Just made this and it was a hit! I added a tsp of cinnamon and a scoop of Enjoy Life chocolate chips. My husband loves it, he actually asked me to print the recipe so I could make it again! Very moist, almost like brownies. Mine browned on top quickly so I will try the foil next time.
Hi Danika,
That’s great that it worked out for you! Thanks for letting me know. The cinnamon sounds like good addition.
I had to chuckle when I read your commentary because I actually did search for “lower” carb banana bread. 🙂 I knew that there could not be a truly low carb banana bread so was hoping to get something close. This sounds great. Headed down to the kitchen to mix it up now! Thanks!!
That’s funny!! thanks for letting me know. Hope you like it.
For an additional rise, I think I’ll try sour cream instead of yoghurt and a dash of lemon juice and the baking soda dissolved in the sour cream. Worked on all my grandmothers banana bread recipes of which she left me like 32 or so :-).
Hi Attore,
Well that sounds interesting. Please let me know how it turns out. What a nice grandmother!
I just want to say, I’ve been trying a lot of weird low carb recipes lately (yucky biscuits, completely inedible tofu noodles…) and I was shocked that this banana bread was a complete success! Very tasty, thank you so much!
Oh and I forgot to mention I used Truvia instead of xylitol because that’s what I had. About 1.75ish tablespoons. 🙂
This is amazing! I used 1/2 cup swerve and used sour cream as I didn’t have yogurt and omg it’s yummy! Am curious what the nutrition breakdown is?
Hi Eliza,
Thanks so much! I’m sorry but I don’t know the nutrition breakdown. My next project is to add that information to all new and existing recipes.
Fabulous! Notes: I added cinnamon, too. And used 2% greek plain. My sweetener was 12 drops of Trader Joe’s stevia and a handful of Guittard Dark Chips. This is the best low(er) carb recipe I’ve made. There are nutrition calculators online…
I made this bread yesterday,it is super! Even better today!It looked a bit dark when it was done,but not a hint of a burnt taste! I am looking for some recipes ,low carb, sugar free, with coconut flour as almond flour is pretty expensive here in South-Africa. So glad I found your page ?
I’m so glad you liked it! Thanks for letting me know. I haven’t had much success with coconut flour unfortunately. I find the consistency kind of off-putting. But if you find something good I’d really appreciate knowing about it. I get such a kick out of knowing that someone in South-Africa is making my banana bread!!
Thanks for getting back to me,much appreciated.
Love this recipe. Yum! I initially used a few drops of liquid Stevia and now I don’t use any sweetener, the bananas are super ripe anyway. I do add cinnamon, just because I like it in banana bread!