This easy, sugar-free banana bread recipe is made with all-natural ingredients. It is low-calorie, low-carb, has no sugar added, and is full of flavor. Try it plain for a good snack, or add some mix-ins like walnuts, pecans, or unsweetened chocolate chips if you want something extra special.
Here is my new banana bread recipe, packed with all the flavors of traditional banana bread but guilt-free. Each slice has just 215 calories and 3.4 grams of sugar.
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With no sugar added, no natural or artificial sweeteners, and no preservatives, it is just good old-fashioned banana bread that will make you feel amazing. Plus, it only takes about 20 minutes of hands-on time.
Why you will want to make this cake
- This banana bread recipe does not use sugar or natural or artificial sweeteners. Bananas provide the right amount of sweetness.
- It is one of the best and easiest quick breads for a wonderful snack or breakfast.
- This recipe is a great solution when you have an abundance of overripe bananas.
Ingredients
For ingredients and detailed instructions, refer to the recipe card below.
- Oil: Use grapeseed oil, a neutral and flavorless option perfect for baking. Substitute it with melted coconut oil or avocado oil. Avoid olive oil: it will overpower your banana bread.
- Eggs: Use large eggs at room temperature.
- Flour: Use all-purpose flour, but replace it with whole-wheat pastry flour if desired.
- Leavening ingredients: Use baking soda and fresh aluminum-free baking powder.
- Bananas: Use yellow bananas instead of overripe ones to make low-sugar banana bread.
- Vanilla extract: This adds a lovely vanilla flavor to the bread.
- Lemon juice: Use freshly squeezed lemon juice.
How to make sugar-free banana bread
Preheat the oven to 300°F (150°C). Sift all-purpose flour, baking powder, baking soda, and cinnamon in a large bowl with a flour sifter and set aside. Butter and flour an 8 x 4.5-inch/20 x 11 cm nonstick bread pan.
To make the batter, pour grapeseed oil into a large mixing bowl. Add eggs and beat well with a hand whisk (photo 1).
In a separate medium bowl, mash the bananas with a fork. Add the banana mixture to the wet ingredients and mix.
Stir in the dry ingredients and delicately mix with a rubber spatula. Add vanilla extract and lemon juice until combined (photo 2).
Pour the batter into the prepared tin (photo 3) and refrigerate while making the streusel.
To make the streusel topping, combine all-purpose flour, almond flour, oats, and chilled butter cut into small cubes in a separate bowl. Work the crumbly dough with your hands. It should look like wet sand (photo 4).
Take the bread batter from the fridge and sprinkle the streusel on top (photo 5). Bake the banana bread in the preheated oven for 1 hour and 20 minutes (photo 6).
The bread is ready when a toothpick inserted into the center of the bread comes out clean. Let it cool in the pan for at least 10 minutes and remove it.
Take a butter knife and run it around each side to loosen up any stuck-on crumbs before carefully transferring the baked bread onto a wire rack.
Expert Tips
- Mash the bananas by using a potato masher if preferred.
- Let the bread cool down completely before slicing it.
- If you add any additional mix-ins (2 oz. or 60 g chopped walnuts, pecans, or unsweetened chocolate chips), gently fold them in at the last moment.
How to store it
Store it at room temperature for a couple of days or in the fridge for 5 to 7 days.
Freeze it for up to 3 months. Slice the bread before freezing, wrap individual slices, and freeze. To thaw the slices, bring them to the counter, let them rest at room temperature, or lightly toast them.
Love low-carb desserts? Try these next!
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PrintRecipe card
No Sugar Added Banana Bread
This easy, sugar-free banana bread recipe is perfect for kids and adults. It is low-calorie, low-carb, has no sugar added, and is full of flavor.
- Total Time: 1 hour, 40 minutes
- Yield: 12 1x
- Category: No-sugar-added Desserts
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Ingredients
For the bread batter:
- ½ cup (110 g) grapeseed oil
- 2 eggs, room temperature
- 1 ⅔ cup + 4 tablespoons (240 g) all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 10.5 oz. (300 g) bananas, mashed
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
For the streusel topping:
- 2 ½ tablespoons (20 g) all-purpose flour
- 3 ½ tablespoons (20 g) almond flour
- 3 tablespoons + 1 teaspoon (20 g) quick oats
- 1 ½ tablespoons (20 g) salted butter chilled
*Don't you have the correct baking pan on hand right now? Try this simple Cake Pan Converter!
**If needed, please refer to Baking Conversion Charts.
Instructions
-
Preheat the oven to 300°F (150°C). Sift all-purpose flour, baking powder, baking soda, and cinnamon in a large bowl with a flour sifter and set aside. Butter and flour an 8 x 4.5-inch/20 x 11 cm nonstick bread pan.
-
To make the batter, pour grapeseed oil into a large mixing bowl. Add eggs and beat well with a hand whisk. In a separate medium bowl, mash bananas with a fork. Add the banana mixture to the wet ingredients and mix. Stir in the dry ingredients and delicately mix with a rubber spatula. Add vanilla extract and lemon juice and mix until combined. Pour the batter into the prepared tin and refrigerate while making the streusel.
-
To make the streusel topping in a separate bowl, place all-purpose flour, almond flour, oats, and chilled butter cut into small cubes. Make the crumbly dough with your hands. It has to look like wet sand. Take the bread batter from the fridge and sprinkle the streusel on top. Bake banana bread in the preheated oven for 1 hour and 20 minutes.
-
The bread is ready when a toothpick inserted into the center of the bread comes out clean. Let it cool in the pan for at least 10 minutes and remove it. Take a butter knife and run it around each side to loosen up any stuck-on crumbs before carefully transferring the bread onto a wire rack.
Notes
- Mash the bananas by using a potato masher if preferred.
- Let the bread cool down completely before slicing it.
- If you are adding any additional mix-ins (2 oz. or 60 g chopped walnuts, pecans, or unsweetened chocolate chips), gently fold them in at the last moment.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 slice
- Calories: 215
- Sugar: 3.4 g
- Sodium: 126 mg
- Fat: 11.7 g
- Saturated Fat: 2.1 g
- Carbohydrates: 24.2 g
- Fiber: 1.7 g
- Protein: 4 g
- Cholesterol: 31 mg
The nutritional information has been calculated using an online recipe nutrition calculator such as Verywellfit.com and is intended for informational purposes only. These figures should be used as a general guideline and not be construed as a guarantee.
Ana F. says
I can't believe how quick this Banana bread came together! The texture was just perfect too. Thanks for the recipe!
Irina says
You are very welcome, Ana. And thanks for making the recipe!!
Mairead says
Love the streusel topping on this banana bread and how the bananas do all the work to sweeten this delicious bread.
Cate says
Love this banana bread recipe, so fluffy and just sweet enough!
Lauren Michael Harris says
I have some bananas in the freezer that I needed to use up. I love that this recipe is low in sugar but still very tasty!
Irina says
Thank you so much for being interested in the recipe, Lauren! Happy baking!!
Cathleen says
Every year I make the New Years resolution of eating less sugar, and every year I fail at it haha. This bread is the perfect way to keep me on track 🙂
Doris says
Can I substitute with almond flour?
Irina says
Hello Doris, You can replace all-purpose flour with almond flour in the streusel recipe but not in the cake batter.
Linda says
This banana bread is fantastic but I had a problem with the topping. There was too much and it was too dry. It just fell of the loaf when I took it out of the oven. Any suggestions?
Irina says
Hello Linda, thank you for making the recipe. Streusel, aka crumble topping, is supposed to be dry and crunchy. Next time, try to decrease the amount of ingredients by 25% and slightly press it to the batter before baking. Finally, you can experiment with other types of streusel by downloading my streusel recipe template from here: https://www.bakinglikeachef.com/streusel-topping-recipe/. Hope this helps!
Amanda says
I have been hunting high and low for a recipe just like this, so thank you very much. My husband is diabetic and does not like artificial sweeteners. This was perfect as there is nothing but pure simple ingredients. I did not make the topping, as we are not topping people 🙂 Thanks again,
Susan says
What can be substituted for grape seed oil?
Irina says
Vegetable oil. It should be flavorless as possible.
T Smith says
This is the perfect Banana Bread for a diabetic. We just tried it and my husband approves. So easy to make and it's delicious. I did use Coconut oil and it's great!
Jean says
Hi, Can substitute butter or Ghee for the oil?
Irina says
Hello Jean, I have never tried to replace butter with oil while making the streusel. Just omit the crumble topping in this case. Happy baking!
Deborah Millman says
Can I use applesauce in place of oil?
Irina Totterman says
Hello Deborah, I know about a 1:1 applesauce replacement for oil, but I haven't tried it. So, unfortunately, I cannot suggest this in the recipe for 100%.
Tina S says
Very good I made it and the taste is delicious. I used applesauce for the oil. I added 2 tablespoon of flaxseed. I didn't make the topping being diabetic I didn't want the carbs. I will make this again, it is a treat.
Anne says
I skipped the topping and sprinkled a light coating of Turbinado sugar. Missed the sugar a little so it added a nice slight sweet crunch. This was easy and tasty.
Thanks.
Irina Totterman says
Thanks for making the recipe and a little twist, Anne!
Michele Cusac says
But how many bananas equals 300 grams?
Irina Totterman says
Hello Michele, One peeled banana roughly weighs 116g, but bananas vary in size. That is why I always use a digital scale for baking.
George McMahill says
On your flour measurement, 4 tablespoons is the same as 1/4 of a cup.
Irina Totterman says
Hello George, Yes, a quarter cup of all-purpose flour contains 4 tablespoons. Please let me know if there’s any confusion with the recipe ingredients. I’m here to help!