This No-Sugar Banana Bread is flavorful with a tender crumb and a sticky top crust. In short, it’s got the key hallmarks of banana bread, with no added sugar OR dairy!
Our Go-To Healthy Banana Bread
It seems that avoiding added processed sugars has become everyone’s business. This healthy, sugar-free banana bread is here to make that goal a little bit easier. This isn’t a low sugar banana bread, it’s a no sugar added, dairy-free banana bread!
Baking for dietary restrictions can also seem like an endless hallway of doors for adjustments, tweaks, and substitutes. I’ve been tweaking and testing this banana bread for years, and recently I reached a point where Bill declared my recipe to be good enough for print! So I’m sharing my definitive healthy Banana Bread recipe to take the guesswork out!
Is it really “sugar-free”?
Of course, it’s important to note, the resulting banana bread does contain sugar content, but it only comes from whole fruits instead of cane sugar, honey, or agave syrup, supporting a gradual rise in blood sugar instead of a big spike.
How to make a healthier banana bread:
- Instead of added sugar, we use extra banana and a blend of no-sugar added raisins and medjool dates to give the banana bread a natural sweetness.
- Cinnamon and vanilla extract offer plenty of flavor.
- This is also an olive oil banana bread—instead of milk, butter, or sour cream, we use olive oil as a healthy fat source.
There’s no mixer needed for this Banana Bread. It’s quick to whip it up in a bowl with the cooking tools you already have: a fork, whisk, and a rubber spatula!
Additional toppings and add-ins:
Feel free to add chopped walnuts or pecans, toasted coconut flakes, and/or dark chocolate chips into your banana bread. (Keep in mind that dark chocolate contains a small amount of milk fat to stabilize the chocolate).
I like to sprinkle these over the top of the batter before baking instead of stirring them in so I can really get a taste!
No Sugar Banana Bread Recipe Instructions
Position a rack in the center of your oven, and preheat it to 325°F/160°C.
In a medium bowl, measure out the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt. In separate a small bowl, beat the eggs for a good 2 minutes, until they are very runny and run easily off your fork or whisk.
Use a fork to mash the bananas in a large bowl. Add the beaten eggs, olive oil, vanilla, and the finely chopped dried fruit. Mix until well-combined.
Sift the dry ingredients in the wet mixture. Use a rubber spatula to fold the dry ingredients into the batter. Fold until there are no large streaks of flour, taking care not to over-mix.
Generously grease a 9×5-inch loaf pan with olive oil. Pour the batter into the loaf pan, using the rubber spatula to level it out. Bake for 55-60 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center of the loaf comes out clean, or an instant read thermometer inserted into the center of the loaf registers 200-205°F/93-96°C.
Cool for 30 minutes before removing it from the loaf pan. Once cooled, keep it covered so that the top crust can get a little bit sticky. A cake plate with a cover or a loose covering of plastic wrap both work well. This banana bread is even better in appearance and taste the next day, so if you can wait and let it sit covered on the counter overnight, you’ll be glad you did!
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Recipe
No Sugar Banana Bread
Ingredients
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 2 large eggs (at room temperature)
- 4 very ripe large bananas
- ⅔ cup olive oil (plus more to grease the loaf pan)
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- ⅓ cup 50g raisins + 2 large (50g) medjool dates (finely chopped, or simply ½ cup/80g raisins)
Instructions
- Position a rack in the center of your oven, and preheat it to 325°F/160°C.
- In a medium bowl, measure out the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt. In separate a small bowl, beat the eggs for a good 2 minutes, until they are very runny and run easily off your fork or whisk.
- In a large bowl, use a fork to mash the bananas until there are no visible chunks. Add the beaten eggs, olive oil, vanilla, and the finely chopped dried fruit. Mix until well-combined.
- Sift the dry ingredients in the wet mixture. Use a rubber spatula to fold the dry ingredients into the batter until there are no large streaks of flour, taking care not to overmix.
- Generously grease a 9×5-inch loaf pan with olive oil. Pour the batter into the loaf pan, using the rubber spatula to level it out. Bake for 55-60 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center of the loaf comes out clean, or an instant read thermometer inserted into the center of the loaf registers 200-205°F/93-96°C
- Cool for 30 minutes before removing it from the loaf pan. Once cooled, keep it covered so that the top crust can get a little bit sticky. A cake plate with a cover or a loose covering of plastic wrap both work well. This banana bread is even better in appearance and taste the next day, so if you can wait and let it sit covered on the counter overnight, you’ll be glad you did!
