Moist and super simple to make: this sugar free banana bread is perfect for breakfast or as an afternoon snack. At 4.4g net carbs per slice, it is suitable for low carb diets. Gluten free and grain free.
There’s lots of people around who will tell you bananas are “not allowed” when you’re eating low carb. Here’s what I think: A banana is high in sugar and carbs. But if you’re choosing your recipe wisely, you can enjoy all the banana taste without actually letting your blood sugar rocket sky-high.
Most low carb banana bread recipes use banana flavouring instead of a real banana. This obviously keeps the carb count really low. But I think you’ll never get close to the taste of a REAL banana with extracts, not to mention the wonderful moist texture of a legit banana bread.
Bananas have a very intense flavour. 1/2 a cup of mashed banana – that’s one large banana or 2 small ones – is enough to create a bread that’s low in carbs and low in sugars. This low carb banana bread contains 1/8 of a banana (I’d say that is about 1 bite) and 4.4 grams of net carbs per slice.
Quick note – I’m calling this recipe “sugar free banana bread” because I’m using erythritol instead of added sugar, honey or maple syrup. It comes in at 2.7 grams of (natural) sugars per slice, which is equivalent to just over 1/2 teaspoon.
How to make sugar free banana bread – step by step:
1.) Put the eggs, mashed banana and melted butter in a bowl. Blend until smooth and frothy with an electric mixer.
TIP: It is ABSOLUTELY ESSENTIAL to use an overripe banana in this recipe. It should have lingered in your fruit basket forever and have brown specks on the skin.
2.) Stir together the dry ingredients – almond flour, erythritol, cinnamon and baking powder – in a separate bowl. Then add to the egg mix.
I used golden erythritol in the images, which is a brown sugar replacement. But any granulated sweetener will work.
3.) Blend!
4.) Last, stir in the crushed walnuts, keeping some back for decorating.
5.) Fill into a bread tin lined with parchment paper and bake for 40 minutes.
Tip: Check after 30 minutes to see if the banana bread is browned already. If so, cover loosely with aluminium foil for the last 10 minutes to prevent burning. (I covered my bread at minute 35 and found that it was browned a little much for my liking.)
Low Carb Banana Bread – tips and recipe variations
Don’t have walnuts? You can use any nuts in this recipe. I think pecans or hazelnuts would work particularly well.
Instead of nuts, you could add sugar free chocolate chips instead. It’s easy to make your own. Alternatively, use chopped dark chocolate with a cocoa content of at least 85 % or a brand like Lily’s.
I used a small 7.5 x 3 inch loaf tin (1 lb volume) for this recipe. It’s the perfect size for low carb bread because it’s nutrient dense and filling and servings need to be smaller. If you use a loaf pan like this, your bread will be taller than wide.
If you only have a full size bread pan, you can double the recipe. I this case, increase the baking time to about 1 hour. Be sure to insert a knife to test the inside is baked (if it comes out with dough sticking to it keep your bread in a bit longer). Again, cover the top loosely with aluminium foil once the top is browned to prevent burning.
To make this recipe dairy free, replace the butter with coconut oil.
I used ground almonds in this recipe. This is equivalent to regular blanched almond flour in the US. Almond meal (essentially almonds ground up including skins) would also work well and give a more rustic texture.
If you’re using super fine almond flour, I recommend to reduce the amount to 1 1/4 cup as it is more absorbent.
I have not tried this myself, but it should be possible to replace the almond flour with 3/4 cup of coconut flour.
To make this banana bread egg free, sub with flax eggs: mix 3 tbsp of ground flaxseed and 9 tbsp of water, let sit for 10 minutes so the flax can absorb the liquid. Then add to the batter.
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Low Carb Sugar Free Banana Bread
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cup / 150g almond flour or ground almonds
- 1/2 cup / 120g mashed banana 2 small or 1 large, very ripe
- 3 eggs large
- 2 tbsp butter, melted
- 1/4 cup / 50g granulated erythritol
- 2 tsp cinnamon
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1/4 cup / 30g walnuts, crushed
Instructions
- Preheat the ove to 180 Celsius / 356 Fahrenheit.
- Using an electric mixer, beat the eggs together with the mashed banana and melted butter until smooth.
- In another bowl, stir together the dry ingredients - almond flour, erythritol or sweetener of choice, cinnamon and baking powder. Add to the bowl with the egg/banana/butter mix and blend until well-combined.
- Last, stir in the crushed walnuts, reserving some to sprinkle over the top of the bread.
- Line a small (7 x 3.5 inch / 1 lb) loaf tin with parchment paper and fill in the dough. Sprinkle the leftover walnuts on the top.
- Bake for circa 40 minutes or until a knife inserted comes out clean. Check the cake at minute 30. If the top is already brown enough, loosely place aluminium foil over it so it does not burn.
- Let the banana bread cool completely before slicing.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
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Amy says
Baked great, didn’t get a hard crust. I too added the mini dark chips instead of nuts however, It feels like it’s missing that “banana” essence the bread is known for. Next time I’m going to add more banana. Great recipe tho! after quite a bit of googling… I came across this recipe and thankfully it has easy ingredients to work with, ingredients you can get at your local store and I’ve shared this with a family member!
Katrin Nürnberger says
Hi Amy, thanks for your comment. I think that the (over-)ripeness of the banana is important for a more intense banana taste. The more brown spots on the peel, the better! But of course you can use a second banana, which would double up the banana flavour (though also increase the amount of sugar).
Mischelle says
This was good. I don’t like the crust. It is a bit tough. However, I left out the nuts because I wanted to have the dark chocolate chips in it. I used mini chips for it. Next time, I will add the nuts in. I did add a dash of vanilla. I creamed the wet ingredients, like you said, but I think next time I will keep some banana out and mash it, so I get little bites of banana in the bread. Overall, for a low carb option for a pre-diabetic, this is a good choice. Every now and again you just need a little sweet indulgence. I didn’t miss much in the taste, and the almond flour was less grainy than I expected, based on other recipes I have made using almond flout. Even my daughter-in-law, who can be picky (she is a true country cook), said she would eat this.
Katrin Nürnberger says
Hi, thank you for your comment. If you crust was hard, you could try covering the loaf with foil while it’s in the oven so it doesn’t dry out. Or try baking on a lower shelf where the temperature is normally a little lower.
Tuey says
Wow!!! This banana bread is one of the best low carb breads I’ve ever had I even added just a little bit of maple extract and it was so good. It honestly doesn’t taste “healthy” or low carb at all. I am so blown away. I might be making this every week now!
Thank you sooooo much!
Katrin Nürnberger says
That’s so good to hear! Glad you found a regular 😉
Lynne McKenzie says
Oh wow,, perfect, perfect, perfect!! 1st lc recipe I have followed that has come out beyond expectations. Thank you so much . My partner is gluten free so low carb baking is a great alternative for him, so we are both low carbing and having fun discovering food that doesn’t have the texture of sandpaper (especially gf bread). Off to browse your other recipes, exciting!!
Katrin Nürnberger says
That’s great! You must try my bread recipes, start with the low carb bread, it’s super nice.
KpyceK says
I’ve made this banana bread nearly every week since I found the recipe. It is hands-down my most favorite of ANY sugar free bread recipes! If I could give it 10 stars, I would. It is so delicious and so filling! Very satisfying! Thank you, Katrin, for this blog site!! You singlehandedly converted me into a sugar-free baker!! I never liked the recipes I found in diabetic publications; they either use sugar, or the carbs are still high and the taste is artificial, and not satisfying. Keep up your great work!!
Katrin Nürnberger says
That’s so good to hear!!!! I’m really glad you like the recipe. I still get the odd person being worried about using real banana, but it’s very few carbs per slice and I think the taste is just so much better than if you used an extract!
D says
do you think I can use just egg whites
Katrin says
Yes, that should be no problem 🙂
Gilli says
Is it possible to use 3 tbsp of maple syrup instead of the erythritol? I am not so worried about the carbs but do not have erythritol and also we like banana bread as less sweet as possible, Thanks
Katrin says
Hi Gilli, you can definitely replace the erythritol with maple syrup. Or use an additional banana. Check your dough and if is seems too liquid add a little more almond flour, too.
Franca Giannandrea says
This looks delicious! Going to make 4 regular size loaves. When I calculate the ingredients, I come up with:
10 cups of almond flour
24 eggs
16 t of butter
2 cups of erythritol
16 t cinnamon
8 t baking powder
2 cups of walnuts
Is this correct? your reply will be most appreciated. I am on a low carb no sugar diet so this will be perfect for my evening snack
Katrin says
If you do the recipe x8 you’d need:
12 cups almond flour
16T butter
2 cups erythritol
16t cinnamon
8t baking powder
2 cups walnuts
and 4 cups mashed banana
That’s a lot of banana bread! 🙂
Franca Giannandrea says
thank you so much. what about the eggs? I am going to freeze these breads.
Katrin says
Simply x8 the entire recipe – including the eggs. The bread is freezable. I suggest that you don’t bake them all at the same time though, this may stop them from rising properly and would significantly increase the oven time.
Ofelia Acuna says
4.4 net carbs per slice? Sorry I just want to be sure ?
Thank you !!!!!
Katrin says
Yes, it’s 4.4g net carbs per (thick) slice assuming 8 slices. You can slice them thinner (like bread) and get about 12, but I was after that lush “cakey” experience.
Lisa says
Hi Katrin,
I absolutely love your recipes! I’m on your site every day!
I’m planning on baking this the weekend as I’ve ripe bananas there screaming at me to do something with them! Is the butter you’re using salted or unsalted? Also could I sub the butter for coconut oil, and also do a ratio of almond and coconut flour? Sometimes I find the almond flour can taste very floury and the coconut takes the edge of!
Thank you so much!
Katrin says
Hi Lisa, thank you so much for your kind words!!! I always use unsalted butter. And you can definitely swap coconut oil for the butter, though I personally find that the taste butter might work better in the recipe. As for the coconut flour, use between 1/3 to 1/2 the amount of coconut flour for the amount of almond flour you want to replace. So you could use 100g/1 cup almond flour and try about 3-4 tbsp of coconut flour.
Lisa says
Great Katrin, thank you so much! I look forward to trying it the weekend. And thank you so much for all your recipes, you’ve made the switch to keto much easier!
Katrin says
I”m glad you found my site Lisa! Let me know how you get on with it 🙂
Lisa says
I made it this morning, and it’s a big hit! Slightly on the dry side not too bad, I added 4 Tbsp of coconut flour 1 cup of almond, and the rest of recipe was the same. Next time i will try it with just 3 instead of 4.
Definitely 5 stars though!
Have also made the coconut flax bread as a loaf so just waiting for that to cool to test it!
Perfect day for baking, its lashing here in Ireland!
Katrin says
Glad you like it! I’m sure next time you’ll nail the quantities. 🙂
Dixie says
This looks really good – but because I have banana trees and tons of bananas right now, I’m going to add more fruit! Obviously this won’t be so low carb, but it will be delicious! And still no added sugar and gluten free (?) Looks like you have some great recipes – definitely going to give some more a try.
Katrin says
Having banana trees in your garden sounds unbelievably exotic to me, how wonderful! You can definitely add more banana to the cake, it will probably make it more fudgy though, so you could consider adding a little extra almond flour. Check your dough as go along and see if it’s necessary.
Kelly says
Love love love. Tasted like the real deal. I made 1 with a dark chocolate drizzle. So delicious!!
Katrin says
Chocolate drizzle….I’m feeling it!!!
Janet Harlow says
Made this today for my husband doing Keto. OMG we BOTH love it! I may use additional butter next time and out chocolate chips in but so happy the way it turned out! Delicious!!
Katrin says
So glad you both liked it!!! 🙂
Lynn says
I made this yesterday, using coconut flour, xylitol and dark chocolate chips. Had to double up as only have a 2lb tin but it turned out great! (I took pics). My 6 year old loved it, the only thing for me was it was a bit grainy; wondered if it was because of the xylitol and if stevia would be better? I’m not on a strict sugar/carb free diet, just drastically cut them down! Looking forward to trying more recipes. x
Katrin says
Hi Lynn, you can always blitz the xylitol in a food processor and powder it before you use it. Or, of course, use stevia. It’s a taste thing – stevia can have a slightly metallic aftertaste so I use it sparingly. And last but not least, if a bit of natural sugar is not an issue for you, you can also use more banana 🙂
Sandy says
Can coconut flour be used I stead of almond?
Katrin says
I haven’t tried it in this recipe, but I’d go with 1/2 the amount of coconut flour as it absorbs more liquid.
Keri says
I may use less than a half a cup of banana and sub with banana extract to cut down on the bet carb count. …
Katrin says
Sure, you can do that. Maybe add a little more butter or cream to make up for the lacking moisture.
Keri says
Thanks for the tip I will do butter
Laura says
Can this be frozen?
Katrin says
Yes, it freezes well 🙂
Uzzy says
How long does this banana bread keep?
Katrin says
I keep it for a few days in the fridge. It also freezes well.
Jean says
Can I use glass loaf pan?
Im glad you showed a recipe being put into a cake pan on the side panel. Since there is very little moisture in the ingredients, I saw that it was to look dry, unlike regular baking.
Katrin says
You can use a glass loaf pan – just make sure you line it well with parchment / baking paper. This way you don’t have to worry about the cake sticking. The cake turns out nice and moist, you’ll see! 😉
Jessica says
Can I substitute swerve for the erythritol? If so, what amount should I use?
Katrin says
Hi, I have never used Swerve but I do know that it is lighter in weight than erythritol. Make sure that you use US measurements and do not use scales. Erythritol is a one-to-one sugar replacement, so make sure that Swerve is as well
Paula says
Is the nutritional information for the whole load or per slice?
If per slice how many slices from total recipe?
My other half is on a low carb, low fat, low kcal diet and am wondering if this recipe is good for him.
Katrin says
Then nutrition is per slice, assuming eight thick slices.
J says
1/4 cup / 5-g granulated erythritol
Shouldn’t the 5 not be 45gram?
https://www.lowcarbmaven.com/low-carb-ingredient-conversions-american-metric/
Katrin says
It’s meant to be 50 g. Thank you for pointing this out!
Kat says
Hi Katrin,
I have this bread cooling as I type this… i ended up doubling the recipe as i only had a 2lb loaf tin… at the risk of sounding stupid, do I double the nutrient info below?
Also, I couldn’t wait for my bananas to ripe, so after some internet research, I baked my bananas in the oven for 30 minutes! Talk about impatience 😉
Thank you,
Kat
Katrin says
Hi Kat, I always calculate the nutrition for one portion. It really depends on how many slices you cut your cake into! So, if you were to cut it into the same amount of slices, which are twice the size, you would have to double the nutrition.
Anne says
I don’t like almond flavour but like to use hazelnut-flour. Can i replace it 1:1 ??
Katrin says
Yes, that should work!
Claire says
Yum yum yum, I I’m eating a slice of banana bread while typing this. I had 3 large ripe bananas so I tripled the recipe but didn’t triple the amount of stevia, so I don’t have the stevia aftertaste. The tripled recipe made 2 large loaves of banana bread.
Lade Mi says
Made those today without walnuts. So good. Took it to my diabetic aunt in the hospital and she liked it too. So good with a sliver of salted butter, especially because I used coconut oil.
Katrin says
I’m glad it hit the spot and you all liked it!
Manon Doré says
Il est tout simplement parfait! Mon conjoint en redemande. Je vais l’essayer en muffins.
Katrin says
Great! Let me know how you like the muffins once you’ve tried them 🙂
Kelly Charbula says
Very moist and delicious. It was very easy to make and full of flavor. I used mostly Truvia because that was what I had and it worked well. I did have to bake it about 45 min
Katrin says
Great! And thank you for sharing your tweaks 🙂
Christyn says
The first time I tried this recipe, I made it on Saturday and took the loaf to church Sunday morning. It smelled delicious while baking and looked gorgeous when finished so I wasn’t worried about how it might be received. I sliced it and placed it next to the doughnuts, pastries, and the other sweet nibbles I don’t eat. Nobody believed it was gluten-free and sugar-free. Many asked for the recipe and I sent them to your site. I have to keep carbs super low (total carbs not net) so I don’t do many recipes anymore for myself. I’m glad I made this one and I’ll make it again the next time I have to take a contribution to an event! Thank you.
Katrin says
It’s the best when sugar-eating people like sugar free recipes!! Thank you for trying this recipes and I’m so pleased it went down well!
Dee says
Could this recipe be made into cupcakes? If so at what temp and time? Thank you.
Katrin says
Yes, you should definitely be able make cupcakes out of them. I’d use the same oven temperature, but reduce the baking time. I’d start with 20 minutes and check, but think about 25 minutes is probabl the right time.
Ruth says
this is a favourite in our house, quick easy to mske, an actually tastes like banana bred! yummy
thanks guys for an awesome recipe
Katrin says
I’m glad you all enjoy the recipe! Thank you for your comment 🙂