Fat free banana bread that does not taste fat-free.
It is so soft and buttery.
I’m trying really hard not to say “moist” because I know everyone hates that word!
This bread actually wasn’t supposed to be fat-free. In fact, I was quite upset upon discovering—midway through preparing the recipe—only about a teaspoon’s worth of coconut oil lingered in my sad little jar. (Note to self: gather all ingredients before starting to cook a recipe. Will I ever learn?)
Since I’d already begun, I wasn’t going to put the recipe on hold; my heart stomach was set on banana bread! Option one was to use olive oil. However, I worried the oil’s strong flavor might affect the taste of my not-yet-tested banana bread recipe.
Option two was to make a Single-Serving Banana Bread.
But I really wanted a whole loaf. And I also wanted a new recipe so I could post about it, which is always more exciting than when I post about a recipe I’ve already published. Many lovely bloggers and readers assured me on twitter that fat-free would be fine. So I made a few changes and hoped for the best… I never imagined the results would be so good!
For maximum enjoyment: Eat this for breakfast, while still in your pjs!
Fat Free Banana Bread
(Makes 10-12 slices)
- 2 c spelt, white, or arrowhead mills gf flour
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon
- 3/4 tsp baking powder
- 3/4 tsp salt
- 1/3 c milk of choice OR oil
- 1 and 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup pure maple syrup, agave, or honey (Or, here’s a Sugar-Free Version.)
- 1 and 1/2 tbsp lemon juice
- pinch uncut stevia OR 1 tbsp additional agave/maple syrup
- 1 and 2/3 c tightly-packed, mashed banana (measured after mashing)
- 1/3 cup berries of choice, or more banana (I actually used 1 full cup of sliced strawberries. The resulting bread was extremely gooey, but I loved it that way!)
Preheat oven to 350 F. Combine dry ingredients, and mix well. In a separate bowl, combine wet ingredients and mix into dry. (Mix by hand, and don’t overmix.) Pour into a greased loaf pan and cook for 35-50 minutes, depending on how gooey you want it. (Tip: If the top is cooked but the inside is still gooey, put tin foil over the top and continue to cook.) After removing from the oven, let cool for ten minutes before slicing. After the first day, this bread is best stored in the fridge. Or cut into slices and freeze for later.
Nutrition Information at a Glance:
- 130 calories
- 0 grams of fat
- 0 mg cholesterol
- Fiber depends on the flour you use
Add around 20 extra calories for the Polka-Dot Banana Bread.
Question of the Day:
Do you ever lower the fat in a recipe or substitute applesauce for the oil?
I know many people are conscious of fat, so I try to offer lower-fat options whenever possible in my recipes. Yet, my own diet is actually pretty high in fat. I think “fat” has gotten a bad name. It sounds so negative, and society likens it to the devil. But, especially if you’re young and healthy, cutting out healthy fats (such as oils and nuts) can wreak havoc on your organs, skin, and hair.
As for this particular banana bread? It really does taste wonderful on its own. However, my slice didn’t stay fat-free for long. I painted that baby in a nice, thick coat of peanut butter. It was delicious!
Are these calories per slice?
i was wondering that as wel 🙂
yes
I have a problem… I don’t have agave,stevia, honey,and maple syrup…what should i substitute? can i substitute with plain sugar syrup?? I really want to make this….thank you!
Sorry, I’m not sure! I’ve only tried it with agave/maple. I don’t know that I’ve ever used sugar syrup for anything… but it sounds like it’s a liquid sweetener, so I *think* it could work. If you do try it, I hope it works out!! 🙂
Hi Katie, I stumbled on your blog while searching for a healthy banana bread recipe.
Am I glad I found your blog! Your banana bread turned out superbly and I cannot wait to try other inspiring, yummy looking recipes of yours.
Thanks and keep up the good work!
Awww Angie, that makes me so happy!
Hi Katie! I just found your blog, signed up for your emails, and just recently took this Fat Free banana bread out of the oven! It is so delicious! I actually used Gluten Free flour and it worked great! I am going to continue to try these recipes! Thanks for being awesome!!
I generally only eat bananas when they are just turning yellow and really only a half at a time because I find them to be too filling, so I always end up with icky brown bananas and feel really sad when I have to throw them away. But today, I didn’t have to! I saw my spotted bananas and immediately came to your blog to search for a recipe to try. I had a banana and a half, equal to 3/4 of a cupish mashed, so I essentially cut the recipe in half and instead of a loaf, made banana bread muffins….in my silicone mickey mouse muffin pan of course! It made six mickeys and I threw in blueberries, increased the cinnamon, and skipped the lemon juice (didn’t have any :/) and baked for 15ish minutes. The results were heavenly. They were gooey and thick…SO. GOOD. I only ate a little bite with a little schmear of pb because I wasn’t actually hungry, more stress baking than anything, but the taste was delicious. I’m excited to try a whole one for breakfast in the morning! I was so impressed by how “soft and buttery” these were considering they’re fat free! Thanks so much 🙂
Aww Mickey Mouse muffins?! Too cute! I will have to look for that pan… although goodness knows I don’t need another baking gadget. But maybe you’ve inspired me to break out my very-old Bugs Bunny waffle iron 🙂 :).
I live about 30 minutes from Disney and a friend bought it for me as an early Christmas present when we were there! I love it! There’s a matching cake pan….I’d imagine you can order them online though 🙂
Bugs bunny waffle iron?! Sounds like we need to have a classic animated character shaped food cooking party!
I made this last night, the taste is very good but it was very very dry… im thinking maybe u could add applesauce or more milk?? anyone have suggestions. I followed the recipe exact. Tastes good though!
Hi Megan,
Are you sure you didn’t accidentally (unknowingly) mis-measure an ingredient? The bread should be VERY moist, and none of the other commenters have reported dryness so I don’t think the recipe needs to be altered. Maybe try cooking it for a shorter amount of time?
Megan,
I just read your comment (on another post) that you used whole-wheat flour for this recipe. The recipe doesn’t call for whole-wheat flour.
hi katie
I’ve tried a few of your recipes and am going to try the banana bread on sat. Could I ask you something about it?
1. I love the idea of berries – but how come there aren’t berry bites visible? Did you microwave / mash it before mixing in?
2. Why aren’t there berries in polka dot banana bread? It’s such a creative thought!!
3. There are both baking soda and baking powder in the recipe. In my old banana bread recipe, there’s only baking soda. Is it a must for both?
It’d be great if you can help :)) Thanks!!
There actually ARE strawberries in this bread that’s photographed! I guess not enough to show up well? And yes, you need both ingredients.
I only had one brown banana, so I added some applesauce to make up for it.I am so happy with the results! The only difference I noticed was a shorter cooking time of about 38 minutes. Such a healthy alternative to other banana bread recipes. And in my opinion, even more delicious! Thanks so much for this amazing site!
Hello Katie,
I’m French (but I live in the USA for a year) and really interested in trying one of your recipes, but I wonder what the T (in “1 T more agave”) means and the same thing for the c (in “1/3 c nondairy milk” for example) because I’m lost, aha 😀
Thanks!
T is tablespoon (15g agave) and c is cup (240g milk of choice) 🙂
Thanks you so much!
So I did it today and… wow, yummy! With raspberries and some chocolate chips. But I wonder how many slices you had with that recipe? and are the 130 calories for 1 slice? Thanks again, you’re so great 😀
How long should I cook them if I wanted to make muffins?
Sorry, I don’t know… I’ve only made doughnuts. But it also depends on the size muffins you wish to make.