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!
This bread will be eaten in all kind of outfits around here. Good idea to mix berries in it. I like that yours turned out gooey- I have to try that. 🙂
hi katie! i am a new reader and you have me sitting here drooling! i think you should check out Sunbutter. it tastes just like peanut butter (if not better) but there are no nuts, for all of your readers who have nut allergies. it is really delis, has the same consistency of peanut butter, and it also comes with sunflower seeds for some variety! check it out everyone loves it!
I keep meaning to buy that, so I can try it! Thanks for the reminder! 🙂 🙂
We also started using coconut crystals as a sweetener. I think it comes as a syrup too. The crystals are really good, not to sweet. They taste kind of like brown sugar. They are low glycemic.
P.S. I’m 12!
Nothing better than fat-free decadence to power you up! Fats are wonderful but too many can totally slow you down, so even though I’m not about losing weight at this point in my health journey, I do tend to feel sluggish after eating to many and always appreciate a good fat-free recipe.
MORE IMPORTANTLY, how did your blind date GOOO?? What the heck, it must have been okay, I mean you are going on a second one. Tell us these things and then don’t give us any of the juice…. 😉
Also I wanted to say I’ve been making your oh my gosh spaghetti squash…OH MY GOSH. That is all I’ve got to say right now. If you come up with another AWESOME SQUASH RECIPE HAPPINESS WILL ENSUE!!! YOU ARE WONDERFUL LADY!!!
Take care, happiness, and love 🙂
I’m so not one to sub in applesauce in place of oil/butter in a recipe. It just doesn’t taste the same, and we do need a significant amount of fat in our diet for healthy hair/skin/nails, to lubricate our joints, to properly metabolize & absorb certain vitamins, and for our brains (which are virtually all fat). Now don’t get me wrong – this isn’t a licence to eat butter or coconut oil by the pound, and there are definitely certain fats/oils that are better for you than others. But it can be a slippery slope to eliminate one of the major macronutrients from one’s diet.
Hey katie! I just found your blog via pinterest and it is exactly what I have been looking for!! I have really gotten into food blogs in the last year and even recently created my own. It is mostly for my friends who live here in Central Asia, where I live. I work overseas as a volunteer and have been trying to find a healthy blog with lots of delicious recipes and easy ingredients and different ingredient options as well, since we can’t get all the same things here. Anyhow, I am excited to start using your blog more!
I’m so glad you found me! 🙂
When I bake (oh, it seems like such a long time ago!) I always sub applesauce for 1/2 of the fat content. I prefer to save my fat intake for meals – low fat cream cheese, peanut butter (or PB2), an egg, etc. 🙂 I have to eat a low fat diet for my heart, so low-fat baking is always the way I go!
Mmm, Im going to be making this today since we have one banana left and it is completely ripe and I think it would be perfect! Sounds like it would go great with my tea in the afternoon! My aunt is always drinking coffee in the afternoon so I thought this would be a nice treat for her as well.
I think I’ll be making this for my parents’ 45th anniversary dinner tomorrow night! If I want to use coconut oil instead of making it fat free, what ingredient do I substitute it for and how much? I can’t wait to try this!
Made this today into 3 mini loaves. Sooooooooo good! I was out of lemons so I used apple cider vinegar and it turned out great! Thanks for sharing another great recipe!
Oh man this was so amazing! Warmed with some coconut butter…to die for! I love my fats so i never bake fat free but i thought i’d trust you and man was i right to do so…SO…for lack of a better word…here i go…MOIST! Ah!
Haha it really is the only word you can use, right? 🙂
(I actually like the word… me and no one else in the blogworld, it seems. Oh well.)