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Low Carb Banana Bread

Looking for a low-carb banana bread that’s full of banana flavor, but uses real bananas and not banana extract? This is it! The deliciousness of a traditional banana bread without the added sugar.


If you’ve ever wondered if you could make a lower carb, reduced carb, or low carb banana bread using REAL bananas, here’s your answer:

There seems to be a misconception that when you want to reduce the overall carbohydrate load of a recipe you have to abandon ALL carbohydrates in that recipe.

This is neither true nor terribly helpful from a taste and enjoyment standpoint.

First, it’s important to understand that the recipes I share here, while sometimes suitable for people following a keto diet, I don’t personally follow a keto diet. I am developing low-carb baking and dessert recipes as a way to replace high-carbohydrate, high-sugar, low-nutrient baked goods, with lower-carbohydrate, sugar-free, higher-nutrient baked goods.

So while there may be a version of “keto banana bread” out there that avoid bananas altogether and opts for banana extract, I find this to be unnecessary. Four bananas spread out over an entire recipe isn’t enough carbohydrates to push this bread into any sort of high-carb category.

Furthermore, the taste is SO much better using the real thing!

A few notes about this bread in particular:

  • It has what my grandfather would a “sad streak.” You’ll see in the picture that it sinks just a bit in the center when taken out of the oven. I started to retest it to eliminate it, but honestly, the flavor/texture is so enjoyable as-is, I decided to go with it. If this bothers you, I might suggest adding 2 more tablespoons of coconut flour to give it more structure.
  • Like most low-carb baked goods, it’s really moist. When freshly baked, it’s almost *too moist.* I’m finding that many low-carb baked goods actually taste better with time as they begin to “settle in.” That’s especially true of this banana bread. It’s better to me on the second day.
  • Unlike many other banana bread recipes (including my super popular [and not sugar-free] Sourdough Discard Banana Bread), this recipe calls for peanut butter, cinnamon and nutmeg. Don’t be turned off by those ingredients. They may not be traditional, but I promise they’re super subtle. You won’t really notice them. They somehow manage to bring through the taste of banana perfectly.
  • As soon as I posted this on Instagram, someone asked “How can this be low-carb if it uses real bananas?” As my husband likes to say “It’s a math exercise.” There are 4 bananas used in this recipe, but it makes 12 slices. This means you’re only eating about 1/3 of a banana per slice. Given that this small serving of banana is the only dense source of useable carbohydrate (coconut flour is high fiber), this easily maintains itself as a low-carb recipe. Don’t believe me? Below is what my blood glucose did after eating it. (Note: If you haven’t listened to The CGM Experiment, you should. It will help make sense of this chart.)
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Low Carb Banana Bread


  • Author: Regan Jones, RDN
  • Yield: 1 loaf

Description

Looking for a low-carb banana bread that’s full of banana flavor, but uses real bananas and not banana extract? This is it! The deliciousness of a traditional banana bread without the added sugar.


Ingredients

  • Cooking spray
  • 4 overripe bananas
  • 4 large eggs (at room temperature)
  • 1/2 cup almond butter or peanut butter
  • 2 Tbsp. melted coconut oil or melted butter
  • 1 tsp. vanilla extract
  • 1/2 cup Swerve granular (optional, but I like it for a sweeter banana bread)
  • 1/2 cup plus 2 Tbsp. of coconut flour
  • 2 tsp. cinnamon
  • 1/2 tsp. nutmeg
  • 1 tsp. baking powder
  • 1 tsp. baking soda
  • 1/4 tsp. salt


Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Coat a loaf pan with cooking spray. (Alternatively, line with parchment paper.) Combine wet ingredients (bananas, eggs, almond butter, coconut oil, and vanilla in a large bowl; mix well using an electric mixer.
  2. Whisk together dry ingredients (Swerve, coconut flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, baking powder, baking soda, and salt) in a medium bowl. Add to banana mixture, and mix well. Spoon batter evenly into prepared loaf pan.
  3. Bake in preheated oven until set and a wooden pick inserted into center comes out mostly clean, 45 to 55 minutes. Remove from oven, and let cool in pan 10 minutes. Transfer from pan to wire rack. Let cool completely before slicing.
  4. Store, covered, in an airtight container, wrapped in plastic wrap or aluminum foil, or in a zip-top bag in refrigerator.

Notes

(Optional add-ins: sugar-free chocolate chips, chopped dark chocolate, chopped walnuts, pecans)

  • Category: Breakfast
  • Method: Low Carb Baking

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Disclosure: Some of the links on this site are affiliate links. This means that, at zero cost to you, I will earn an affiliate commission if you click through the link and finalize a purchase.

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