Low Sugar Banana Bread

I typically eat a banana every morning in my smoothie. It’s a staple in my kitchen so I always have them on hand. Having said that, towards the end of the week I sometimes find a few stragglers that need to be repurposed before going bad. I often make my Peanut Butter Banana Bread with Dates, featured here. It uses dates and 1/2 cup sugar which isn’t bad in the grand scheme of things (sugar-wise) but I wanted to find a recipe that didn’t use any granulated sugar at all.

I found this recipe which I modified a bit to suit my purposes. Instead of whole wheat flour, which I didn’t have on hand, I used half quinoa flour and half all-purpose. I also subbed out the avocado oil for olive oil, my go-to. Super tasty, only one bowl required (which I love), and very easy to make in 15 minutes or less.

The addition of the unsweetened applesauce and pure maple syrup are all that’s needed to add a touch of sweetness with the already sweet bananas.

Let’s get to it. It’s literally the easiest recipe ever.

Ingredients: 

• 4 medium very ripe bananas (1 1/2 cups)
• 2 eggs, large
• 1/2 cup applesauce, unsweetened
• 1/3 cup maple syrup
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 2 1/4 cups whole wheat or mixture of all-purpose and quinoa flour
• 1 tbsp cinnamon (or 1 tsp if you aren’t a huge cinnamon fan)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly grease a 9 x 5 loaf pan with coconut oil.

In a large bowl mash your bananas with a masher or heavy-duty fork. Add in your eggs, applesauce, maple syrup, olive oil and vanilla extract.

Give everything a stir adding dry ingredients next. Add in baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon and flour and incorporate fully.

Pop in the oven and bake for 45-55 minutes.

You want a golden brown top. That’s it! Couldn’t be easier, perfect snack for the week and half gluten free with the addition of the quinoa flour. Enjoy and have a good one!