This sugar free banana bread recipe is sweetened with ripe bananas and maple syrup. This recipe includes no refined sugar or butter but is filled with healthy goodness such as Greek yogurt, whole wheat flour, an egg, and of course bananas.
How is Banana Bread Made?
Banana bread is made with staples that you probably already have in your kitchen. Making this sugar free banana bread recipe is really easy and quick. Here are the steps for making the banana bread:
1. Combine all the dry ingredients together in a bowl and whisk until well combined
2. In a separate bowl, mash together the overripe bananas until smooth
3. To the mashed bananas, add the egg, maple syrup, vanilla extract, and Greek yogurt
4. Whisk all the wet ingredients together until well combined
5. Gently pour the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients
6. Fold the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients until just combined
7. Pour the batter for the sugar free banana bread recipe into a parchment-lined loaf pan
8. Smooth out the batter in the pan until it is even in the loaf pan. Bake @ 325F for approximately 40 minutes
9. After the bread has full baked, let it rest for a few minutes and then bring it out of the loaf pan
10. Slice the banana bread and enjoy!
11. Here, I am making a grilled cheese sandwich with this sugar free banana bread
12. Here’s the grilled cheese sandwich made from this sugar free banana bread recipe
Is Banana Bread Healthy?
In this section I will be covering the health benefits of some key ingredients of this sugar free banana bread recipe.
Overripe Bananas
The key ingredient in banana bread is overripe bananas. Overripe bananas are perfect for banana bread because of the sweetness they impart in the bread.
The riper a banana is, the sweeter it becomes. This is because of the process by which the starch in the banana is transformed into sugar.
In fact, the riper a banana is, the higher its antioxidant levels and the healthier and more nutritious it is. You just want to ensure that you do not eat or bake with a moldy banana.
Greek Yogurt
The Greek yogurt in this sugar free banana bread recipe acts as the fat in the recipe. So it takes the place of the oil or butter that would have been included in a traditional banana bread recipe.
Greek Yogurt is a healthier alternative to regular yogurt, and contains probiotics, proteins, calcium, iodine and Vit. B-12
Medical News Today has published a very interesting article covering 8 health benefits of Greek Yogurt that you may find interesting.
Whole Wheat Flour
Whole wheat flour is significantly healthier than all-purpose flour and is a way to add more nutrients to your baked dishes. While whole wheat flour is made by grinding the entire nutrient-dense wheat kernel into flour, white refined flour is made by stripping off the most nutritious part of the wheat kernel (i.e. the bran and germ) – creating a less nutritious flour.
All purpose flour can be substituted in a 1:1 ratio with whole wheat flour. However, it is important to keep in mind that a baked good made with whole wheat flour will be denser than a baked good made with white refined flour. I find that using whole wheat flour for this sugar free banana bread makes the bread sturdy enough to be used as sandwich bread.
You could substitute 50% or 100% of the whole wheat flour in this recipe with white refined flour if you prefer.
Maple Syrup
Maple syrup is a natural sweetener that is sometimes used as a substitute for refined sugar.
I used maple syrup as a sweetener for this sugar free banana bread recipe, because it is a healthier alternative to refined sugar. It is lower on the glycemic index than sugar and has a lot of nutritional benefits. However, maple syrup should be used in moderation since it is after all still sugar!
You can refer to this article on Healthline.com about whether Maple Syrup is Healthy or Unhealthy. It is an interesting read…
So, to answer the question about whether or not banana bread is healthy… I would say it depends on the ingredients you use.
What are your thoughts about using maple syrup as a sweetener? Do you have any favorite healthier ingredients that you use in your recipes? Please share in the comments section below.
Also, please share how this sugar free banana bread recipe works out for you! My family enjoyed it and I hope you do too.
Sugar Free Banana Bread Recipe
Ingredients
- 180 g whole wheat flour
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 2 very ripe bananas
- 100 g Greek yogurt
- 1/4 cup maple syrup
- 1 large egg
- 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325F deg
- Combine all the dry ingredients in a mixing bowl (i.e. whole wheat flour, salt, baking soda, nutmeg). Set aside
- Peel the bananas and smush them in another mixing bowl until smooth
- To the bananas, add the egg, maple syrup, vanilla extract, and Greek yogurt. Whisk until well combined
- Fold the dry mix into the wet mix until just combined. Do not over mix the batter
- Pour the batter into a parchment lined loaf pan and bake for approximately 40mins or until a toothpick comes out clean
Video
Notes
- The banana bread is baked at a 325F – which is a lower temperature – because it contains maple syrup which caramelizes much quicker than sugar.
- This bread is sturdy enough to be used for sandwiches. I’ve made a few grilled sandwiches with this banana bread recipe
