Fragrant, delicious, and comforting, this keto banana bread is perfect as a tasty breakfast or a filling snack. It fills your house with the wonderful fragrance of roasted nuts, bananas, and cinnamon. The keto version is made with real bananas and a sugar-free sweetener, offering the deliciousness of traditional banana bread without the added sugar.
The Allure of Real Bananas in Keto Baking
There is a misconception that when you want to reduce the carbohydrates in a recipe, you have to abandon ALL carbohydrates in that recipe. This recipe proves that wrong. Many keto-friendly banana bread recipes use banana extract instead of a real banana. But the taste is SO much better using the real thing!
Why This Recipe Works
This recipe uses all super low-carb ingredients, with the exception of one real banana. Making keto banana bread with real bananas really makes all the difference in giving this recipe its authentic flavor. Consider this a sneak peek into my best-selling recipe guide: The Keto Dessert eBook 2.0.
Ingredients
- 4 overripe bananas
- 4 large eggs (at room temperature)
- ½ cup almond butter or peanut butter
- 2 Tbsp. melted coconut oil or melted butter
- 1 tsp. vanilla extract
- ½ cup Swerve granular (optional, but I like it for a sweeter banana bread)
- ½ cup plus 2 Tbsp. of coconut flour
- 2 tsp. cinnamon
- ½ tsp. nutmeg
- 1 tsp. baking powder
- 1 tsp. baking soda
- ¼ tsp. salt
- Optional add-ins: sugar-free chocolate chips, chopped dark chocolate, chopped walnuts, pecans
Step-by-Step Instructions
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
Detailed Recipe and Baking Tips
Choosing the Right Bananas
Use ripe but not spoiled bananas. You want deep yellow bananas that have plenty of black spots on the outside and are very soft on the inside. It is ABSOLUTELY ESSENTIAL to use an overripe banana because they are the sweetest. It should have plenty of brown specks on the skin.
Flour Selection
I use Bob's Red Mill Super-Fine Almond Flour. One cup of this flour weighs 4 ounces, so two cups weigh 8 ounces. Almond meal (almonds ground up including skins) also works well and gives a more rustic texture.
Read also: Easy Low-Carb Cheese Crackers
Sweetener Options
I make this bread with a monk fruit sweetener blend or allulose. Allulose gives it an extra soft texture. Granulated sweetener - I make this bread with a monk fruit sweetener blend or allulose. Allulose gives it an extra soft texture. You can use white or golden erythritol.
Baking Soda Considerations
Occasionally, baking soda can cause a reaction in baked goods, resulting in an ammonia smell.
Pan Size Matters
An 8.5 X 4.5-inch loaf pan holds 6 cups, while a standard 9 X 5-inch loaf pan holds 8 cups. If you'd like to use a standard loaf pan, you will need to increase the ingredients by about a third. So, use 4 eggs, 2.5 large bananas, 2.5 tablespoons of sweetener, 10.5 ounces of almond flour, and 1 ⅓ teaspoons of baking soda (or 4 teaspoons of baking powder).
Cooling is Crucial
The bread emerges from the oven with a gorgeous dark crust. It smells heavenly. You will want to dig in immediately. Please don't! This bread is too soft and gooey when it comes out of the oven. It really needs to cool completely. Cool the bread completely on the cooling rack for about 2 hours.
Additions
You can add up to 1 cup of add-ins: coconut flakes, nuts, sugar free chocolate chips. You can add ⅓ cup of chopped raw nuts (like pecans or walnuts) or dark chocolate chips. Instead of nuts, add sugar-free chocolate chips. It's easy to make your own.
Read also: Keto Calorie Counting: A Detailed Guide
Dairy-Free Adaptation
To make a dairy-free keto banana bread, replace the butter with coconut oil.
Egg-Free Adaptation
To make this banana bread egg-free, sub with flax eggs: mix three tablespoons of ground flaxseed and nine tablespoons of water and let the mixture sit for 10 minutes so the flax can absorb the liquid.
Muffin Variation
Yes, I often use this recipe to make low-carb banana muffins. They are a great grab-and-go breakfast or snack! Simply prepare a muffin pan with nonstick spray or line it with paper cups. Prepare the batter as per the recipe - remember, the most important thing is to use a ripe banana - and fill it into the prepared baking dish. Preheat the oven to the same temperature and bake for 25 minutes. For a heartier, rustic muffin recipe, try these keto banana muffins. They contain flax meal, which adds additional fiber.
Serving Suggestions
I like this bread just as it is. It's perfect with coffee or iced coffee! My kids enjoy it with a pat of unsalted butter, as shown in the photo below. It's also excellent with cream cheese, almond butter, peanut butter, walnut butter, or keto hazelnut spread. Sometimes we spread it with butter. Almond butter or peanut butter would also work well. For a treat, you could even top it with sugar-free nutella.
Storage Instructions
Once the bread is completely cool, slice it. Then, place the slices in an airtight container, separating layers with wax paper.
Read also: Magnesium Supplements for Keto
- Room Temperature: The best way to store keto banana bread is to wrap it in plastic wrap or paper towel and place it in a Ziploc bag or airtight container. This will keep it moist. Please be aware that covering it with plastic wrap will help to preserve some of the moisture. I tend to keep the bread in an airtight container on the counter for a couple of days.
- Fridge: You can keep them this way in the fridge for up to 4 days. You can store it in the fridge if you need to keep it for more than a few days. Just wrap it in plastic wrap to help keep it moist, because the fridge will quickly dry it out.
- Freezer: You can also freeze the slices in freezer bags. Keto banana bread keeps really well in the freezer just as long as it is wrapped in plastic wrap and placed in an airtight container or Ziploc bag. After wrapping it in plastic wrap, you can add a second layer of protection by wrapping it in foil. You can also freeze it for up to 3 months. I do this with all my almond flour cakes and muffin recipes. I slice the bread before freezing it and put wax paper in between the slices so that they do not stick together. To reheat, pop a slice in the toaster or warm it in the microwave.
Addressing the "Sad Streak"
It has what my grandfather would call 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.
The Carb Count Controversy
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. I actually tested my blood glucose after eating it and confirmed this to be the case. This low-carb, keto banana bread recipe has only 3g net carbs per slice!
Can I use a large loaf pan?
Yes. For a full-size 5x9 inch bread pan, simply double the recipe. In this case, increase the baking time to about 1 hour. Be sure to insert a knife to test if the inside is baked (if it comes out with dough sticking to it keep your bread in a bit longer). Again, cover the top loosely with aluminium foil once the top is browned to prevent burning.
The Role of Carbquick
Carbquick is a low carb baking mix similar to Bisquick, except the net carbs are 80-90% lower than Bisquick. In the mix is a processed ingredient called Carbalose flour, which is modified wheat with plant fiber. If you are sensitive to gluten then this product may not be for you.
Sweetener Options and Considerations
There are several options when choosing a sweetener for this banana bread. Generally, I use about 1/3 of a cup of a sugar alternative like brown monk fruit for this low carb banana bread recipe. Some factors to consider - how ripe are the bananas? If the bananas are nice and ripe, then 1/3 cup is plenty sweet for me. If you like your treats extra sweet then you could add up to a full cup of sweetener like it’s made in traditional recipes. My favorite types of sweeteners I have used to bake with are monk fruit, erythritol, stevia or a stevia/erythritol blend.
Nutritional Information
Serving Size: 1 sliceCalories: 165Sugar: 5 gSodium: 250 mgFat: 11 gCarbohydrates: 11 gFiber: 5 gProtein: 5 g
Please note that the nutritional information provided are guidelines and may vary based on the brand of products used. For your specific nutritional goals use My Fitness Pal or Verywell Fit recipe calculators.
A Word on Keto and Bananas
Low-carb, keto banana bread?! Is that even possible?? I’m here to show you that it’s not only possible…but just as delicious as the banana bread you grew up baking. This might be controversial…but a lot of people get hung up on labeling foods as “keto” or “not-keto,” when in reality, ketosis is a metabolic state, not a food. As long as you keep carbs below a certain point (and this point varies depending on the person) there are many foods that you wouldn’t typically think of as keto-friendly, that can be incorporated into the diet in moderation.