Fragrant, delicious, and comforting, this keto banana bread is perfect as a tasty breakfast or a filling snack. The keto version is made with two bananas and a sugar-free sweetener. I also offer a paleo version with three bananas and honey.
This keto banana bread is amazing. It's delicious and not too sweet—the perfect breakfast or snack. It will fill your house with the wonderful fragrance of roasted nuts, bananas, and cinnamon. My starting point was my pumpkin bread. It's basically the same, with mashed bananas instead of pumpkin and less sweetener because ripe bananas are very sweet.
Ingredients
See the recipe card for exact measurements. Here are my comments on some of the ingredients.
- Bananas: Very ripe and well-mashed. Two for a keto bread, three for a paleo version.
- Ground cinnamon: I use a whole tablespoon. You can use just a teaspoon for lighter-colored bread. But the cinnamon does add a wonderful flavor.
- Sweetener: A sugar-free sweetener for the keto bread or honey for the paleo version.
- Almond flour: I use blanched, finely ground almond flour.
- Baking soda: You can replace it with a tablespoon of baking powder (gluten-free if needed).
Instructions
Scroll down to the recipe card for detailed instructions. Here's an overview of the steps for making this bread:
Whisk all the ingredients in a medium bowl, starting with the wet and adding the dry. Transfer the batter to a parchment-lined and greased small loaf pan.
Bake the bread in a 350°F oven. The exact time depends on your oven. When it's done, a toothpick inserted in the middle of the loaf should come out dry. The keto bread will need 30-40 minutes in the oven, and the paleo bread will need 40-50 minutes since it contains more bananas.
Cool the bread completely before enjoying it. This is the hardest part! You will want to dig in right away, as it smells so good. But the bread will be too soft and gooey when it emerges from the oven. Its texture and flavor will dramatically improve as it cools. Look how moist and lovely it is:
Recipe Tips
- Use a small loaf pan. A standard-size loaf pan, 9 X 5 inches, will make the bread too flat. So, make sure you use a small loaf pan measuring 8.5 X 4.5 inches.
- Let it cool completely. The bread emerges from the oven with a gorgeous dark crust. It smells heavenly. You will want to dig in immediately (or maybe let it cool for 10 minutes). Please don't! This bread is too soft and gooey when it comes out of the oven. It really does need to cool completely. I cool it for two hours on a cooling rack, and only then do I slice it - and it's perfect. In the past, when I was impatient and sliced it after 20 minutes, it was still delicious, but too gooey and crumbly. Its texture and flavor greatly improve after it's cooled.
- Additions: You can add ⅓ cup of chopped raw nuts (like pecans or walnuts) or dark chocolate chips.
- Storage: Once the bread is completely cool, slice it. Then, place the slices in an airtight container, separating layers with wax paper. You can keep them this way in the fridge for up to four days. You can also freeze the slices in freezer bags. Again, if layering, separate the layers with wax paper.
- Use ripe but not spoiled bananas. See the image below - you want deep yellow bananas that have plenty of black spots on the outside and are very soft on the inside. Just make sure there are no white spots on the inside and that the inside is not runny - this means the banana is spoiled.
This is absolutely delicious!! I love making banana bread, and I always have overripe bananas, but since I want to lose weight, I have been trying to find a good, healthier version. After numerous failed attempts at recipes found on the web, I came across this one today and decided to give it a shot, and my goodness, I am so glad I did. This is absolutely delicious. I added an extra banana on mine because I just didn’t want to throw it away, and it came out perfect. The flavor and texture is there and I cannot believe it was achieved with almond flour and monk fruit sweetener! You are a genius! Thank you!
Idalia
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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.
Recipe Card
Keto Banana Bread (Perfect for Breakfast!)
Video
Ingredients
- Cooking spray for the pan - I use avocado oil spray
- 3 large eggs
- 2 large bananas - well mashed, 1 cup; three bananas or 1.5 cups for a paleo version
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 2 tablespoons sugar-free sweetener - or honey for a paleo version
- 8 ounces almond flour - 2 cups; please measure by weight
- 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon - reduce to 1-2 teaspoons for milder flavor
- Pinch kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon baking soda - or a tablespoon of baking powder, gluten-free if needed
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line a small loaf pan (8.5 X 4.5 inches) with parchment paper strips, leaving an overhang on each side of the pan. Lightly spray the lined pan with oil.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the eggs, mashed bananas, vanilla, and sweetener.
- Gradually whisk in the almond flour, cinnamon, kosher salt, and baking soda. Whisk until smooth.
- Using a rubber spatula, transfer the batter to the prepared pan. Gently tap the pan on the countertop to distribute the batter evenly.
- Bake the bread until browned and set, and a toothpick inserted in its center comes out dry, 30-40 minutes (40-50 minutes if using three bananas and honey).
- Using the excess parchment paper as handles, carefully remove the bread from the pan and transfer it to a wire rack. Carefully remove the parchment to allow air to circulate.
- Cool the bread completely on the cooling rack for about 2 hours. Slice it into 12 slices and serve.
Notes
- 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. Just make sure there are no white spots on the inside and that the inside is not runny - this means the banana is spoiled.
- I use Bob's Red Mill Super-Fine Almond Flour. One cup of this flour weighs 4 ounces, so two cups weigh 8 ounces. It's best to measure almond flour by weight rather than by volume.
- Occasionally, baking soda can cause a reaction in baked goods, resulting in an ammonia smell. If you're concerned about it happening, use 3-4 teaspoons of gluten-free baking powder instead of baking soda.
- 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. I cool it for two hours on a cooling rack, and only then do I slice it - and it's perfect.
- 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). The vanilla, cinnamon, and salt can stay the same.
- Storage: Once the bread is completely cool, slice it. Then, place the slices in an airtight container, separating layers with wax paper. You can keep them this way in the fridge for up to 4 days. You can also freeze the slices in freezer bags. Again, if layering, separate the layers with wax paper.
- If using three bananas and two tablespoons of honey for a paleo version, each slice has about 160 calories, 14 grams of carbs, 6 grams of sugar, and 3 grams of fiber.
- If you need a lower-carb bread, I highly recommend this keto zucchini bread.
Nutrition per Serving
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Most recipes are low-carb and gluten-free, but some are not. Recommended and linked products are not guaranteed to be gluten-free. Nutrition info is approximate. Please verify it independently. The carb count excludes non-nutritive sweeteners. Please read these Terms of Use before using any of my recipes.
Octave says
As a novice I used this recipe several times with impressive results. Thanks to it I received many praises. Thank you Vered.
My question: Can you make this bread with a bread maker? Any suggestions?
Vered DeLeeuw says
Hi Octave,
I'm glad you like this bread!
I don't believe you can make it with a bread maker.
Heather says
I’m looking to make this recipe for someone who is gluten free, but doesn’t like artificial/alternative sweeteners. How much organic cane sugar should I use in this recipe? Thanks!
Vered DeLeeuw says
Hi Heather,
If carbs are not a concern, I recommend using three bananas (1.5 cups of mashed bananas) and 2 tablespoons of sugar. If the person you're making it for has a sweet tooth, use 1/4 cup of sugar.
Meg says
I added a scoop of chocolate protein powder and some dark chocolate chips. sooo good!
Vered DeLeeuw says
Yum! Thanks for sharing your yummy additions, Meg.
Renee Burton says
Five stars! I love this recipe, thank you so very much for creating it!!! 🙂 I just took it out of the oven, now.
I modified it by adding one extra banana, using monk fruit as a sweetener, and adding 1/8 a tsp of cinnamon. It turned out so well. I love this recipe and wanted to say "Thank you!" Again 🙂
Vered DeLeeuw says
You're very welcome, Renee! Thank you for sharing your tweaks.
Kana says
It was delicious and smelled very good. I used three ripened bananas and sugar-free sweetener. It turned out moist and fluffy. I highly recommend this recipe.
Vered DeLeeuw says
I'm so glad you liked this bread, Kana!
Anne says
Delicious and so easy to make! I substituted chia for eggs and added walnuts.
Vered DeLeeuw says
I'm so glad you enjoyed this recipe, Anne! Thank you for the review and for sharing your tweaks. Very helpful.
Virginia says
I saved this recipe for so long and finally got to it. Amazing! Don't know why I waited. Made the paleo version only because I wanted to get rid of all my frozen bananas. I used monkfruit sugar and had silicone cupcake liners, so no oil was needed. YUM!
Vered DeLeeuw says
I'm glad you enjoyed this recipe, Virginia! Thank you for taking the time to review it.
Lisa Gruen says
I made the paleo version of this recipe today and really like it. I reduced the almond flour by 2 Tablespoons and added 2 Tablespoons of ground flax seed. (I like adding omega-3s whenever I can to my breads and muffins.) It worked great! I also aded raw walnuts. Fantastic texture. Thank you!
Vered DeLeeuw says
I'm so glad you enjoyed this bread, Lisa! Thank you for reviewing it and for sharing your tweaks.
Summer says
I doubled the recipe so that I could use the normal sized loaf pan that I had, plus an individual sized one. it came out perfect! Pretty sure this is the most moist banana bread I've ever had, plus it has healthier ingredients, and it was SO easy! Will definitely be making this again with some walnuts and maybe some dark chocolate chips!
Vered DeLeeuw says
Yay! I'm so glad you enjoyed this recipe, Summer. Thank you for sharing your tweaks with us.
Amparo says
Made this last night. It is DELICIOUS. I read reviews, so I was sure to not over mix and I added a 3rd tbsp of Monk fruit. I'm ready to make another batch to share with my dad who needs to watch his sugar/carb intake. Also, I would suggest for the keto version to bake for at least 35 min, I then turned the oven off and let it sit for another 5-7 min or so before I took it off to cool it.
Vered DeLeeuw says
Glad you enjoyed this bread, Amparo! Thanks for the tips.