No Sugar Added Banana Bread with Applesauce | Dairy-Free, Oil-Free

No Sugar Added Banana Bread is made with applesauce instead of sugar! It is dairy free, oil free, and made with whole food ingredients like whole wheat flour, oats, and fruit. Stir in chocolate chips, your favorite nuts, or leave it plain and top with peanut butter! Either way, you’re going to love it!

This no sugar banana bread recipe has me wondering why I ever added sugar to my banana bread recipes in the first place!

While it’s technically not possible to make a no sugar banana bread recipe (since bananas have sugar!), this recipe is free of any added sugars and is only sweetened with fruit. It’s as close as you can get!

Using applesauce instead of sugar (and bananas!) not only make this bread sweet, but also keep the bread super moist and delicious. This can be hard to do when you make a banana bread without oil.

The bananas and applesauce also allowed me to omit any oil or butter which resulted in a dairy-free and oil-free banana bread! Win-win!

I shared this sugar free banana bread with friends and family and no one had any idea it was “healthy” until I told them.

No sugar added banana bread with applesauce is perfect for kids and meal prepping.

Make this banana loaf into muffins and you’ve got an on-the-go breakfast all week.

What makes this no sugar banana bread healthy?

  • This banana bread is made with only whole wheat flour and oats, unlike most recipes that call for refined flour.
  • This no sugar added banana bread is only sweetened with fruit! Bananas and applesauce are what gives this bread its sweetness. Not even honey or maple syrup can be found on the ingredient list!

What can I use instead of oil in banana bread?

  • This banana bread recipe contains no butter or oil, but instead uses applesauce! If you don’t have applesauce, you can try substituting more bananas in place of the oil or applesauce.

Can this no sugar added banana bread be made vegan?

I have only made this recipe as listed below, but I’m confident you can sub out the egg for a flax egg to make this bread vegan!

For one flax egg, mix one tablespoon of ground flaxseed meal with three tablespoons of water. Let the mixture sit in your fridge for 15 minutes to set up and thicken. That’s it!

How do you store no sugar added banana bread?

Banana bread should always be kept in plastic wrap, tin foil, or an airtight container to keep it from drying out or going bad even faster.

You can extend the life of your banana bread up to about a week by refrigerating it. It needs to be wrapped tightly.

Can you make this gluten-free?

I am confident you could replace the whole wheat flour with gluten-free flour and the oats with gluten-free oats to make this applesauce based banana bread gluten-free.

Can you freeze banana bread?

Yes! I like to place individual slices into baggies and pull them out as desired.

This prevents you from having to open the whole loaf and risk freezer-burn happening.

How ripe should bananas be for banana bread?

In my opinion, you want your bananas to be extremely spotty before baking with them. The riper they are, the sweeter they are!

It’s tempting to start baking with a banana once it starts to develop some brown spots, but you will be much happier if you wait a little longer before using them.

How to ripen bananas for banana bread when they aren’t ready yet:

  1. Place your bananas, still in their peels, on a lined, rimmed baking sheet.
  2. Turn the oven to 300°F.
  3. Bake the bananas until their peels turn black. (About 20-30 minutes depending on how ripe they were prior to baking)
  4. Let them cool a few minutes before handling, and voila: sweet, mushy bananas for baking.

Ingredients needed to make no sugar added banana bread:

Equipment you will need:

If you’d like some additional sweetness, try drizzling a slice with a little raw honey or pure maple syrup.

I like to serve my no sugar banana bread with a generous spread of peanut butter and a cup of coffee! It’s one of my favorite afternoon pick-me-ups or after-dinner treats.

More No Sugar Added Recipes To Try

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As always, be sure to tag me on Instagram when you make this recipe or any of my other recipes!

FAQs

What happens when you replace sugar with fruit?

Refined sugars are stripped of their fiber, ut fruits are packed with fiber, which supports healthy digestion and gut bacteria. Fiber also increases the feeling of fullness. By replacing sugar with fruit in a recipe you will feel more satisfied and full.

Does banana bread have too much sugar?

Many banana bread recipes have too much added sugar. This recipe has no added sugar and relies on the sweetness of natural fruits.

You can easily reduce the sugar in a banana bread recipe without altering the flavor. Any added sugar or salt should be to enhance the banana flavor.

Can you bake without oil?

Yes! This recipe has no oil and no butter. The applesauce and mashed bananas produce tender and moist banana bread without adding fat.

Why does banana bread taste better the second day?

Banana bread always tastes better the next day when the natural sweetness and moisture of the bananas settle into the bread even more.

What to mix into banana bread:

I mixed in sugar free chocolate chips in this recipe but you can mix in dried fruit, shredded coconut, chopped nuts, or fresh fruit like blueberries, raspberries, or chopped strawberries.

No Sugar Banana Bread with Applesauce

No Sugar Added Banana Bread is made with applesauce instead of sugar! It is dairy free, oil free, and made with simple, healthy ingredients.
4.75 from 35 votes
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 50 minutes
Total Time 1 hour
Course Breakfast, Dessert
Servings 10 People

Ingredients
  

Instructions
 

  • Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and line a 9×5 inch loaf pan with parchment paper.
  • In a medium mixing bowl, mash the bananas using a fork or potato masher.
  • Add the egg, applesauce, vanilla, and stevia (optional) and stir to combine. Set aside.
  • In a separate mixing bowl, combine the flour, oats, cinnamon, baking soda, and sea salt. Mix well.
  • Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and stir to combine. Do not over mix. Fold in the chocolate chips or whatever mix-ins you prefer.
  • Pour the batter into the prepared loaf pan and bake for 50-60 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean and top is golden brown
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!

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23 Comments

  1. 5 stars
    Really good bread! My applesauce was Granny Smith applesauce with no sugar. I also added 2tsp Splenda and a few chopped pecans. Entire loaf is 17 WW points with pecans, 11 WW points without pecans.

  2. 5 stars
    Fabulous recipe! You seriously don’t need the sugar and oil. Adding chocolate chips is the right move. I used regular flour (a little extra as well), and regular oats. It came out really well. Thank you.

  3. 5 stars
    This is a good recipe for people like me, who eat relatively sugar-free and healthy. The consistency of the bread is very nice–I added chopped walnuts to give it some crunch. I made a double batch because I had enough bananas to do that and it’s very easy to put together.

  4. This recipe is incredible! Definitely added some chocolate chips and swapped the all wheat flour for 1:1 gf flour and it came out perfectly! Do you happen to have the breakdown of macros?

  5. 5 stars
    I had to make some apple sause because I didn’t have any, only took about 1 honey crisp apple. It was so good!

  6. Just made this into mini loaves with King Arthur gluten free Measure for Measure flour and a flax egg and it turned out beautifully! So delicious!

  7. 5 stars
    This is our favorite banana bread recipe! Since having my daughter I’m always looking for no/low sugar options for her and this one won her over immediately! I cook it into super mini loafs that make for the perfect addition to breakfast/lunch! 3-4 bites and she’s one happy little toddler!

  8. Hi. Would I be able to use an 8×5 pan as I don’t have a 9×5 and would it increase the cooking time? I’m so excited to try this recipe!

    1. Hi! I used a standard loaf pan (8.5 x 4.5) and rounded it up when listing the instructions. Whatever pan you use, I would fill it up 2/3 the way. If you have any leftover batter I would add it to a muffin pan. The baking time shouldn’t be much different so I would just keep an eye on it. I have only made it with my one pan, so I can’t say for sure how it will turn out, but I hope that helps!

  9. If you were to use oil instead of apple sauce, what kind would you use? I’m not looking for an oil free recipe, but more of a sugar free recipe so I’d rather not use the apple sauce. Any recommendations? Thanks!

  10. 5 stars
    I had four seriously soft bananas to use and this recipe filled the bill.

    I used what I had on hand – oat bran instead of quick cooking oats and Alaska stone ground barley flour instead of the whole wheat pastry flour. No chocolate chips on hand :-(. Oh, and a round cake pan, as no loaf pan.

    The outcome – delicious. Satisfies a sweet tooth without creating cravings. I will definitely make this again.

  11. I feel like I have been searching for years for a recipe that is actually sugar free, without the strange substitutes I can hardly pronounce and oil free. Thanks! Can’t wait to try it!

    1. Do you think I could add some pumpkin for a pumpkin banana bread? Would I need to add more flour or baking powder too?

      1. You can substitute pumpkin for the banana, but I would be wary because banana is so much sweeter than pumpkin! You may want to add some maple syrup to sweeten it up a bit.

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