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 simple 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 sweeteners to my banana bread recipes in the first place!
While it’s technically not possible to make a sugar free banana bread recipe (since bananas have sugar!), this version is free of any added sugars and is only sweetened with fruit. It’s as close as you can get!
Using applesauce and extra ripe bananas instead of sugar not only makes this bread sweet, but also keeps it super moist. It also allowed me to omit any olive oil (or coconut oil) or butter which resulted in a dairy-free and oil-free banana bread! Win-win!
If you like quick breads (because who wants to be in the kitchen for hours!) because to try my Dairy-Free Cinnamon Apple Banana Bread, Cinnamon Crunch Banana Bread and Sweet Potato Banana Bread. These are also perfect when you have an abundance of overripe bananas.
What makes this no sugar banana bread healthy?
- This banana loaf is made with only whole wheat flour and oats, unlike traditional banana bread that call for refined white flour and brown sugar.
- It’s 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!
I shared this low sugar banana bread with friends and family and no one had any idea it was “healthy” until I told them.
Ingredients Needed
- Large Bananas – you want your bananas to be extremely spotty before baking with them. The riper they are, the sweeter they are!
- Applesauce – check the label to be sure there’s no added sugar.
- Egg – let it come to room temperature, it mixes into the batter easier.
- Whole Wheat Pastry Flour – spoon the flour into a measuring cup then level off with a butter knife for the most accurate measurment.
- Quick Oats
- Vanilla Extract
- Baking Soda – this makes the bread fluffy, so be sure it hasn’t expired.
- Cinnamon and Salt – adds extra flavor
- No Added Sugar Chocolate Chips – if you wanted to, you can also leave these out
Equipment you will need:
- Loaf pan (how pretty is this one and it’s only $5!?) or a Mini Loaf Pan!
- Wax paper
- Mixing Bowls
- Rubber spatula
How to Make the Best Banana Bread Recipe Without Added Sugar
Line a loaf pan with parchment paper (so it covers the bottom of the pan and goes up the sides) and preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
Mash bananas in a large bowl using a potato masher or a fork.
Add the applesauce, vanilla, and egg. Stir to combine.
In another large mixing bowl, combine the oats, flour, cinnamon, salt, and baking soda, stir well.
Mix the dry ingredients together with the banana mixture just until incorporated.
Fold in the chocolate chips using a wooden spoon or rubber spatula.
Transfer the banana bread batter to the greased loaf pan. Bake for 50-60 minutes or until a toothpicks comes out clean.
Lift the bread from the pan by using the parchment paper and cool on a wire rack, then slice to serve.
How to ripen bananas when they aren’t ready yet
- Place your bananas, still in their peels, on a lined, rimmed baking sheet.
- Turn the oven to 300°F.
- Bake the bananas until their peels turn black. (About 20-30 minutes depending on how ripe they were prior to baking)
- Let them cool a few minutes before handling, and voila: sweet, mushy bananas for baking.
Substitutions and Variations
- Vegan: I have only made this recipe as listed below, but I’m confident you can sub out the egg for a flax egg (my favorite egg replacer) 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!
- Gluten Free: I am confident you could replace the whole wheat flour with gluten-free all purpose flour and the oats with gluten-free oats to make this applesauce based banana bread gluten-free.
- Nuts: if desired fold in chopped pecans or walnuts when you add the chocolate chips.
- Sweeter: If you’d like some extra sweetness, try drizzling a slice with a little raw honey or pure maple syrup.
How to Store
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 this easy healthy banana bread recipe up to about a week by refrigerating it. It needs to be wrapped tightly.
Can you freeze homemade 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 to ripen bananas for banana bread when they aren’t ready yet:
- Place your bananas, still in their peels, on a lined, rimmed baking sheet.
- Turn the oven to 300°F.
- Bake the bananas until their peels turn black. (About 20-30 minutes depending on how ripe they were prior to baking)
- Let them cool a few minutes before handling, and voila: sweet, mushy bananas for baking.
More No Sugar Added Recipes To Try
- Super Fudgy Date Brownies (Gluten-Free, No Added Sugar)
- Almond Flour Banana Muffins (No added Sugar)
- Vegan Baked Oatmeal (Sugar Free)
- Strawberry Banana Overnight Oats | No Added Sugar
Common FAQs
Refined sugars are stripped of their fiber, but 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.
This banana bread recipe contains no butter or oil, but uses applesauce! If you don’t have applesauce, you can try substituting more bananas in place of the oil or applesauce.
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.
Yes! This recipe has no oil and no butter. The applesauce and mashed bananas produce tender and moist banana bread without adding fat.
Banana bread always tastes better the next day when the natural sweetness and moisture of the bananas settle into the bread even more.
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.
As always, be sure to tag me on Instagram when you make this recipe or any of my other recipes!
No Sugar Banana Bread with Applesauce
Ingredients
- 4 Bananas, very ripe, mashed
- 1/3 Cup Unsweetened Applesauce
- 1 Egg
- 1 Tsp Pure Vanilla Extract
- 1 Cup Whole Wheat Pastry Flour
- 1/2 Cup Quick Oats
- 1 Tsp Baking Soda
- 2 Tsp Ground Cinnamon
- 1/4 Tsp Salt
- 1/2 Cup Lily’s Sweets Chocolate Chips Optional (They have no added sugar)
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
These taste amazing!! i’ve made them a couple times so far, i used greek yogurt in place of the applesauce in one go and an extra banana in place of it in another and it’s delish! only issue i’m having is that it doesn’t rise much? maybe i should add more baking soda?
Sugar free with chocolate chips lol
Lily’s are no sugar added.
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.
Can I use all purpose flour instead of Whole Wheat Pastry Flour?
Yes!
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.
Bread was delicious Do you know how many calories per slice
Nancy
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.
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?
Would I be able to use coconut flour instead?
Coconut flour doesn’t swap at a 1:1 ratio unfortunately.
I had to make some apple sause because I didn’t have any, only took about 1 honey crisp apple. It was so good!
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!
Yay! Really glad those swaps worked for you and you enjoyed it 🙂 Thank you so much for the comment, Melissa!
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!
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!
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!
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!
Hi! I would use coconut oil or butter!
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.
Yay! So happy to hear those swaps worked out for you and you enjoyed the recipe! Thank you for taking the time to leave a rating and review 🙂 Have a great week!
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!
Do you think I could add some pumpkin for a pumpkin banana bread? Would I need to add more flour or baking powder too?
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.
Awh, yay! This makes me so happy and I hope you enjoy the recipe!