This delicious low carb banana bread uses real fruit for authentic flavor in a moderate amount to keep carbs low. Each slice only has about 8 grams of net carbs.
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Since developing this super popular and very easy basic quick bread recipe, we have been enjoying all kinds of keto approved breads. But until now, no banana nut bread.
After all, who would expect bananas to be enjoyed on the keto diet? Everyone who’s been around keto for a minute knows that they’re generally considered a very big no-no.
But banana bread is so yummy. Moist, sweet, a little crunchy when you add in walnuts…it’s like eating dessert for breakfast or a snack. There simply had to be a way to enjoy it even while eating low carb!
Is There Such A Thing As Keto Banana Bread?
A lot of keto dieters are under the impression that bananas are off limits and the only way to enjoy a slice of low carb banana bread is to rely on extracts which never taste quite as good as the real deal.
But that’s not true.
Authentic banana bread needs a banana and you can still enjoy it and stay low carb. Using a real banana gives you that classic banana bread experience in taste as well as texture.
But many people get hung up asking, “Do bananas have carbs?” or wondering if the net carbs in banana will fit into their daily macros. Let’s take a look…
How Many Carbs Does A Banana Have?
A medium banana has about 29g carbs. While this is clearly too many carbs to have as a keto snack when you’re eating low carb and trying to lose weight, it’s not bad when you add it to a larger recipe.
Adding a banana of these to the basic quick bread recipe adds less than 2g carbs per slice, which is totally doable!
After all, you’re not eating the whole loaf so while there are a lot of carbohydrates in banana, you can still enjoy the taste of it spread out through an entire recipe of gluten free keto quick bread.
Nutritional Benefits of Banana
- High in fiber. As noted above, fibre helps to promote a healthy digestive system and can aid in regulating blood sugar levels.
- Good source of potassium. Bananas are a great dietary source of potassium, which we all know is important for our electrolyte balance.
- Rich in vitamins, including vitamins B6 and C.
Tips For Making The Best Low Carb Banana Bread
If you’ve ever made it before, you know that baking banana bread can be tricky. It always seems like the time needed to fully bake the batter is so long that the outside tends to burn (or at least get way too brown) before its done.
This can really detract from the rich sweetness of the banana flavor, so you want to avoid it happening. The trick is to turn down the oven temperature a little and bake it for just a little bit longer.
Don’t be surprised if you need more time in the oven than the recipe calls for. Simply keep the low carb banana bread in until it passes the toothpick test and no longer has any soft areas.
If you want it to cook up faster, Another option is making banana muffins with a mix of almond flour and oat fiber. Mmmm. They are so good!
They also make the cooking time a lot shorter (and -bonus- offers you built in portion control!). Consider mini muffins, too. It’s fun to have a basket of them out for company to enjoy when you’re ready for a treat.
How to Serve The Bread
This is a wonderful recipe to make for your friends who are still on a high carb diet, too. They’ll never know it’s a low carb banana bread. And maybe you can even win them over to eating better when they realize how delicious the food is!
The moistness of the quick bread and the rich flavors of the banana and walnuts together make this a marvelous dessert or a great breakfast with your favorite cup of coffee.
You can enjoy it hot if you like, but be aware that it will be extra crumbly. To serve it for company, let it cool completely first. That’s another reason to make it up as mini muffins – you can sneak one right out of the oven and save the rest for later without making extra crumbles.
How To Store The Bread
One of the great things about this quick bread is that you can make it up ahead of time. Simply let it cool completely before storing it.
After it cools, wrap it tightly in plastic wrap or store it in an airtight container. It will keep at room temperature for a day or two, but it’s better kept in the fridge.
If you keep it in the refrigerator, be sure to wrap it well and keep it airtight so it doesn’t get soggy. It will last 3-5 days without issue.
You can also make your keto banana bread up ahead of time and freeze it. Simply wrap your cooled loaves with plastic wrap and keep in your favorite freezer containers. To serve, thaw them out the night before in the fridge.
If you enjoy this low carb quick bread recipe, you may enjoy some of the others. I recommend giving the Key Lime Coconut, Zucchini, or Cinnamon Swirl low carb bread recipes a try!
Making Allergen Friendly Low Carb Banana Bread
If you’re allergic to nuts or dislike them, simply leave the chopped walnuts out.
While they provide additional protein and nutrition, there’s no need to include them if you don’t enjoy the taste or can’t safely enjoy them!
I’d like to thank Slate Plate for the beautiful slate serving tray featured in the photo. If you’d like one for yourself, check them out at SlatePlate.com.
Low Carb Banana Bread Recipe
Do you prefer low carb banana recipes that use banana extract flavoring or real fruit? I think some recipes, like bread, really need the fruit for the best taste and texture.
However, if you’re really craving banana bread and are opposed to those added carbs, you can always make this coconut flour banana bread. It really is quite good and will do the trick!
Don’t forget to leave a comment if you give this recipe a try.
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📖 Recipe
Low Carb Banana Bread
Video
Ingredients
- 1 medium banana mashed
- ½ cup butter melted
- 3 tablespoons coconut oil liquified
- 6 eggs see note
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ⅔ cup almond flour
- ⅓ cup coconut flour
- ½ teaspoon xanthan gum optional
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon stevia concentrated powder or ½ teaspoon monk fruit 50% extract powder
- ½ cup low carb sugar substitute
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ cup chopped walnuts
Instructions
- In medium bowl, mix together dry ingredients (almond flour, coconut flour, xanthan gum, salt, stevia, erythritol, and baking powder).
- Set aside.
- Add mashed banana, butter, coconut oil, eggs, and vanilla extract into a food processor.
- Process until well blended. Add dry ingredients and process until uniform batter is formed.
- Mix in chopped walnuts.
- Pour batter into a greased 9×5 inch loaf pan.
- Bake at 325F and start checking for doneness after a half hour. Remove from oven when top is browned and toothpick inserted comes out dry. This could take anywhere from a half hour to 70 minutes depending on pan size and oven.
Notes
Low Carb Sweeteners | Keto Sweetener Conversion Chart
Nutrition
Additional Info
Note on Nutritional Information
Nutritional information for the recipe is provided as a courtesy and is approximate only. We cannot guarantee the accuracy of the nutritional information given for any recipe on this site. Erythritol carbs are not included in carb counts as it has been shown not to impact blood sugar. Net carbs are the total carbs minus fiber.
Unauthorized use of this material without written permission from Lisa MarcAurele is strictly prohibited unless for personal offline purposes.
Single photos may be used, provided that full credit is given to LowCarbYum.com along with a link back to the original content.
Catherine
I was surprised how close this was to regular banana bread! I added an extra banana I think it made it to moist but it was still very good. Thanks for the recipe!
camille
I made a double batch using 10 eggs and 2 bananas, and this was actually good! I made a cream cheese frosting and it’s even better!
Maria
I made this bread with 5 eggs (well, 4 but there was a double yolk), granulated Swerve, and Lily’s dark chocolate chips instead of walnuts. It came out perfect! It was more of a pound cake like texture. Thanks so much for sharing this recipe. This is the first time I successfully baked a keto bread
Jodi
I love this recipe and bake it regularly but every time the loaf sinks after coming out of the oven! So disappointing. I’ve tried altering eggs, altering baking powder and a foil tent – all with no luck. Any suggestions appreciated!
Lisa MarcAurele
The most common reason is overmixing the batter.
Joyce
Hi, what’s the measurement of coconut flour if I don’t use almond flour? Thank you! Looking forward to bake this.
Lisa MarcAurele
It would need some experimenting with, but I’d try about 1/2 cup and add in more liquid if needed.
Jodi
I love this recipe and make it every few weeks, often as muffins instead. However, when I make as a loaf, it sinks every time after coming out of the oven! Last night I tried a foil tent over the top while baking but that didn’t help. I have varied the amount of eggs with no change. Any ideas?
Lisa MarcAurele
Are you sure it’s fully cooked when you’re making it as a loaf? My bread is usually fairly dark on the outside when I take it out of the oven.
Francie Mann
I have made this twice. The first time I misread 3 T coconut oil and put in 1/3 cup. It was tasty, but like a greasy sponge and I had to try and mop the slices up with paper towel. 2nd time, I put in 2T coconut oil with the 1/2 cup of melted butter. It is still too much oil by a lot in my book. I used 4 big eggs, 2 T flax meal, 2 T water, 1.5 bananas`and added some cinnamon. Next time I will cut the butter by half and see how that works. Way too much fat though it tastes great.
Lisa MarcAurele
You can cut back on fat. It’s added to make it more filling and to meet keto macros.
dreemsnake
I followed everything except I used 4 eggs and 3/4 cup of erythritol for the two sugars. Yuck. It was a sloppy, greasy mess. The flavor was nice so I will try it again without the coconut oil.
Lori
It sounds great but I only use erythritol. I don’t know how much I should use with this.
Lisa MarcAurele
I do have a sweetener conversion calculator that you can use. It’s linked in every recipe. It depends on your own taste preference and would be anywhere from 1/2 to 1 cup.
Lori
I’m asking because I assumed I could use erythritol for the sugar substitute although they are all different (Some sweeter than other and erythritol is not that sweet) but I also have to replace the stevia. I guess I’ll just take my chances then. It’s just expensive ingredients to replace if it doesn’t turn out right.
Lori
And you don’t have monk fruit 50% extract powder no stevia extract powder on the conversion list.
Lisa MarcAurele
You can substitute it with about 2.5 to 3 tablespoons of a one-for-one sugar substitute like Lakanto Classic or Swerve.
Yamile K
I doubled the recipe, didn’t have coconut flour so I used shredded dry coconut and replace for gluten free flour, added more bananas and almond extract. Topped it with slices of bananas and cinnamon ….came out amazing
Todd Berg
My wife just whipped one up. I’m a very well managed T1D with crazy low BMI, 6 foot, 175# and A1C of 5.9. We’re very low carb and I owe my life to her. 6 years since diagnosis and I truly have never been healthier.
Now, not only is this INSANELY good, here’s a pro tip. Schmear a couple pats of Kerry Gold Irish butter on it hot. OMG good.
She also wanted you to know that she used only Erythritol as sweetener, nothing else and only 4 eggs (which we all know are like Gold today…lol). It is moist, came outta the pan perfectly and this…. outs a TOTAL win! Thank you soooo much for the recipe.
Covid be damned…I gots banana bread!! Stay safe, be kind everybody.
Lisa MarcAurele
Thanks for sharing Todd! Good to know it came out great with just 4 eggs.
Jax
Insanely good. I don’t love eggy keto recipes and I’m cool with fruit so I used two bananas and only 4 eggs. I used a third banana and sliced it and pressed it into the top of the bread before baking. Used macadamia nuts instead of walnuts. The texture and flavor of the bread is so good. So dense and moist. By far the best banana bread I’ve ever had! Low carb and otherwise. Your recipes never fail me. Thank you!
Lisa MarcAurele
That sounds awesome! I usually up the banana in the bread when making it for those on a gluten-free diet but not low carb. There’s likely more eggs called for than needed as well.
Diana
I made this and omg it is the best keto pound Cake I ever had thank you for sharing the recipe. I also add banana extract and unsweetened dry coconut.
Clare Jones
I turned your loaf into muffins.. recipe yielded 12 and added an unsweetened coconut streusel to the top.. real banana and really delicious. My carb eating husband didn’t know he was eating something low carb…
Best recipe I’ve found so far, and I got to use up one of his bananas that was going soft, so bonus!
Robert Perkoski
Woohoo – This pretty darn good. I probably left it in oven a few extra minutes – it was at 325 and done in about an hour ( not 70 minutes) so start testing when the smell fills the room. I am impressed with the smell and taste of the banana and walnuts. Of course the texture is a little bit rough as all low carb breads seem to be.
Might use a little less sugar next time as I am not looking for super sweet in a banana nut bread. I used five eggs and left out the Xantham Gum. served it with a pat of butter.
Thanks, for the recipe – it was a success and please post if you *actually made it* and have any tips.
Karen
I tried your recipe because I needed to use up some bananas and have been trying to stay on a low carb diet. I really wanted it to work but all I ended up with was a pretty bread (in the oven) which flattened out about five minutes after taking it out of the oven. It tastes eggy and has a weird texture. What did I do wrong?
Lisa MarcAurele
Did you use a single banana? It sounds like it may not have been fully cooked or the baking powder may not have been fresh.
Carla H
I made this banana bread today and it tastes amazing! I made it exactly as directed and I find it is VERY moist. Anything I can do to make it a little more cake like? I am very new to keto baking, so I’m not sure if a longer cooking time or maybe more almond or coconut flour would help. Thanks!!
Lisa MarcAurele
You could try separating the eggs and whipping the egg whites up to help create a fluffier bread.
Judy
I’m so glad I read this answer. I felt the same thing. This is my second time making it. Was very disappointed.
Will toast the slices and then try separating eggs next time.