Sugar Free Banana Bread

I use organic monkfruit in this recipe to keep it sugar free, specifically this Monkfruit Baking Sweetener. It measures 1:1 like table sugar and works great for baking. It has zero calories, no carbs, and won't spike your blood sugar.

Feel free to use your preferred sweetener. If you use stevia or artificial sweeteners, you will have to convert the servings. Since monkfruit measures 1:1 you can follow your standard method for calculating it.

If you aren't concerned with the amount of sugar used, you can also use ½ cup of pure honey.

If you prefer to use maple syrup, use ⅓ cup.

Dump your flour into a bowl so that you can stir and loosen it up. You never want to stick your measuring cup directly into a bag of flour.
Spoon the flour into a measuring cup.
Level it off in the cup using a knife.

If you stick your measuring cup directly into the bag, it will pack flour into the cup and result in you using too much. The flour needs to have air when measuring. Check out more tips on How to Measure Flour here. Use gluten-free flour to make the bread gluten-free.

I like the flavor of butter in my bread, but I cut the standard amount of butter typically used in half but using unsweetened applesauce.

I don't recommend substituting all the butter outlined in this recipe for more applesauce. You will need some oil. You can substitute the 2 ½ tablespoons of butter for coconut oil or avocado oil instead.

If your bananas aren’t ripe enough for baking, don’t worry! Here are easy ways to speed up the ripening process so you can get to that moist, sweet banana bread ASAP!
- Oven Method (Fastest – 15-20 Minutes): Preheat oven to 300°F (150°C). Place unpeeled bananas on a baking sheet. Bake for 15-20 minutes, or until the skins turn black and the bananas are soft. Let them cool before using.
- Paper Bag Method (Overnight – 1-2 Days): Place bananas in a brown paper bag with an apple or ripe banana. Roll the top closed to trap ethylene gas (which speeds up ripening). Check after 24 hours—they should be softer and sweeter!

Never microwave bananas—it won’t ripen them properly, just soften them. Don’t refrigerate unripe bananas—this slows the ripening process!

When baking soda is combined with something acidic, it reacts, which aerates and raises baked goods much like yeast. I learned this when making my Air Fryer Chocolate Chip Cookies. In that recipe, combining lemon juice with baking soda, resulted in soft cookies with a puff.

Usually when baking soda is used in a recipe, it's also used with something acidic like buttermilk, lemon juice, or applesauce (which is used in this recipe).

Recipes like muffins, biscuits, and quick breads need a leavening agent like baking soda to give them the right texture.
Baking powder is often used when there aren't acidic ingredients in the recipe.

To substitute baking soda for baking powder you will need 4 teaspoons of baking powder. ¼ teaspoon of baking soda = 1 teaspoon of baking powder. You can read more about Baking Soda vs Baking Powder here.

Yes, reduce your oven temperature to 325 degrees. Bake for 20-25 minutes until a toothpick returns clean.

You can store the bread on the counter (tightly wrapped) at room temperature for up to 3 days. Store it tightly covered and sealed in the fridge for up to 1 week.

The bread should be fully cooled prior to freezing. Wrap the bread in foil and then place it in a sealable bag. It will freeze for up to 4 months.

Thaw the bread in the refrigerator or at room temperature.