Super moist, refined sugar free Oat Flour Banana Bread that is loaded with banana flavour. It’s cozy, familiar, full of protein and fibre with the just the right amount of sweetness to make this one healthy flourless banana bread you’ll want to make on a regular basis, kinda like these fluffy banana pikelets.
What makes this Oat Flour Banana Bread Healthy?
Traditionally banana bread is quite sweet and is made with white or brown sugars. This version of banana bread is free from added sugars. There’s no white or brown sugar, dates, honey or syrup, yet it still has that undeniable sweetness that you expect from a good banana bread.
This is achieved by using bananas that are not just ripe, but “over ripe” as this makes them sweeter, and by using an all natural granulated sweetener that measures just like sugar. In this case I used Lakanto Monkfruit Sweetener which I love as it tastes just like you made it with real sugar without any weird after tastes.
Plus monkfruit is a Low GI sweetener which means it won’t spike your sugar levels. Its also low carb and almost zero calorie. Monkfruit is fast becoming one of my go to sweeteners to use when I do sugar free baking because it measures like sugar and adds the right level of sweetness similar to what you’d expect from using actual sugar. I also used monkfruit as the sweetener in the Dairy Free Fudgey Brownies.
Related Recipes:
- Double Chocolate Banana Muffins
- Easy Sugar Free Lemon Loaf
- Warming Sugar Free Gingerbread Loaf
- Healthy & Simple Date Loaf
- Sweet Orange Polenta Cake with Orange Glaze
- Low Carb Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting
What is Oat Flour and How to make It
Oat Flour is simply finely ground oats that have a flour like appearance. Its great to use if you’re looking for a healthier alternative to highly processed white flour which I find sometimes difficult to digest. Oat flour is also richer in fibre and protein which means it keeps you fuller for longer, so you can eat less, but feel more satisfied.
To make oat flour, you can blitz oats in a food processor, or you can buy it from most supermarkets these days in the baking aisle (Woolworths in Australia is where you can find it locally). If you’re buying your Oat Flour, Bobs Red Mill is a brand that I often use.
Healthy Banana Bread Tips and Variations
- Choosing the right bananas: If you can choose bananas that have started to go a bit brown, that is ideal. Any brand of banana is OK, it’s more important to ensure it’s the right level of ripeness. Avoid buying bananas that have any green bits as these won’t be suitable to make banana bread. They’ll be too firm and to bitter.
- Ripening Bananas Quicker: Put bananas in a brown paper bag in a drawer overnight to help them ripen up.
- Mashing Bananas: Use a big bowl, peel one banana at a time and put it into the bowl. Mash with a large fork by pressing down into the banana. Once mashed, add another banana and so on. Avoid putting all bananas in at once to mash as this makes it more difficult
- Spice it Up: adding half a teaspoon of spices such as ground cinnamon, nutmeg, ground ginger, or ground gloves, will add to the flavour of the banana bread. I wouldn’t add anymore than half a teaspoon though as you still want to be able to taste the bananas.
- Make it into Muffins: instead of a loaf, use a silicone muffin tray to make 12 muffins. If you don’t have a muffin tin, use store bought paper or foil cups
- Add some nuts: walnuts and pecans are great additions and add a lovely textural element to your banana bread. Choose one nut, about 1 cup, lightly toast the nuts on a baking tray for 5 minutes in a hot oven, and stir through the batter before putting it into the tin.
- Add More Fruit: blueberries (fresh or dried), raspberries (fresh), or even unsweetened coconut. I’d avoid using frozen fruits as it will add too much moisture to the batter and may affect the overall cooking time.
Serving, Storing, and Reheating Oat Flour Banana Bread
Here’s what to do once you’ve made your healthy sugar free banana bread. Make sure to let it cool in the tin before removing it.
Serving Ideas. Serve warm banana bread with a slather of butter, or peanut butter/your favourite nut butter. Maybe some blueberries on top or a sprinkle of cinnamon.
To Store. It will keep in an air tight container at room temperature for 2 to 3 days. If you aren’t going to eat it all in that time, freezing is an option.
To Freeze. Slice banana bread into pieces and either wrap in plastic wrap or pop into individual ziplock bags. You can freeze this banana bread for upto 4 weeks
To Reheat. Let the banana bread defrost naturally to room temperature if possible, then reheat in microwave for 10 seconds. If you can’t let it defrost naturally, microwave it at 50% power for 30 -50 seconds.
This oat flour banana bread is way healthier than store bought banana breads that are loaded with sugars, and it’s easy to make. It’s the ideal high fibre, protein packed, sugar free snack to keep your energy levels up and to enjoy with your morning coffee.
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Oat Flour Banana Bread
Ingredients
- 2 cups Oat Flour
- ½ cup Lakanto Monkfruit sweetener Brown
- 2 teaspoons Baking powder
- 1 teaspoon Bicarb Soda
- ½ teaspoon Cinnamon
- 6 tablespoons Butter
- 1 teaspoon Vanilla extract
- 2 medium eggs
- 2 cups Banana mashed with a fork
- ½ cup Sour cream
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 180 degrees C/350 degrees F
- Mash the bananas in a bowl and set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl, add the monkfruit sweetener, vanilla and softened butter. (If butter is straight from the fridge, microwave for 15 secs to soften). Use handheld electric beaters to beat the sweetener and butter for 2 minutes
- Add the eggs one at a time, using the electric beaters to mix each egg in.
- In a separate bowl, add the flour, cinnamon, baking soda and bicarb soda. Mix with a spoon to combine.
- To the bowl of wet ingredients, add the dry ingredients, followed by the mashed banana and sour cream.
- Mix with a wooden spoon gently until the mixture is all combined and a batter is formed.
- Line a loaf tin with baking/parchment paper. I used a rectangle metal loaf tin 30 cm x 15 cm (12 inch x 6 inch)
- Bake in oven at 180 degrees C/350 degrees F for 50 minutes.
- Remove cake from oven and test with a cake skewer. If it comes out clean, the cake is cooked
- Let cake cool in the tin for 15 minutes, then take it out to further cool on a wire rack, covered with a tea towel.
Notes
- Sweetener: I used Lakanto Monkfruit Brown which is a natural sweetener that measures just like sugar but without the calories.
- Choosing the right bananas: If you can choose bananas that have started to go a bit brown, that is ideal. Any brand of banana is OK, it’s more important to ensure it’s the right level of ripeness. Avoid buying bananas that have any green bits as these won’t be suitable to make banana bread. They’ll be too firm and to bitter.
- Ripening Bananas Quicker: Put bananas in a brown paper bag in a drawer overnight to help them ripen up.
- Mashing Bananas: Use a big bowl, peel one banana at a time and put it into the bowl. Mash with a large fork by pressing down into the banana. Once mashed, add another banana and so on. Avoid putting all bananas in at once to mash as this makes it more difficult
- Storage: Store banana bread in an air tight plastic container at room temperature for 3 days
- Freezer Friendly: Absolutely. Slice into portions, pop into ziplock bags and into the freezer. They will last for 4 weeks.
- Sour Cream: buy the full fat version as you really need the higher fat content for this recipe to ensure the banana bread is moist. Low fat sour cream will result in a dry end result.
- Additions: spices (1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger) - just one not all three, nuts (1 cup lightly toasted chopped walnuts or pecans), fruits (1/2 cup dried or fresh blueberries, fresh raspberries, unsweetened shredded coconut)
Nutrition
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