Reduced Sugar Baking
We heard you loud and clear! Many of you have asked for some recipes with reduced sugar. This Lower Fat, Reduced Sugar Banana Bread has so much going for it…
You can whip it up in less time than it takes to preheat the oven, it can be made by hand in a bowl with a wooden spoon, it is tall and moist, very banana-y and dare I say it? I think I like it even better than our original approach, which you can see in our Monash compliant Low FODMAP Recipe for Banana Bread Muffins.
For this recipe we have reduced the fat by one-third and halved the sugar.
Make Two, Freeze One!
Not all baking recipes double well, meaning that the results will be as good as a single version. This recipe does double well and if you have two pans we recommend that you make two and freeze one.
I freeze very few baked goods, as I find they dry out and really degrade in the freezer. This is one recipe that does freeze well, if you follow the directions.
Loaf Pans
And speaking of pans, you will note that I call for a 8 ½ inch x 4 ¼ inch (21.5 cm x 10.5 cm) loaf pan. This dimension will give you the nice tall, square shape you see in the images.
You could use a 9-inch by 5-inch (23 cm x 12 cm) loaf pan, but the Banana Bread will end up being much more squat.
Also, watch your baking times as it will bake more quickly.
Use Really Ripe Bananas
Just make sure to use really ripe bananas – they should have no green on them at all and should be sporting a nice coat of black freckles and a very strong, sweet banana aroma.
Don’t worry about the FODMAPs. If you stick to the suggested portions, this recipe is low FODMAP.
The addition of light brown sugar, with its slightly caramel-like flavors, actually enhanced the tropical banana taste.
Feel free to use the walnuts or pecans if you like a bit of crunch – or go for straight banana bread flavor and texture and leave them out.
Lower Fat, Reduced Sugar Banana Bread
Our Lower Fat, Reduced Sugar Banana Bread is low FODMAP if you stick to the portions suggested. Make sure to use super ripe bananas for best results.
Low FODMAP Serving Size Info: Makes 1 loaf; 14 slices; serving size 1 slice
Ingredients:
- 11/2 cups (218 g) low FODMAP, gluten-free all-purpose flour, such as Bob’s Red Mill Gluten Free 1 to 1 Baking Flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/3 cup (75 ml) vegetable oil, such as canola
- 1/4 cup (50 g) sugar
- 1/4 cup (54 g) firmly packed light brown sugar
- 2 large eggs, at room temperature
- 11/2 cups (300 g) fork-mashed ripe banana (about 3 medium)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 cup (99 g) toasted walnut or pecan halves, finely chopped (optional)
Preparation:
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Position rack in the center of your oven. Preheat to 350° F/180°C. Coat an 8 ½ inch x 4 ¼ inch (21.5 cm x 10.5 cm) loaf pan with nonstick spray (see Dédé’s notes in headnote above).
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Whisk the flour, baking soda and salt together in a large bowl and set aside.
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Whisk the oil, sugar and brown sugar in a medium bowl until thoroughly combined. Whisk in eggs, one at a time, until incorporated. Whisk in banana and vanilla.
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Pour wet ingredients over dry ingredients and whisk gently just until combined, finishing off with a rubber spatula. Gently fold in walnuts and/or chocolate morsels at this time, if using.
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Scrape batter into loaf pan and bake for about 50 minutes to 1 hour. A toothpick should just test clean when inserted in center of bread, the top will be golden and risen and the edges will just be pulling away from the sides of the pan.
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Cool pan on rack for 10 minutes, then turn bread out and cool completely on rack. Bread is ready to eat, however it slices best after being wrapped in plastic wrap and allowed to sit at room temperature overnight. Bread will keep for about 4 days. If you want to freeze it, double wrap a cooled loaf in plastic wrap, then slip into a heavy zip top bag. Freeze for up to one month. It will defrost very quickly at room temperature.
Notes:
If You Can Tolerate
- Fructans: If you passed the fructan wheat challenge, you can sub in all purpose unbleached flour for the gluten-free flour. Note that the banana bread will no longer be gluten-free. Use weight equivalents for most accurate results with this substitution.
Nutrition
All nutritional information is based on third-party calculations and should be considered estimates. Actual nutritional content will vary with brands used, measuring methods, portion sizes and more. For a more detailed explanation, please read our article Understanding The Nutrition Panel Within Our Recipes.
And since you are a banana lover, please do check out our mega-banana round-up for loads of more delicious recipes.
Hi,
I’m vegan so do not use eggs – is there anything you can suggest that I could replace them with here and still keep it as low fodmap? Thanks
Hi Amy, you could try using flax eggs but I have not tested this recipe with that approach. For every large egg called for in a recipe you can try combining 1 tablespoon of flaxseed meal with 3 tablespoons of water and allowing it to “gel” by sitting for a few minutes before using as the “egg” in the recipe.
What is the weight of bananas we should use? I prefer to weigh ingredients for fodmap content and preciseness.
I see volume but not sure the ml to g conversion for bananas.
Thanks!
Hi Diya, the short answer is that you want about 300 g total. The long answer is that the most precise way to duplicate a recipe is to follow the procedures that the recipe developer has set forth. If a recipe is developed with volume measurements, then converting to weight is not as precise or accurate as just using volume in the first place. The converse is also true. Our Test Kitchen is in the US and we use volume measurements, following what American cooks do, as our primary mode of measurement.
Given the US is not the center of the universe, not everyone has access to US-calibrated cup measures. This US-centric view is not very inclusive of the rest of the world, and scolding someone for asking a question because they don’t have access to your American kitchen tools is not very kind.
Unfortunately, diseases are not location-specific and people around the world suffer from diseases that require the low fodmap diet.
Further, many people have unique personal fodmap tolerances, and need to ensure they can enjoy the recipe based on the weights of fodmaps they can tolerate (before using up ingredients on a recipe they can’t eat).
I know I appreciate your site and sharing the weight conversion – I’m sure including weights on all your recipes would make them more accessible globally. Cheers.
Hi Jess, I am not sure what you are referencing. Every recipe on our site, since we launched, has provided volume measures and weights, including this recipe. So, the flour has the 218 g measurement, 75 ml vegetable oil, etc. We have always done this because we heartily agree that our recipes and FODMAP information should be accessible to as many people as possible. If you were referencing the prior Comment, we did provide information that we felt would help that person have success with the recipe.
Made this today and it is very good. Thanks for the recipe.
It is my go-to for banana bread these days! Glad you liked it.
I made this today. My daughter is new to the low FOD diet and this was absolutely amazing!! We will make this again for sure! Thank you for the recipe
So glad you found this recipe – it is my fave banana bread recipe. If you haven’t tried our Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins, I HIGHLY recommend them. Similar, and then again a whole new recipe and I think you will love them.
Would it work with stevia? I’m trying to loose weight but also like something sweet
The recipe has not been tried and tested with stevia.
I love baking banana bread but I haven’t tried a gluten-free one. I am excited to try this recipe. This looks so amazing. Thanks for this!
Dede sorry I cannot do the accent on the e – new phone and haven’t RTManual!
Reading not my strong suit,, read-on!
Anc you’ll soon see!
I decided to double the recipe and live in in Ireland and never heard of 1to1 flour so misread the instructions from the get-go as they say!
Thinking it was 1 and a half cup of gf flour to 1 baking flour which
I understood to be say regular ie non gf flour and being dietary versatile, thought sure, I’ll try that, well it was so dry having used 3 cups of gf to 2 cups of the non, I had to grate a courgette in at the end, throw in milk and another egg!
And some cherries as I had only blitzed some dates for sweetness instead of sugar.. Then another drop of melted buyer.
If you want to email me for a photo of the end result tomorrow you’d be more than welcome but I’m such a luddite I didn’t twig the name Bob’s 1 to 1 was a link until 3rd rereading…
Nor do I know what fodmap. means, I’ll look it up now… The longer you live the more you eat!
cuasnogbb@gmail.com
Many thanks
Caitriona
Oh well! Sounds like a lot went askew! There are no courgettes in this bread, although we do have a quick bread using it. The dates and cherries – and courgettes for that matter and whatever flour you ddi use – would have dramatically changed the FODMAP load of the recipe. Without knowing exactly what you used I would not be able to tell you what a low FODMAP serving is. If you like to bake and can get the Bob’s Red Mill flour I highly suggested that you do as it is used in most of the baking recipes on the site.
Can you bake this recipe in a bread machine?
I have not tested it that way and every machine will be different, so I do not know whether it will work or not.
I love this lower fat, reduced sugar version banana bread. Baked it this morning with all purpose flour as I don’t have issues with wheat. My other recipes are always too sweet but this one is lovely. Thank you.
So glad you loved this! It is my favorite banana bread recipe.
Hello just curious can you use coconut oil instead of the vegetable oil?
You could. I am personally not a fan as I find that the oil sits very heavy in my stomach. It also will make the bread slightly heavier in texture but it will work and it will remain Low FODMAP
Today, I am making this again, it is so, so good! I will make this recipe as my go to for banana bread, and am looking forward to other recipes! Thank you!
This is our household version, too! Thank you for writing and letting us know you loved it.