Fragrant, delicious, and comforting, this keto banana bread is perfect as a tasty breakfast or a filling snack.
The keto version is made with two bananas and a sugar-free sweetener. I also offer a paleo version with three bananas and honey.
This keto banana bread is amazing. It's fragrant and not too sweet—the perfect breakfast or snack bread. As I was baking it, my house was filled with the wonderful fragrance of sweet roasted nuts, bananas, and cinnamon.
My starting point when creating this recipe was my pumpkin bread. It's basically the same, with mashed bananas instead of pumpkin. I also use less sweetener because ripe bananas are so sweet.
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Ingredients
You'll only need a few simple ingredients to make this recipe. The exact measurements are included in the recipe card below. Here's an overview of what you'll need:
- Eggs: I use large eggs in most of my recipes, including this one.
- Bananas: Very ripe and well-mashed. Two for a keto bread, three for a paleo version.
- Vanilla extract: Please use the real thing - pure vanilla extract.
- Ground cinnamon: I use a whole tablespoon. You can use just a teaspoon for lighter-colored bread. But the cinnamon does add wonderful flavor.
- Sweetener: A sugar-free sweetener for the keto bread, honey for the paleo version.
- Almond flour: I use blanched, finely ground almond flour in this recipe.
- Kosher salt: I use Diamond Crystal Kosher Salt.
- Baking soda: You can replace the teaspoon of baking soda with a tablespoon of baking powder (gluten-free if needed).
Variations
The best way to vary this recipe is by adding chopped raw nuts (like pecans or walnuts) or dark chocolate chips to the batter. You can add ⅓ cup of any such addition.
Instructions
Making this keto banana bread is easy! Scroll down to the recipe card for detailed instructions. Here's an overview of the steps:
Whisk all the ingredients in a medium bowl, starting with the wet and adding the dry.
Transfer the batter to a parchment-lined and greased small loaf pan.
Bake the bread in a 350°F oven. The exact time depends on your oven. When it's done, a toothpick inserted in the middle of the loaf should come out dry. The keto bread will need 30-40 minutes in the oven, and the paleo bread will need 40-50 minutes since it contains more bananas.
Cool the bread completely before enjoying it. This is the hardest part! You will want to dig in right away as it smells so good. But the bread will be too soft and gooey when it emerges from the oven. Its texture and flavor will dramatically improve as it cools. Look how moist and lovely it is:
Expert Tips
- Use ripe but not spoiled bananas. See the image below - you want deep yellow bananas that have plenty of black spots on the outside and are very soft on the inside. Just make sure there are no white spots on the inside and that the inside is not runny - this means the banana is spoiled.
- Use a small loaf pan. A standard-size loaf pan, 9 X 5 inches, will make the bread come out very flat. So make sure you use a small loaf pan measuring 8.5 X 4.5 inches.
- Let it cool completely. The bread emerges from the oven with a gorgeous dark crust. It smells heavenly. You will want to dig in immediately (or maybe let it cool for 10 minutes). Please don't! This bread is too soft and gooey when it comes out of the oven. It really does need to cool completely. I cool it for two hours on a cooling rack, and only then do I slice it - and it's perfect. In the past, when I was impatient and sliced it after 20 minutes, it was still delicious - but too gooey and crumbly. Its texture and flavor greatly improve after it's cooled.
Recipe FAQs
Absolutely! This delicious bread is proof, and I have several more that I make with just almond flour (like this almond flour bread), and they turn out well. Combining almond flour with eggs and a leavening agent creates beautiful breads.
Yes. Use 3-4 teaspoons instead of 1 teaspoon of baking soda. Make sure your baking powder is fresh—it doesn't last as long as baking soda.
Also, keep in mind that baking soda promotes browning, so the crust will be paler if you use baking powder.
For the keto banana bread, use stevia or a granulated sweetener. For the paleo version, use honey or coconut sugar.
If making the paleo version and using three bananas, the sweetener is optional. I recently made a version of this bread with no sweetener, relying on the fruit for sweetness. I thought it was perfect - just the right amount of sweetness.
Serving Suggestions
I like this bread just as it is. It's perfect with coffee or iced coffee! My kids enjoy it with a pat of unsalted butter, as shown in the photo below. It's also excellent with cream cheese, almond butter, peanut butter, walnut butter, or keto hazelnut spread.
Storing Leftovers
Once the bread is completely cool, slice it. Then, place the slices in an airtight container, separating layers with wax paper. You can keep them this way in the fridge for up to four days.
You can also freeze the slices in freezer bags. Again, if layering, separate the layers with wax paper.
More Keto Bread Recipes
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Recipe Card
Keto Banana Bread
Ingredients
- Cooking spray for the pan - I use avocado oil spray
- 3 large eggs
- 2 large bananas - well mashed, 1 cup; three bananas or 1.5 cups for a paleo version
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 2 tablespoons sugar-free sweetener - or honey for a paleo version
- 2 cups almond flour - 8 ounces
- 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt - or a pinch of any other salt
- 1 teaspoon baking soda - or a tablespoon of baking powder, gluten-free if needed
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350°F. Line a small loaf pan (8.5 X 4.5 inches) with parchment paper strips, leaving an overhang on each side of the pan. Lightly spray the lined pan with oil.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the eggs, mashed bananas, vanilla, and sweetener.
- Gradually whisk in the almond flour, cinnamon, kosher salt, and baking soda. Whisk until smooth.
- Using a rubber spatula, transfer the batter to the prepared pan. Gently tap the pan on the countertop to distribute the batter evenly.
- Bake the bread until browned and set, and a toothpick inserted in its center comes out dry, 30-40 minutes (40-50 minutes if using three bananas and honey).
- Using the excess parchment paper as handles, carefully remove the bread from the pan and transfer it to a wire rack. Carefully remove the parchment to allow air to circulate.
- Cool the bread completely on the cooling rack for about 2 hours. Slice it into 12 slices and serve.
Video
Notes
- Use ripe but not spoiled bananas. You want deep yellow bananas that have plenty of black spots on the outside and are very soft on the inside. Just make sure there are no white spots on the inside and that the inside is not runny - this means the banana is spoiled.
- I use Bob's Red Mill Super-Fine Almond Flour. One cup of this flour weighs 4 ounces, so two cups weigh 8 ounces. It's best to measure almond flour by weight rather than by volume.
- Occasionally, baking soda can cause a reaction in baked goods, resulting in an ammonia smell. If you're concerned about it happening, use 3-4 teaspoons of gluten-free baking powder instead of baking soda.
- The bread emerges from the oven with a gorgeous dark crust. It smells heavenly. You will want to dig in immediately. Please don't! This bread is too soft and gooey when it comes out of the oven. It really needs to cool completely. I cool it for two hours on a cooling rack, and only then do I slice it - and it's perfect.
- Storage: Once the bread is completely cool, slice it. Then, place the slices in an airtight container, separating layers with wax paper. You can keep them this way in the fridge for up to 4 days. You can also freeze the slices in freezer bags. Again, if layering, separate the layers with wax paper.
- If using three bananas and two tablespoons of honey for a paleo version, each slice has about 160 calories, 14 grams of carbs, 6 grams of sugar, and 3 grams of fiber.
- If you need a lower-carb bread, I highly recommend this keto zucchini bread.
Nutrition per Serving
Disclaimers
Cup measurements refer to the standard American cup, which is 240 milliliters. Most of my recipes are low-carb (or keto) and gluten-free, but some are not. Please verify that a recipe fits your needs before using it. Recommended and linked products are not guaranteed to be gluten-free. Nutrition info is approximate, and the carb count excludes non-nutritive sweeteners. Nutrition info may contain errors, so please verify it independently. Recipes may contain errors, so please use your common sense when following them. Please read these Terms of Use carefully before using any of my recipes.
Vered DeLeeuw, LL.M., CNC, has been following a low-carb real-food diet and blogging about it since 2011. She's a Certified Nutrition Coach (NASM-CNC), has taken courses at the Harvard School of Public Health, and has earned a Nutrition and Healthy Living Certificate from Cornell University. Her work has appeared in several major media outlets, including Healthline, HuffPost, Today, Women's Health, Shape, and Country Living. 
Sharon
I have made the keto version twice now and it has turned out fabulous. I did notice, however, that after I remove the bread from the loaf pan and it was cooling on the cooling rack, the middle kind of fell in. Any idea why that would happen — it’s like it buckled in, but only in the middle? It was fully cooked.
Thanks
Vered DeLeeuw
Hi Sharon,
This usually happens when the batter is over-beaten or aggressively whisked, resulting in too much air being worked in. Try to mix it minimally next time, just until incorporated.
Diana Lee
One of the best recipes. I did add a little more cinnamon because I wanted it to be more of a cinnamon bread than banana. The banana presented as a great sweetener. I added a teaspoon of salt instead of what’s listed to bring out the flavor. I topped it with rolled oats and more cinnamon. Perfect. I also waited 5 minutes before removing it from the pan to keep it from falling apart. It held together perfectly.
Vered DeLeeuw
I'm so glad you enjoyed this banana bread, Diana! Thank you for the detailed feedback.
Sharon
This banana bread is amazing. I made the keto version using almond flour and golden monk fruit. The only addition was a handful of chopped walnuts. This is absolutely the best banana bread. It was delicious and very moist. I have not made any recipes using almond flour and this one has inspired me! Thank you for this amazing recipe, which is now going to be a staple whenever I have ripe bananas.
Vered DeLeeuw
Yay! I'm so glad you enjoyed this recipe so much, Sharon! Thank you for taking the time to leave a detailed comment.
Scott
It's nice to see an almond flour recipe that has conventional ingredients ingredients (no xanthan gum or substitute sweeteners etc). I mostly stuck to the recipe except for reducing the cinnamon to 1 teaspoon and mixing in about 1/4 cup of walnuts plus sprinkling some on top. Baked for 50 minutes (internal temperature was about 203° F).
It looked great and my non-keto spouse complemented the appearance. Although the house smelled fragrant, the taste was more mild than I expected and had only a very light sweetness. The bananas were quite ripe, but maybe based on their size I could have added a fourth one and/or more honey.
I've been warming up each slice and spreading with butter and some extra sweetener which I just noticed you also mentioned.
Vered DeLeeuw
Thanks for the detailed feedback, Scott!
Nancy Fritsch
Loved this recipe!! Thank you for sharing it. The only changes I made were that I used monk fruit instead of honey, reduced the cinnamon, and added chopped hazelnuts and sugarless dark chocolate chips - strictly because of personal preference. I will make this again and again and will either keep it as written or increase the sweetener to 3 tablespoons of monk fruit.
Vered DeLeeuw
Yay! I'm so glad you enjoyed this bread, Nancy! Thank you so much for leaving a comment.
Mary
I tried this recipe this week and I was so pleasantly surprised at how moist and delicious this bread is. My family loved it. I'm diabetic so I used a keto honey and my glucose did not spike with this bread. Thank you for a delicious tasty treat!!
Vered DeLeeuw
I'm so happy this bread was a success, Mary! Thank you for leaving a comment.
Jennifer
I baked this bread today but added walnuts and used monk fruit sweetener instead of honey. I baked it for 42 minutes and checked with a toothpick which came clean, but when I went to take it out of the pan it started falling apart as it was uncooked inside.
I put it back for 30 minutes, as I needed to get it back up to temp and cook again. Do you know why this happened? it was brown on the edges and the toothpick did come out clean in two places. Do you need more time for walnuts? I can't figure it out.. thank you for all this help and healthier recipes. ❤️
Vered DeLeeuw
Hi Jennifer,
I don't think it was the walnuts. Here are a few possible explanations:
1. Maybe your oven runs cooler than mine.
2. Did you check the bread for doneness in the middle of the loaf?
3. Did you let it cool and set for two hours before slicing it?
4. Did you measure the almond flour by weight? Perhaps it needed more flour.
I hope this helps!
Kristin Shorb
This will be my go-to recipe for low-carb banana bread! My company and I liked it very much. I used two bananas and erythritol. Thank you!
Vered DeLeeuw
I'm so glad you liked this recipe, Kristin!
MB
One of the best low carb (or any carb!) banana bread recipes that I've tried! Moist, tasty, and easy to make. This recipe is a keeper!
Vered DeLeeuw
Glad you liked it!
Stacey Chapman
Made the keto version of this and even added some sugar-free chocolate morsels. My non-keto husband gave it a big thumbs up!
Vered DeLeeuw
So glad this was a success, Stacey!
Camille McIntyre
Great recipe! Hubby approved. What’s the best way to store it? Fridge? For how long and what would you suggest: any special wrap?
Vered DeLeeuw
Glad you liked it, Camille! As for storage: Once the bread is completely cool, slice it. Then place the slices in an airtight container, separating layers with wax paper. You can keep them this way in the fridge for up to 4 days. You can also freeze the slices in freezer bags. Again, if layering, separate the layers with wax paper.