This mock sugar free and keto banana bread is nothing short of incredible! Totally flavorful and moist, you’ll be hard-pressed to notice its actual lack of bananas!
Mock Keto Banana Bread
Completely Sugar-Free & Banana-less!
Just like our ‘apple’ muffins (and pie!), this mock keto banana bread is bound to fool everyone! Super moist and bursting with an incredible banana flavor, it’s dense yet cakey texture is truly spot on.
So whip it up as a loaf or make as muffins. Make solo or add pecans, walnuts or chocolate chunks(!!). I’m thinking a pat of butter and drizzle of our keto salted caramel will go nicely too.
Honestly, truly incredible at just 2g net carbs a slice!
The Banana Extract
A high quality banana extract is an absolute must! Out of the handful I’ve tried, the Pure Banana extract from Olive Nation is the one I’ve liked best (not sponsored!).
It simply tastes like ripe bananas (ideal!) and is completely sugar-free and nil carbs (super ideal!). But if you’ve tried other good ones, be sure to drop them in the comments (always love your recs!)
The Sweetener
You’ve got good options here. Lakanto Golden, xylitol (non-corn though to avoid tummy troubles!) and allulose (add 30% more) are my top choices (no aftertaste at all!).
Pyure (an erythritol and stevia blend) is also a good one for muffins and quick breads, particularly if you’re trying to limit your sugar alcohol consumption (it’s added stevia makes it twice as sweet as sugar… i.e. you add half!).
Oh, and if not restricted by sugars, simply sub 1-to-1 with coconut or regular sugar.
Also note that adding a teaspoon of blackstrap molasses adds that brown sugar kick (i.e. a tonne of umami and improves browning!). Keep in mind that blackstrap molasses is considered a low glycemic sugar. One teaspoon (7g) adds 5g net carbs, so just 0.4g net carbs a slice (i.e. half the sugar of a strawberry!). But carbs aside, it’s also known to be a nutritional powerhouse rich in vital vitamins and minerals; such as iron, calcium, magnesium, vitamin B6, and selenium.
Fun fact: Molasses contain high amounts of chromium, which has been studied to increase glucose tolerance levels.
But if it’s still not your thing, just leave it out or do a brown sugar sub (such as Lakanto Golden!)!
And if using xylitol, make sure to be careful if you have a pup (or kitty!) around the house, as it’s highly toxic to the little guys! 
The Flours
I like a mixture of super fine almond flour, psyllium husk, coconut flour and golden flaxseed meal best.
Just keep in mind that for best texture and rise, you’ll always want to regrind your flaxseed meal in a dry blender or bullet. And be sure you’re either using either very finely ground psyllium powder or to regrind your husks!
In terms of brands, for the almond either Anthony’s or WellBees work great and for coconut Anthony’s is my forever favorite. And for the psyllium husk you’ll want to use the NOW brand, as others may stain your banana bread purple.
Mock Sugar Free & Keto Banana Bread
This mock sugar free and keto banana bread is nothing short of incredible! Totally flavorful and moist, you'll be hard-pressed to notice its actual lack of bananas!
Oh, and if baking with cups rather than grams is your thing, just click on US Cups for an instant conversion.
Ingredients
- 114 g grass-fed unsalted butter
- 128 g almond flour
- 46 g golden flaxseed meal finely ground*
- 18 g psyllium husk finely ground*
- 14 g coconut flour
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon xanthan gum
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 4 eggs
- 2/3-1 cup golden erythritol xylitol or coconut sugar, to taste (I use 3/4 cup)
- 1 teaspoon blackstrap molasses totally optional!
- 2-3 teaspoons banana extract I use 3 tsp**
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
- 90 g full fat Greek-style yogurt or sour cream
- 2/3-1 cup roughy chopped pecans or walnuts optional
Instructions
Heat up the butter in a small saucepan over medium/low heat. Continue to simmer the butter, stirring once in a while, until fully browned (about 4-6 minutes). Set aside to cool slightly while you prepare the rest. Note: browning the butter is totally optional, but it does add a tonne of flavor so it comes highly suggested!
Preheat oven to 350°F/180°C. Line (or grease and flour with coconut flour) a 8.5x4.5" or 5x9" loaf pan. I used the smaller size, but the larger one will work just as well (just expect a shorter bread!).
Whisk together in a medium bowl almond flour, golden flaxseed meal, psyllium husk, coconut flour, baking powder, xanthan gum and salt. Set aside.
Add eggs, sweetener and molasses (optional) to a large bowl and beat with an electric mixer for 3-5 minutes until airy and lighter in color. With the mixer on, add in the banana and vanilla extracts, apple cider vinegar and browned butter.
Add in the dry flour mixture in two parts, alternating with the yogurt. Mix for 2 to 3 minutes until fully incorporated and elastic, the batter will thicken as you mix (think cookie dough!). Fold in the nuts (optional).
Distribute batter evenly into pan, smoothing out the top with a wet spatula. Bake for 55 to 65 minutes, until deep golden and a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Check in on the bread after minute 15, and cover with aluminum foil as soon as it begins to turn golden (about minute 20 for me). Alternatively, feel free to make 12 muffins out of a batch (bake for 25-30 minutes, until golden and a toothpick inserted comes out clean).
Allow to cool for 15 minutes in the pan before removing, and cool completely in a rack before glazing or cutting. Keep in mind that your banana bread will continue to cook while it cools, so don't slice it before!
Recipe Notes
*For best texture and rise, always regrind your psyllium husk (or powder) and flax meal in a dry blender or bullet.
**A high quality banana extract is an absolute must! Out of the handful I’ve tried, the Pure Banana extract from Olive Nation is the one I’ve liked best (not sponsored!). It simply tastes like ripe bananas (ideal!) and is completely sugar-free and nil carbs (super ideal!). Also note that you can add it to taste: with 2 tsp giving you a mild banana flavor and 3 tsp a more intense one (my pick!).
Please note that nutrition facts were estimated per slice, assuming a yield of 12 (2g net carbs!).
The banana bread is amazing! I just finished baking it right now. My husband and I love it!
That’s awesome to hear Briana!! xo!
Paola! So, first of all my partner and I adore your recipes and your site. We’ve tried countless recipes and have loved them all. I so appreciate your emphasis on flavor and texture while developing these recipes. Great stuff!
We made the banana bread and really loved it. I happen to really like banana ice cream, so I did some experimenting. I used the extract you recommended (4x tablespoons) along with some vanilla extract and cinnamon to flavor your usual ice cream base. We folded in some chopped walnuts and… omg! Keto spiced banana walnut ice cream! It turned out beautifully and is incredibly delicious, even better with a few sugar free chocolate chips.
Thanks for all your work! xx
KEVIN! (Caps = me very excited!). This sounds SO GOOD! Thank you so much for sharing, I’m a huge fan of banana ice cream and hadn’t thought of this! wowz love it!
This morning, I made a loaf of this banana bread for my diabetic neighbors. I subbed Sukrin Gold and sour cream, used chopped pecans, otherwise no changes, and baked it for 65 minutes (probably a couple of minutes too long as the ends were kind of hard). To make sure it wasn’t overbaked, I took a tiny slice (~1/4″) from the middle to check it. YUM! Great flavor and texture, loaded with nuts, and tasted like banana bread to me.
I considered keeping half for myself but that’s naughty not nice😀🎄 I can make another one for me.
I’m very new to Keto (a month in), but was gluten free in the past so I’ve done a fair amount of alternative baking. But I have NEVER had a recipe so SUCCESSFUL as this mock banana bread! I was dancing around my kitchen last night with joy as this came out of the oven. It rose beautifully (it fell a bit likely due to all the bouncing around!) and I could hardly wait for it to cool enough to try. And the flavor, the texture….holy cow! It’s SO much like real banana bread that even my non-keto/non-gf family loved it. Bravo! I’m so excited to try some of your other recipes. Thank you, thank you, thank you. I feel like I can go into Christmas with a treat, too. =) ♥
Ahhhhhhh could be either of those! I did it for 55 min and took it out! Maybe I will try them longer! Thank you so much for replying!
Loafs can be particularly tricky (keto or not), it’s a bit about getting to know your oven with practice and how heat is distributed within 😉
OH my gosh!!!!!! Just made this with sunflower seed flour and it was FANTASTIC! Tasted pretty much exactly like real banana bread! Thank you so much for this!
Side note – any tips on getting a nice and high rise with it like yours? I’ve done the pumpkin loaf, the sandwhich loaf and this and everytime it looks like a nice rise coming out of the oven but then it sinks in after 15 min or so!! How to avoid this to get them to look picture perfect!?
Awesome to hear it works with ssf AB! I’m thinking this could be two things, you’re either not baking the loafs long enough (the biggest reason why baked goods collapse post bake, keto or not)… or the ssf isn’t as fine as the almond flour I’m using and it’s weighing down the breads. If the later is the culprit, making the loafs as muffins will help a lot. xo!
Is there any way of subbing the coconut flour? I know you probably won’t taste it but I’ll end up wasting the rest of the bag!
Could you freeze the muffins and take out as needed? Or would that affect taste to much?
Works fine! In my experience very little is lost xo!
Oh my heavens!!!!! This is literally heaven in bread form!!!! Followed your recipe exactly and am totally making this over and over and over again!!!!! Thanks for all your AMAZING recipes!!!!!
It’s my absolute pleasure Andrea! AWESOME to hear!!
Hi, I find myself checking for updated recipes a lot and just wanted to start off by saying thank you for making your recipes easy, accessible, and fun to make. And since I made these I thought I would comment about my experience!
So I found that the flavour wasn’t as strong as I personally like it, so I added extra banana extract, and since I’m not a big fan of a glue texture I halved the flaxseed, and split the left over amount(that should have been flax) between almond flour and coconut(3:1). And I actually used swerve(brown) since I just got it, and it turned out fine just maybe not as sweet? But I’m so happy you made a banana bread recipe(I LOVE BANANA BREAD), and look forward to making it many times in the future!
And just a last question, Does any one know any ways to make them less glue-y or is it just a unfixable down-side to no gluten?
I made these as muffins, and they are DELICIOUS! They taste like the real thing!
Oh, how I missed banana bread… Thanks for a great recipe!
SO awesome to hear Gabriela! I think quite a few of you got the banana extracts at the end of the week and have been tagging me nonstop 😂!!
I made these as muffins also yesterday. This a genius recipe! They truly do taste like the real thing, if not better. The texture is spot on and the taste is delicious. I used 1/2 cup birch xylitol and 1/4 cup powdered swerve. No cooling effect whatsoever. I have tried so many low carb muffin recipes and none of them were tasty enough for me to want to make them again. I put one of these muffins on my husband’s breakfast plate, he ate it and then went and got another one! He is a very picky eater, so that says a lot about this muffin recipe. This one is a keeper! I am looking forward to trying all of your recipes.
Sarah how wonderful to hear!! Regarding the sweetener, I’m very sensitive to the cooling but I’ve found that in most muffins (these included) I didn’t get anything whatsoever (used Lakanto). Hope you find more keepers throughout! xo!
Thank you, thank you, THANK YOU! I have really missed banana nut muffins and making regular BNMs for friends and family has sorely tested me over the past two years. The aroma when they bake, the banana flavor…thanks to you I don’t have to miss out on that any more! These are to die for!!!!! So moist and delish! My second favorite muffin is almond poppyseed. I’m certain a lot less almond flavoring would be required than the banana flavoring. Using this recipe as a base, do you think a teaspoon of almond extract in place of the banana would be enough/too much? I use Olive Nation extracts (their cinnamon extract is amazing!). Thanks soooo much!
Kat that’s great to hear!!! Tbh I’ve found that almond extract can vary quite a bit… but yeah, I definitely wouldn’t go past 1 tsp (I add 1tsp to a whole batch of amaretti… so I would start with just 1/2 tsp so it doesn’t taste like soap!) xo!!
I just made these as muffins and they’re delicious! I think they’ll taste even better when I restock on sukrin gold, I was out and used 3/4 cup of normal swerve and they’re still great! Thanks for another amazing recipe Paola <3
Wonderful to hear Solora! And yup, I found that using Lakanto gold was better than regular 😉 xo and it’s my absolute pleasure!
Yum! Instead of extract, could I use real bananas? How many?
Unfortunately this recipe is designed to work without the bananas (i.e. keto!)… simply adding bananas would alter the wet ratios and I doubt you’ll get the right texture 🙁
Is the p. Husk and flaxmeal measured first then ground?
You’re right to ask as the way the recipe ingredient does indicate that… but I grind the whole bags when I open them, so grind then measure. xo!
Anyway you can sub the flaxseed?
This sounds delicious. I prefer very very lightly sweetened breads, do you recommend I use less than 2/3 cup golden erythritol or will that negatively affect the texture? Thanks!
It shouldn’t… I’ve made other quick breads with Pyure (so using half the amount as it’s twice as sweet) and I didn’t find the texture to vary. Sugar alcohols are funny things
Step 7 says “pumpkin bread” it is “banana bread. Fyi
Case of the mondays 😂 thanks Janet!
OH EMMM GEEEE!!! WITH YOUR NUTELLA RECIPE!!! I made it this weekend and the whole family devoured it lol!
Ummmm why didn’t I think of that?!!! 😍!!
Love you more than words can say!!!
😂!
Hey Paola!
I was in my cubicle doing an internal scream of excitement when I received this notification for banana bread 😁🙌 Can’t wait to try it out soon!
I’ve been using LorAnn oils successfully for years since my previous life as custom cake baker of the wheat based kind. Depending on how much banana oil I have left I’ll use LorAnn, or place another Amazon order to include your recommendation. Thanks to you, I am running out of pantry space with all the Amazon orders I’ve acquired recently. LOL 😄 I would venture to say, I make and/or eat a recipe from Gnom-Gnom on a daily basis these days.
Quick question. Why is such a large vessel needed to brown the butter? Just curious.
Lastly, take a look at step #7. You know they are going to question you about the pumpkin typo.
omg it read dutch oven because I’m totally having a case of the mondays 😂 (its now been changed to a small saucepan!). I haven’t tried LorAnn oils yet, excited to experiment more!! 🙂
and thank you for your lovely comments Lisa! I so enjoy reading and learning from you 😉 xo!!
could you do this in muffin tins? you would have to adjust the baking time
Yup! details are in the instructions themselves (roughly 30 min bake) xo!!
You’re amazing Paola! I’ve missed banana bread so badly, but with t2 diabetes I thought it would be out of the qs for good! Bless you for all the goodies you share 🙂
You’re too sweet Mary Anne! Trust me, I get you!! I was so bummed when I first had to give up gluten (then grains, then sugar)… little did I know! 😂