Applesauce Banana Bread – Low Fat, No Butter & No Oil

My applesauce banana bread recipe is a delicious way to make a moist banana bread with less fat and calories. It is also a tasty twist on classic banana bread because it adds a subtle hint of apple flavor to your banana bread.

Recipe Sections

1. Ingredients
2. Instructions
3. Helpful Tips

My applesauce banana bread is also super easy to make. You are just replacing the vegetable oil or butter found in a traditional banana bread recipe with plain unsweetened applesauce. This simple substitution reduces the fat & calories without sacrificing moisture or flavor.

Applesauce Banana Bread – Straight from the Oven

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 Cups – Mashed Bananas (ripe) – 345 grams – This is roughly 3 large bananas. However, use exactly 1 1/2 cups of mashed bananas for the best & most consistent results.
• 1/2 Cup – Plain & Unsweetened Applesauce – 115 milliliters – The applesauce replaces the butter or vegetable oil used in many banana bread recipes.
• 2 – Large Eggs – 114 grams – Large eggs (not extra large or jumbo eggs) – See the tips section below if you want to make turn this into a vegan or eggless banana bread.
• 1 Cup – White Granulated Sugar – 200 grams – Some visitors prefer to use 1 cup of light brown sugar (215 grams). Others like to use 2/3 or 3/4 cup of sugar if they are using very ripe bananas or adding chocolate chips.
• 2 Cups – All Purpose Flour – 240 grams
• 1 Teaspoon – Vanilla Extract – 5 milliliters
• 1 Teaspoon – Baking Soda – 5 grams
• 1 Teaspoon – Baking Powder – 4 grams
• 1/2 Teaspoon – Salt – 3 grams
• Optional – 1 Teaspoon – Ground Cinnamon – 3 grams – Some people really like to add ground cinnamon to the batter, especially if their bananas are not super ripe.
• Optional – Add 1 Cup of Chocolate Chips (170 grams) or Fresh Blueberries (100 grams) or Chopped Walnuts (115 grams), etc.

Servings – Roughly 12 slices

Equipment Needed – Measuring cup & spoons, mixing bowl, long wooden spoon, 9 by 5 inch metal bread pan, oven mitts, silicon spatula, cooling rack and an oven.

Key Ingredients – Unsweetened Applesauce & Ripe Bananas

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (163 degrees C).
• Mash bananas with a fork.
• Lightly beat eggs.
• Mix mashed bananas, applesauce, eggs and sugar together in a large mixing bowl. Stir until completely mixed.
• Mix in the remaining ingredients. Stir until the batter is fully mixed. FYI – I prefer to use a large spoon to mix the batter. An electric mixer can overmix the batter and this can lead to gummy & rubbery banana breads.
• Optional – If you want to enhance this applesauce banana bread, you can stir in 1 cup of your family’s favorite dessert ingredient (e.g. chocolate chips or chopped walnuts) after you have mixed the batter.
• Pour the finished batter into a nonstick bread pan. Smooth out the top of the batter within the bread pan.
• Bake in the oven at 325 F (163 C) for 68-72 minutes. FYI – This baking time runs a few minutes longer than many of my other banana bread recipes. Why? Because this recipe contains more moisture & less fat.
• Take out of the oven and let the banana bread cool down in the bread pan for 10 minutes. Do not remove the banana bread from the bread pan during this 10 minute cool down period. Use oven mitts as the bread pan will be very hot coming out of the oven. FYI – Do not skip this step as the “cool down” completes the baking process.
• After 10 minutes, remove the banana bread from the bread pan. Place the banana bread on a cooling rack in order to completely cool. This cool down may take 1 to 2 hours.
• Please READ the tips section below for extra information on how to make this recipe successfully & to avoid common banana bread problems.

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Helpful Tips

• The tips below are designed to help banana bread “novices” and/or people with limited baking experience.
• Click on this “print recipe” link if you want to print out this recipe. It includes all of the recipe’s ingredients and instructions. However, the recipe print function does not include my tips section. Please read the tips section in order to avoid common recipe problems.
• This recipe is part of Bread Dad’s series on easy Banana Bread Recipes such as classic banana bread, eggless banana bread, chocolate chip banana bread and blueberry banana bread.

• Use RIPE bananas for the BEST flavor. Ripe bananas are soft and have a yellow peel covered with many small black spots.
• Hard bananas with yellow/green(ish) peels are too starchy and have much less banana flavor.
• FYI – A beautiful pure yellow banana (without any spots) is not fully ripe!!
• Using UNRIPE bananas will result in a bland banana bread (with little banana flavor).
• Use exactly 1 1/2 cups of mashed bananas for the best & most consistent results. 1 1/2 cups of mashed bananas equals roughly 3 large bananas. However, bananas vary in size and this size variation can throw off how much moisture is added to the recipe. Too much moisture or too little moisture will throw off a recipe (and the banana bread can come out under or over baked). It is safer to use 1 1/2 cups of mashed bananas (or to weigh the mashed bananas on a kitchen scale) versus using 3 random sized “large” bananas.

• If you are missing a little mashed banana (e.g. you only have 1 1/4 cups of mashed banana), you can replace the missing 1/4 cup with a 1/4 cup of applesauce. So instead of 1 1/2 cups of mashed bananas, you would use 1 1/4 cups of mashed bananas and a 1/4 cup of plain unsweetened applesauce. This makes sure that the recipe has the required overall moisture (but obviously, the banana bread will have a little more apple flavor and a little less banana flavor).
• Other options to replace the missing mashed bananas – some of my visitors like to use Greek yogurt or sour cream. However, the use of “full fat” Greek yogurt or sour cream will add back some calories & fat to the recipe.
• FYI – Applesauce, Greek yogurt, and sour cream are often used as substitutes for any missing mashed bananas in baked goods. Why? Because they have a moisture content and texture that is somewhat similar to mashed bananas.

• To make a banana bread without butter or oil, I like to use applesauce as the butter and/or vegetable oil substitute. Why? Because applesauce is low fat, easy to measure with a measuring cup and helps to make a moist banana bread.
• Use UNSWEETENED applesauce or the banana bread will come out too sweet (due to the extra sugar in the applesauce). Moreover, sweetened applesauce has a lot more calories than unsweetened applesauce.
• Read the ingredient label of the applesauce container carefully because some companies do not tell you if an applesauce is unsweetened or sweetened. Look to see if there is added sugar in the ingredients label.
• Use PLAIN (unflavored) applesauce in order to avoid interfering with the banana flavor. Some flavored brands of applesauce taste strange or are heavily flavored with spices. This can throw off the flavor of your banana bread.
• Visitors – Do you have any other applesauce “ideas” to help improve the flavor of an applesauce banana bread? Please post your applesauce tips & suggestions in the comment section below.

• Be aware – Applesauce banana bread does NOT taste the same as a banana bread made with butter or vegetable oil? Why? Because you are eliminating the fat found in many traditional banana bread recipes (that generally include “fatty” butter or vegetable) and replacing it with relatively “fat free” applesauce. In classic banana bread, fat helps to improve the banana bread’s richness, softness and “mouthfeel”.
• Without this fat, applesauce banana bread tends to be a little denser and less rich tasting (versus banana breads made with butter or vegetable oil).
• Of course, on the bright side, you are also reducing the extra fat & calories associated with butter or vegetable oil.

• Positives of Applesauce Banana Bread – Lower fat, lower calories & dairy free
• Applesauce generally has a lot less calories than most regular butters & vegetable oils. For example, a 1/2 cup of unsweetened applesauce has roughly 50 calories. In contrast, a 1/2 cup of dairy butter has roughly 800 to 850 calories, olive oil has roughly 950 calories and 1/2 cup of corn oil has roughly 950 calories. However, check the label of the ingredients package as the calorie amounts can differ by manufacturer & type of applesauce, butter or oil used.
• Applesauce is generally fat free whereas regular butters and vegetable oils generally contain lots of fat. For example, butter is roughly 80% fat. Moreover, regular dairy butter and some vegetable oils contain lots of saturated fat.
• Of course, since my recipe doesn’t use butter, it also helps you to make a dairy free banana bread. However, if you want the banana bread to stay dairy free, you need to use dairy free or vegan chocolate chips (if you plan on adding chocolate chips to this applesauce banana bread recipe). Regular chocolate chips often contain ingredients such as milk fat or nonfat milk. Make sure to check the ingredient label of your chocolate chips for possible dairy ingredients if you are trying to eliminate dairy products from your family’s diet.
• Visitors – Have I missed any other positives for applesauce banana bread? Please post any other benefits in the comment section below.

• Negatives of Applesauce Banana Bread – A slightly denser banana bread & the lack of fat impacts the “mouthfeel” of the banana bread (less rich & tender)
• A slightly denser banana bread. Why? Fat helps to trap air during mixing and this creates a softer/fluffier banana bread. In addition, fat reduces gluten formation and less gluten equals a more tender banana bread. Therefore, without the fat, applesauce banana breads tend to be a little more dense than traditional banana breads.
• The banana bread will also have a different “mouthfeel” due to the lack of fat. Why? The fat in butter & vegetable oil often adds creaminess & a richer taste to banana breads. In contrast, applesauce banana breads generally taste a little less rich & smooth.
• In addition, the crust of the banana bread can be less golden brown without the added fat. The lack of fat impacts something in baking called the “Maillard” browning process.
• Positive or Negative (depending on your point of view) – You will be adding a mild apple flavor to you banana bread. Some people like this flavor twist & others do not.

• Important – Do NOT overmix the batter. The lack of the fat found in butter or vegetable oil can make applesauce banana breads taste rubbery or gummy if the batter is mixed too much. Fat slows gluten formation by coating the flour particles. Therefore, the lack of fat in this recipe can result in faster gluten formation if you overmix the batter. Too much gluten development equals a more rubber & gummy banana bread.
• Do NOT use an electric mixer to mix your ingredients (when combining the wet and dry ingredients). Stick to an old fashioned wooden spoon. An electric mixer can overmix the ingredients and the banana bread will turn out rubbery & gummy.
• As I stated in the instructions, the baking time for this recipe runs a few minutes longer (68-72 minutes) than many of my other banana bread recipes (65-70 minutes). Why? Because this applesauce banana bread recipe contains more moisture & less fat.

• Optional – If you like less sweet banana breads, are using very ripe bananas and/or adding optional ingredients with extra sugar (e.g. chocolate chips), you can reduce the sugar in the recipe to 2/3 or 3/4 cup.
• Optional – Want it to taste more like a “regular” banana bread but still have lower fat & calories? Then you consider using a 50/50 blend of applesauce and butter or vegetable oil. So instead of 1/2 cup of applesauce, you would use 1/4 cup of applesauce and 1/4 of melted butter (or vegetable oil). This 50/50 combo is lower fat (versus a banana bread made with 100% butter or vegetable oil) and adds back some of the traditional “mouthfeel” with the addition of the butter or vegetable oil. Of course, the 50/50 version will have more fat & calories than the 100% applesauce version.
• Visitors – Do you like to replace 100% of the butter or oil in your banana bread with applesauce? Or do you replace just 50% of the butter or oil in a recipe with applesauce because you want some of the richness & mouthfeel from the butter/oil? Please leave your applesauce/butter/oil suggestions & ideas in the comment section below.

• If you want to turn this recipe into an eggless or vegan applesauce banana bread, you can replace the eggs used in the recipe with “flax eggs”, “chia eggs”, applesauce or even more mashed bananas.
• However, be aware that an eggless or vegan banana bread is likely to be DENSER because these egg alternatives generally do not help with the rise of the banana bread. Eggs are often used in banana bread because they help improve the rise and tenderness of the banana bread.
• If you want to try using applesauce or mashed bananas as egg substitute, you can replace the 2 eggs in my recipe with either 1/2 cup of pain unsweetened applesauce or 1/2 cup of mashed bananas.
• Or you can replace the 2 eggs used in my recipe with 2 “flax eggs”.
• The recipe for a flax egg consists of 1 tablespoon of ground flaxseed & 3 tablespoons of water. Therefore, to make a flax egg substitute for 2 eggs, you need to mix together 2 tablespoons of ground flaxseed and 6 tablespoons of water in a bowl or measuring cup After mixing them together, you need to let this mixture sit for about 7-10 minutes (as the mixture will slowly thicken and become jelly-like). Then it is ready for use.
• Or you can replace the 2 eggs used in my recipe with 2 “chia eggs”. This egg substitute is very similar to the flax eggs mentioned above.
• The recipe for a chia egg consists of 1 tablespoon of ground chia seeds & 3 tablespoons of water. Therefore, to make a chia egg substitute for 2 eggs, you need to mix together 2 tablespoons of ground chia seeds and 6 tablespoons of water in a bowl or measuring cup. After mixing them together, you need to let this mixture sit for about 7-10 minutes (as the mixture will slowly thicken and become jelly-like). Then it is ready for use.
• One extra benefit of using ground flaxseed or chia seeds – you will be adding extra fiber to your banana bread!

• Optional – Add 1 cup of chopped walnut or chopped pecans to the batter to make an applesauce banana nut bread.
• Optional – Or instead of chopped nuts, you can stir in 1 cup of chocolate chips or fresh blueberries to the batter (after the batter has been fully mixed).
• FYI – I like to use mini chocolate chips (instead of regular “sized” chocolate chips) as the mini chips seem to float better in the batter and do not sink to the bottom of the banana bread. However, if you use mini chocolate chips, you should only use 3/4 cup of mini chips (versus 1 cup of regular sized chips) because the mini chips contain more chocolate per inch (due to the lack of large air “spaces” between the mini chips). There is more chocolate in a square inch versus regular sized chips.
• Optional – Sprinkle large coarse sugar crystals (e.g. Turbinado sugar) or a mixture of brown sugar & ground cinnamon on top of the batter (just before placing the pan in the oven) for a more sugary topping to your banana bread.
• Optional – Or you can sprinkle small bits of chopped walnut on top of the batter for a more “crunchy” & nutty topping.
• Of course, if you add some optional chocolate chips or chopped nuts, you will be adding back some calories & fat!
• Visitors – What do you like to add to applesauce banana bread to make it special or more unique? Chocolate chips? Spices? Fruit? Chopped walnuts? Please post your applesauce banana bread variations & tips in the comment section below.

• Store your ingredients (e.g. flour & sugar) in airtight containers to avoid “funky” flavors & smells being added to your baked goods. Airtight containers also prevent contamination by dust, pests, etc.
• Flour also absorbs moisture from the air (if it is kept in an open bag and not an airtight container). This extra moisture can throw off recipes and leads to overly wet batter and/or underbaked banana bread.
• This recipe uses all purpose flour. Do not use bread flour to make banana breads or they are more likely to turn out dense and/or gummy. Banana bread recipes work best with all purpose flour.
• Make sure to use level teaspoons & tablespoons when measuring ingredients (such as flour and baking soda). You can level off the ingredients in a measuring spoon or cup with the flat back of a butter knife or similar utensil. No “mountains” of ingredients in your measuring spoons & cups!! Adding too much of an ingredient can lead to recipe problems (such as too much flour can result in overly dry baked goods).
• Many of my international visitors like to use a kitchen scale in order to more accurate measure their ingredients.

• To prevent your banana bread from sticking to the bottom of the bread pan, you should consider either “greasing” the bottom of the pan with butter or vegetable oil, using a cooking spray, using a nonstick pan or lining the interior of the bread pan with baking parchment paper.
• Some ingredients (such as chocolate & blueberries) are very sticky after the baking process. These ingredients often make the bottom of a banana bread hard to get out of the pan (without damaging the banana bread). Baking parchment paper is probably the best method for avoiding the problem of a potentially sticky “bottom”.
• If you want to avoid smudging the top of your banana bread (e.g. when it is covered with warm chocolate chips), you should use baking parchment paper (lining the interior of the bread pan). Baking parchment paper makes it easy for you to lift the banana bread out of the bread pan (without having to flip the bread pan upside down to remove the banana bread).
• FYI – Baking parchment paper is NOT regular paper. It is a specialty paper designed for use with baking.

• My banana bread recipes are baked at 325 degrees F (163 C) whereas many of my peers use 350 F (117 C). The lower heat helps to reduce the chance that the banana bread will be overbaked… but it also means that it takes a little longer to bake.
• Make sure that your oven has been completely preheated. If the oven has not been properly preheated, this quick bread could come out undercooked. I like to use a hanging oven thermometer to check my oven temperature and ensure the oven has been properly preheated.
• It takes roughly 10-20 minutes to preheat most ovens with some variability due to the size of the oven, planned baking temperature (hotter takes longer), etc.
• FYI – Do not open your oven during the baking process in order to “check” on the banana bread. This will allow the hot air to escape & cold air to rush in and this can cause your banana bread to collapse.

• This doesn’t happen often but if the top of the banana bread looks too moist or undercooked, you should try the “toothpick test”. Gently push a long wooden skewer into the top of the bread and see if any batter sticks to the wooden skewer. If batter is sticking to the skewer then it hasn’t completely cooked. Place the bread pan back into the still hot oven for another 2 or 3 minutes. Make sure to wear oven gloves because the bread pan will be very hot. After the 2 or 3 minutes, remove the bread pan and test the banana bread again with the wooden skewer.
• Instead of the “toothpick test”, some people like to use a bread thermometer to test if their banana bread is done. Generally, a “quick bread” (e.g. banana bread or pumpkin bread) is done when the internal temperature reaches 200-205 degrees F. Just make sure to measure the temperature in the center of the loaf for the most accurate reading.
• Problem with a sunken or collapsed middle in your banana bread? Then check out my Why Does My Banana Bread Sink In The Middle? page for reasons & potential solutions.

• Always try to use relatively FRESH baking soda & powder for the best results. For example, using baking soda from an open container (that has been deodorizing your refrigerator for months) may lead to subpar results. Old & hard baking soda/powder may lead to rising problems and/or leave small bitter clumps in your walnut banana bread.
• Long-term storage – If you want to keep your banana bread for more than 1-2 days (depending on your home’s temperature & humidity), you will need to freeze it. Please read Bread Dad’s How To Freeze Banana Bread for more details.

• In case, you didn’t see this in the “equipment used to make this recipe” section, this recipe is based on using a standard 9 by 5 inch metal bread pan. This means that the interior of the bread pan (not exterior) measures 9 inches in length, 5 inches in width and 2 1/2 inches in depth/height. Of course, Bread Dads are crazy about exact measurements… thus the use of measuring tapes! Ha!
• Please use the suggested 9 x 5 inch bread pan to make this recipe. If you start using different sized pans, there is a greater potential for bread top collapses (potentially less bread pan “wall” support for the quick bread as it rises), different interior batter to exterior crust ratios (thus the need for different baking lengths), smaller pans are more likely to overflow, etc.
• My recipes are based on using a metal bread pan and NOT a glass bread pan. Glass bread pans bake faster than metal bread pans. If you use a glass bread pan for my recipes, you are more likely to overbake your banana bread (e.g. burnt crust).
• My recipes are based on using a regular oven and NOT a convection oven. Convection ovens bake faster than regular ovens and require less baking time than what is stated in my recipes.
• Place your banana bread in the middle of your oven. If you place it on the top or bottom racks, the banana bread may be too near the oven’s heating element and bake faster than expected.

• If you like banana bread then check out my Easy Muffin Recipes section. Banana muffins are basically mini banana breads! Banana muffins make great snacks & are much quicker to bake versus larger banana breads.
• If you have a problem with a banana bread recipe, please make sure that you are following the recipe exactly (e.g. using the correct oven temperature), using the correct amounts of ingredients (e.g. don’t eyeball the measurements versus using a measuring cup or accidentally add a tablespoon when a teaspoon is called for), using the correct ingredients (e.g. baking soda/powder versus yeast or all purpose flour versus bread flour), etc. Please don’t “wing” things with recipes.
• My recipes are based on US ingredient measurements (e.g. US cups & tablespoons). However, as a courtesy to our European visitors, I have also included some very ROUGH European equivalents (e.g. grams & milliliters). Since I rarely use European measurements when baking, please let me know in the comment section below if any of the European ingredient measurements need to be changed (e.g. for XYZ ingredient, milliliters are more commonly used versus the grams information listed in the recipe).
• Always wear oven mitts/gloves when dealing with a hot oven and bread pan.
• For more delicious banana bread recipes (e.g. banana nut bread or blueberry banana bread), please visit Bread Dad’s sections on easy Banana Bread Recipes.

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Reference Sources

1. Wikipedia, Apple Sauce
2. Wikipedia, Banana Bread

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