This dairy free banana bread is so good that you won’t even notice that it missing a stick of butter. Swapping the butter for unsweetened apple sauce will save over 500 calories from this recipe!
Most banana bread recipes call for 1/3 cup of melted butter. There are over 500 calories in 1/3 cup of butter and 60 grams of fat. So making a few tweaks to the recipe can really lighten it up and make it a more healthier option.
Another way to lighten up banana bread is to decrease the sugar to 1/4 – 1/2 cup. Most recipes call for 3/4 cups of sugar. Using only 1/4 cup of sugar will save nearly 400 calories. The bananas offer sweetness on their own, so there really is no need to load this recipe with sugar.
I have made this same banana bread recipe dozens of times and it turns out delicious every time! Feel free to use this recipe as a foundation to build from and make your own.
Tips to Baking Dairy Free Banana Bread
To make dairy free banana bread, you will need to find an alternative to the butter in the recipe. I have replaced the butter with coconut oil and unsweetened apple sauce.
Both of these alternatives taste great, but the calories can add up when using oil as a replacement. Using unsweetened apple sauce is much cheaper than coconut oil and significantly less calories.
When replacing butter with coconut oil, it is an even swap. The same goes for swapping with unsweetened apple sauce.
So, if a recipe calls for 1/2 cup of butter, you can easily replace the butter with 1/2 cup of coconut oil or unsweetened apple sauce.
If you do not prefer the taste of coconut then you should avoid using coconut oil because the bread will have a slight coconut flavor to it.
How to Make Dairy Free Banana Bread
To make dairy free banana bread, preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Then gather all of the ingredients, mixing bowls, and loaf pan.
Mix all of the wet ingredients in one bowl and all of the dry ingredients in another bowl.
Mash 3 to 4 overly ripe bananas with a potato masher or a fork in a large bowl.
Mix in coconut oil or unsweetened apple sauce into the mashed banana mixture bowl.
Stir in the sugar or sugar substitute then add the egg and vanilla extract into the same bowl.
In a separate bowl combine the flour, baking soda, and salt. After mixing the dry ingredients, slowly pour into the wet mixture.
Stir until the dairy free banana bread batter until it is smooth and well blended before pouring into an ungreased loaf pan.
Bake for 45-55 minutes at 350 degrees or until a toothpick comes out clean. Allow the loaf to cool before removing from the loaf pan then transfer to a wire rack.
Ingredient List
- 4 Ripe Bananas
- 1/3 Cup of Coconut Oil or Unsweetened Apple Sauce
- 1 Egg
- 1/4 Cup – 1/2 Cup of Sugar
- 1 Teaspoon of Vanilla Extract
- 1 1/2 Cups of Flour
- 1 Teaspoon of Baking Soda
- 1/4 Salt
- USA Loaf Pan
Additional Banana Bread Tips
Banana bread will stay fresh covered on the counter for about 3 days. The bread will last about a week in the fridge and 3 months in the freezer.
This recipe is very versatile, so feel free to tweak it and make it your own. If you only have 3 bananas on hand, the bread will still taste great. You can easily swap out the bananas to make dairy free apple bread.
You might also enjoy this dairy free pumpkin breakfast bake.