Moist, tender, and delicious, this healthy applesauce banana bread is a great way to use up overripe bananas! A simple one-bowl recipe that only calls for 10 ingredients and is ready in an hour.
If you like quick breads, check out my pumpkin banana bread next!
Whenever I have overripe bananas on hand, I almost always make a batch of banana flapjacks, steel-cut oat cookies, or this amazing applesauce banana bread! This recipe is made healthier with applesauce to replace oil and butter.
I enjoy serving a thick slice for breakfast, slathered with a thick layer of dark chocolate hummus, and paired with coffee like my soy latte or protein iced coffee.
🍌What you will need
📃Ingredients notes and substitutions
- Bananas - Make sure to use bananas that are ripe and spotty. Check out the "helpful tips" section below for instructions on how to soften ripe bananas.
- Applesauce - Use unsweetened applesauce, either store-bought or homemade.
- Cashew butter - Gives bread some fat for a better mouthfeel. This can be substituted with other nut butters like peanut butter or almond butter.
- Oat flour - Can be replaced with 1.5 cups of all-purpose, spelt, or whole wheat flour. Or, you can make oat flour at home by blending some rolled or quick oats in a blender until finely ground.
- Milk - Any milk, either dairy or plant-based, will work here.
- Apple cider vinegar - To activate baking soda. It can be substituted with lemon juice.
🔪How to make
Start by mashing bananas until fairly smooth.
Add applesauce, cashew butter, milk, and apple cider vinegar. Stir to mix.
Add the dry ingredients and gently mix until everything is well combined.
Pour your bread batter into a lined loaf pan. Top with a halved banana if using.
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Bake for 40-50 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.
Allow to cool completely before slicing. Your vegan applesauce banana bread is ready to be served.
💡Tip
To check for doneness, insert a toothpick in the middle of the loaf. If it comes out clean, your applesauce banana bread is done baking.
✔Helpful tips
- Quickly ripen banana - Place unripe bananas with peels on a lined baking sheet. Bake for 15-30 minutes in an oven preheated to 300F/150C for 15-30 minutes, until peels blackened and the flesh is soft.
- Be careful not to overbake - Overcooking your banana bread can cause it to become dry and crumbly. To check if it's done, insert a toothpick down the middle. If it comes out clean, your banana bread is ready.
- Cool banana bread before slicing - It is recommended to let banana bread cool down completely before slicing. Cutting into warm bread might cause it to fall apart.
- Finishing up applesauce - If you have leftover applesauce after making this recipe, you could make my applesauce oatmeal cookies, applesauce overnight oats, or applesauce baked oats.
- Serving suggestions - Spread on some jam, nut butter, butter, or some cookie dough hummus. Serve with coffee, tea, or hot chocolate (like my protein hot chocolate!)
🍫Variations and add-ins
Chocolate chips - Pretty self-explanatory because who doesn't love chocolate?! Add up to ½ cup. You could also use chopped chocolate.
Banana nut bread - Mix about 1 cup of chopped pecans or walnuts into your batter for extra flavor and texture.
Spices - I only use cinnamon, but you could add other spices that pair well with banana bread, like nutmeg, pumpkin pie spice, or cardamom. A little goes a long way, and I recommend starting with ¼ teaspoon.
Berries - Add a cup of frozen or fresh blueberries to give your sugar-free banana bread some extra color and sweetness.
Make banana muffins - Pour batter into a muffin tin. Depending on the size of your muffin hole, bake for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.
❄Storing suggestions
Storing - Applesauce banana bread can be left out at room temperature for 2-3 days. However, if the weather is hot and humid, I do not recommend storing it at room temperature for more than a day.
To keep it for longer, refrigerate it for up to 5 days.
Freezer - This healthy banana bread can be frozen for 3 months. You can either freeze the whole loaf or slice it up before freezing. I recommend storing them in zip-top bags.
Allow frozen loaf to defrost for 4-5 hours before reheating. You can reheat slices of banana bread straight from frozen.
Reheating - You can reheat banana bread in the oven. Slices will take 5-8 minutes, while the whole loaf will take up to 15 minutes. Cover with foil to prevent bread from drying out. You could also heat slices of banana bread in the microwave.
💚Why you will love this recipe
- A healthier version that is lower in sugar and fat
- Moist, soft, delicious
- Ready in an hour and easy to make
- Store-well and freezable - great as a healthy breakfast or snack
❔Commonly asked questions
Frozen bananas can be used in this applesauce banana bread recipe. Allow them to thaw completely at room temperature or in the microwave, then drain off excess liquid before using.
Applesauce provides moisture, yielding tender and soft baked goods. It is commonly used to substitute oil and melted butter to create lower-fat baked products. This ingredient is also widely used in vegan baking as an egg substitute.
You can use another large, ripe banana to replace applesauce in this recipe. Alternatively, use ½ cup of unsweetened, plain yogurt. However, banana bread might turn out to be less sweet. To compensate, you can 1-2 tablespoons more of maple syrup.
If your applesauce banana bread does not rise much or does not rise at all, you might have used stale baking powder and/or baking soda.
Place a small amount into some hot water to test if they are still good to use. Bubbles should form immediately. If not, it is time to buy some fresh ones.
📖 Recipe
Healthy Applesauce Banana Bread (gluten-free + vegan)
Ingredients
- 2 large ripe bananas about 300g/10.5oz
- ½ cup unsweetened applesauce homemade or store-bought
- ¼ cup cashew butter or other nut/seed butters
- 2 tablespoon plant based milk
- 2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 cups oat flour 180g (or all purpose/whole wheat flour) see notes*
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 180C/350F. Line a 8.5x4.5 loaf pan with parchment paper, as shown in the process shots above.
- Add bananas into a large mixing bowl. Using a potato masher or a fork, mash until bananas are relatively smooth.2 large ripe bananas
- Next, add in the rest of the wet ingredients into the bowl. Stir to mix.½ cup unsweetened applesauce, ¼ cup cashew butter, 2 tablespoon plant based milk, 2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Now, add your dry ingredients in and mix until everything is well incorporated.2 cups oat flour, 2 teaspoons baking powder, 1 teaspoon baking soda
- Pour your batter into the lined loaf pan, and optionally, top with banana halves.
- Bake for 40-50 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean when inserted down the middle.
- Let it sit in the pan for 10 minutes, then transfer it to a cooling rack. Let your bread cool down completely before slicing and serving.
Notes
- Be careful not to overbake - Overcooking your banana bread can cause it to become dry and crumbly. To check if it's done, insert a toothpick down the middle. If it comes out clean, your banana bread is ready.
- Cool banana bread before slicing - Let banana bread cool down completely before slicing. Cutting into warm bread might cause it to fall apart.
- Add-ins - Feel free to add whatever add-ins that sounds good, such as chocolate chips, nuts, and blueberries. Check out the section in the post above, "Variations and add-ins" , for more detailed information.
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Nutrition
Nutrition info calculated is just a rough estimate and is provided as a courtesy. Bear in mind that value will vary based on variables like specific brand or type of product used. To obtain the most accurate representation, it is highly recommended that you calculate it on your own with the actual amount and type of ingredient used.
Laura Carpenter says
I'm not sure what I did wrong but it came out awfully. It was more like a dough when I put it in the tin and when cooked it was a dry crumbly mess. I didn't even bother eating any because it looked unappetising.
Maybe my bananas weren't big enough?
Or it needs more liquid in some form?
Jim Mee Sha says
Hi Laura, am sorry to hear that! If the batter is really thick, you might have added too much flour. If possible, I recommend weighing the flour using a measuring scale, and 1 cup of oat flour = 90g. Hope this helps!
Coral says
This is so easy and quick to make! It doesn't make me feel bloated like regular bread does, and it feels like a healthy but tasty breakfast.
Amelia says
Would reconstituted pb2 work in place of the nut butter?
Meesha says
I have yet to try it, but I do think it will work.The bread might be slightly drier due to the lower fat content.
Shellie says
This came out great. I tried some unsweetened chocolate chips in there. Thanks!
Meesha says
Really happy to hear that.😁