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I know I’m late in the game and I have a gazillion excuses. Banana Bread became the recipe of the lockdown. It seemed everyone had some overripe bananas that needed to be used up, which isn’t all that uncommon even in the best of times. While I’ve had my own Banana Bread recipe on the blog for a while, but with many people had trouble finding butter and eggs, a lot of us were baking and cooking with, and eating, whatever we could scrounge up in our pantries, refrigerators, kitchen cabinets, and freezers.

I usually have plenty of bulk chocolate for baking on hand, but was caught short when even grocery stores unexpectedly ran out of bars of baking chocolate. Fortunately, a local bakery came to my rescue with chocolate, but I had a small bag of chocolate chips on hand, which aren’t easy to come by around here (they sell them at G. Detou,) and decided to put those to use, along with some rapidly ripening bananas.

I know that some people cringe when they hear words like lowfat or vegan or squid. But lowfat isn’t bad…unless you consider espresso, blueberries, champagne, garlic, baguettes (unslathered with butter), whiskey, tangerines, dill pickles, cherries, and tarragon bad. In which case, I can’t help you. But if you’re looking for a reduced-fat banana bread, I got ya.

I did get to put my precious chocolate chips to use in this bread. Since chocolate chips are designed not to melt, and hold their shape when baked, they worked really well in this banana bread.

They stayed distinct, so you got one in every (or every other) bite, rather than melting away. If you want to skip the chocolate chips, you can replace them with toasted nuts or leave them out. And if you want to accompany it with a glass of champagne or whiskey, or a shot of espresso, be my guest.

Low(er) Fat Banana Bread

  • 1 1/2 cups (210g) flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder, preferably aluminum free
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1/2 cup (90g) light brown sugar
  • 1/4 cup (50g) granulated sugar
  • 1 large egg, at room temperature
  • 1 large egg white
  • 1 cup (250g) banana puree, made from very ripe bananas
  • 1/2 cup (120g) sour cream or plain yogurt, whole-milk or lowfat
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1/2-3/4 cup (80-120g) chocolate chips
  • 1 1/2 tablespoons coarse sugar, such as turbinado (optional)
  • Preheat the oven to 350ºF (180ºC.) Butter a 9-inch (23cm) loaf pan and line the bottom with a sheet of parchment paper.
  • In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and sugars. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and add the egg, egg white, banana puree, sour cream or yogurt, and vanilla. Stir not too vigorously with a spatula until the ingredients are almost completely incorporated (don't overmix), then fold in the chocolate chips.
  • Scrape the batter into the prepared loaf pan. Sprinkle the sugar evenly over the top and bake until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out relatively clean, with just a few crumbs sticking to it, about 45 minutes. Remove the cake from the oven and let cool on a wire rack.

Notes

Storage: The cake will keep up to 5 days at room temperature, if well-wrapped. It can be frozen for up to 3 months.

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45 comments

    • Steve

    Here is a trick I picked up from Alton Brown, who used it for ice cream: save those extra bananas that are so ripe that they are about to spoil. Put them in the freezer, skin and all. When you want to make a banana bread, take three of these bananas out of the freezer and let them thaw on the counter for a few hours. When they have thawed and you are ready to bake, cut the stem end off the banana and squeeze it in with the other ingredients, as if you are squeezing out an entire tube of toothpaste.
    Bananas thaw pretty quickly. Because I always have some bananas in the freezer, I can always make a banana bread on a few hours notice.
    Yes, I know that this might not be feasible if you have a small freezer, but I cannot solve every problem. 8-)

      • Chocolette

      Excellent tip. Thank you for sharing.

      • G L Caddy

      I do the same, but because I don’t much like the imagery of squeezing the black bananas, I just cut a little slit along one side, and I find that with come encouragement the bananas will backflip into your bowl. Which is more fun.

    • Bricktop

    We bought a dehydrator a while back so all our bananas that get to a certain point go in there. It is amazing how good the slices taste – banana flavor on steroids. I keep thinking I need to use them for more than snacking.

      • Andrea

      Do you slice first before dehydrating? Sounds like a good use for mine gathering dust?

        • Bricktop

        @andrea – yes, maybe 1/8″ (3 mm) thick. One banana makes a LOT, but so so good.

      • Dulcistella

      Are you able to keep your dehydrated food on the counter for how long? I tried to dehydrate blackcurrants in the oven some time ago and after some days they got mold and I had to throw them away :-( probably I left too much moisture on them. How efficient is your dehydrator? Which model do you possesso? Thanks!!

    • Cori Roth

    I was just gifted with a dozen fresh eggs and a quart size jar of fresh and luxurious goats milk yogurt. My bananas are nice and ripe. Off to the kitchen to bake. Thanks, as always David.

    • Julie

    Hi David- do you ever take a nap? What’s your preferred type of chocolate chip? I picked up 60% last week. I guess that’s known as bittersweet?
    Last night’s cocktail, “The Last Word” was DELICIOUS. I’ve now noted from both a friend and another high profile chef that it’s often being made with Mezcal in place of the gin????

      • David
      David Lebovitz

      We don’t have much of a choice in France as chocolate chips aren’t very common. I use Cacao Barry “drops de chocolat” (which I get at a baker’s supply shop.) In the U.S., a good store brand is Guittard. Glad you like The Last Word Cocktail and yes, I’ve heard it’s also very good with mezcal, too!

    • Helene Glass

    David – I have searched for a 23 cm loaf pan in France and the smallest I can find is 28cm. Any suggestions for where I could find a smaller pan? The French loaf pans are longer and skinnier that those in the States. Thanks – and stay well

      • joan hersh

      your 28cm. pan will work just fine for this recipe. start checking for doneness a few minutes earlier than you would with the 23cm. pan, otherwise you’ll have no problems.

    • smc

    Hi, just came across this recipe, had some ripe bananas that I was about to freeze and decided to give it a try. It is just delicious and far better success than my last loaf. Thank you for sharing!

    • Jeanne Meyers

    I freeze old too ripe bananas, then I defrost them. They weep water which I throw out, because what remains is intense banana and then I use that for the banana bread.

    • Allison

    Oh my heavens! What a fabulous recipe. My usual banana bread recipe is a little finicky, and today I wanted something simpler. This is perfect—one bowl, relatively health, and the house smells so good…! Many thanks!

    • Kathy Foster

    Made your original bb yesterday with chopped dates and chopped toasted pecans. Baked perfectly, taste is awesome. So enjoyed your Apero hour. Take care guys and thank you David, for the goodwill you bring to the world.

    • Bob

    This is the best LF banana bread I’ve ever had. I made muffins used large baking papers, makes 12. Baked at 350 for 28-30 min. Used Ghirardelli 60% Cacao bittersweet baking chips.
    Yuuuuuum

    • Aida

    Fat is not so much the problem in our world, id rather have more eggs and butter than sugar. What we need is to lower the sugar in everything nowadays.

      • David
      David Lebovitz

      I’m (very) frequently asked what I eat, and while I don’t demonize fat and eat cheese, duck fat, butter, and eggs, I sometimes like food on the lighter side, and know other people do to. So while I’ve got a regular Banana Bread recipe on the blog, I thought it’d be nice to share one that was leaner so folks could have a choice : )

        • Arlene of VA

        Thank you. I appreciate the lighter version and will give it a try. I love your blog especially when you share your market finds.

      • Laurie

      Yikes! 3/4 cups of sugar!
      I made a Banana Bread this morning with 1/3 cups of organic sugar and it turned out perfectly sweet. Because ripe bananas are very sweet Banana Bread doesn’t need as much sugar as other loaves.

        • David
        David Lebovitz

        Most banana breads have 3/4 to 1 cup of sugar in them. But you can certainly add less. For more information about what role sugar plays in baking, and reducing and substituting baking ingredients, check out my post Baking Ingredients and Substitutions.

    • Aida

    Whats different from ur original one apart the 30grs butter? Does that make it low fat?

    • Claudia

    Hola,

    Non-recipe related question – any chance that beautiful espresso cup in the first pic is something I could find? I know you get a lot of your goodies at flea markets!

    Gracias!

      • David
      David Lebovitz

      It was a flea market find but perhaps some image-searching on Google might yield a result?

      • Emma

      Absolutely share your thougt, this cup is a beauty.
      David is a great thrifter, his vintage dinnerware are always beautiful

    • Judy

    I make a wonderful ice cream with: frozen peeled bananas, other frozen fruits such as strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, peaches, mango(and possibly some almond/oat milk ). Blend really well in the Vitamix, add some vanilla and there you go.
    Beautiful, sugar free (as in – no added sugar) instant ice cream. :)

      • David
      David Lebovitz

      Yes, I know a lot of people like eating frozen fruit puree, and bananas are great candidates for that (there’s even a machine you can get specifically for making them if people don’t have a high-powered blender.) I make a no-churn chocolate ice cream with bananas as a base, too. It’s one of my favorite recipes!

    • Theresa

    Hi David,
    I’m sure you’ve gotten the flour question a thousand times, but (sorry!) which “type” of French flour did you use for this gorgeous banana bread? I’m in France.
    By the way, am binge-watching your apéro hour series. They make me grin from ear to ear in these troubled times. You’re an international treasure :)

      • David
      David Lebovitz

      Yes, I do get asked that a lot ;)

      I did an entire post on American Baking in Paris that explains which ingredients I use. (For this I used T65)

        • Theresa

        Thanks a million! I remember that post now; will run over and get reacquainted!

    • FC

    This may just be my new favorite banana bread recipe. I used homemade full cream coconut yogurt. The texture turned out perfect.

      • Michelle the Novice Baker

      Kudos to you, David! This is definitely a fool-proof recipe. I accidentally used half the amount of flour and I forgot to add the salt and it still turned out great! Note to self: Bathrobe Baking in the am requires at least two cups of coffee.
      (P.S. I used a combo of 1/4 c. Buckwheat, 1/4 c. Almond, 1/4 c. Spelt and Teff which is probably why it turned out )

    • Carrie

    Please, where did that coffee cup come from? Such a beauty. Reminds me of my midwestern roots and diner coffee

      • David
      David Lebovitz

      I plucked it out of a box at a flea market somewhere in France ; )

    • Steve

    Toss the chocolate chips or any other dry mix-ins with a bit of the flour before mixing them in with the batter. It helps prevent them from sinking to the bottom.

    I include some raisins or dried cranberries, which I have soaked in a bit of rum, brandy or whiskey. Orange juice will work very well, if you prefer to keep it alcohol-free.

    Finally, I replace up to 15-20% of the flour with almond meal. (Don’t use too much, or you may interfere with gluten formation.)

    • heidih

    You keep the banana bread – I simply covet the green cup

      • Emma

      We all do ;-)

      • Carol

      Just made this as written — easy and delicious. Not too sweet and lots of flavor. I used the low end amount of mini choc chips and it seemed like the right amount. Needed about 2 1/2 large bananas. Thanks David!

    • Barry

    I had some bananas that were very ripe and needs to be used. Fantastic recipe, thank you!

    • Sarah Tannehill Anderson

    Bonjour, David! I have become a HUGE fan of yours, while stuck in my Kansas City “bunker” for the last 3 months. Your book L’appart was an absolute treat to read, and your blog and IG videos are giving me life. Thank you so much for making this time easier for all of us. You are essential.
    Making this bread today!

    • Annie Green

    Made this but no choc chips available so used sultanas instead and lots of dark sugar. Love it and yes, better than the recipe I usually use which features butter or margarine. Will definitely do it again. So thanks for this.

    • Ellen

    This recipe sounds amazing, thank you for sharing! Sometimes I find banana bread a bit much, this sounds perfect and I have a few chocolate chips.

    • JoAnn Campisi

    Made this a couple of weeks ago – not only did it taste delicious but is was lovely to look at

    • Chanie

    Any thoughts on making this non-dairy? I could get soy yogurt, or has anyone tried applesauce instead?
    Thanks!

A

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