Eggless Banana Bread with Nuts

Treat weekend guests to lower sugar, Eggless Banana Bread today! This easy homemade bread is light and fluffy with a perfect crumb. The banana flavor shines through since it’s not weighed down with extra sweeteners. Makes 2 loafs of bread.

Bananas are like feast or famine in our house. They’re either gobbled up within minutes of arriving home from the grocery, or they sit on the countertop for days untouched.

There is no in between, and because of this, I’ve been sharpening my banana bread baking skills recently.

This Eggless Banana Bread is fluffy and light and not insanely sweet. My kids adore it, and so does my husband. My neighbor down the street also raved about how wonderful it was.

Other fruit bread recipes you might enjoy, too: Fresh Cherry Quick Bread | Lemon Blueberry Bread | Cranberry Walnut Bread | Fruit-Studded Holiday Bread | Buttermilk Banana Bread

Looking for another breakfast-y baked good, but don’t know where to begin? Check out my Breakfast Recipe Index.

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What you need to make this homemade, lower sugar Banana Bread recipe

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• TWO loaf pans
• Sheet pan
• Large bowl
• Rubber spatula
• Liquid measuring cup

How to make Eggless Banana Bread

Preheat the oven, and spray your loaf pans with nonstick baking spray. Yes, this is imperative if you’d like your banana bread to come out of the loaf pans. Also, while we’re on the topic, YES, you need two loaf pans because this bread expands a ton.

Place the loaf pans on top of a baking sheet. (This is important, too, in case you overfill one of your loaf pans. Ask me how I know…)

Once your oven is on and the pans are prepped, mash up those bananas with a fork. They don’t need to be completely smooth, but they do need to be mushy. (Check out the photo for reference.)

Once the bananas are mashed, sprinkle in the sugar. Use a rubber spatula or a hand mixer to beat the ingredients together until smoothish.

Next up, pour in the oil, apple juice and vanilla. Stir those in, too, until blended well.

In another bowl, add the flour, oats, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Whisk them together to ensure they’ll be spread evenly throughout the banana bread.

Sprinkle the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients along with the chopped nuts, if desired. Use a rubber spatula to gently stir them together until just combined.

Now, pour the batter into the prepared loaf pans as fast as you can. Sprinkle some extra chopped nuts on top of ’em, too, if that’s your jam.

Why do we want to work fast? The moment the baking soda meets the liquid, the reaction begins, and we want that to happen in the heat of the oven.

Bake those loafs for 30-35 minutes, or until golden brown and baked through completely.

Allow them to cool for 5-15 minutes, then turn the pans over to release the bread and enjoy.

Erin’s Easy Entertaining Tips and Tricks

I feel like banana bread is a wonderful brunch bread to offer to guests. (Not sure how to host brunch at home? I wrote a guide to help you out.)

Banana bread is a lovely thing to bring as a hostess gift, too.

Here are some fun ways you can use this lower sugar banana bread to show you care:

• Keep one loaf for yourself and bring another to a friend. Wrap it in wax paper and place it in a plastic bag for transport.
• Make a double batch of banana bread, and send friends home with a loaf.
• Bake it the day before, so you don’t have to worry about the fuss of getting it together before guests arrive. This bread is especially delicious when toasted, so bake it in advance and toast it before it’s time to eat.

Frequently Asked Questions

How ripe do my bananas need to be?

As long as your bananas have a totally yellow peel (instead of one that has some green parts), you should be able to make this recipe with ease.

This recipe calls for overripe bananas because overripe bananas are extra sweet.

How can I tell if the bananas are ripe enough?

Normally, I wait until my bananas have almost completely brown peels before using them in banana bread.

Can I make this into muffins instead? If so, would the baking time change?

Yes, this eggless banana bread would make lovely muffins! (Also, I have Vegan Banana Muffins and Vegan Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins, if you’re in the market for those.)

The baking time would change. I’d bake them for 15-18 minutes and check before baking for additional time.

Do I need both baking powder and baking soda, or can I just use one or the other?

Yes, you need both baking powder and baking soda in this recipe. Bon Apetit has a really great article where they talk about the differences in these two.

Baking soda requires an acid (like apple juice, in this recipe) and liquid in order to start a reaction.

Baking powder has acid built into it, so it just needs moisture for it to start fizzing.

TL;DR: Yes, you need them both. They work together to rise this banana bread high, but also help it brown so beautifully.

Can I use different nuts in this recipe? Can I skip the nuts?

YES! You can use whatever nuts you’ve got on hand. Also, you can leave out the nuts if they’re not your jam.

Tips and Tricks for the Best Banana Bread

Banana Bread is hard to beat, right? I’ll go ahead and say that if you like a sweeter banana bread, this one isn’t for you because it’s pretty light on the sugar.

However, if you’re willing to give this a try, it’s pretty darn versatile.

Here are some acceptable substitutions for this recipe:

• No apple juice on hand? Pear juice or another milder tasting fruit juice would work in its place. Do not use orange juice, as that will change the flavor profile of this bread.
• Use walnuts, pecans, almonds or cashews as the nuts in this bread because whatever you’ve got on hand works! You can also skip the nuts, too.

Need more banana recipe inspiration? Be sure to check out this Air Fryer Banana Bread, Vegan Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins and Chocolate Banana “Ice Cream”.

The photos and recipe for this Walnut and Pecan Banana Bread recipe were originally published on February 18, 2013. The photographs, along with the text of this blog post, were updated on April 27, 2020.