Cakes and other sweet pastries are often not considered to be super healthy. A lot of sugar and fat is quite normal in a lot of baked goods. But there is another way. This slightly healthier Zucchini Banana Bread, for example. It is made without added sugar and still tastes as delicious and sweet as other types of banana bread. It works. You just have to know what to do… ;P
To be honest, it’s not that difficult to bake a little healthier. Many people probably just don’t think about it and simply follow the instructions in a recipe. Reducing the amount of sugar in a bake is always an option, for example. If the sugar in a recipe is mainly there to add sweetness and is not absolutely necessary for the structure of the bake (e.g. in a meringue), you can always reduce the amount of sugar used. If you don’t overdo it, the baked goods will still taste good and should come out of the oven as expected.
In case you want to get rid of even more sugar, use alternatives like xylitol, for example. That’s what I did here. In theory, you can reduce the amount of added sugar to zero – it does not always work, though. If you want to know more about sugar and sugar alternatives, you can take a look at our article on sugar alternatives. It’s written in German only, sorry. But you can ask Uncle Google to translate. ;)
We used only small amount of xylitol here – a lot less compared to the amount of sugar other recipes ask for. Most of the sweetness here is provided by the bananas. When they are ripe, a good amount of the banana carbs have been converted into sugar – enough to sweeten a bake with all »natural« sugar. Saying that – even with the usage of xylitol, the banana bread is not completely sugar-free. That’s never possible when using fruits or berries. There is always some sugar coming along with it… but you can definitely say the banana bread here is sugar-reduced. ;)
You always have to differentiate between the various types of sugar. There is a difference between added sugar (e.g. white refined sugar) and sugar that comes from natural sources, such as fruit or berries. Both sugars have an impact on your blood sugar levels, but sugar coming from fruits or berries has to be assessed differently. Fruit and berries also add minerals, vitamins, and fiber to your baked goods. Much better than the (more or less) »empty« carbs provided by refined sugar.
However, omitting sugar alone doesn’t really make baked goods immediately healthy. But if you make a few adjustments more here and there, you’re certainly heading in the right direction. Replace some regular flour with wholemeal flour, use a few rolled oats and it gets even better. We did not even talk about the benefits of the zucchini yet. ;P
In addition to the banana, we also added zucchini to the batter – I guess you knew that already judging from the name of the banana bread. Veggies are definitely healthy, right? If you wonder now if you can taste it in the finished banana bread… no you can’t. It’s there for some added moisture and to improve the texture. Well, and for the minerals, fiber, etc…. ;)
If all of that did not convince you to try this banana bread here, why not trying one of our more traditional banana bread recipes? Our Banana Bread with Chocolate & Walnuts is a total banger! Also, a good example for the amount of sugar you normally get with banana bread (which you can still reduce if you want to). ;P
In case you want to try more sugar-free or sugar-reduced bakes, you have to try our sugar-free Chocolate Cheesecake aka. Russischer Zupfkuchen. It’s a German classic everybody loves. Even though there is no sugar added, it’s still sweet and as delicious as the original.
INGREDIENTS / ZUTATEN
For the batter:
1 cup (130g) spelt flour
3/4 cup (100g) wholemeal spelt flour
1/4 cup (50g) xylitol (or regular sugar)
2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp. ground cardamom
1/3 cup (30g) old-fashioned rolled oats
1 oz. (30g) walnuts, chopped
2 tbsp. chia seeds
2 medium eggs
1/2 cup (120ml) buttermilk
1/4 cup (60ml) rapeseed oil
10.6 oz. (300g) very ripe bananas, mashed
3.5 oz. (100g) zucchini, grated
For the topping:
2 mini bananas, halved lengthwise
1 tbsp. old-fashioned rolled oats
1 tsp. chia seeds
1 tsp. brown sugar
1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1 pinch of ground cardamom
Für den Teig:
130g Dinkelmehl (Type 630)
100g Dinkelvollkornmehl
50g Xylit (oder Zucker)
2 TL Backpulver
1/2 TL Natron
1 TL Zimt
1/4 TL Kardamom
30g Haferflocken (kernig)
30g Walnüsse, gehackt
2 EL Chiasamen
2 Eier (M)
120ml Buttermilch
60ml Rapsöl
300g sehr reife Bananen, zerdrückt
100g Zucchini, gerieben
Für das Topping:
2 Minibananen, längs halbiert
1 EL Haferflocken (kernig)
1 TL Chiasamen
1 TL brauner Zucker
1/2 TL Zimt
1 Prise Kardamom
DIRECTIONS / ZUBEREITUNG
1. Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F) fan-forced. Line a 23x12cm loaf tin* with baking parchment and grease lightly. Set aside.
2. For the batter, add both flours, xylitol (or sugar), baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, cardamom, rolled oats, chopped walnuts, and chia seeds to a large bowl and mix to combine. In a second bowl mix eggs, buttermilk, rapeseed oil, mashed bananas, and grated zucchini until well combined. Add the wet ingredients to the bowl with the dry ingredients and mix (with a rubber spatula) until just combined. Transfer the batter to the prepared loaf tin.
3. For the topping, peel the mini bananas, half them lengthwise and place them on the batter. Mix the rolled oats, chia seeds, brown sugar, cinnamon, and cardamom and sprinkle over the dough and mini bananas. Bake the banana bread for about 55-65 minutes, or until a wooden skewer inserted into the center of the banana bread comes out clean. If the banana bread gets a little dark, simply cover it with some baking parchment or aluminum foil and continue baking. Take finished banana bread out of the oven and let it cool down inside the baking tin for some time, then remove and let cool down completely on a wire rack.
1. Den Ofen auf 180°C (350°F) Umluft vorheizen. Eine 23x12cm große Kastenform* mit Backpapier auslegen und leicht einfetten. Zur Seite stellen.
2. Beide Mehlsorten, Xylit (oder Zucker), Backpulver, Natron, Zimt, Kardamom, Haferflocken, gehackte Walnüsse und Chiasamen in einer großen Schüssel vermischen. In einer zweiten Schüssel Eier, Buttermilch, Rapsöl, zerdrückte Bananen und geriebene Zucchini vermengen. Die feuchten Zutaten in die Schüssel mit den trockenen Zutaten geben und (mit einem Gummispatel) nur kurz verrühren. Den Teig in die vorbereitete Form füllen und glatt streichen.
3. Die Minibananen schälen, der Länge nach halbieren und auf den Teig legen. Haferflocken, Chiasamen, braunen Zucker, Zimt und Kardamom vermischen und über den Teig und die Minibananen streuen. Das Bananenbrot für etwa 55-65 Minuten backen – mit einem Holzspieß testen, ob noch Teig kleben bleibt und das Bananenbrot erst herausholen, wenn dieser sauber herauskommt. Sollte das Bananenbrot etwas dunkel werden, einfach mit etwas Backpapier oder Alufolie abdecken und weiter backen. Aus dem Ofen nehmen und einige Zeit in der Form abkühlen lassen, dann herausnehmen und auf einem Kuchengitter komplett auskühlen lassen.
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Here is a version of the recipe you can print easily.
Print
(Healthier) Zucchini Banana Bread
- Prep Time: 00:10
- Cook Time: 01:00
- Total Time: 02:00
- Yield: 1
- Category: Cakes
- Cuisine: International
- Diet: Vegetarian
Description
Banana bread does not have to be super sweet all the time – this (Healthier) Zucchini Banana Bread is made without added sugar and a great snack. We love it!
Ingredients
For the batter:
1 cup (130g) spelt flour
3/4 cup (100g) wholemeal spelt flour
1/4 cup (50g) xylitol (or regular sugar)
2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp. ground cardamom
1/3 cup (30g) old-fashioned rolled oats
1 oz. (30g) walnuts, chopped
2 tbsp. chia seeds
2 medium eggs
1/2 cup (120ml) buttermilk
1/4 cup (60ml) rapeseed oil
10.6 oz. (300g) very ripe bananas, mashed
3.5 oz. (100g) zucchini, grated
For the topping:
2 mini bananas, halved lengthwise
1 tbsp. old-fashioned rolled oats
1 tsp. chia seeds
1 tsp. brown sugar
1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1 pinch of ground cardamom
Instructions
1. Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F) fan-forced. Line a 23x12cm loaf tin* with baking parchment and grease lightly. Set aside.
2. For the batter, add both flours, xylitol (or sugar), baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, cardamom, rolled oats, chopped walnuts, and chia seeds to a large bowl and mix to combine. In a second bowl mix eggs, buttermilk, rapeseed oil, mashed bananas, and grated zucchini until well combined. Add the wet ingredients to the bowl with the dry ingredients and mix (with a rubber spatula) until just combined. Transfer the batter to the prepared loaf tin.
3. For the topping, peel the mini bananas, half them lengthwise and place them on the batter. Mix the rolled oats, chia seeds, brown sugar, cinnamon, and cardamom and sprinkle over the dough and mini bananas. Bake the banana bread for about 55-65 minutes, or until a wooden skewer inserted into the center of the banana bread comes out clean. If the banana bread gets a little dark, simply cover it with some baking parchment or aluminum foil and continue baking. Take finished banana bread out of the oven and let it cool down inside the baking tin for some time, then remove and let cool down completely on a wire rack.
Notes
Let’s get baking!
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I love my job, but in between I love to bake and try new things in the kitchen. A lot of my friends and colleagues encourage me to bake - for a very simple reason: they get the leftovers - and it seems they like it most of the time ;) 
