Look no further for the best low carb, gluten-free banana bread recipe. Ground chia seed, that nutritional powerhouse, gives this bread the perfect banana bread texture.
The past few weeks have been wildly hectic for me so apologies in advance for the haphazard nature of this post. There may be a few of them like this in the coming weeks. This past weekend, I attended the BlogHer Food conference in Miami, along with some folks from Swerve Sweetener, and next weekend I am heading up to Burlington, Vermont to run with the Cabot Fit Team. In between, I am still cooking and baking and working to bring you 3 or 4 recipes per week. I have no idea how May got so jam-packed with activity, really. As always, I seem to say yes to too many things. They are all wonderful things, and great opportunities, so I am loathe to turn them down.
This recipe is one that took me a little while to perfect but it was definitely worth all the work. After all, banana bread is the quintessential comforting baked good. Who among us hasn’t eaten warm banana bread straight out of the oven and thought it pretty close to heaven on earth? And who among us hasn’t had a grandmother or caring friend make us banana bread as a sign of their deepest affection? And if you’re a mother, surely you’ve made batches of banana bread for your own kids to let them know how much you love them. Banana bread is a sign of love, I am quite certain of it.
But bananas. Oh those high carb, sugar-laden bananas. They aren’t exactly friendly to the carb-conscious crowd. So we fake it. Once again, I send up thanks to the creators of extracts and flavourings, because they allow us to get that banana taste without all of the natural sugars. Several readers have asked for a low carb faux banana bread recipe and a few months ago, I finally hit on the perfect solution. When I created my low carb Chia Seed Brownies, I noticed that the chia add a moist, slightly fibrous quality that was reminiscent of banana bread (so much so, that my littlest even asked if the brownies were made with bananas). It took me a bit to get the amounts right but when I did, it was spot on. The banana extract added all the flavour and the ground chia seed gave it just the right consistency.
As for the frosting, it really is the icing on the cake in this case. The bread is pretty great without it, especially warm with a smear of butter, but the caramel cream cheese frosting really does take it up a notch. You can dress it up or dress it down, your choice. 
Look no further for the best low carb, gluten-free banana bread recipe. Ground chia seed, that nutritional powerhouse, gives this bread the perfect banana bread texture.
- 1/2 to 1 cup water
- 1/2 cup ground chia seed (I grind mine in a coffee grinder and then measure out 1/2 cup)
- 2 cups almond flour
- 1/2 cup Swerve Sweetener
- 1/3 cup coconut flour
- 1/3 cup unflavoured whey protein powder
- 1 tbsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 3/4 cup unsweetened almond milk
- 3 large eggs
- 1/4 cup melted butter
- 1 tsp banana extract (imitation would also be fine)
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/4 tsp stevia extract
- 4 oz cream cheese softened
- 1/4 cup powdered Swerve Sweetener
- 6 tbsp whipping cream
- 1 tsp caramel flavour OR vanilla extract
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Preheat oven to 325F and grease a loaf pan very well.
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In a small bowl, combine 1/2 cup water and chia seed. Stir and let sit to gel. If it remains very thick, add more water (it should resemble mashed bananas in consistency).
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Meanwhile in a large bowl, whisk together almond flour, sweetener, coconut flour, whey protein powder, baking powder and salt.
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Stir in almond milk, eggs, melted butter, banana extract, vanilla, stevia and chia mixture until thoroughly combined.
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Spread mixture in prepared baking pan, smoothing the top.
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Bake 70 to 75 minutes or until golden brown and a tester inserted in the center comes out clean
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Let cool in pan 20 minutes and then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
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In a large bowl, beat cream cheese and powdered sweetener until smooth.
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Beat in whipping cream and caramel or extract until well combined.
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Spread over cooled banana cake and let set about half an hour.
Serves 16. Each serving has 9 g of carbs and 5 g of fiber. Total NET CARBS = 4 g.
Unfrosted: 171 Calories; 13g Fat (65.7% calories from fat); 7g Protein; 9g Carbohydrate; 5g Dietary Fiber; 48mg Cholesterol; 240mg Sodium.
Frosted: 215 Calories; 18g Fat (70.7% calories from fat); 8g Protein; 9g Carbohydrate; 5g Dietary Fiber; 64mg Cholesterol; 263mg Sodium.
Regan @ Cabot Creamery says
I swear May is the new December. Deanna from Teaspoon of Spice Blog and I were just talking last week about how crazy busy May has all of a sudden become.
This recipe is genius by the way. Can’t wait to try the chia concoction.
Question — and we can discuss this in VT this weekend 🙂 but how does your family do with Swerve? I love it and think it’s genius. I’m just hesitant with my family to see if they can taste the difference.
Carolyn says
My kids are great with it. My little one tends not to like it in frostings that don’t contain chocolate, for some reason, but the other two are fine with it in anything. And the little ones likes it in almost everything else.
DEBRA GILBERT says
Can I use 1/2 heavy cream and 1/2 water as a sub for almond milk?
Carolyn says
Yup, that’s perfect.
Sasha says
Can I use heavy whipping cream as a substitute for all of the water and almond milk?
Carolyn says
It will make the batter much too thick. You can water it down, though.
Christine from Cook the Story says
I can almost smell the goodness through the computer!
Lin says
I’m making this today! My hubby is insane for banana bread. BTW, we are also crazy about your delicious chia seed brownies!
Carolyn says
Thanks, Lin!
Jessica @ A Kitchen Addiction says
It doesn’t get much better than banana bread straight from the oven! Love this caramel frosting!
Jocelyn (Grandbaby Cakes) says
This looks absolutely fantastic! That frosting is amazing!
Jasmine Lukuku says
I would like to see your birth certificate, because I’m pretty sure you were built in some bio-technical lab where they make bionic superwomen.
I love reading a recipe and realizing that I have every ingredient on hand. When that happens, I know it’s meant to be. It looks like I have some banana bread to bake!
Carolyn says
Okay, at first I thought this had to be spam, with the birth certificate comment. Thanks for the giggle, Jasmine!
Jeanette | Jeanette's Healthy Living says
So great to finally meet you in person at BlogHer Food Carolyn!! Hope we get to see each other again soon – wish I could have stayed longer. Love this banana bread with chia seeds, almond flour and coconut flour.
Carolyn says
You too, Jeanette!
Cecelia says
Why dos.t any recipe have the amount of sugar?
Carolyn says
Because I don’t use sugar.
Cecelia says
Makes sense. Sorry about that.
Carolyn says
No worries. If you are looking to sub in sugar, you can put in about the same amount I use Swerve.
Katrina @ In Katrina's Kitchen says
So so killer! Love this one, my friend!
Carolyn says
Thanks, lovely lady!
Me says
Is the amount of water in the recipe correct? It made a really thick paste for me, not really a jell. It’s baking now- can’t wait to taste it! Thanks for sharing your creations 🙂
Carolyn says
I believe it is, although it’s possible I wrote it down wrong. It should have been the consistency of mashed bananas. Let me know if it doesn’t turn out properly…I will test it again. My kids won’t complain!
Laurel Otto says
Why are there no bananas in the banana bread?
Carolyn says
Because it’s keto and bananas aren’t a good choice.
Anne-Marie Cain says
This looks sooooooo yummy! What size loaf pan did you use? Can’t wait to give it a try! 🙂
Carolyn says
The standard size 9 x 5 inches.
Charlotte says
I lot of your baking recipes call for whey protein. Is there a good substitute for it?
Carolyn says
Hemp protein or powdered egg white. It’s not about a dietary supplement, it’s about getting a dry protein to replace the gluten (which is a protein). It helps it rise and hold its shape.
dina says
it looks great!
Gerri says
Fantastic! Yes, the best banana bread recipe ever. Texture, flavor were perfect. I added 1 cup chopped walnuts & will use 1 cup water for the chia seeds next time. Mine was also like a paste with 1/2 cup water, but it still turned out utterly delicious. Thank you for returning the yummy aroma of banana bread baking to my kitchen.
Carolyn says
So glad to hear it!
Cindy Maddux says
Made this basic cake yesterday (minus the frosting) and had to make a few changes to it because I didn’t have banana extract, unsweetened almond milk or unflavored whey protein. I had coconut extract, unsweetened coconut milk and vanilla flavored whey protein powder (Body By Vi) and so I used them, also omitted the vanilla extract.
The cake is super moist and dense thanks to the ground chia seeds, which I did have to use close to the full cup of water to get the mashed banana consistency. I had some fresh strawberries that I had been marinating in a sugar substitute and it made a little syrup with the strawberries and I made some whipped cream all to put on top of a slice of cake. It was so delicious, very tropical.
I just love your recipes and appreciate, very much, all of the work you put into perfecting them. And the stories you include with them are so entertaining.
Thanks for mentioning that you used your coffee grinder to grind the chia seeds. I had one in the very back of a cabinet that I had completely forgotten about so I dug it out and it worked perfectly. It’ll go back into the cabinet but up front rather way in the back. I’ll have to try it to make the powdered sweetener (from the granular form) for the frostings.
Carolyn says
Your changes sound good too!
Barb Sacco says
Carolyn, if I wanted to make this into muffins instead of a loaf, how much time and at what temp should I bake them? I’ll assume the standard fill of 3/4 on the muffin liners would do? Cupcakes are easier to do for fund raisers than sliced breads are. Thanks for all your wonderful, healthy recipes!
Carolyn says
Bake them at the same temp and I think they will take at least 25 minutes. But I would start checking them after 20 minutes and keep checking every few minutes after that.
Barb Sacco says
That sounds right to me, too. Thanks so much!
Lori says
Did anyone try muffins?
Deb says
Lori, I’ve never actually made the bread just muffins and the are delicious and freeze wonderfully!
Anne O says
Carolyn, I followed all of your directions to a “T” EXCEPT for cooling it off before cutting- not a chance. Within 1 minute, I cut a fat slice, smeared on some of the icing, and almost suffered a heart attack. It was so delicious. Beyond anything anyone has described. Excellent and thank you for taking the time to perfect the recipe….it shows. I’m 3 months into low carb cooking & baking and you are a daily resource of mine. I’ve made 7 of your recipes, all are keepers. Many, many thanks for your work! Please don’t leave us or retire 🙂
Carolyn says
Glad you liked it that much!
Cecelia says
I could not find ground chia seeds so I got chia seeds with flex in it. Can I use that and does it still need to be ground? Can I use the little grinder I have? Will the chia seeds with flex in it or should I just get the chia seeds?
Cecelia says
Just me again. Will the chia seeds with flex change the taste?
Cindy says
Hi Cecelia,
I think it is important to the texture of the cake to have the chia seeds ground up otherwise the little seeds have a tendency to pop when bitten on in a cake/muffin when they are not ground. And the ground chia seeds is what is supposed to mimic the mashed banana. And the flax will most likely change the flavor a bit. It has kind of an earth taste to it. But then again the Banana extract may mask the taste of the flax but the flax will make the cake a bit more grainy, like the texture of a bran muffin.
Cecelia says
Thanks again.
I think you need your own T.V show.
Thanks again
Carolyn says
You can grind them yourself…that’s what I do, in a coffee grinder. I think it will be okay.
Deb says
Carolyn, I’ve been craving bananas lately and was thrilled to see a recipe that would allow me to indulge! I wanted to make muffins, but will these (minus the frosting of course) be able to be kept in the freezer? Thank you for all of your wonderful recipes : )
Carolyn says
Yes, these would freeze well. I didn’t do it myself, but I am almost positive that they would.
Vivian says
Wonderful recipe and I am so thankful for your work to create it! Thank you!! I have it in the oven and it smells great. (tasted great before I baked it so I am sure we will love it!) 🙂
Stacy says
I made this yesterday and added 1 cup chopped walnuts. The texture of the bread is spot on! And the icing is just divine!! I am enjoying a piece right now for breakfast. I never thought eating banana bread would be a part of my low carb diet. Thank You Thank You Thank You!! You are a genius.
Carolyn says
So glad you like it!
Anna says
This is baking right now! Can’t wait! Would you recommend storing in the fridge or on the counter?
Carolyn says
I wouldn’t store it on the counter for more than about 2 days.
Cecelia says
Can I use gluten free flour instead of almond flour. I have tried all the stores around here and no on carries it. I bought slivered almonds and someone said I have to be very careful because I could be making almond butter if I mix it too long.
I have everything except the almond flour.
Carolyn says
I think the amounts of other things will change some, because gluten-free flour is drier than almond flour. Start by not putting in any almond milk and then see how your batter is. If it’s REALLY thick, add 1/4 cup, then maybe a tbsp or two more. It should be spreadable but not pourable, if that makes sense.
Jackie says
I made this today and it was perfect…even my non low carb husband has eaten 2 pieces! I used 3/4 cup water for chia seeds and egg white protein instead of whey protein baked for 1 hour 15 minutes. I think it may even taste better cold…Thanks for such a great recipe!
Cecelia says
I was ready to make this the other day and my husband looked at the recipe and said he did not like banana bread so can I use something else like maybe lemon.
Carolyn says
Sure, use whatever extract you like best.
Cecelia says
What can I use instead of stevia extract. I don’t have snt of that and I don’t know where to buy it.
Carolyn says
Use a little more swerve or other erythritol, I guess.
Dee says
Hello,
Sorry if this is a silly question but is banana essence the same as banana extract and will it work for this recipe?
Thanks!
Carolyn says
I think so, yes.
Laura F. says
HELP! I just made this and I don’t know what I did wrong! It came out very moist but extremely bland with no banana flavor at all. Should I try doubling the banana extract?
Thanks!
Carolyn says
Sounds to me like the banana extract isn’t strong enough. I don’t know what brand it is but yes, definitely up the amount!
Emily says
Okay, I was skeptical about this recipe, but can I just say “wow!!!” Delicious, and it even looks like banana bread because of the chia seeds.
I love your website. We don’t have diabetes, but my daughter was born with neurofibromatosis which causes a host of problems. We were trying to eliminate her focus issues by going gluten free, and while it didn’t solve that problem, her acid reflux is nearly gone. I love that she can enjoy treats made with almond and coconut flours and not miss the gluten-filled ones. Thank you for all of your hard work!
Anne-Marie Keightley says
Is your almond flour real flour OR ground almonds. Very different things.
Carolyn says
Yes, I know that. It’s real almond flour. You should check out my baking tutorial. https://alldayidreamaboutfood.com/2013/02/low-carb-basics-baking-with-almond-flour.html
Holli says
Carolyn, this recipe sounds great. After years I have found that liquid splenda works the best for my taste and diet needs. Do you think it would work to use unsweetened coconut to substitute for the swerve in your recipes? For example, using the coconut in place of the swerve in this recipe and using drops of the liquid splenda? I just don’t know what else I could use to replace the swerve besides the granular splenda and I’d rather not. Thanks for your advice. Your recipes are so awesome!
Carolyn says
I wouldn’t replace it cup for cup, I’d maybe just do a few more tbsp of either almond flour or coconut and then sweeten to your liking with the liquid sucralose. For the frosting, the cream cheese gives it structure so you should be fine there.
Diane says
Made this yesterday, and it was a total winner!! Taste, texture, everything. Instead of Swerve in the frosting I used some Torani sugar free salted caramel syrup and a few drops of liquid sucralose. Can’t thank you enough – I really missed banana bread!!!
Carolyn says
So glad you liked it!
Debra says
Just made this today. Love it. So good, I feel guilty for eating it…NOT! Would love to add some walnuts or pecans next time!
Deborah says
Just made this to have take along breakfast to eat at work. But could not wait, had to have a slice.
Absolutely wonderful. The ground chia seeds are genius. They really do mimic the texture of mashed banana in the bread.
I did add two handfuls of roughly chopped walnuts as that is they way I used to make my banana bread pre low carb. Just great.
I also browned my butter before adding to give it another layer of toasty flavor. I think it worked well.
Thanks Carolyn. Can’t imagine doing low carb without the wonderful baked goods you have give us all.
maggie says
Have you tried making this with the THM Baking Blend? And, if so, how much would I sub (assuming i would sub for the almond & coconut flours & the whey)?
Carolyn says
Sorry, I haven’t tried it with that yet and can’t really give you any guidance.
Tiffany says
I make this bread all the time and it’s awesome and I can’t thank you enough for it.
I just tried it with corn extract instead of banana and it’s good! Doesn’t taste like cornbread plain, but with butter on it it is just like corn bread!!
Sandra says
hello Carolyn
I am from Australia and have had a few problems finding some of the ingredients for this recipe. Firstly, Swerve doesn’t seem to be available in this country, so i tried using Stevia instead, but this tends to leave a bit of an after-taste which i don’t particularly like. Could i rather substitute with Coconut sugar – this has a much more natural sweet flavour i think.
Also I could only find Almond meal/ground almonds which the lady assured me was the same as Almond flour but i see one of your comments says it is definitely different. I have read your explanation on Almond Flour and see that the difference is in how much finer ‘flour’ is than ‘meal’. Is there any way of grinding Almond meal finer to make it into flour as there doesn’t seem to be anywhere here to actually buy the flour??
I also couldn’t find any Stevia extract or Banana extract. I will have to keep looking but wondered if i could just add a bit more coconut sugar instead of the Stevia?
I am quite new at this game as you can probably see! 🙂
Thanks
Carolyn says
Well, coconut sugar has carbs so if you’re low carb, I would choose something else, like regular erythritol or xylitol. I have plenty of Australian readers who use these things. You could try grinding the almond meal further in a coffee grinder. You can add more of another sweetener in place of the stevia extract.
Courtney says
Hello,
I would love to try this recipe but I don’t have any chai seed or flour. Is there a substtittue you can recommend? I do have golden flax flour if you think that would work or just more almond flour.
Thanks in advance!
Carolyn says
I’d do the flax, probably.
Roze says
This was the most INCREDIBLE banana bread ever!! I have to make another tonite, we devoured it in my house.
Amanda says
Where and what protein powder do you use please ?
I’ve seen it used in a few recipes, but have no idea where to buy and what it exaclty is ?
Judy says
Have you tried freezing a unfrosted loaf? I love this recipe and have company coming and was wondering about cooking a few loaves up ahead Iof time for the freezer. What do you think?
Carolyn says
I am sure it would freeze well. I’ve frozen similar cakes and muffins.
Megan says
Was wondering if you thought Quest banana cream protein powder would work in this recipe instead of the plain whey powder?
Carolyn says
Sounds like a good idea to me!
Melissa says
Hi there! I’m getting currently getting my weekend baking goals in order, and as part of that, I plan on giving this recipe a try since my T1D hubby and I have absolutely loved all of the recipes that we’ve tried from your site so far. However, I haven’t made anything with that has called for unflavored whey so far for fear of dry baked goods. May I ask if you still prefer Tera’s unflavored whey? Thank you!
Carolyn says
Tera’s whey works well in my recipes. It’s a good one and I like to get the grassfed version.
Christy says
I know that it would change the texture a little, but what can I replace the chia seed flour with? I have almond flour, coconut flour, and physillium husk? I prefer to use all almond flour if I can. This cake looks awesome. Thanks for your dedication and hard work in helping people with yummy recipes. -Christy
Carolyn says
If you just want almond flour bread with some banana flavouring, use this recipe and don’t do almond extract or the almond on the outside. Add the banana extract instead. https://alldayidreamaboutfood.com/2012/01/almond-crusted-butter-cake-low-carb-and-gluten-free.html
Sherri says
I saw this recipe and knew I had to make it. I couldn’t find Caramel Flavour anywhere so just used vanilla in place of it. I will probably order it online. My husband who won’t eat any of my healthy recipes (he can eat whatever he wants and never gain..hate him), told me I won’t have to worry about sharing because he knows by reading the ingredients he isn’t going to like it and he stated neither will the kids. Well so I made it and it came out exactly like the picture with one exception. My frosting didn’t smear as beautifully as yours did in the picture. Well as it sat there I took a piece and gobbled it up and I nearly fell on the floor. It was sooo good I felt like shoving the whole loaf in my mouth! My kids heard me moan how good it was and came running and wanted to try it and so I gave them a piece and they too were making the same sounds. So here comes my husband wanting to know what all the fuss was about. So he decided to try it. And to his surprise he loved it! He nearly took a bigger piece but I had to take some away because after all this was my cake!!!
Carolyn says
Oh my gosh, I love this. Love this! Thanks for sharing, I am so pleased we won everybody over!
renee says
I notice you use Unflavored Whey Protein Powder in a few of your recipes.
Whey is known to spike insulin which makes it unfriendly for low-carb lifestyles.
Carolyn says
1. I use only 1/4 or 1/3 cup per recipe, simply to replace the protein from gluten and help the baked good rise. Spread over 12 to 16 servings, this amounts to very little in each serving so it is NOTHING to concern people.
2. You should read this article: http://ajcn.nutrition.org/content/82/1/69.full
3. You are free to use any protein powder you like, including egg white protein.
Christina says
I made this today. Minus the icing because it’s so good on it’s own! Who knew you could friggin have banana bread without bananas! Thank you for a great recipe. Turned out fantastic and I now have to try not to eat it all. In one day lol.
Sheila says
Hi Carolyn, are the macros correct? The net carb count remains the same with or without the icing? I assumed the addition of cream cheese and shipping cream would add carbs.
Carolyn says
Yes, they’re correct. The icing isn’t enough to change it that much and these calculations were done on software that doesn’t do decimal points, so…
Anne says
I love this recipe. I made it twice in about ten days. I want to make it again. I am out of chia seeds. Wgat do you think about psyllium husk powder to repkace it?
Carolyn says
I honestly don’t think it would be very good, they get very gummy.
Anne says
Haha youre right…i went out to get chia…i am addicted to this one.
Penny Reveile says
So I made this recipe today. Looks like banana bread, but didn’t smell like it. BUT THE TASTE! Banana bread…I love you again! Now to try it with the frosting. Lol I admit, I couldn’t wait. Had to cut it while it was hot & slather with butter!
Carolyn says
Glad it satisfied!
Patricia Clayborn says
I want to make this recipe, but am not sure if either of the banana flavorings that are available to me would make a good loaf. I can either use McCormick that I can get at Winco or Watkins which is avaiable at WalMart.
Kris says
I used Watkins and it turned out find. I am going to use a little more than the 1 tsp called for next time.
Felicia says
The recipe is fantastic, the bread is delicious! Thank you so much for sharing.
Patricia Clayborn says
Can I use gelatin instead of chia seeds???
Carolyn says
Noooo! It makes it really gummy and it’s gross. I tried.
Annirefaire says
4 years after this post and I still love this recipe and so many more. Thank you Carolyn!
Kris says
This was excellent! After cooling slightly, I wrapped my loaf while still a little warm. That pulled the moisture in and the next day I was really impressed with the texture and taste! It was good on day 1, but excellent on day 2. Next time I think I will add an extra tsp of banana extract. For the frosting, I actually put all the ingredients in a blender and then saved it to use as a “spread” for the banana bread the next day, (instead of only putting it on the top). Very good!
Michele Wunderlich says
Can chia seeds be ground in a Nutribullet or food processor? I don’t have a coffee grinder.
Carolyn says
Yes, but they don’t always get ground that finely.
Nancy says
Hello…
What would be a good substitute for the whey protein powder?
Thank you!
Carolyn says
Any protein powder would be fine (hemp or egg white protein). But it helps the bread rise and hold its shape so don’t leave it out altogether.
Sara-Jayne says
I absolutely LOVE this recipe!! My hubby has a sensitivity to almonds so I subbed out the almond flour for an additional 1/2 cup of coconut flour and added an extra egg. I also used maple extract in the frosting because I was out of caramel. It was amazing!! Hubby loved it, I loved it and my hardcore keto bestie loved it. A keeper for sure!
Mirjana Milosavljevic Balevski says
Loved this recipe!! Kept tasting it until it had the right banana flavor. The kid said he liked the texture but not the flavor. Any suggestions on how to adapt this recipe if I wanted to use actual bananas instead? Most banana bread recipes use 3 bananas, maybe half or all 3. He’s not low carb. Everything else I love, the chia seeds definitely made the bread!!
Carolyn says
I am sure you can use 1 or 2 bananas and then cut back the liquids.
Amy Trosper says
So good. I didn’t have Carmel extract so I used a bit of almond and banana flavoring in the frosting. Served with keto chili. Big thumbs up from family. My son asked if it was one of my keto desserts and when I said yes he said it’s the best one yet. I don’t know. I’ve used so many of your recipes in the last 1.5 years and there’s so many good ones! I always come here for recipes. I know they will be good.
Carolyn says
Thanks, Amy!