Low Fat Mini Banana Bread Squares are individually portioned squares of banana bread baked a mini bar cookie pan. I don't use this pan as often as I should, but it's great for portion control. As for the banana bread recipe, it's one that contains very little fat, but still moist from the small amount of oil and the 1 ½ large bananas.
If you don't have the mini bar pan with the square shaped cavities, you can substitute one of the pans with multiple mini loaf cavities.
Recipe
Low Fat Banana Bread Squares
Squares of reduced fat banana bread made in a mini bar cookie pan
Ingredients
- 1 ½ large bananas whole (very ripe)
- ⅓ cup granulated sugar or sweetener equivalent (70 grams)
- 1 large egg
- 1 ½ teaspoons vanilla
- 2 teaspoons grapeseed oil or canola oil
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ⅞ cup all-purpose flour (110 grams)
- 3 tablespoons buttermilk or milk mixed with ½ tsp. lemon juice
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Spray a 12 indentation mini bar pan with flour-added baking spray.
- In a large mixing bowl, mash the banana with a hand-held electric mixer or a spoon (depending on ripe it is). Beat in the sugar and the egg and continue beating until smooth.
- Beat in the vanilla and oil, then beat in the baking powder, baking soda and salt.
- By hand, stir in the flour, then stir in the milk.
- Divide the batter equally among all 12 indentations and bake on center rack for about 25 minutes or until golden.
- Let cool for 10 minutes, then carefully remove from the pan.
Nutrition
Calories: 81kcalProtein: 2gFat: 1gCholesterol: 18mgSodium: 122mgFiber: 1g
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!
Maria says
I made this last night as a full loaf - it turned out fantastically! I used lemon olive oil rather than the grapeseed or canola, which added a slight hint of lemon flavor that really complimented the banana. I also reduced the sugar slightly. It ended up baking for about 55 minutes. I've tried many low fat banana bread recipes and hadn't been able to find "the one" - this might be it! Great recipe!!
Katrina says
Banana! Love the little pan shape.
Bonnie says
Thank you for the recipe. I look forward to making and tasting it.
Jennifer says
I actually have one of those pans and rarely use it. Thanks for the great recipe idea. I have a child who loves bananas and I'm trying to watch what I eat, so these look perfect.
Sue says
I'm trying to quash my sweet tooth and haven't done any baking at all in the New Year. I'm enjoying reading about your baking adventures though and I must say these look good. My husband loves banana cake, but cheerfully settles for banana bread and he would be thrilled if I baked something.
Erin says
Oh my goodness, Anna, I feel the same way. I must bake in January. December has its own magic. January needs to be filled with purposeful sweetness. Thanks for the healthier options to make it a little less guilty.
Anna says
Thanks Carolyn! Looks like Zappos ran out, so I put a link to Amazon. Thanks for telling us about your recipe. If you have a link to it, I'd love to try the full loaf.
Meredith, you can definitely make a full loaf. I'll go ahead and make a note of that in the recipe, but basically you just double everything and bake it in a 9x5 inch loaf pan at 325 F for about an hour. If you keep the measurements the same, you could probably make thin squares in an 8 or 9 inch pan, in which case the time would be much less than an hour since the bread would be more spread out/thinner.
Meredith says
woukd these work as regular muffins? What do you think bake time would be in a regular loaf pan or a square (8"? 9") for cake squares?
Carolyn says
The link above doesn't point to the mini bar pan. Thank you for this recipe. I've had a craving for banana bread, but I didn't want an entire loaf of it, so this smaller portion recipe is perfect! My favourite recipe for banana bread (also low fat) is baked low and slow (e.g. 275 degree oven for 2.5 hours). The result is a dark, moist and very intensley flavoured loaf. Even though these would bake in a lot less time, I may experiment with the low and slow idea with this recipe.