Granny's Banana Bread

This was great. i made this for a track team dinner and everybody loved it. i used only 3/4c of sugar, and left out the nuts and raisins, but added chocolate chips. everybody wants the recipe now! oh, i would recommend only baking for 35 min... or at least checking it after that long so it doesn't overcook.

I didn't have any applesauce so I used 5 bananas instead. All were very ripe and two had been frozen; when thawed they were very juicy. Added extra cinnamon.

Very tasty - my husband went back for more! Lived dangerously in putting this in my largest nut bread pan - it almost went over. Next time I'll make 2 loaves in a regular sized pan.

This recipe was great. I followed the measurements almost exactly. I added extra spices, used spenda instead of sugar, half whole wheat and half white flour, and used 2 loaf pans insead of 1. It was so moist but not dense. amazing.

I followed the recipe exactly as written and my loaf came out very spongy. I think another reviewer had mentioned theirs being gummy and that seems to have been the case with us, too. I'm not really sure why it turned out this way. I suppose the bread could be described as "moist" in some way - which I'm not opposed to - but the texture just wasn't right, and frankly, I didn't find the flavor to be all that great, either.

I loved this recipe! I changed it a little adding more cinnamon, chocolate chips and pecans (no raisin or walnuts). It has a great spicy banana flavor with my personal favorite -CHOCOLATE! This bread was gone from a party in 30 minutes - with people asking for the recipe! I did use two pans and baked for only 40 minutes. I cannot say it enough - I really love this recipe!!!

This bread is SO yummy!! The raisins in it add such a great flavor. It's so tasty for being butter and oil free. It's moist and we loved it!

Wundervoll! Köstlich! I love this recipe. I only had 2 bananas and 1/2 T of Vanilla extract, and didn't alter the rest of the recipe accordingly, but it still turned out wonderfully! ^_^

This recipe was awesome! I have used a banana bread recipe in the past that was too dense, so I was looking for something a little less so. This recipe is much better than the one I used previously. The bread is extremely moist and very easy to make.

This is Wonderful! Make sure to add the Walnuts and Raisins as it really adds to the flavor. I doubled the amount of cinnamon and Nutmeg for a little more flavor. It really does call for two medium pans, not one. cooking time was about 45 minutes in the center of the oven. Great with butter or Cream cheese. ENJOY!

This was such a great, healthy alternative to the other banana breads on this site! I used 1/2 whole wheat and 1/2 white flour, and used unrefined raw cane sugar instead of the white sugar (subbed it 1:1) and it was GREAT, and healthier! I doubled the spices, as suggested by others, and doubled the recipe to make 3 9x5 loaves. Thanks for the great recipe!

I had to cook this longer than the 45 minutes to get the inside to set, but in doing that, the outside got crunchy. Not sure if covering it would have helped - maybe next time. Not the best banana bread recipe I've found, but not bad at all either.

This was a very good banana bread! We ate it about 10 minutes out of the oven. I changed a couple of things: Used half wheat flour and half white flour. Added a teaspoon of cinnamon and nutmeg. Also cut the sugar to 3/4 cup. And used a snack size applesauce cup as I didn't want to open the large one! Very good, I will make this again!

This was excellent! I used 1/2 cup applesauce instead of 1/3 cup. Added 1 tsp of cinnamon rather than 1/2 tsp.. This was a great tasting, lowfat alternative to traditional bannana bread! I was not expecting something without butter or oil to taste this yummy! Thanks!

This is a healthy version I was looking for. I don't cook with salt so do not miss it in this recipe. Followed recipe just as written. Using spices and raisins in a Banana Bread was new for me~~~~but what a great taste. I already had cinnamon and nutmeg in my homemade applesause so did not use extra. This is defitely a KEEPER.

A really great banana bread. I loved the addition of the nutmeg, although, I did reduce it to 1/4 tsp so that others in the family (who don't love nutmeg as much as I do) would also enjoy this bread. I left out the optional raisins and walnuts, but plan on using either walnuts or pecans next time. Love that there is not butter, but the bread was not rubbery or gummy in texture. Would highly recommend this one!

Can't even tell that the butter is missing! Doubled the spices and added chocolate chips to bump up the flavor, and it turned out great!

very moist, followed suggestions by other reviewers :)

I was excited to try this recipe but found it to be pasty and gummy,I did not like it and my kids did not ask for more. I did not include raisins or nuts(preference).

I followed the recipe to the tee and I have had better lower fat banana bread than this.

Very good....but not like much banana bread. My husband thought it was very good. Will make again...but not when we are in the mood for banana bread.....ps my two year old loved it

Very dense, unpleasantly chewy. I'm a novice at cooking, so I don't know how to fix how seemingly rubber-like it is. It is not what I had expected, at any rate.

Well, this is delicious. I hate to be one of those people, but I did add a tablespoon or so of olive oil to try to keep the bread from being gummy (which happens sometimes). This was REALLY good, even in the batch where I forgot to add the eggs. Chocolate chips aren't even necessary, although it's delicious with them.

I've baked many banana breads and Im always on the lookout for a healthy recipe, but I didn't find a keeper in this one. I followed the recipe to a T (omitting the raisins and walnuts) and found this cake to be too spongy and a bit on the dry side... likely because it baked unevenly... It took a total of 60 minutes to bake, and even then the top was still a bit raw, but I needed to take it out to attempt to keep the rest at least edible.....

We love this! I love that it is lower in fat and still tastes killer. I don't understand all the other banana bread recipies w/o cinnamon or nutmeg. I have also used canned pumpkin in place of applesauce and we think it tastes even better! We have never tried it with the optional ingredients, though. Works great as muffins too.

this is an awesome recipe for a really healthy alternative to oil and butter banana bread. I really like it and you can eat all you want since the is virtually no fat in it. LOVE IT!!! I added one extra banana so good

I'm a health nut, however the bread itself is not sweet and tastes more like a piece of white bread than banana bread. I added nuts, and that didn't help. Ended up having to cut in slices and toss in cinnamon sugar mixture just so my guests would enjoy it. Make the full fat banana bread. You'll eventually eat the same amount of fat in this bread because you keep tasting it trying to get a "taste."

Excellent - less dense than other recipes I've used and I love the idea of replacing the butter with the applesauce. You don't miss it - lots of flavor

It does not taste like banana bread. It baked at to high of a temp and burnt edges. Outside was leathery. It tasted spicey, not like banana. Horrible recipe.

Very good recipe for banana-bread!

This was EXCELLENT! It was very moist and flavorful. The spices were a really nice addition, and you could certainly taste the nutmeg/cinnamon. I hate to have deviated from the recipe, but I only had two bananas, so their contribution was pretty mild. I also did half whole-wheat flour and half regular flour. Combining this with the optional walnuts/craisins, the bread was wonderfully hearty. My family really enjoyed this and I'm sure I'll be making it again.

Theresa, this recipe was a great find. Your great-grandma certainly cooked with a conscience. Sometimes I add the raisins, sometimes the nuts, sometimes both. Today, I wanted 'sweet' so I added chocolate chips but replaced the sugar with Splenda. These came out so good. This is my forever recipe for banana bread. I agree with watching the cooking times. I had 6 large bananas so I upped the recipe by half and made two slightly smaller loaves. They were done in 40 minutes. Thanks!

Made this one afternoon, I added chocolate chips to the receipt. Well I must say it was the best Banana Bread ever.

I added another 1/3 cup of applesauce as batter was very dry, the extra applesauce was good. I found it lacked banana flavour next time I might add another banana. It was a good sized loaf and nice and moist

With slight variations due to my lack of ingredients required, this recipe is very good. Next time I will make sure I have everything and see how much better it is!

i used this and it was delicious. i used 3/4 cup splenda, and 1/4 cup brown sugar. I only had two bananas left, but it worked out great and tasted good!

Very tasty bread, with a nice top crust. Followed other reviews and added 1/2 C. Applesauce and used 4 bananas plus pecans and chocolate chunks. Will increase to 5 bananas next time to increase banana flavor.

I didn't have nutmeg and I love cinnamon so I doubled the cinnamon. I also only had half a cup of sugar so I added maple syrup. I also used 5 bananas like one person said since I didn't have applesauce. I listened to the other reviewers and only baked it for 40 minutes. Actually the edges were a bit hard. I recommend 35 minutes like someone else said and maybe checking it after 20 minutes. It was so tasty though! The bananas were moist and it had an overall good taste. It was my first banana bread.

This recipe yields the best banana bread I ever made. It is full of banana flavor yet doesn't have all of the oil and fat that most other recipes do.

This recipe was great! What a moist, delicious bread. I added golden raisins with chopped walnuts. Simply delicious. I even froze the second loaf for later.

I added chopped chocolate chips, omitted the spices and substituted 1 cup of a very light whole wheat flour for the white flour. It turned out really well except I slightly over baked it because I hit a densely banana spot with my tester and erroneously thought it wasn't yet done. It's a good recipe -- lower fat or not!

Okay. So, I wanted to add a little fat to this just for my baking preferance. I doubled this, cut out half the bananas and used one stick butter and one stick margerine and added a little salt. I used my own homemade crockpot applesauce and just a little apple pie spice, as my applesauce was already spiced up. Everything else I kept the same. The smell of this while baking was incredible. I won't be trying this myself as these will be gifts, but I'll update this recipes as soon as I hear how my friends liked them. This recipe made two large loaves and one mini, when doubled.

I followed the recipe exactly except that I keep my flour premixed 1/2 white and 1/2 wheat. Used one of those single serving applesauce cups as it seemed about the right size. I set the timer for 50 minutes as it said 45-60 minutes and my oven tends to run slow. Wish I'd have set it for 45 minutes, as it could have come out a couple minutes earlier. Still, quite yummy!!

I thought this was a great recipe. It didn't have a buttery taste, but it had plenty of banana flavor. It was very easy to make.

Moist and delicious! 4 teenage boys and it was gone in 5 minutes. Great with some cream cheese on it!

Excellent! used stewed pears instead of applsauce - all I had. Made the loaf fantastic. Def. a keeper. Use again.

I read everyone else's reviews, but still decided to give it a try....I was disappointed with this recipe because like others said, it doesn't have a real "banana" flavor...it is a lower fat recipe using applesauce instead of oil which I liked...but it didn't have a lot of taste to it in my opinion.

Pretty good banana bread. I cut this recipe in half, since I only had two bananas, and made into muffins (made about 12). I also put half white and half whole wheat flour in to up the healthyness. I like that there isn't any oil added, we're trying to eat right! My husband ate about 10 of them since I made them last night. I still prefer zucchini bread though.

Delicious! I made an extra healthy version, substituting whole wheat flour, and 1 cup brown rice syrup plus 1/2 tsp more of baking soda for the sugar. My husband couldn't tell the difference!

Made this today, smelled soooo good baking!! I was looking for moistness and I was not disappointed! Made it exactly the way the recipe listed ,but, I didn't add the raisins . Baked it in a larger loaf pan for the lower end of the time in the baking instructions (45min.) it tested done when I inserted a table knife in the center and it came out clean . It was a bit underdone close to the surface but, that was easily fixed by baking for the remaining 15 min.it should remedy any pastyness other people have had problems with .I won't go back to my old recipe!! Will definately make this again and again .

simply wonderful

pretty good banana bread. i made one loaf plain, and one with nuts and Craisins, which gave it a great twist. nice and moist.

This recipe was not my favorite but was very good, not sweet enough for me. My family enjoyed it though so im happy i tried it.

Maybe it was because i didn't use four full bananas (had to cut out the rotten parts) but it came out very dry and there is not much to the taste. The raisins do help but next time I'll just go for a regular banana bread recipe.

Used Cake Flour, and cinnamon flavored applesauce to save a step. Turned out fantastic.

I took suggestion to make two loaves - one loaf I made with raisins and walnuts and the other with chocolate chips (2 cups each loaf). Delicious!

frackin fantastic, period.

I was happy to try this recipe since it claimed moistness and was lowfat. However, the texture was so gummy even after I put it in for the remaining 15 minutes. I am highly dissappointed as this was a waste of 8 good bananas(I doubled the recipe).

Very satisfying. Full of flavor. This is a keeper. I used whole grain flour. It baked up beautifully. It makes a wonderful loaf to give as a gift as well as for home. You never miss the oil/fat. YUM!

Mmmm! Thanks for the lower fat, healthy recipe! Followed directions just about exactly (minus nuts/raisins and 1/2 the sugar) and baked to a perfect texture in 1 hour. Great spice mix!!

It was wonderful, and my 1 year old son loved it! I changed a little bit because I have left over baby food from my son. Here is what I used 1 cup all-purpose flour 1 cup wheat flower 1 teaspoon baking soda 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg 1 cup white sugar 2 eggs 2 jars of apple baby food 4 jars of banana baby food 1 tablespoon almond extract 1 cup dried sweenened cranberries 1 cup chopped walnuts

This came out much better then expected. Highly recommend this one

This came out much better then expected. Highly recommend this one

I LOVE this recipe! Like many people, I vary the ingredients. Since my husband and I love dark bread, I use brown sugar instead of white. I also use VERY ripe bananas. Leave them in the fridge for about a week or two until the rind is black. It makes the bananas much sweeter. Rather than applesauce, I use apple butter. Using fresh-grated nutmeg will make your house smell heavenly while the bread is baking. This is also perfect for turning into fruitcake. Along with the raisins and nuts, add a cup of fruitcake mix to the batter. If you add fruitcake mix, it will definitely have to bake for a full hour because the batter will be dense.

My hubby and I absolutely love this! And it's healthy, too! I've tried making it with both 4 and 3 bananas, and prefer it with only 3 bananas, adding a little plain yogurt to get the batter to the right consistency. I increase the cinnamon to 1 tsp., because I love sweet breads a little spicy. I make it into 2 loaves, and bake it for 45 minutes.

Very tastey! But the 12 serving recipe definitely calls for 2 pans instead of one. Total cook time was about 1hr 10min with one pan. I was worried about burning the bread since I had to keep putting it back in the oven. Aside from this, this is a very good recipe. I used 3 bananas instead of 4 and the texture was just right, not gummy at all :-)

I thought that it was a good, healthy alternative to the full fat banana bread. I would make it again but with some alterations.

ECXELLENT BREAD AND WANDERFUL AROMA.

Add that fifth star for this one. I made it with cup for cup sugar replacement and it is awesome. A huge treat for the diabetics in your life without losing any flavor. Enjoy it :}

I found this disappointing in both flavor and texture. Two stars because it was very easy. I am still searching for a go-to banana bread recipe....

I used 1/2 c white sugar 1/2 c brown sugar. no applesauce, so I used 1/3 c canola oil. I live at high altitude, so I added 3 Tb vanilla yogurt and 3 Tb Skim Milk. Didn't add the raisins/walnuts. Husband LOVED this recipe. next time i will add chocolate chips, yum!

Excellent I love it and sometimes add a little more applesauce or a banana. Best yet!!!! Susan Merkel AZ

I didn't have a few of the ingredients called for in this recipe. So I improvised! I used bananas and prune juice! Yup, I tell ya it tasted pretty good! I made this bread three times and they all turned out great!

This version of banana bread cooked up a tad bit tougher than other's I've tried recently.

I made this into muffins, I followed the recipe exactly, but did not add the extras. I cooked them for 35 min. They are good, but next time I will take them out 5 min earlier. Thanks it is a keeper

Very Nice recipe, I substituted Pecans for Walnuts and added 1/2 ts rum extract, I used 1 ts of cinnamon only because at the last moment I realized I was out of nutmeg.

This isn't bad but the Sour Cream Banana Bread on this site is better IMHO.

This bread was very good, we can't stop eating it! I followed the recipe except I cut it in half (I only had 2 bananas) and I did use half regular flour and half whole wheat flour. I also did add some choc. chips - YUM!

I followed the instructions, but eliminated the raisins . I would omit the cinnamon and nutmeg IF I ever made again. This was quick and simple but prefer my old much lighter recipe.

The taste is great. My complaint with this recipe has to do with the size of the loaf...way, way too big for one pan. Mine burnt on the outside in order to get it done on the inside. The recipe should specify two pans, not one. But I'm not that upset because banana is not my favorite flavor; we made this just to creatively use them up.

This bread was delicious! I used 1/2 whole wheat 1/2 white flour and added chopped pecans (no raisins). It was surprisingly moist and yummy. I look forward to baking this bread again.

The batter was delicious (we licked the bowl clean) and it was great hot right out of the oven with a glass of cold milk. However, when eating it the next day, it was dense and a bit gummy/chewy. My son, who loves banana bread, did not care for it at all. I found it was better warmed up with butter, otherwise, it is not as good served at room temperature or cooler.

This recipe was so good! I did not use optional raisins, but I did use pine nuts in lieu of optional walnuts (I had a surplus). It turned out fantastic! I did brown the pine nuts a tad prior to adding. I used a spring form cake pan and only had to bake this for about 35 minutes (maybe a little less). I did the toothpick test and it was wonderful! So moist and yummy! Thanks for this recipe, I never knew banana bread would be so easy! This will be a staple in our house.

It's ok. I wanted a lighter option for banana bread but when I compare calories with my favorite recipe on this site ("Banana Banana Bread") they are practically the same. Next time I think I'll try "Banana Banana Bread" and substitute applesauce for the butter and see how it tastes.

very yummy, I ran out of flour used 1C flour, 1and1/4C bisquick, left out the baking soda, no nuts and it turned out excelent

I have made dozens of banana bread recipes, and this one is the family favorite!

Very good banana bread. I like that it uses applesauce instead of the traditional butter. I only had 2 bananas and 1/2 tsp. of vanilla, but I added a bit extra applesauce and a bit more cinnamon and nutmeg and it still tasted great. It did get a tiny bit dry towards the end of its life, but that is what I expected for not having all of the added fat. Will definitely make this again.

Awesome recipe. I made muffins for my boys (they have more fun that way). Baked for 13 min and doubled the cinnamon and nutmeg. They Love them! Excellent for a decently healthy recipe!

I just did not enjoy this banana bread. It had no flavor and was so dense and sort of rubbery. Could barely cut it, I had to pull pieces off it was so dense and rubbery. I followed the recipe exactly and I was just unimpressed. I did give it two stars because I enjoyed the addition of raisins, which I would have never thought of with banana bread. I tried to make muffins in cupcake wrappers with the extra once my loaf pan was full, my little girls love to have banana bread "cupcakes", and they turned out awful. Half the muffin pulled off with the paper as they were sealed completely to the wrapper, maybe that was a result of no oil in the recipe, never had that happen before. It was just a bad waste of my ripe bananas and some disappointed girls who had been so excited for banana bread. I should have stuck to the recipe I always use but I thought I'd give an oil free recipe a try as a healthier choice.

Bread is in the oven, and I really can't wait to have a slice. But... I used a form that was a bit to small, and I didn't want to waste anything, so i added some granola and baked pancakes. Amazing!

This is the easiest banana bread to make. I added a little more cinnamon and nutmeg, and only 1 1/2 c flour and it was VERY moist. I did not add nuts or raisins. I will use this recipe from now on. I only baked for 45 minutes, too. Perfect - my husband loved it!!! Just a great recipe - perfection!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I have made this recipe four times a couple times as origally written and a couple times with my slight modification of 1/2 cup raisins and 1/2 cup golden raisins to add a little variety and I like the raisin mix better. This is a nice moist bread that feezes well. Its worth the time to make this.

Super. Great Banana Bread. Recipe exactly correct. Pan size and cooking time exactly correct. Great with raisins.

It was delicious. But, I used less sugar and no nutmeg the second time I made it. Thank you!

I'm ambivalent with the rating here. I liked the fact that when baked, this looked much like a banana bread does when you add butter; you get that nice crusty golden top. I think the problem is with the amt. of bananas. I too found that after 45 minutes, it was not done inside and the top was getting very brown(not too brown but if I cooked it for the amt. of time needed to bake the inside, it would be black on the outside). I turned down the oven temp to 350 and tented the top. This helped it to bake further and it is very moist; and not gummy I omitted the raisins, and cut the sugar down to 1 1/2 cups and it was plenty sweet. doubled the cinnamon, and added a tsp. salt! Without the salt, this would taste very bland even with a vibrant banana flavor. Salt gets a bad rap; it helps to ENHANCE flavors. I like the method of the cooking temp and low fat, but will try this again using only 3 bananas to see if that helps cook more evenly. It actually bakes up like a picture; the loaf really looks beautiful.

I think this was as good as it would get for being so healthy. I guess i'm just use to oil/butter banana bread. It did seem to have an odd texture. But it was good. Might make it again.

It was good but doesnt tastes much banana bread. Want to try a new recipe. Was better in muffin shape

very moist, my kids loved it.

I followed the recipe except instead of a loaf pan I used a 10 cup bundt pan and baked it for about 50 minutes. It came out very nicely for a recipe with no added butter or oil although I thought it was a little drier than the traditional banana bread recipe using butter. I did not add the optional raisins or walnuts. I served it plain with no additional butter spread. My lady friends loved it.