Banana bread is one of my absolute favorites. Growing up my mom would always spend a day making a few batches of banana bread every couple weeks as soon as the holiday season began. She would buy a whole bunch of bananas and let them brown as much as possible, and as soon as they were ripe enough, it was time! I was always in charge of mashing the bananas, and she would mix up the dry ingredients. Back then, we used margarine and white refined sugar.

Flash forward a couple decades, and here I am making banana bread once a week as soon as Autumn hits. However, I have altered her original recipe to make it a little “lighter,” but just as moist and flavorful. I make this recipe as both loaves and muffins. When I make muffins, I like adding blueberries, but feel free to make without as well. This recipe uses a lot less sugar, and the sugar that I do use is unrefined. I omit the oils/butter and sub with applesauce and yogurt. This keeps the muffins/bread nice and moist. Anyone following a grain free or gluten free diet would love this recipe, but it is a big hit in my house for everyone. Even the kids who could care less about gluten-free! I love having it for a snack or dessert with some ice cream.

I chose to use cassava flour for this recipe, because I wanted to make a grain free version. Cassava flour works pretty similarly to a white flour, but it is made from yucca root. If you don’t have cassava flour, a gluten free all purpose flour works just as well. Just be sure it contains xanthan gum, and if you choose to use gluten free flour then reduce baking soda to one teaspoon and add 1 teaspoon of baking powder. For a completely paleo version, you can use coconut sugar and dairy-free Greek style yogurt. If not, regular Greek yogurt and raw cane sugar works well. I have made this recipe with both fat free and whole fat yogurt and both work just as well. I also use unsweetened applesauce to keep the sugar low. Just be sure the bananas are brown, because the natural sugars from the banana make this bread. You don’t need any special kitchen tools for this one, just a couple mixing bowls, a fork, a whisk and a rubber spatula!