Ultra Moist Banana Bread Without Butter
Banana bread without butter is one of those tried and true recipes that works every time! Dotted with your favorite chocolate chips or nuts and flavored with hints of cinnamon and vanilla, this quick bread is a winner.
Check out the “Variations” section to see how you can easily make this homemade banana bread dairy free. I’ve never experimented with oat flour or other gluten free flour but if you give it a try please leave a comment and star rating! If you love banana bread with oil, you will also love these Chocolate Chip Cookies Without Butter.
Why Use Oil Vs. Butter in Banana Bread
Butter is not always better!! Butter is a hot commodity right now and with the prices of groceries sky rocketing, substituting vegetable oil makes this loaf super economical. Oil is a great substitute for butter- keeping your banana loaf silky and moist.
Key Ingredients
Bananas: Always choose ripe bananas! The darker the banana, the sweeter it tends to be. I like to stockpile my overripe bananas by peeling them and storing in an airtight container in the freezer. Use medium-large sized bananas for this easy recipe.
Oil: I opt to use vegetable oil in this recipe. Canola oil, coconut oil, and light olive oil will also work- be careful not to use any oil with too strong of a flavor. Feeling adventurous? Replace oil with home rendered lard.
Brown Sugar: Brown sugar gives the perfect hint of caramel in this butter free banana bread! As an added bonus, the molasses helps to keep the loaf moist. Be sure to tightly pack your brown sugar for this recipe. If you want to swap the brown sugar for white sugar you can.
How to Make No Butter Banana Bread
Step 1. Preheat your oven to 375°F. Grease two 8×4 loaf pans or line with parchment paper. You can use alternate pan sizes, just adjust your baking time accordingly!
Step 2. Combine 2/3 cup of oil and 1 1/2 cups brown sugar in a large mixing bowl. Mix until fully combined. Add room temperature eggs (3 total) one at a time followed by 2/3 cup room temperature milk and 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract. Mash bananas and mix them into the wet ingredients.
Step 3. In a separate bowl, combine all dry ingredients including 2 1/3 cup flour, 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder, 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda, 1 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon. Add to banana mixture to the flour mixture and stir until just combined. Fold in 1 cup of chocolate chips.
Step 4. Divide the batter evenly among your two bread pans (I like to use a measuring cup and spoon out one cup at a time into the greased loaf pan) and place on the middle rack of your oven. Add some chopped up chocolate to the top or additional chocolate chips.
Step 5. These loaves of should take 40-45 minutes depending on your pan size and color.
Tips + Tricks
For the best rise, make sure that your baking soda is fresh. As a leavening agent, baking soda is best if used within three months.
Room Temperature Ingredients: For best texture and rise, it is important to allow your eggs and milk to come to room temperature before using. Plop the eggs in a bowl of warm water for a few minutes to speed up the process!
Save Money: Check your local grocery store for “baking bananas.” You can pick up several bunches for as little as $2 because they are too ripe to be sold at full price (exactly what you want for the perfect butter free banana bread)!
Mix Separately: As tempting as it is to throw all of the ingredients together and turn on the mixer, opt to mix wet and dry ingredients separately. This helps to avoid over mixing or problems with your banana bread’s texture.
Baking Time: Baking time will vary largely depending on your oven and the type of pan that you use. Dark colored metal pans will cook the fastest, whereas light colored pans retain less heat and will take slightly longer to bake. Glass will brown the edges and the bottom of your loaf faster than the inside and I would recommend cooking it at a lower temperature (325-350). Check after the recommended cooking time with a toothpick or cake tester and add additional time if needed.
Batch + Storage
This recipe yields 2 loaves of butter free banana bread or 6 mini loaves. If you are baking muffins, count on about 24 muffins per recipe.
Allow the banana bread to cool completely before stowing in an airtight container or ziplock bag. This moist banana bread can be kept at room temperature or in the fridge for up to 4 days.
Freezer: Wrap tightly with saran wrap or other plastic wrap, place in a freezer bag or airtight container, and store in the freezer for up to 6 months.
Variations + Substitutions
Chocolate Swap: Trade out the semi sweet chocolate chips for your favorite chips or chunks or with chopped pecans. I also like to chop up leftover halloween chocolate for these as a way to get rid of some of my stash- opt for uncoated chocolate.
Dairy Free: To make this recipe dairy free, simply choose a dairy free chocolate chip like these Enjoy Life chips and use a non-dairy milk (my favourite non-dairy milk for baking is oat milk but soy milk and almond milk will also work).
All Purpose Flour: I choose to use all purpose flour rather than whole wheat or white whole wheat flour because it helps to produce a more fluffy loaf. Whole wheat flour has the added benefit of fiber and other nutrients but tends to result in a denser loaf. If you choose to experiment with adding whole wheat flour into your banana bread, start by replacing 1 cup of white flour and observe the taste and texture for the next time you make it!
Printable Recipe Card
Ultra Moist Banana Bread Without Butter
Banana bread without butter is one of those tried and true recipes that works every time! Dotted with your favorite chocolate chips or nuts and flavored with hints of cinnamon and vanilla, this quick bread is a winner.
Ingredients
- 2 1/3 cup flour
- 1 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
- 2 cups mashed bananas (4 medium bananas)
- 2/3 cup vegetable oil
- 2/3 cup milk
- 3 eggs (room temperature)
- 1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 cup semi sweet chocolate chips
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 375°F. Grease two 8x4 loaf pans or line with parchment paper.
- Combine 2/3 cup of oil and 1 1/2 cups brown sugar in a large bowl and mix until fully combined. Add room temperature eggs one at a time followed by 2/3 cup room temperature milk and 1/2 teaspoon vanilla. Mash bananas and mix them into the wet ingredients.
- In a separate bowl, combine all dry ingredients including 2 1/3 cup flour, 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder, 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda, 1 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon. Add to wet ingredients and mix until just combined. Fold in 1 cup of chocolate chips.
- Divide the batter evenly among your two loaf pans and place on the middle rack of your oven.
- These loaves should take 40-45 minutes depending on your pan size and color.
Notes
*Sub out chocolate chips for your favourite nuts or raisins at a 1:1 ratio.
Loaf Pans: For this easy banana bread recipe I used two dark non-stick 4×8 loaf pans. 9×5 pans will work as well but need to be checked on sooner because they tend to cook faster. These pans help your loaves to be nice and tall! I also love to use these mini loaf pans so that I can freeze small portions to take out later on. Adjust your baking time according to your pan size.
Darker pans tend to cook a little bit faster than lighter coated pans. Glass and ceramic tend to brown the sides and bottom a little bit quicker and the inside takes slightly longer to cook. When in doubt, do the toothpick test! If the toothpick comes out clean, your loaves are done baking.
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Nutrition Information:
Yield: 16 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 309Total Fat: 14gSaturated Fat: 3gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 10gCholesterol: 36mgSodium: 321mgCarbohydrates: 45gFiber: 2gSugar: 27gProtein: 4g
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Proper measurements would be useful. Also would have been easier to understand your recipe if it was for one loaf.
Hi David, I’m really sorry that you’re having a hard time finding the quantities of the ingredients – I actually go out of my way to put them in both the step by step photo guide in the post as well as in the recipe card to help stop you from having to scroll around too much while baking.
I’m not sure what you mean by proper measurements… can you elaborate?
As for the two loaf size, I must say that with my family a one batch loaf doesn’t cut it! Making two at once ensures we have enough banana bread to store one in the freezer for school lunches or quick snacks when company comes over.
This is the best recipe ever!! Two loaves is great because half of my family likes choc chips and half do not. I just made more today and did 1 loaf with wild frozen blueberries. It’s hard to wait until this is fully cooled before eating but it’s definitely worth it as I find it a bit too wet hot out of the pan. Once it cools it’s absolutely incredible. Thank you!!
I am so happy that you like this recipe Krista! Thanks for the positive feedback… I have some wild blueberries that are frozen, might have to try to do the chocolate chip swap as well! 🙂
I used this recipe after we ran out of butter and it was great! I couldn’t find the loaf pan, so I ended up making cupcakes instead and they came out great. The recipe yielded about 24 cupcakes, and the best ones had walnuts sprinkled on top after filling but prior to baking. Thank you for the recipe!
Oooh walnuts! What a great addition. I will have to try this next time I make them. Thanks for the feedback and I am so happy they turned out well for you!