My tried and tested easy banana bread recipe for babies is super quick to make. 

It’s also the perfect way to use up those bananas that have gone a little spotty – those overripe bananas are actually the best for using in this recipe! 

Use this sugar-free banana bread recipe as a snack for your baby – which can be easily packed up for feeding on the go – or as an easy breakfast or even lunch. 

Banana bread for baby led weaning 

This is a brilliant dish to use in baby led weaning because it’s soft and easy to chew, naturally sweetened by the bananas and can be cut into simple strips for baby to grip. 

The banana bread recipe you would usually cook for adults contains a lot of sugar – around half a cup. 

While that makes a really yummy dessert or snack for an adult or older kids, you want to avoid placing added sugar in baby recipes. Now, because we’ve ditched the sugar in this recipe, it will taste different to the banana bread you are used to. 

But when introducing it to your baby, they’ll be happy with the sugar levels you get from the sweet bananas. 

If you do want to add a little sugar to this recipe then you can drizzle a bit of maple syrup over the top to serve (or even to the batter if you would like). 

But generally speaking it’s best to avoid even natural sweeteners in cooking for your baby until they’re into their second year.

Simple banana bread mix 

Getting your banana bread dough right is not a chore. Even beginner bakers can make this one – there’s no resting, kneading or any complex skills required apart from a bit of mashing and stirring.

To make your batter use these tips: 

• Pick overripe bananas. The entire recipe hinges on using bananas that have started to turn and become too ripe. You’re looking for lots of black spots to be sure they are ready. Yellow bananas are probably not going to give you quite as good consistency in the bread batter. 
• Mash up your bananas. A fork is the best thing to use when mashing up your bananas. You want them to look like a pulp when you’re done. 
• No need to overwork your ingredients. When combining all of your wet and dry ingredients together you don’t need to stir for long. Just ensure it’s combined but don’t worry too much about small lumps. It should be a thick mixture.  
• Flour. If you don’t have wholemeal flour then simply use some self raising flour. 
• Added extras. If you want to add some more sweet flavour to your recipe then try popping in 75g of sultanas to the mix. You could also put some thinly sliced pieces of banana on top of your cooked banana bread to make it look pretty and boost the flavour. 

Looking for more recipe ideas for your baby? Try these blueberry pancakes or my baby-led weaning pizza recipe.