WW Friendly Banana Bread Recipe

I am a sweets junkie, so I wanted to come up with a dessert that would be Weight Watchers friendly and still satisfy my sweet tooth. My mom told me at the old Weight Watchers meetings they used to talk about putting diet carbonated soda in a cake mix instead of the oil. That sounded weird but it made me curious, so I started exploring the possibilities. I found that Pillsbury has a sugar free cake mix, but it’s just a plain yellow cake. Blah. I’m sorry but if I’m going to eat a plain ol’ yellow cake there had better be a bucket of cream cheese frosting on top of it!  I started thinking about what I could add to it to elevate the flavor but wouldn’t add points….like bananas! That’s how my WW friendly banana bread recipe was born, or technically my banana nut bread recipe.

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I debated whether to call this a banana bread, banana muffins or a banana cake. It is made with a cake mix, but it has the flavor of banana bread and I feel that all cake should include frosting! So I settled on calling it a banana bread, though I sometimes make it in a brownie pan, or muffin tins, furthering its identity crisis!  I love this brownie bar pan from Amazon. And then lately I’ve been making it into mini loaves. That might just be my new favorite.

Random thoughts…

Starting with a sugar free cake mix makes this such an easy recipe. No need for the all purpose flour, baking soda, etc. And the basic recipe has such simple steps. I’m all about simple!

This easy banana bread recipe serves 12 and is 2 points on my Weight Watchers Personal Points program, but if I make it without the nuts, it’s 1 point. 

This banana bread is so simple to make.  It has such a moist texture and the crunch of the chopped pecans puts it over the top! I experimented several ways…with vanilla, without….1 egg, 2 eggs, 3 eggs….and the recipe below is my best results. I found that vanilla extract dilutes the banana flavor so I don’t add any, but the cinnamon enhances the bananas so that was a keeper. I haven’t made this with any soda other than Diet Dr Pepper….mostly because that’s the only soda I ever have in the house. To be honest I have no idea if Dr Coke, Sprite or any other soda would change the flavor.

This is what you’ll need…

• Pillsbury Sugar Free Classic Yellow Cake Mix
• 2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 2 medium bananas (I prefer overripe bananas)
• 8 oz Diet Dr Pepper
• 2 large eggs
• 1/4 cup chopped pecans

(this pic was taken before I added the second egg…)

This is how you’ll make it…

• Set the oven to 325 degrees.
• In a medium mixing bowl, combine the dry ingredients: cake mix and 2 tsp cinnamon.
• In a separate medium bowl, smash the bananas with a fork until they’re creamy.

• Using an electric mixer or a stand mixer (I prefer the electric mixer), add the eggs to the mashed bananas and mix until the eggs are combined.
• Add the wet ingredients to the dry mixture and mix.
• Add 8 oz Diet Dr Pepper to the banana mixture and stir.
• Once it’s starting to look more like cake batter, fold in the 1/4 cup pecans.

• Pour into a 9×13 pan, sprayed with Pam. (or a brownie pan if you have one—or a muffin tin — or a mini loaf pan!).  This one is my favorite! Baker’s Edge Nonstick Brownie Pan

• Bake according to the guidelines on the box of the cake mix. A 9×13 in my oven takes 35 minutes. Banana muffins take about 22 minutes.
• For mini loaves, I let them cool a little in the pan and then transfer them to a wire rack.

This is a great recipe to freeze, so I like to make a double batch and freeze them in plastic wrap, airtight container, or a large ziploc baggie. Then I can have them for breakfast, or any time of day. I just thaw them to room temperature and pop them in the microwave to have warm banana bread anytime I want!

I hope you enjoy this homemade banana bread recipe and that it helps satisfy your sweets craving. If you want to add a little decadence, throw it in the microwave for 20 seconds with a little Brummel and Brown on top. Mmm…

Add some pizazz (if you’re not so worried about WW points)

• Add some chocolate chips, dark brown sugar, cocoa powder or sour cream.
• Drizzle some glaze to the top of the loaf, or muffins.

I hope you like this moist banana bread recipe. It’s definitely a favorite recipe of mine. Any time I can come up with a delicious recipe that is WW friendly, I can’t wait to share it.

I’m all about an easy recipe and I’m always tweaking the original recipe to try new things. My latest thought is to make a carrot bread/cake/loaf using the same basic ingredients. Stay tuned!

For other Weight Watchers friendly recipes, try my Arizona Taco Soup, Chicken Fried Rice, Deviled Eggs and Chicken and Corn Chowder.

Happy tinkering,

Susan