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This healthy Banana Snack Cake is a delicious way to use up any overripe bananas you have on hand. It has an unbelievably fluffy texture, without using any flour or oil!
Why You’ll Love It
It’s fruit-sweetened. There’s no added honey or sweeteners required for this banana cake, since the mashed banana provides natural sweetness on their own. (Just make sure you’re using ripe bananas, with lots of black spots on the skin.)
It’s easy to customize. If you don’t have peanut butter on hand, you can use almond butter, cashew butter, or any other nut or seed butter you like. You can also add any mix-ins you like, such as fresh raspberries, blueberries, or some chocolate chips. (The chocolate chips turn this into my kids’ favorite healthy dessert!)
It’s gluten-free. Since this recipe doesn’t call for any flour, it’s naturally gluten-free. It’s also paleo friendly, if you swap the peanut butter for almond butter.
It’s easy to make. All you need is 1 bowl and about 10 minutes of effort to stir this cake together. Since it bakes all in one large dish, it’s quicker than making muffins!
It’s perfect for meal prep. Once you slice this banana cake, you can store the slices in an airtight container in the fridge for up to a week. It makes a quick snack or breakfast on the go!
Ingredients You’ll Need
The combination of mashed banana, peanut butter, and eggs give this cake its structure, without using flour. The fluffy texture is like magic!
This recipe originally called for baking soda, but over the years I’ve found that baking powder makes the cake rise slightly better. I’ve included notes in the recipe below, if you prefer one over the other.
Feel free to add in any other mix-ins you’d like for extra texture, such as pecans or walnuts, which would pair nicely with the banana flavor. You can also add in dried or fresh fruit!
How to Make Banana Snack Cake
1. Mash the bananas.
Preheat the oven to 350ºF. In a large mixing bowl, add the peeled bananas and mash them will with a fork. They don’t have to become perfectly smooth, but the better you mash them, the more consistent the batter will be later.
2. Mix the batter.
To the large bowl, add in the eggs, peanut butter, vanilla extract, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt. Stir well, until the batter looks relatively smooth. (It’s okay if there are still some visible chunks of banana.)
Fold in a 1/2 cup of chocolate chips, if you like, or a handful of chopped nuts or dried fruit.
3. Bake.
Grease a 9-by-13-inch baking pan with oil (use spray oil if you prefer). Pour the batter into the prepared pan, then use a spatula to smooth the top, and sprinkle a few extra chocolate chips on top.
Bake until the center feels firm to the touch, about 30 minutes at 350ºF. You can also test the center with a toothpick, to make sure it comes out clean.
4. Enjoy!
Let the banana snack cake cool completely in the pan, then it’s ready to slice. Slice it into 12 to 15 slices, and serve it slightly warm or at room temperature. It is reminiscent of banana bread, only it bakes faster!
Leftover cake slices can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to a week. This cake is quite moist, but it will dry out if you leave it uncovered at room temperature for too long.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes, feel free to experiment with other fruit or veggie purees! You can try applesauce for an apple spice flavor, or use pumpkin puree and pumpkin pie spice for more of a Fall recipe.
This flourless cake releases from the pan easily if you grease it well, but there will be a thin film that sticks to the pan. You can line the pan with parchment paper for easier clean-up, if you prefer, but it’s not 100% necessary with this recipe.
Flourless baking is very tricky when it comes to egg substitutes, so I don’t recommend using flax eggs instead of real eggs. Try my Vegan Banana Bread recipe if you want a gluten-free & vegan option.
If you are looking for a fruit-sweetened birthday cake, this is a great low-sugar option. You can frost it with Date-Sweetened Chocolate Buttercream, Vegan Ganache, Vegan Cream Cheese Frosting, or Coconut Whipped Cream, if you want an easy smash cake idea. You could even use date caramel as a filling!
Yes, if you don’t have the 9-by-13-inch pan, you can use two 8-inch cake pans, instead. In that case, the cakes might bake a little faster, in just 25 minutes or so.
Ingredients
- 3 large bananas , mashed (about 1 3/4 cup mashed)
- 1 cup peanut butter or almond butter
- 3 large eggs
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 3/4 cup chocolate chips (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350ºF and grease a 9-by-13-inch pan with oil or cooking spray. In a large bowl, mash the peeled bananas with a fork until they look relatively smooth.
- Add in the nut butter, eggs, vanilla, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt and stir well, creating a slightly lumpy, cake-like batter. Fold in a 1/2 cup of chocolate chips, if using. (Reserve the rest for the top)
- Pour the batter into the prepared pan and use a spatula to spread it evenly across the bottom of the pan. Sprinkle the remaining chocolate chips on top, then bake at 350ºF for 30 minutes, or until the center of the cake feels firm to the touch.
- Let the banana cake cool completely in the pan, then slice it into 12 to 15 slices, depending on how large you'd like them to be. The slices can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to a week.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
If you try this banana snack cake recipe, please leave a comment and star rating below letting me know how you like it.
I just made this recipe, and it was definitely the best Paleo Banana bread recipe I’ve ever made!!! I even added an extra banana and it turned out great. My chocolate chips sank to the bottom, however it was really moist and delicious. I doubled the quantities to make 2 loaves and one has already been devoured. This is going to be my go to recipe to make for my family for others!! I can’t wait to share!
I just want to known if my cakes came out right… I used a 6 mini loaf pan and baked for 30 mins, I basically kept adding 10 mins til the tops turned brown. The inside is very moist like you said however there is no strong flavors in mine. I used 4 small/medium bananas but measured them after the smash. 3 were dark but the 4th was average yellow, could that be the reason for my flavor loss? I also didn’t use salt bc my peanut butter had it. Mine is on the sponge side and I almost feel the cooked egg texture in there. Sorry for the long question, I’m new to this style of baking but have been hooked since the grain free brownies. Any suggestions are greatly appreciated 🙂
I experience the same thing. Wondering what I missed? Feeling like it came out a bit bland…
This cake is very very delicious!!!
I just made this and it’s delicious!!!!!!! Can this be frozen?
I made this into cupcakes for my son’s first birthday with coconut whipped cream on top. He loved it…and I loved that I wasn’t giving him a bunch of processed sugar.
Loved the flavor!! However the cake turned out to be slightly ‘rubbery’.
Any idea why would that be?
Will definitely make it again 🙂
I love this! Being Paleo really cuts down on baked goods…I’m so glad to have this as a staple!!!
I made this cake over the weekend and it lasted less than one day, the whole family loved it! it was delicious, very tasty and fresh, so perfect snack for summer (or so they said). Only, it didn’t really grew while baking it, so it was pretty moist or dense and on the thin size. Any suggestions for this?
Still, very nice and healthy recipe.
CAN I SERVE THIS TO SOMEONE WHO IS DIABETIC? I WAS THINKING OF SPLITTING THIS INTO 2 CAKE PANS AND MAKING A LATER CAKE FOR A BIRTHDAY. WHAT WOULD YOU RECMOMMEND FOR “ICING”?
Is there any way to convert this into a cupcake recipe? And how can we ensure there is a strong banana flavor?
Make sure your bananas are very ripe with LOTS of black spots for a strong banana flavor. I think these would work as cupcakes; just bake them at 350 for a shorter period of time (probably 15-20 minutes?)