Our team loves banana flavor. However, bananas can be a tricky fruit for people with blood sugar concerns.
A medium banana has around 29 grams of carbs. (https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/bananas-diabetes) While they contain three grams of fiber, that’s still quite a lot of carbs for one piece of fruit. And, the more ripe and sweet a banana is, the more carbs it has. Nutritionists recommend eating bananas when they are slightly green to avoid carbs, but they aren’t as tasty.
With that in mind, when we want to enjoy banana desserts, we turn to recipes that either make a little banana go a long way or use banana extract. Extracts can be an excellent way to get the flavor without getting all the sugar. Here are four banana-flavored desserts you can enjoy without worrying about your blood sugar!
Would any list of banana desserts be complete without a recipe for banana cream pie? We don’t think so. But a traditional banana cream pie is packed with carbs and fat. This recipe cuts them out with almond and coconut flours in the crust and banana extract and calorie-free sweeteners in the custard filling. While the pie does require you to make a custard with a double boiler, it is worth the trouble, as you will love the results! A slice has 194 calories, 3.4 grams of carbs, 1.8 grams of fiber and 19.1 grams of fat. Get the recipe.
These cookies are like bite-sized banana bread. You will be thrilled with these moist, soft sweet cookies! And they use real banana. The whole recipe has only 80 grams of banana, but it’s mashed, and the flavor goes a long way in these cookies! You cut out most of the carbs of normal banana bread by using so little banana, an alternative sweetener and almond flour! A serving has 99 calories, three grams of carbs, 1.4 grams of fiber and 8.4 grams of fat. Get the recipe.
If there is one thing we love more than cheesecake, it’s an old-fashioned banana split. And, on hot days, we don’t want to turn on our ovens for dessert. From talking to folks around the country, we know it’s already heating up in some spots. This one is for you if you want something sweet but are unwilling to crank up the oven. The recipe only calls for bananas in the topping — after all, a banana split is made with vanilla ice cream. But if you love banana, we suggest adding extract to the filling. You can also remove some carbs by swapping the fruit for just the extract. As it’s written, a serving has 302 calories, 6.7 grams of carbs, 1.8 grams of fiber and 29.9 grams of fat. Get the recipe.
Would you prefer your banana cream pie as a cupcake? We understand. It’s one of our favorite banana desserts, so it’s on this list twice in two different forms. We couldn’t resist! These cupcakes use a small amount of real banana and a little banana extract in the filling. That equals a big bang of banana taste! A serving has 267 calories, 7.4 grams of carbs, 3.1 grams of fiber and 23.1 grams of fat. Get the recipe.
You can enjoy banana-flavored desserts with or without the fruit with these recipes. It’s up to you. Either way, you’ll be eating sweet treats without thinking about the carbs!
