The Best Gluten-Free Banana Bread Recipe
Banana bread is one of those recipes that everyone loves but are often apprehensive about making at home. Every coffee shop I drop into seems to sell overpriced slices of the stuff!
Get ready to be surprised by how simple making nutrition-rich banana bread at home really is — and how good for you it can be. My super moist gluten-free banana bread is a recipe that everyone (even gluten lovers!) will enjoy.
What’s Wrong with Regular Banana Bread?
You might wonder what the point of making a gluten-free banana bread is. Why mess with a classic?
Unfortunately, like so many recipes we’ve grown up with, classic homemade banana bread, even the homemade versions, aren’t very good for you. For starters, they’re usually made with a whole lot of white flour. Refined carbohydrates like those don’t add any nutritional value and can be difficult for your body to break down.
And then there’s the sugar. Traditional banana bread has a ton of refined sugar in it, leading you to a sugar high followed by a sugar crash. Sugar is one of the top “foods” that causes inflammation in the body, which can contribute to heart disease, diabetes and high cholesterol levels.
Finally, while I enjoy organic butter when it adds something to a dish, normal banana bread recipes can have up to a cup of the stuff. There’s just no need when you have this gluten-free banana bread that tastes amazing and is healthy — and ready to be baked.
How to Make Gluten-Free, Paleo Banana Bread
My Paleo banana bread recipe keeps all the best parts about banana bread while making it a bit more nutritious. We’ll use almond flour, a heart-healthy, low-carb alternative to all-purpose white flour. You can also experiment with a Paleo flour blend, which incorporates various flours such as almond, coconut, tapioca and arrowroot flours, for this recipe.
Incorporating overripe bananas makes this bread sweet, but we’ll add honey to make sure your sweet tooth is satisfied. If you’re hesitant to heat honey, you can also try maple syrup or a natural granular sugar like coconut sugar. Just be sure to use less of these!
Instead of butter, we’ll get that same silky texture with coconut milk while keeping this recipe dairy-free. Now this is a banana bread you can indulge in without feeling bad!
Don’t miss my video at the end to see how I make it!
Start by preheating the oven to 350 Fahrenheit. Grease a standard loaf pan and set aside.
In a bowl, mix together the eggs, banana, honey, coconut milk and vanilla. The vanilla extract adds a little extra flavor. Mmm!
In a separate bowl, combine the baking soda, almond flour, sea salt and cinnamon. Combine both of the mixtures and stir until well incorporated.
Add in the apple cider vinegar and stir until it is distributed throughout the mixture.
Pour the batter into greased loaf pan. Bake for 45–50 minutes.
Serve the banana bread either warm or cooled — both are delicious! You can even add this recipe to your list of dishes to meal prep on Sunday to enjoy throughout the week for breakfast or with your cup of coffee. If you want to reheat it, simple pop it in the oven for a couple minutes. You’ll keep more of the moisture by eating it cool, though.
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Gluten-Free Banana Bread Recipe
- Total Time: 1 hour
- Yield: 12 1x
- Diet: Gluten Free
Description
Standard banana bread is surprising unhealthy. But get ready to be surprised by how simple making nutrition-rich banana bread at home really is — and how good for you it can be.
Ingredients
- 4 eggs
- 3 medium overly ripe bananas, mashed
- ¼ cup raw honey
- ¼ cup coconut milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 teaspoons baking soda
- 2¼ cups almond flour (or use Paleo flour)
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 F.
- Grease a standard loaf pan and set aside.
- In a bowl, mix eggs, banana, honey, coconut milk, and vanilla.
- In a separate bowl, combine baking soda, almond flour, sea salt and cinnamon.
- Combine both mixtures and stir until well incorporated.
- Add in apple cider vinegar and stir until it is distributed throughout the mixture.
- Pour batter into greased loaf pan. Bake for 45–50 minutes.
- Prep Time: 10 min
- Cook Time: 50 min
- Category: Snacks
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 slice (79g)
- Calories: 197
- Sugar: 10.6g
- Sodium: 329mg
- Fat: 12.4g
- Saturated Fat: 2.3g
- Unsaturated Fat: 9.4g
- Trans Fat: 0g
- Carbohydrates: 17.4g
- Fiber: 3.4g
- Protein: 6.4g
- Cholesterol: 55mg
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Added a cup and a quarter of quartered strawberries. Fingers crossed!! Will let you know in an hour!
Did it work???
Added a cup and a quarter of quartered strawberries. Fingers crossed!!
Can I add some shredded zucchini to this recipe?
Hi Lisa … go for it! But however much zucchini you add, remove the same amount of banana.
Would love to have measurement of bananas instead of quantity because “medium” isn’t all that accurate. I have some bananas that some may consider medium or small.
We are addicted to this recipe! I add about a cup of chopped walnuts and bake it in a muffin pan. I’ve also made it in a loaf but I found that it cooks unevenly, maybe just my oven, so we prefer the muffins.
Helpful. Thank you
I love this banana bread recipe! I also made banana nut muffins & added 1/2 to 1 cup Wildway Grain Free Banana Nut Granola finely chopped to the mix (available at Natutal Grocers). Bake at 350 20 -22 minutes. Nutty & Delicious!
I just finished baking this banana bread but a tablespoon of vanilla extract seem excessive so I changed it to a teaspoon and I added some chopped walnuts. I did erred on the oven temperature as I converted to Celsius and the oven was a bit high which meant the bread very toasty at the top and cooked unevenly inside.
Can u substitute almond flour with gluten free flour or oat flour? And use almond milk instead of coconut
Yes, you certainly can. That should work well for this banana bread.
when i don’t have coconut milk on hand, I just throw in one more banana as a substitute. My son also has a coconut radar- he seems to prefer food without coconut, so this works for him. The advantage is that coconut milk most often does not leave a strong enough coco taste for him to reject the cake.
I love this versatile recipe.
Dr. Axe, God has used you to pull us out of utter darkness.
After years of me and my children suffering from eczema- plus my daughter from a mysteriously chronic swollen throat- my son from almost suffocating to death from seemingly random asthma (no one in the family had it before) before he was two- i stumbled upon your website. i followed your advice to see what would happen. All our health problems vanished into thin air.. and even other problems… cutting out the sugar almost erased period pains and so i decided to totally avoid sugar a few weeks before giving birth. I also lost weight- though i never thought i was fat- i no longer have to struggle with the extra pounds that used to appear in winter. life is just so much easier, until the children insist on a croissant every now and then.. all the problems return
Thank you for the light
It’s in the oven! I forgot the apple cider vinegar! Hope it turns out!
I just did the same thing. Hope it still works out too!
can i use coconut flour instead?
I couldn’t advise you use very much of it, as it’s won’t quite work as a “bread.” But 1/4 of your flour mixture can be coconut flour.
Coconut flour can’t be substituted one for one with almond flour. It’s way more absorbent and you would need less. Look for conversions.
This was excellent — delicious, moist, not hard to make and wheat free, yeah! I used white vinegar because I didn’t have any apple cidar vinegar and it worked great.
I use your recipes all the time! Could you make a print button on the recipes, it would make it so much easier!
Thanks,
Ada
Does this need to be refrigerated or can it sit out on a counter? I make muffins and LOVE this recipe!!! I just like them when they are cooled and on the counter rather than refrigerated but don’t know if it’s safe and for how long!!! Thank you!!
I just made this but instead of bananas used 3/4 pounds of frozen peaches I had tossed in the freezer last summer as they were mealy. (Organic peaches are too expensive to waste. ) Put in about 1/4 cup of frozen raspberries, a little Grand Marnier, and maple syrup for my sweetener. And added about 1/4 tsp of ground cloves with the cinnamon. Crazy Eights delicious.
I like your style!
I make these as muffins and bake for 20 min. I substitute the honey for maple syrup and I put in a lot more cinnamon. They are very good. I put them in the freezer and take out two in the mornings and heat in microwave for 45 seconds.
Can’t wait to try this. Quick question – is the coconut milk the kind in the fridge that is a milk replacement or the kind in the pantry that you generally cook with (the really thick stuff)?
Thanks
What kind of coconut milk? Refrigerated cartons or canned?
I was wondering if I’m vegan what can I do to replace the eggs ?
Do you know how many carbs are in the banana bread recipe?
That seem like a very good recipe, can you let us know the nutrition information in the bread
I would use this site more if you gave nutrition info for each recipe. I need to lose a lot of weight and I need to track my calorie and nutrient intake. Frankly, I think its ridiculous to put all the information for all the ingredients in to another website to figure out the nutrition info for ourselves. If and when you provide this information, I will be back to use your site.
The nutrition information is above, scroll up and you’ll see it!
Hello!
My children are highly allergic to egg and almonds can you recommend a healthy alternative.
Regards,
Susie
Oh my goodness! Yummy! I made a few changes:
1 C almond flour
1 C finely ground and lightly toasted almond meal
+/- ¼ C oatmeal
Toasted pecans
Craisins
Sprinkle of ground flaxseed
Twice the cinnamon
I cooked it about 15-20 minutes longer
Sprinkled a little turbinado sugar on top while still hot
REALLY GOOD!!
Can u use some coconut flour too? I have 2 cups almond flour on hand..could I also mix quarter cup of coconut flour?
I made this yesterday , oh so good . Mine didn’t raise like regular banana bread and I followed the recipie exactly. Any suggestions why ? But still was delicious:)
I made this with oat milk and blended dates and had to take it the bread after 25 minutes. Still pretty good though. Just be careful when using something other than coconut milk or honey.
I used almond flour & almond milk to make banana nut muffins. Baked at 350 for 20 – 22 minutes & they came out great!
When did you add the apple cider vinegar…didn’t see it in the video. Thanks
I am allergic to almonds. Can I substitute almond flour with coconut flour? Will it be the same amount?
I can’t eat almonds. What is another flour to substitute that will give the same results/consistency? Coconut ok?
I have the same question. I am new to cooking grain free. If anyone has a good resource for how to do flour substitutions, I would really appreciate it!
Hi Fran, you can use coconut flour. The consistency and texture may vary slightly.
Wonderful banana bread! This is yummy! My son even likes it. And it’s not dry and crumbly like most GF items. Quick question: since I am trying to limit my sugar intake and this is about the only sweet thing I’ve had in the past week. What do you recommend using, honey or monk fruit sweetener? Honey has some good natural properties, but I’ve recently heard monk fruit sweetener is even better?
Thank you so much for the recipe!
Hi Kerstin, I am so happy to hear that you and your family enjoyed this recipe. I personally recommend honey over monk fruit sweetener. If you choose to use monk fruit sweetener, be sure to use less. I hope this helps!
Thank you for the reply! I have your Slow Cooker Barbacoa recipe stewing away right now! Keeping my fingers crossed that the kids like it!
I just purchased a copy of your book “The Real Food Diet”. Looks like some great recipes. The reason I am doing this is because I have micro-colitis. Keeping inflammation at bay is key. I will drink homemade chicken bone broth/beef bone broth when necessary. But after having gone through 48-72 hours of broth, would you recommend eating anything in your cookbook or sticking with the “inflammation” friendly recipes?
I just got your book about a month ago! I have read the whole thing and every recipe I have tried so far has been great!!
I just made this banana bread, it was so easy to make!!! I feel great about what I am eating and it is absolutely delicious!!! My husband loves it too!
Thanks so much !!
Kim :)
Kimberly, thank you so much for the kind and positive feedback. I am so glad to hear that you enjoyed the book and all of the recipes. Blessings to you and yours and best of luck on your health journey!
This recipe is incredible! I make a lot of gluten free things since a few people in my life eat GF and I wouldn’t want anyone to go without. I was skeptical using the almond flour since I don’t always love its texture in baked goods but these are so fluffy and most and somehow taste like butter! I doubled the batch, made 2 dozen muffins, baked about 20 minutes, and added pecans, more spices (cardamom, ginger, cloves, nutmeg) and swapped flax eggs and agave for honey to make them vegan. SO GOOD!
Jessica, I’m so glad you enjoyed this recipe! Those sound like great substitutions.
Made this last night. Delicious!!
What about flax seeds? When you boil them and drain them, the liquid has a consistency like egg yolk!
You can make your own almond flour for much less. I buy the raw almonds when they are on sale at Sprouts Market for $4.99 a pound, sometimes they are at $3.99.
Not sure if you can eat flax seed, but you can substitute it for eggs. For each egg take 1 tablespoon of ground flax seed and 2.5 tablespoons of quality water and soak for 5 minutes. I personally have substituted combination banana puree and soaked flax seed.
It is a very good banana bread very moist and delicious. I do not eat eggs so i used flax egg replacer.
I have to say this is the most successful, delicious banana bread I’ve ever made or tasted. I love it.
I made this recipe using GF sprouted oat flour and it was delicious! Even my husband thought it was regular wheat banana bread!
I love this banana bread recipe! It is delicious.
I made this exactly as written, except I substituted Bob’s Red Mill 1-1 GF flour. It is perfect and absolutely delicious! Thanks for sharing this recipe!
I’m looking forward to trying this recipe and am beyond encouraged by your responsiveness. Thank you!!
Looked good so asked my wife to make it. We’ve had 3 loaves so far and really enjoy it! The last two times we added 1/2 cup chopped walnuts and it was better yet.
Flax seed is great replacement for eggs. Applesauce is best as a fat free replacement for oils in baking.
Just made this bread with my 8 year old today and it is absolutely amazing. You wouldn’t even know it’s gluten free.
Awesome recipe for Banana Bread! and boy have I experimented with many different ingredients from coconut flour, almond flour, adding almond butter, coconut oil, and more. This one is so simple, with so few ingredients that it is now at the top of my list. Thanks!
After making it once, I made one change, separate the 4 eggs, add the yolks to the wet ingredients. Then beat egg whites until foamy, add 1/2 tsp Cream of Tarter and continue beating until stiff peaks form. Combine the wet with the dry ingredients, and fold in the egg whites. Transfer to baking dish. It comes out lighter and moister this way.
My six-teen year old daughter, following the recipe exactly, just made this this morning and we were very surprised and impressed! Wow! It is really good! Definitely going to have her make it again…… maybe tonight! : ) Thanks, Dr. Axe!!!!!
Hi Dr Axe,I just made this recipe and I followed it to the “T” no substitutes ,and it smells good can’t Waite to taste it.Thank you for your recipes
What is the nutrition info? Calories, fat, serving size, etc.?
I personally don’t recommend that people count calories but rather nutrients! You can see why here:
https://draxe.com/nutrition/nutrient-dense-foods//
https://draxe.com/nutrition/cico-diet/
If you want to figure out the specifics of this recipe, you can use this site to input the data:
http://nutritiondata.self.com/mynd/myrecipes
I just made this! What can I say, It is AMAZING!
I made this last night. I ran out of almond flour so used almost half of the flour was coconut flour. I doubled the cinammon, used agave instead of honey and used chocolate extract instead of vanilla. (This changes were made based upon what I had in my cupboard). I also added a handful of dark choc. chips! It looked funny going into the oven but came out very tasty. Moisture was perfect and it was just like a dessert cake without all the bad things!
I don’t recommend people count calories, instead I tell them to count nutrients! You can read why here: https://draxe.com/nutrition/nutrient-dense-foods//
If you are still curious, you can enter every ingredient that you use and get the exact nutrition facts on this site: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/recipe/calculator
I understand your position, but some of your readers, well at least one, deal with T2 Diabetes and in my case insulin dependence. I sure would like more nutrition information. We all know that coconut flour is a carbohydrate and elevates blood glucose.
Made this last night, substituted the honey with agave.
Soooo good! My picky husband & son even tried it…….. & I’m pretty sure someone snuck a whole piece during the night!
This will be something I definitely make often & even more definitely will take it to family gatherings to show them how yummy gluten free can be!
I made this last night after seeing the recipe on Facebook. It was very good. My husband liked it a lot, and he almost never bothers with grain free options. I had a slice today after lunch, and it was even better! The banana flavor seems more intense today. This will be a staple for me. I am 100% grain free due to severe gluten allergy and grain intolerance. Sometimes it gets discouraging not being able to have treats like others, but this banana bread was super easy to make and is yummy! Thank you for posting recipes for the grain free among us!