This post contains affiliate links. Thank you for supporting Beneficial Bento!
Banana bread is such a humble, homey food. It’s really a rare treat for us gluten free eaters. But not anymore! I’m going to show you how easy it is to make yourself from scratch. And it tastes even better the next day.
This rich banana bread has a moist, dense texture sprinkled with bits of nuts and flavored with brown sugar. It’s one of my favorite things to make with bananas that are starting to get brown speckles.
And if you’ve got a lot of bananas, I’ve got some more recipes that can help you use them up. Try these:
- Banana muffins
- Chocolate PB banana smoothie
- Tropical Green Smoothie
- Smoothie Bowls
Ingredients
Here's a quick list of the things you need to make this delicious treat:
- 2-3 medium sized bananas that are starting to get some brown spots. That means the sugars are well-developed and will make this banana bread taste amazing!
- eggs
- coconut oil - this adds such a fragrant, sweet quality!
- brown sugar
- vanilla
- buttermilk (scroll down for dairy free sub)
- my gluten free All-in-One flour blend *see notes below*
- coconut flour - one of my favorite gluten free flours to use for sweet baked goods
- millet flour - if you aren't familiar with millet flour, feel free to sub sorghum flour
- basic pantry staples: cinnamon, salt, baking soda, baking powder
- chopped walnuts or other mix-ins (see the list below for some great suggestions)
If you'd rather watch than read👀
But what if I can't eat dairy?
Although gluten free recipes generally do better when they contain dairy, here’s a simple change you can make for a delicious loaf of banana bread that’s both dairy free and gluten free :
Just swap the buttermilk for a non-dairy milk of your choosing, especially one that has a creamy texture. My favorite is cashew milk. You can also try lite coconut milk. I don’t recommend almond milk for this recipe
Change it up!
If you’re not a walnut fan, try an equal portion of one of these mix-ins for some fun flavors:
- Mini chocolate chips
- White chocolate chips, or peanut butter chips
- Shredded coconut
- Chopped pecans
- Dried cranberries
Things You Might Need
My favorite kitchen items
How to store leftover banana bread
The flavor of this banana bread improves the day after you bake it, so definitely wrap it up tight in plastic wrap and keep it in the fridge. Plan on letting it sit out for a little while to take the chill off, then cut yourself a big slice, smear it with butter or soft cream cheese, and enjoy. If it seems a little crumbly, you can microwave a slice for about 30 seconds and it will soften up beautifully.
For more gluten free baking tips, be sure to read "Best Beginner's Tips for Successful Gluten Free Baking"
Good news: it also freezes well! Wrap it up tight in plastic wrap, then put it inside a big freezer bag. If the loaf doesn’t fit well in the freezer bag, slice up the loaf and spread the slices out inside the bag so they fit.
Kitchen Hack alert!
An easy way to mash up bananas is by using an immersion blender, or stick blender. Here’s the one I use:
Gluten Free Banana Bread
- Total Time: 1 hour 10 minutes
- Yield: 1 loaf
Ingredients
1 cup mashed banana ( about 2-3 medium sized bananas)
2 eggs
3 Tbsp. coconut oil,( opt.)
¾ cup brown sugar
1 tsp. Vanilla extract
½ cup buttermilk
1 ⅓ cup All-in-One flour blend *see notes*
⅓ cup coconut flour
⅓ cup millet flour (you can also use sorghum flour here)
½ tsp. Cinnamon
1 tsp. Salt
1 tsp. Baking soda
1 tsp. Baking powder
⅔ cup chopped walnuts, opt.
Instructions
- In a mixer add the mashed banana, eggs, brown sugar, vanilla, and buttermilk. Blend until smooth.
- In a separate bowl, combine the flours, cinnamon, salt, baking soda, and baking powder. Whisk together to combine.
- Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients in the mixer. Add the walnuts, if using.
- With the mixer on medium speed, mix for at least 1 full minute to fully hydrate and combine all the gluten free flours.
- Let the batter rest for about 10-20 minutes.
- During this time preheat the oven to 350℉.
- Line a loaf pan with parchment paper and spray lightly with cooking spray or oil.
- Scoop the batter into the loaf pan.
- Bake for around 50 minutes, but use an internal thermometer for best results. The temperature should reach 180℉ in the center - this is the best way to tell if the loaf is done.
- Remove from the oven and use the parchment paper as handles to lift the loaf from the pan. Lay it on its side to cool. This helps prevent it from collapsing or flattening out on top.
- Refrain from slicing it until it’s cool. I know it will be hard, but if you slice it while it’s still too hot it will crumble.
Notes
All-in-One flour blend: I use my own recipe for this, which you can find here. You can also use Namaste’s Perfect flour blend, King Arthur’s Measure for Measure flour, Bob’s Red Mill Gluten Free 1 to 1 Baking flour. Try any flour blend that contains xanthan gum - this recipe won’t work without a binder like that.
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 50
- Category: dessert
- Method: bake
- Diet: Gluten Free
Russell
I love banana bread. This looks super delicious. If I can get my wife to make me a loaf then all the world will be wonderful. Maybe on second thought I may surprise her with a loaf that I made from your recipe, after all she's the one that's allergic to gluten. The recipe looks pretty straight forward. Thanks for all the work you do for our loved ones who can't have wheat.