The Best Gluten-Free Banana Bread Recipe

The BEST gluten-free banana bread recipe made with gluten-free flour blend and sweetened with coconut sugar. Add chocolate chips and/or chopped nuts to level up this already moist and fluffy dream bread.

Confession: I fancy myself a bit of a banana bread aficionado. After posting the initial base recipes for Paleo Banana Bread  using almond flour and Coconut Flour Paleo Banana Bread, I have since followed up the two with countless variations on grain-free banana bread. 

Just have a scroll through my Banana Bread  archives to feast your eye sockets on the possibilities. Hint: The Paleo Carrot Cake Banana Bread is my personal favorite, followed closely by Paleo Cranberry Orange Bread. 

All that said, this is the very first gluten-free banana bread recipe I have posted on this site (insert record scratch and ginormous eyes emoji)…not to be confused with grain-free.

I simply use my favorite gluten-free all-purpose flour blend and sweeten the bread primarily with ripe bananas and a touch of coconut sugar. Over the years, I have learned a couple of tricks to make the ultimate moist, fluffy, melt-in-your-mouth delicious banana bread. Let us discuss!

Tips For Making THE BEST Moist Banana Bread:

My secret to making insanely moist and incredible banana bread is: LOTS of bananas.

Years and years ago, I discovered using more bananas makes banana bread incredibly moist and delicious. Not to mention, naturally sweet. Rather than adding a lot of oil or butter, much of the moisture can come from the bananas themselves without sacrificing flavor, moisture, or fluff. 

If anything, the more bananas, the better 😉

For this reason, I usually use a cup and a half of mashed ripe banana in one loaf of banana bread, which usually equates to 4 ripe bananas. 

For my grain-free banana bread recipes, I don’t add any additional fat (oil or butter), as there is plenty sourced from the almond flour and coconut flour. 

Because gluten-free flour blends don’t contain as much fat as almond flour or coconut flour, I use a small amount of melted butter to give the loaf a bit of fat love. 

The massive amount of banana also enables you to cut down on the added sugar, which I see as a bonus. For the grain-free banana bread recipes, I add a couple of tablespoons of pure maple syrup, and for this recipe, I use coconut sugar. There is flexibility with the type of sugar you can use (see Recipe Adaptations section below).

If you’re wondering what makes this recipe the best of all banana bread recipes, here are the highlights: 

ULTRA moist

Incredibly fluffy

Perfectly sweet

Delectably soft

Beautifully gooey (assuming you add the chocolate chips).

Easy to prepare

Let’s bake a loaf (or twelve)!

How to Make Gluten-Free Banana Bread:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and line a 9” x 5” loaf pan with parchment paper.

Begin by mashing up the bananas in a mixing bowl until they reach desired consistency. I like leaving mine slightly chunky so that as the bread bakes, I get little pockets of banana splooge.

Whisk in the eggs, vanilla extract and cooled melted butter until well-combined.

In a separate bowl, Stir together the gluten-free flour, baking soda, sea salt, coconut sugar, and cinnamon until combined.

Pour the dry mixture into the mixing bowl with the wet mixture and stir until the batter is incorporated.

Pour the batter into the parchment-lined loaf pan and sprinkle with additional chocolate chips.

Bake on the center rack of the preheated oven for 40 minutes, or until the top is golden brown and bread has risen substantially. Turn off the oven and allow it to sit in the warm oven an additional 5 to 10 minutes.

Remove bread from the oven and allow it to cool 30 minutes before slicing and serving.

Recipe Adaptations:

• Replace the butter with ghee or coconut oil
• If you bake using cane sugar, replace the coconut sugar with granulated cane sugar.
• Looking for a banana bread that is lower in added sugar? Replace the coconut sugar with ½ cup sugar-free sweetener.
• Add chopped walnuts
• Omit the chocolate chips
• Fashion up a streusel topping to give the bread a bit of a coffee cake essence.

What Type of Gluten-Free Flour Should I Use?:

I always use Bob’s Red Mill’s Gluten-Free 1-to-1 Baking Flour, but I have also heard King Arthur’s Gluten-Free Meaure For Measure Flour blend is magnificent as well. While I don’t have experience with the KA blend, I’ve heard enough magnificent feedback over the years to safely recommend it. If you try this recipe using a different blend, please do share in the comments below and let us all know how it turns out! 

More Delicious Gluten-Free Quick Bread Recipes:

• Paleo Morning Glory Quick Bread
• Flourless Chocolate Black Bean Banana Bread
• Chocolate Chip Paleo Pumpkin Bread
• Paleo Strawberry Banana Bread

Steamy gluten-free chocolate chip banana bread LET’S GO!

My cookbook, Paleo Power Bowls, is now available! CLICK HERE to check it out. Thank you for your support!

If you make this recipe, please feel free to share a photo and tag @TheRoastedRoot on Instagram!

Gluten-Free Banana Bread Recipe

Yield: 1 loaf

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 45 minutes

Total Time: 55 minutes

Moist and fluffy gluten-free banana bread with chocolate chips

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Ingredients

• 4 large ripe bananas, mashed, about 1.5 cups
• 2 large eggs
• 1/4 cup grass-fed butter, melted and cooled
• 2 tsp pure vanilla extract
• 1 2/3 cups gluten-free all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup coconut sugar
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp sea salt
• 2 tsp ground cinnamon, optional
• 2/3 cup chocolate chips, optional

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and line a 9” x 5” loaf pan with parchment paper.
2. Mash the bananas in a mixing bowl. Whisk in the eggs, vanilla extract and cooled melted butter until well-combined.
3. In a separate bowl, Stir together the gluten-free flour, baking soda, sea salt, coconut sugar, and cinnamon until combined.
4. Pour the dry mixture into the mixing bowl with the wet mixture and stir until the batter is incorporated.
5. Pour the batter into the parchment-lined loaf pan and sprinkle with additional chocolate chips.
6. Bake on the center rack of the preheated oven for 40 minutes, or until the top is golden brown and bread has risen substantially. Turn off the oven and allow it to sit in the warm oven an additional 5 to 10 minutes.
7. Remove bread from the oven and allow it to cool 30 minutes before slicing and serving.

Nutrition Information:

Yield: 1 Serving Size: 1 of 12
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 255Total Fat: 9gUnsaturated Fat: 0gCarbohydrates: 44gFiber: 3gSugar: 22gProtein: 3g