This gluten free banana bread recipe is moist, tender, and filled with spiced banana flavor. It's everything banana bread should be, gluten-free or not!
I’ve gotten so many requests for a gluten free banana bread recipe over the years, and I couldn’t be more excited to share this one with you! Tasting this gluten free banana bread, you’d never guess that it wasn’t made with wheat flour. It’s moist, tender, and filled with spiced banana flavor. In fact, if I did a side-by-side comparison with my regular Healthy Banana Bread, I wouldn’t be able to choose a favorite!
We’re getting some sunshine in Chicago today, but for the last week, it’s been cool and rainy. I love starting gray, chilly mornings like these with a thick slice of this gluten free banana bread for breakfast. Served with a coffee or a steaming cup of matcha, it’s the perfect sweet-but-not-too-sweet treat to cozy up with on an early fall day. Happy baking!
Gluten Free Banana Bread Recipe Ingredients
Here’s what you’ll need to make this easy gluten free banana bread recipe:
- Bananas, of course! They make this bread nice and moist, and they fill it with sweet banana flavor.
- Bob’s Red Mill Gluten Free All-Purpose Baking Flour – I don’t bake with gluten-free flour blends often, so I polled readers to see what their favorites were. Bob’s All-Purpose blend was the clear winner. It contains simple, pronounceable ingredients (no xanthum gum here!), and it’s totally dairy-free. If you prefer a different flour blend for gluten-free baking, feel free to try it in this recipe. However, I can only guarantee the results with Bob’s Gluten Free All-Purpose Flour.
- Almond flour – Almond flour is one of my go-to baking ingredients, whether I’m making a gluten-free recipe or not. Like in my blueberry muffins, pumpkin bars, and regular banana bread, it gives this loaf an amazing moist texture.
- Baking powder and baking soda – To make it nice and puffy!
- Eggs – They add moisture and richness and help the bread rise.
- Coconut sugar or regular sugar – Coconut sugar sweetens this recipe naturally and adds extra depth of flavor, but if you don’t have it, don’t worry! Regular sugar works here too.
- Almond milk and extra-virgin olive oil – They add moisture and richness.
- Cinnamon, nutmeg, and vanilla extract – For warm depth of flavor.
- Walnuts – Who doesn’t love bananas + walnuts?? They give this gluten free banana bread a delicious nutty crunch.
- And sea salt – To make all the flavors pop!
Find the complete recipe with measurements below.
How to Make Gluten Free Banana Bread
Ready to bake? Here’s what you need to do:
Start with the oven. Preheat the oven to 350°. While it starts to heat up, line a 9×5 inch loaf pan with parchment paper, and lightly grease the short sides of the pan where the parchment isn’t touching.
Then, whisk together the wet ingredients. Combine the mashed bananas, sugar, oil, almond milk, eggs, and vanilla in a large bowl, and whisk until smooth.
In a separate bowl, mix up the dry ingredients. Whisk together the gf flour, almond flour, baking soda and powder, spices, and salt.
Next, pour the dry ingredients into the bowl of wet ingredients. Stir until just combined – careful not to overmix! Gently fold in the walnuts right at the end.
Finally, bake! Pour the batter into the prepared loaf pan, and scatter more walnuts on top. I also like to add a sprinkle of whole rolled oats at this stage. Transfer the pan to the oven and bake for 42 to 48 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out mostly clean.
Gluten Free Banana Bread Recipe Tips
- Buy the bananas ahead of time. The mashed bananas add key moisture and sweetness to this recipe, so make sure to use ripe bananas here. Maybe I just have bad luck, but whenever I head to the store with a banana bread craving, the bananas there are always green. If you can, plan to make this recipe in advance. Buy the bananas ahead of time, and don’t bake until they’re brown and spotty.
- Let it cool a little before you eat. It’ll be tempting to devour this gluten free banana bread as soon as it comes out of the oven, but try to hold off for 15 minutes or so before you eat. Quick breads like banana bread, pumpkin bread, and zucchini bread tend to be really tender (and hot) right when they come out of the oven. Allowing the bread to cool will improve both its texture and flavor, so trust me, the wait is worth it!
- Freeze the extras. In our house, a loaf of this gluten free banana bread never lasts long. But if you happen to have leftovers, store them in the fridge for up to 3 days. I also like to freeze individual slices for quick breakfasts and snacks down the road. Pack them in an airtight container or freezer bag, and freeze them for up to 2 months.
- Change it up. I love to make my gluten free banana bread with walnuts, but feel free to get creative with the mix-ins. Replace the walnuts with dried cranberries or cherries, chocolate chips, or chopped pecans or almonds. Alternatively, skip the mix-ins entirely!
More Favorite Gluten Free Recipes
If you love this gluten free banana bread recipe, try one of these gluten-free treats next:
- Edible Cookie Dough
- Homemade Granola Bars
- Gluten Free Pancakes
- No Bake Cookies
- Tahini Cookies
- Oatmeal Breakfast Cookies
- No Bake Energy Balls
Gluten Free Banana Bread
Ingredients
- 2 very ripe bananas, mashed (1 cup)
- ½ cup coconut sugar or regular sugar
- ⅓ cup extra-virgin olive oil, more for brushing
- ¼ cup almond milk
- 2 eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1½ cups Bob’s Red Mill Gluten Free All-Purpose Baking Flour
- ½ cup almond flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon nutmeg
- ½ cup chopped walnuts, plus 2 tablespoons for topping
- 1½ tablespoons rolled oats, for topping
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line a 9x5-inch loaf pan with parchment paper and lightly grease the short sides of the pan where parchment isn’t touching.
- In a large bowl, combine the mashed bananas with the sugar, oil, milk, eggs, and vanilla and whisk until combined.
- In a medium bowl, combine the flours, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg.
- Add the dry ingredients to the bowl with the wet ingredients and stir until just combined, then fold in the walnuts.
- Pour into the prepared pan and sprinkle with the chopped walnuts and oats.
- Bake for 42 to 48 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out mostly clean.
Came out fluffy, sweet, and delicious! Disappeared at the brunch I brought it to.
I’m so glad it was a hit!
can i use bob’s red milk gluten free 1 to 1 baking flour instead?
Hi Kristine, we haven’t tested this recipe with that blend, so I’m not 100% sure, but I think it would work fine!
I know this is an old comment but just wanted to mention that I tried it with Bob’s 1 to 1 baking flour, since that’s what I had and it turned out great!
I’m glad to hear!
The best banana muffins I’ve ever made! I did muffins instead of bread 400° for 20 min. I used all red mill gluten free flour and no almond flour and subbed with coconut milk. I added a 1/4 cup brown sugar too! So so good!
Thanks for sharing your method! So glad you loved the muffins.
I’m a bit confused on the pan preparation. Do you mean line the bottom of the pan with parchment paper and grease the sides of the pan? My loaf pan does not have “short sides” all sides are the same.
Hi Michelle, We like to line a 9×5-inch loaf pan with one rectangle of parchment paper that covers the bottom and the two 9-inch sides of the pan. Then, we grease the exposed 5-inch sides. You could also skip the parchment and grease the bottom and all the sides of the pan. Hope this helps!
What could I use instead of Gluten Free All-Purpose Baking Flour, since I cannot find anything similar here in Namibia.
Jeanine, I’ve tried so many banana recipes, and I wasn’t truly satisfied until I tried this recipe! What I did was, replaced the gluten free flour with oat flour and added more almond flour, choc chips, and turned them into muffins! Bingo! I’ve finally found my banana recipe. 🙂 Thank you!
Hi Irene, I’m so glad you loved it!
Could almond or coconut flour (or more gluten free flour) be substituted for the almond flour?
Hi Rebecca, I think almond flour is best for the texture. More gluten free flour might work (it might be a little more dry). I’d stay away from coconut flour, it requires a totally different wet-to-dry ratio.
What’s another alternative than almond that could work. I have an allergy.
Really great recipe! Based on what I had on hand, I made a couple substitutions. I used avocado oil versus EVOO. I also substituted coconut flour for the almond flour. It turned out nicely!
I’m so glad you loved it!
Does spelt flour work in this recipe?
Just an observation, oats are generally not gluten free, so these would need to be omitted if you are cooking for someone with coeliac disease.
Hi Richard, gluten free oats are labeled “certified gluten free.” Brands like Bob’s Red Mill makes them, they’re pretty easy to find.
Hi Jeanine, although technically oats do not contain gluten, they contain a related protein which has the same effect as gluten for some people with coeliac disease. Oats can also be contaminated by being processed on the same equipment used to process wheat, barley and rye containing products. In Australia (where I’m from) and New Zealand, where we share the same food labelling standards, oats cannot be labelled gluten free due to the risk for some coeliacs, however can be labelled as wheat free if processed in separate facilities/lines, which would be the equivalent of oats labelled gluten free in North America or Europe, where food standards allow this. https://www.coeliac.org.au/s/article/Oats-and-the-gluten-free-diet
On a totally different note, this gf banana bread recipe is fantastic!!!
Best GF banana bread recipe I’ve found so far!!
Could I use flax eggs or vegan egg substitute in place of the eggs? (We’re gluten free and vegan, which can really make finding new recipes challenging sometimes, so I appreciate this info! )
how do you find the measurement
Hi Keira, the recipe is at the very bottom of the post.
I’m a longtime fan of Jeanine’s recipes and this one just knocks it out of the park. It’s hands down the best gluten free banana bread recipe I’ve ever made….and I’ve made a lot! Thank you, Jeanine for reclaiming a breakfast staple for me!
I’m so glad you loved the banana bread!
If I don’t want to use almond milk, can I use whole milk?
yep, you can.