I’ve made my fair share of banana bread recipes since going grain and dairy free, and, honestly, none of them have been anywhere close to as good as my grandmother’s old recipe using wheat flour. In fact most of them have been either soggy and dense or dry and bland.
Since winter has me indoors more and in the mood to bake, I decided it was high time to figure out how to make a grain free banana bread as light, sweet and rich as the one Grandma taught me how to make. And so I did…
The secret to good texture in grain free baked goods is choosing the right flour, or more often, the right combination of flours. This recipe uses three different flours to keep the bread from being too soggy, eggy or dense. It is also fruit-sweetened, GAPS adaptable and Paleo friendly!
Grain Free Banana Bread
Yield 1 loaf
This recipe for grain free banana bread is light, sweet and rich. It's also fruit-sweetened, GAPS adaptable and Paleo friendly!
Ingredients
- 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
- 3/4 cup almond flour
- 1/4 cup coconut flour
- 2 Tablespoons arrowroot flour (omit for GAPS/SCD)
- 2 Tablespoons melted coconut oil
- 3 eggs, room temperature
- 2 very ripe bananas (about 1 cup of mashed banana)
- 1/4 cup maple syrup, raw honey or date paste (made by soaking 8-10 medjool dates with a little warm water till soft, then blending)
- 1/2 cup chopped walnuts or allergen-free chocolate chips (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350° F/175° C.
- Using a whisk or fork, mix all the dry ingredients together.
- In a separate bowl, mix all the wet ingredients together, and then mix them into the dry ingredients. If needed, you can use a stick blender or mixer to ensure the batter is well blended.
- Oil or butter the baking pan. Add the batter to a baking dish.
- Bake for 45-50 minutes, or until well browned and a knife inserted in the middle of the bread comes out clean.
- Enjoy!
Notes
For this recipe you will need:
- Mixer or stick blender
- 5"x9" or smaller loaf pan or other baking dish (This is the awesome one I use for this recipe.)
Courses Dessert
Recommended for This Recipe
We love this recipe. The bread is moist and delicious. I used 3 bananas, maple syrup, and walnuts. I will make this every time my bananas get too ripe. Thank you Dawn!
You’re welcome! I’m so glad you enjoyed it!
Is arrow root flour the same as arrow root powder from the spice section? I’d like to to use all the ingredients if I have them as my kids aren’t a huge fan of “too wet” baked goods and I have arrowroot powder :). Thanks so much!
Yes, they are the same. 🙂
Thank u very much for your recipe! I made this today without the arrowroot flour,had some butter that was all ready melted-used this in place of the melted coconut oil, added enjoy life dark choc morsels and a tsp of vanilla extract. It turned out so YUMMY! I used maple syrup, but look forward to trying the date paste. I will be making this again tomorrow and will try adding some cinnamon like someone had suggested. Thanks again.
It’s sunday and this is the 2nd time I’ve made this since Friday. I’d say WE like it!!!!!!
This was friggin good ! Thanks for sharing. Added a bit of cinnamon and vanilla essence. Used date syrup. Turned out very moist and tasty
So glad you liked it!!
Thanks for sharing this recipe!
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Hi Dawn, I just wanted to let you know that we are featuring your recipe with the community at Keep It Real Thursdays at beyondthepeel.net. Thanks for contributing.
Awesome! Thanks, France!
Dawn, this recipe sounds and looks delicious, how could it not taste heavenly with these ingredients! Rebecca @Natural Mothers Network x
Thanks, Rebecca! I think you’ll love it as much as we do!
Looks fantastic!!
Thanks for linking up at our Gluten Free Fridays party! I have tweeted and pinned your entry to our Gluten Free Fridays board on Pinterest! 🙂
Thanks for linking back to the Gluten Free Fridays post!
Cindy from vegetarianmamma.com
Thanks Cindy! Always a pleasure!
I adore banana bread. It’s lovely that you have been able to make a grain free version of this treat. I like that you have used maple syrup as a sweetener as well. I’m featuring this recipe in my H&S post this week 🙂
Looks divine! I’m featuring this recipe this week on AFW.
Thanks for sharing with us.
Be Well,
-Amber
This makes a really small loaf! Can it be doubled? I really don’t want to use my big oven just to make a tiny amount. Thanks for any help you can give!
I have not doubled it myself yet, but give it a try. It might be a little dense or wet in the middle, but you can bake it a little longer to help deal with that.
Hi Carole, did you try doubling the recipe and how did it turn out? This looks like a great recipe and I have lots of ripe bananas and would like to make a bigger loaf.
I have liked using almond flour, but haven’t tried coconut flour as yet. Your bread looks moist and delicious — perfect for my coffee right now. Thanks for sharing on Hearth & Soul Hop. 🙂
Hi Dawn,
We will just love this Banana Bread, it looks awesome! Hope you have a fantastic week and thank you so much for sharing with Full Plate Thursday.
Come Back Soon!
Miz Helen
Thank you for your submission on Nourishing Treasures’ Make Your Own! Monday link-up.
Check back tomorrow when the new link-up is running to see if you were one of the top 3 featured posts! 🙂
Do you know of a good sub for the arrowroot flour ?
You could try another starch like tapioca flour, or you can just omit the arrowroot. The bread will be a bit more dense and wet, but still tasty.
I can’t wait to try this recipe, I just pinned it so I can make it later this week! My last attempt at a grain free sweet bread was a VERY crumbly zucchini bread so I’m excited to have a recipe that will work!
Thanks for sharing this on The HomeAcre Hop!
http://www.theselfsufficienthomeacre.com/2013/02/the-homeacre-hop.html
Wow! Thanks for figuring out how to come up with a similar loaf to a wheat flour one. The “too dense” or “too wet” or “too crumbly” complaints are the ones I typically have had with gluten-free baking, so I had pretty much given up. This recipe, however, makes me think that perhaps I could try again. 🙂
Thanks so much for sharing it in this week’s Thank Goodness It’s Monday carnival, too. I’ve pinned it on our “Thank Goodness It’s Monday” Pinterest page, as well. 🙂
Blessings!
Kresha from NourishingJoy.com
this looks SUPER yummy. I would never know it was grain free :o) Thanks for sharing at Tasteful Tuesdays this week! Do you sew or know someone who does? I have a fabulous pattern sale (18 patterns for under $25) and giveaway going on right now.http://www.nap-timecreations.com/2013/02/sew-fab-e-pattern-sale-and-giveaway.html
We recently went grain and gluten free! Looks like a great recipe! Please consider sharing your post with us at the Eco-Kids Tuesday Link-Up! http://likemamalikedaughter.blogspot.com/2013/02/garden-planning-at-eco-kids-tuesday.html
This looks super yummy! I thought for awhile that I was going to have to go glutton free and wondered how in the world I would keep my bread. Now I know that there are options out there- in case it ever comes up again.
Thanks for sharing at our Healthy Tuesdays Blog Hop–
Kerry from Country Living On A Hill
This sounds really good. There’s something about banana bread… comfort food maybe? I could go for a slice right now…
Care to share this healthy recipe at my Healthy Tuesday hop? http://ahumblebumble.blogspot.com/2013/02/healthy-tuesday-hop-28.html
Glad to. Thanks for the invitation!
That looks great! Banana bread is so popular here in Australia, so it’s good to have a Paleo version.
I hope you enjoy it!