Gluten-Free Banana Bread Recipe

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Wanna know how many results you get when you google gluten-free banana bread?

Seventy-seven million, four-hundred thousand.

Of course, this pales in comparison to the number of results you get when you Google plain old  banana bread, (326 million), but still.

And we all know that not all recipes are created equal… especially when it comes to gluten-free baking.

There are a lot of you out there in search of a rock-solid gf banana bread recipe which makes sense, considering how many gluten-free dessert and bread recipes are simply cardboard-flavored atrocities masked in sugar.

Well, Ill tell you one thing this banana bread recipe does NOT taste like cardboard.

Its nutty, toasty, chocolatey, laced with banana, and not very sweet at all. Which means yes, this would make an incredibly delicious (and healthy!) breakfast.

(Or if you’re like me, you’ll take any opportunity to eat it with EVERY meal. Fortunately, it’s healthy enough that you can do that!)

And if youre not on board with me yet, I have two words for you:

Banana. Butter.

A lot of gluten-free recipes suffer because theyre dry and crumbly. This banana bread isnt either of those things, but its made even more moist by the addition of a healthy-ish topping that takes under 5 minutes to make.

And one more thing this banana bread recipe has going for it?

You get to use more than one freaking banana in it! 

Seriously, I cant tell you how many times Ive been left with half a bunch of rotting bananas only to find recipes that call for one banana.

Sure, I usually freeze the rest for smoothies, but if the whole point of banana bread is to use up leftover bananas, lets make sure the recipe includes more than one banana. Right?

Rant over.

Lets get this banana bread started:

FTHs Gluten-Free Banana Bread With DIY Banana Butter (AKA Crack Spread)

Equipment Needed: Oven or toaster oven; blender or food processor; whisk; small saucepan; 9×5 loaf pan

Recipe Time: 1 hour

Makes: 1 9×5 loaf

Ingredients:

• 2.5 cups gf rolled oats, blended into a flour (or toasted and then blended see Recipe Notes)
• 1 cup of your favorite gluten-free flour blend
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1 tsp maca powder
• 3.5 tsp baking powder
• 3/4 tsp kosher salt (more or less if your bananas are more/less ripe see Recipe Notes)
• 3 very ripe bananas, mashed by hand (310g) plus 1/2 medium-ripe to ripe banana, mashed and set aside separately
• 1 whole egg
• 1/2 cup coconut sugar dissolved into 3 Tbsp coconut oil (itll be more of a crumbly paste than a syrup)
• 3/4 cup dairy-free milk
• 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
• 1/4 cup cacao nibs
• 1-2 Tbsp honey (optional only if it isnt sweet enough for you)
• 2 Tbsp butter

Directions:

1) Prep your loaf pan and preheat your oven.

Preheat your oven, countertop oven, or toaster oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

Wipe the loaf pan with coconut oil, making sure to cover the sides completely since this banana bread does rise quite a bit.

2) Batter (it) up!

In a large bowl, add the oat flour, gluten-free flour, cinnamon, maca powder, baking powder, and kosher salt. Whisk to combine.

Add the bananas, coconut sugar/oil paste, milk, and vanilla. Stir gently with a wooden spoon do not overmix!

At this point you can taste and add more sugar if desired before adding the egg. Add the egg when youre ready and stir until just combined.

3) Bake.

Pour the batter into your prepared loaf pan and bake at 350 degrees for 35-50 minutes, or until a knife inserted into the thickest part of the bread comes out clean and the top looks golden brown.

(I know 35-50 minutes may seem like a pretty wide range, but there is so much variation between ovens. Its really up to you to judge based on how it looks, smells, and reacts to the knife test.)

For maximum evenness, turn once halfway through baking (and try to avoid opening your oven more than that one time to turn the loaf).

Let the loaf cool for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack to cool completely.

And heres how youre going to distract yourself from slicing into the loaf while its still too hot:

4) While your loaf bakes, make the banana butter.

In a small skillet or saucepan, melt the butter over medium-low heat until foaming. 

When the foaming subsides and your kitchen starts to smell like chestnuts roasting over an open fire, add the reserved 1/2 mashed banana. Stir vigorously with a wooden spoon to combine, and then lower the heat and saute until youve reached your desired consistency.

This banana butter is fantastic on its own, but you could easily amp it up with cinnamon, nutmeg, some honey, and/or sea salt.

When the loaf is cool, slice, slather in banana butter, and enjoy!

Recipe Notes

• If you enjoy the nutty flavor of oats, try toasting them before blending them into a flour! You dont want them to get super crunchy, but if you toast them for 7-10 minutes, or until just starting to brown and become fragrant, itll really kick the flavor up a notch.
• Your bananas will taste sweeter or less sweet depending on how ripe they are. So if theyre really brown and have a lot of sugar in them? You may need to up the salt. On the flipside, if theyre yellower and a little less sweet? You wont need as much salt.
• Like I mentioned in the beginning, this banana bread isnt very sweet. So if you need a little more sugar, you can make a syrup with coconut sugar by combining it with water over heat in a 1:1 ratio. You could also just use honey (although most resources say its not as good for you but more on that in a bit).

Can I Substitute Chocolate Chips For Cacao Nibs?

This was the first question my mom asked me when I showed her the recipe. (Shes a fiend for banana bread, so were always sharing recipes.)

And its a fair question but the thing is, cacao nibs are very different from chocolate chips.

You may or may not know this already, but cacao nibs are simply cacao beans that have been chopped up into edible pieces theyre not processed at all like chocolate chips, and theres no added sugar.

Chocolate chips are not the same at all.

For starters, the first ingredient is most chocolate chips is SUGAR. Then they add in some chocolate… milk fat… cocoa butter… and maybe some additional flavors and preservatives.

So instead of eating little bits of cacao beans, you’re eating bits of sugar, chocolate, and whatever other chemicals the food company felt like adding in. 🙁

This means you get a lot more nutritional value from cacao nibs they wont spike your blood sugar, and theyre chock-full of antioxidants.

Its sort of like asking if you can substitute Splenda for coconut sugar in this recipe, right?

Like yeah you CAN.

But you might not feel good eating this banana bread if you do.

(And the recipe probably won’t turn out as good, either.)

Heres why:

Warning: Do NOT Substitute NutraSweet Or Splenda For Coconut Sugar In This Recipe (Heres Why)…

A recent study in Current Diabetes Reviews showed that aspartame (AKA NutraSweet) can not only induce weight gain instead of weight loss

But it also suggested that aspartame releases the stress hormone cortisol, which causes your body to pack on pounds.

I mean, I get it its a zero-calorie sweetener. The temptation is there!!

But Im telling you, this stuff is BAD for you really bad!

(Which just goes to prove that not everything that’s low- or no-calorie is good for you or your waistline.)

Itll make you gain weight

And not only that, but itll actually mess with the chemistry of this recipe and might make it taste and look kinda funny (if not outright bad).

The good news is that if you dont want to splurge on coconut sugar, you do still have some low-calorie sweetener options that ARE good for you

And wont get your hormones all out of whack like NutraSweet and Splenda will

Heres what they are:

Click Here To Discover 3 Sugar Substitutes That Can Help You Lose Weight & Burn Fat (Plus 2 You Should Never Use)

[Note: This post was updated by Fit Trim Happy on December 8, 2019.]