This banana bread is naturally sweetened, dairy free and can be made gluten free or whole grain and it’s delicious!
Bananas Aching For More
Whenever I have sad, dreary looking bananas, I dream of this banana bread.
It is gluten free or whole grain and also dairy free with no strange ingredients. This delicious banana bread can also be made vegan with a simple egg swap.
Gluten Free or Whole Grain Options
When I make this recipe with whole grains, I use whole grain einkorn flour. My kids can digest it well and I am grateful for that.
For a gluten free loaf, I have used Bob’s Red Mill 1:1 gluten free mix, King Arthur Measure for Measure flour, as well as several different homemade mixes. All have worked well. You do also need to make sure you are using gluten free oats.
Speaking of oats, if oats bother your digestion, try sprouted oats. I love the One Degree quick oats. They are a little hardier than regular quick oats but they work well in this recipe.
Waiting and Watching and Hoping and Dreaming
The hardest part of the whole recipe is waiting for it to bake. It does take a good solid 75 minutes to cook in my oven.
I always have to cover the top of my bread with foil near the end of the baking so it doesn’t get too dark. Your oven might not be so finicky like mine but if you are worried about the top of your bread looking dark just cover it with a piece of foil after about 45 minutes of baking time.
Gluten Free (or Whole Grain) Banana Bread
Makes: 1 medium loaf
3 medium ripe bananas
1 egg
3 tablespoons coconut oil
3/4 cup milk (I use almond milk)
3 tablespoons maple syrup or honey
½ cup coconut sugar
3 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 1/4 cup almond meal
1 1/4 cup gluten-free flour blend (or whole grain flour – I use einkorn)
1 1/4 cup gluten-free quick oats
1/3 cup chopped pecans – optional but delicious for the top of the loaf
Directions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
Place the bananas, egg, coconut oil, milk and maple syrup or honey in the bowl of a blender. Blend until smooth.
In a medium sized bowl add the rest of the ingredients. Mix well. Pour the liquid ingredients from the blender bowl into the dry ingredients. Mix until no dry streaks remain. Do not over mix.
I put parchment paper in my loaf pan to aid in removal but you can also just grease your bread pan well.
Bake in the preheated oven 60-75 minutes. Test for doneness by inserting a butter knife or toothpick into the center of the loaf. There will be very small bits of moist bread that stick to the knife or toothpick when the bread is done but you don’t want to see any doughy bits.
Remove the pan from the oven and let cool for 10 minutes. Remove the bread from your pan and slice. It will be more crumbly if you cut it when it is warm but it also tastes the very best when it is warm, in my opinion. Do what works best for you and yours!
Tweak It Notes
- Gluten Free – Use gluten free flour and gluten free oats
- Dairy Free – Use dairy free milk – I typically use almond but others will work as well.
- Egg Free – Substitute the 1 egg for 1 tablespoon flax meal and 3 tablespoons water. You can also use chia seeds, aquafaba or applesauce.
- Baking Powder – If you need to be corn free, check your baking powder. I prefer to use aluminum free baking powder. I buy mine from Azure Standard or I get Rumford from the store.
- Nut Free – This recipe calls for almond flour. The almond flour aids in the moisture of the bread. I haven’t tried this recipe without it but if I did, I would substitute 1 cup gluten free flour or oat flour for the 1 1/4 cup almond flour called for in the recipe.
