The Spunky Coconut

Gluten-Free ❤ Dairy-Free ❤ Paleo

You are here: Home / Gluten-Free Bread / Gluten Free Banana Bread

Gluten Free Banana Bread

By

GlutenFreebananabread

One thing I think we all have in common is the desire to recreate our mother’s banana bread – gluten-free. I have fond memories of eating a warm, fresh slice of banana bread in my childhood kitchen, looking to my mom with such admiration for her cooking abilities. Who knew that baking banana bread qualified mothers as heros? But what was it about that banana bread that I loved so much? I remember… it was soft, fluffy, chewy and sweet. When I began baking gluten-free I couldn’t achieve any of those qualities. My first gluten-free banana breads were as dense as lead. Then I started using coconut flour – an amazing, unusual flour. However, the challenge with coconut flour was capitalizing on it’s textural abilities, but adding enough flavor to it so that everything didn’t come out tasting like coconut and eggs.

This gluten free banana bread takes me back to my childhood. It’s exactly as I remember it – soft, fluffy, chewy and sweet. I hope you like it too.

Gluten-free Banana Bread

2 mashed bananas
4 beaten eggs
1/2 cup honey
3 tbs liquified coconut oil or ghee
1/2 tsp sea salt
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 cup coconut flour, sifted
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder (Grain-free Baking Powder Recipe)
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
350 degrees for 50 to 60 minutes
I like to top it with ghee and honey, as seen here, or eat it all by itself.
Update: I made a new version of this recipe which uses less sugar. Check out my Paleo Banana Bread.
Share this:

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Oh, I love good banana bread! This recipe looks great. I also use coconut flour in my baking — and coconut oil and coconut milk and coconut water and shredded coconut. Well, you get the idea. Nice to find your blog!

    Melissa

  2. Hey Kelly, It’s Ann from Niche. Just had to say “You’re my Hero”! I’ve been off of gluten for 3 days now and cooking like a crazy lady. I’ve tried various recipes and had ‘eh, it’s okay’ levels of success.

    I just gave my kids a slice of your warm banana break and heard ‘MMMM…It’s really good’.

    Yeah!

    Thanks,

    Ann

  4. This recipe was soooo great! My husband ate almost the whole loaf! I 1st tried it with honey, but since I’m trying to cut out sugar, I made the next batch with crushed pineapple (drained) and omitted the honey. It was awesome! Thanks so much for this gluten free recipe! I’m passing it on to my family! 🙂 Aimee

  5. Aimee,

    Ahhhh! I’m so happy you liked it so much! It’s a favorite of mine too. Who needs gluten anyway, right? 🙂

    PS I love the pineapple idea! I may have to try that myself!

  6. I just found your blog after searching for a coconut flour/banana bread recipe! I am so excited I found you! We lived in Colorado Springs for 7 years up until about 3 years ago – your blog is making me miss living there SO much!! Anyway, I just pulled the loaf of bread out of the oven and its wonderful!! The middle was a little under done, so I sliced it into 1/2 inch thick slices, laid them all out on a cookie sheet and put them back into the oven on 170 degrees to dry out a little and get somewhat crunchy on the outside… maybe like a banana biscotto! I wanted to suggest adding some nutmeg to the recipe also, and I used agave instead of honey. Its a great recipe! Thanks!

  7. I have now made this several times and I am in love with this recipe!
    Once I added walnuts and pecans…
    another time I added some dark chocolate chips…
    Today I made it plain and am loving it plain and with some cream cheese.

  9. Hi, I made this as a cake using juice from home-canned cherries instead of honey. It worked well and gave a nice pink colour too. We don’t have to eat gluten-free, we just like variety. This is delicious, thank you!

  10. Fantastic! Fabulous! I made this banana bread recipe today and I LOVE IT! I even overcooked it a bit and it was still moist and delicious!

    Thank you for all the experimenting you have done and for sharing your experiences.

    Can’t wait to try more recipes!

    Anne-Marie

  12. I just took this out of the oven and can’t resist waiting any longer. This is so delicious! I love it!! I didn’t want to buy the vanilla creme stevia because as a college student that was a little too pricey for me so I just added stevia and vanilla instead. It tastes amazing, thanks so much for the recipe!!

  14. This banana bread was awesome. It just melted in my mouth. I could’ve eaten the whole darn thing in one sitting! Thanks Kelly. Love your cookbook! We’re working our way through the recipes. Sas

  16. Kelly,
    This recipe is great – thank you!
    I used 1/3c honey like your newer recipe and it still was pretty sweet to me. Next time I will cut back even more – especially if you have really ripe bananas which I didn’t.

  17. For my 2nd attempt at this bread I totally omitted the honey. I added another .5 bananas mashed instead. I still used the stevia and it is still plenty sweet. Tastes GREAT all by itself.

  18. I just made this bread. I substituted a 1/4 cup of xylitol for the honey. I also just used butter because I didnt have any ghee and just used vanilla extract. It was scrumptious!! Moist and delicious. My 2 yr old and 1 yr old loved it. thank you so much. I will be buying Kelly’s book soon.

  19. I am so disappointed!!! I made this bread after reading all the comments, measuring everything really carefully. I must admit however I had to go back twice and make sure I had used enough flour as 3/4 coconut+tapioca flour seemed to result in very little dry compared to wet ingredients.
    The mixture was very wet when put in the loaf tin but one hour later it looked okay – done on top.
    But even after cooling and sliding a knife down the sides of the tin, when it turned out, the top half came away from the bottom half, and the inside was a gooey pudding – not a bready loaf at all. Do you have any idea why this went wrong when so many reviewers have said it worked for them??? I have ordered your book and now I am worried it was not such a good idea. Please help!

  20. Mara, I am so sorry. I don’t know why it wouldn’t turn out. Do you live in a moist climate, like Portland? If so, I would suggest adding extra coconut flour, maybe 2 to 4 tablespoons. I really hope another recipe of mine works for you.

  21. My husband just made this as a muffin; it worked perfectly! I’ve been using Elana’s recipes but when we ran out of almond flour before the next shipment arrived, I knew where to turn to for always amazing coconut flour recipes & baked goods! Thank you 🙂

  22. This is the most delicious recipe ever!!! No one in my family has gluten problems, but I love experimenting with unique ingredients. I subbed the tapioca with two tablespoons of arrowroot, which worked just as well. I also tripled the cinnamon and added ginger… YUM.
    I sliced it up ten minutes ago, and there isn’t a crumb left on the plate! Thanks Kelly 😀 !

  23. hi kelly,

    what size loaf pan did you use for this banana bread recipe? thanks for your answer – susie

  24. For the woman who’s bananan bread came out doughy inside:

    I have found through experimentation that different brands of coconut flour vary in density. When I measured 4 different brands and weighed them all; the weight varied. That means how much liquid they absorb would also vary.

    That explains why another of Kelly’s recipes I made came out different all 3 times I made it despite my measuring carefully. I used a different brand of coconut flour each time.

    Frustrating, I know. I hope you’ll try the recipe again.

  25. For the woman who’s bananan bread came out doughy inside:

    I have found through experimentation that different brands of coconut flour vary in density. When I measured 4 different brands and weighed them all; the weight varied. That means how much liquid they absorb would also vary.

    That explains why another of Kelly’s recipes I made came out different all 3 times I made it despite my measuring carefully. I used a different brand of coconut flour each time.

    Frustrating, I know. I hope you’ll try the recipe again.

  26. Loved this! Swapped the honey for six soaked and (somewhat) pureed dates (I didn’t soak long enough, whoops!) and added hazelnuts and cranberries. My only difference next time would be to TRIPLE the cinnamon, because I love cinnamon, and to double the batter as I like my banana bread nice and thick 🙂

    Oh, and I don’t know if leaving out the honey made a difference, but I only baked for 40 minutes

    Thanks for the recipe!!

  27. This is the best banana bread recipe EVER. I must have made this stuff at least 20 different times! Here are my favourite variations, if anyone is interested (I usually omit the walnuts before adding new flavours):

    -sub the tapioca with cocoa, and add chocolate chips

    -add grated ginger and minced orange peel

    -add fresh raspberries, broken pecans and nutmeg

    -use Kelly’s coffee cake topping (puree walnuts with coconut sugar)

    -grate dark chocolate into the batter

    -sub tapioca with carob powder and add blueberries

    YUM!! Another winner from the Spunky Coconut, no surprise 😀

  28. Hi Kelly!

    I made this banana bread yesterday and only positive reviews for you! It tastes great. My mom told me it was the best banana bread she ever tried…and she does not have to eat gluten-free 😉 Thanks!

    Sophie

  29. Anyone want to guess at how much banana to use, like 1 cup or whatever. I have large bananas and small bananas. Two bananas is so relative. I’m going to try this recipe anyway, and hopefully it turns out. Then I’ll be making it again and again.

  30. YES!!!! I’ve been looking for more recipes to use with my coconut flour and coconut oil and I think you’re my go-to girl! Now that I’ve figured out the egg free thing working with coconut flour and invested in some liquid stevia, I’m set! Thanks!

  31. I made this last night and am enjoying it for breakfast. I did substitute the tapioca with arrowroot flour because of food sensitivity issues. It’s fantastic!! Perfect! Thank you!
    Shirley

  32. I don’t/can’t have all the ingredients in your Pumpkin Bread recipe. Do you think it would taste OK if I used this recipe & just substituted the banana with pumpkin? TIA
    Shirley

  33. Hi Kelly, thank you I’ll try this tomorrow. I’m also egg free. I hope it will turn out with egg substitute. I made your tortilla wraps yesterday and my 3 year old son gobbled them up. Yay! I’m so grateful for your recipes. I’m grain free, egg free, dairy free so have lots of experimenting to do…
    Erica

  34. I was curious about the size of the loaf pan as well, so I guessed and tried it in an 8×4. It was perfect & so delicious! Can’t wait to make this again. Your baked goods always blow me away Kelly!

  36. Hi! Do you think this would work well as a sheet cake? I’m looking for a banana cake recipe to use for a birthday.
    Thanks!

  37. I’m trying to follow the link to your Paleo Banana Bread recipe, but it keeps directing me back to this page.