The Spunky Coconut

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Paleo Banana Bread

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Spunky Coconut Paleo Banana Bread

This recipe has really evolved. You may have heard me say this before, but I first began cooking from scratch when I got Cooking with Coconut Flour, by Bruce Fife. My naturopath had encouraged me to use all things coconut: Coconut oil, coconut flour, coconut milk. So I got Cooking with Coconut Flour to learn how to do that 🙂 That book uses ONLY coconut flour. Then I began tweaking the recipes in the book. The margins got so full of my tweaks that I started writing my variations down in a notebook. Then I tweaked the recipes in the notebook again, and again. And here we are today, with this Paleo banana bread.

Of course I didn’t know it was Paleo banana bread when I first made it back in 2008, or when I tweaked it again in 2009 to use less sweetener. I was just hooked on using coconut and healing my family with food. However, it really doesn’t matter what you call this banana bread. Gluten-free/grain-free or not, it’s the best banana bread I’ve ever had. It makes my mom proud 🙂

Paleo Banana Bread

gluten-free, grain-free, dairy-free

For 2 loaves, or 12 servings

Wet Ingredients:
4 mashed bananas
8 eggs, brought to room temperature in a bowl of hot water
1/2 cup coconut sugar (or any granulated sugar)
1/2 cup melted coconut oil or ghee

Dry Ingredients:
1 teaspoon sea salt
2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 cup arrowroot or tapioca flour
1 cup coconut flour, sifted
1 teaspoon baking soda
optional: chopped 80% dark chocolate or 1 cup chopped walnuts

  1. Set the oven to 350 degrees.
  2. Lay a piece of unbleached parchment paper across each of the bread loaf pans (8 1/2″ x 4 1/2″) so that it goes down one of the long sides, across the bottom and back up the other long side.
    NOTE: If you use a different bread loaf pan the cooking time may change.
  3. Whisk the dry ingredients.
  4. In a separate mixing bowl combine the wet ingredients with an electric mixer.
  5. Add the dry ingredients to the wet and mix again.
  6. Divide the batter between the pans.
  7. Bake for about 50 minutes, or until a knife inserted comes out mostly clean.
  8. Let the bread cool then slice and serve.

Makes 2 loaves.

♥, Kelly

paleo breadThis recipe comes from my new book Easy Paleo Meals, where there are twelve delicious pizza and bread recipes. Check out the reviews on amazon.

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Comments

  1. Hi there,
    I love your site!! Do you know if coconut sugar is legal on the scd/ gaps diet? I can’t seem to tolerate honey yet, so I was thinking that this might be an alternative.

    Thanks!!
    Elizabeth

    • Hi Elizabeth,

      I know for sure that coconut sugar is SCD illegal! Just thought I would chime in on that.

      Take Care,
      -Amber

  2. This looks great…coconut flour is something I’m learning to work with. I still haven’t figured out how to be successful with it on a regular basis. Sometimes it’s just way too moist and other times way too dry. I did hit the nail on the head once, and I was so proud of myself. I am glad to know that you use other flours, too, like tapioca. It probably lends some lightness.

  3. Have you ever tried adding cocoa powder to this bread to make it a chocolate banana bread? Was wondering if that would work, as I have bananas I need to use and am desperately craving chocolate!

    Thanks!

  5. Elizabeth,

    Sorry I missed your question! I don’t know. Are other low glycemic index alternatives allowed, like agave? I think coconut sugar is less processed than agave if that helps at all.

  6. Wondered why you use the vanilla stevia? and if I wanted to substitute (still pricing where to get a good deal on it)…..what would I use. Agave, more honey, vanilla extract? Thanks. Enjoying your use of coconut flour!

  7. I love the flavor and sweetness the Vanilla Creme Stevia gives baked goods. If you’re using unflavored stevia I would add vanilla extract. I use stevia because it’s low on the glycemic index, and super-concentrated. So I only need a little stevia plus a little honey to make a recipe sweet, compared to conventional recipes with a cup or more of refined white sugar.

  8. This a family favorite. We eat this up with in a few days, even if I double the 2 loaf recipe! Makes me feel good to give my kids good and yummy treats. I had tried it w/only vanilla extract, till now. I just bought the vanilla stevia…and gonna give it a try…imagining even better.

  10. I made this bread a few days ago and it turned out perfect! I accidentally added the full amount of honey (though I was making only 1/2 the recipe or 1 loaf) and it still turned out great. It keeps very well but I will probably freeze a few slices just to keep them fresh for later. I happen to have the orange stevia and you couldn’t taste any orange flavor in the final product at all. I’m looking forward to trying more of your recipes: this one and the pudding are my 2 absolute faves!!
    Magda in GA

  11. Wondering if you could make this recipe with either pumpkin or sweet potato pureee. What do you think? My daughter really likes your recipe!

  13. Made this on Monday night after a huge craving for banana bread – it is SO GOOD!!! Instead of walnuts, I used sunflower seeds since that’s what I have and it’s delish! Thanks for a great recipe 😉

  15. I’ve made this twice now. The first time I halved it to make one loaf.

    Yesterday I had some really ripe bananas so I made it again with 1 full sized loaf and two small loaves (the small loaves only took 30 to bake).

    Both times I left out the stevia and added a bit of vanilla extract. I also reduced both the sugar and the honey ingredients to 1/4 cup each (next time I think I’ll reduce them a little more – to keep the total no more than 1/3 cup). I think the bread was plenty sweet (the really ripe bananas are so sweet, too).

    I can’t remember what kind of sugar I used the first time (whatever was on hand), but the second time I used palm sugar. No what kind of sugars I use (honey, maple syrup, palm/coconut sugar, sucanat, evaporated cane juice, etc.), I nearly always reduce the amounts. No matter how “natural” and unprocessed, all concentrated sugar products are “sugar” when they hit the bloodstream, according to my glucose meter. And “low-glycemic” sugars like agave syrup have even more fructose content than HFCS/”corn sugar”, so I avoid concentrated fructose just as much. Fructose really gums up proteins (form AGEs) – not a good thing.

  17. This was the BEST healthy banana bread recipe I’ve had! I have one son that does not like bananas and even he loved this! YUM!!!!

  18. This recipe makes the most delicious banana bread. I have one son that does not like bananas and even he loved this bread! Thanks!!!! YUMMMMMM!!!!

  19. Hi,

    I baked the banana bread and I cannot begin to tell you how delicious it is. I cannot even tell there’s non-wheat flour in it! It tastes just like regular banana bread. I used honey the first time I made the recipe and wanting to lower the glycemic level of the banana bread even more I used coconut sap syrup the next time I baked it and it turned out just as delicious. One small suggestion – it’s always helpful if you could please put the exact size loaf pan you use on your website with the recipe. I used a 9×5 inch pan the first time and it came out great tasting but very squat compared to your picture and 2nd time I used the 8×4 and it came out higher just like the picture. Keep coming out with great recipes – they’re wonderful! Also I keep forgetting to bring the eggs to room temp and a quick tip is to put the uncracked eggs in a bowl of hot water for about 1-2 mins and when they are no longer cold to the touch they can be used in the recipe Thanks Karen

  20. hi,

    what size loaf pan did you use. My banana bread doesn’t seem to be the same size as the picture. Also does this freeze well and how long could I freeze it. thanks!

  22. Thank you, Kelly! This banana bread is fantastic – my first I-wouldn’t-change-anything-about-this gluten free baking success. I had to use butter instead of coconut oil since I was out, and I infused it with vanilla tea since I was out of vanilla tea too – you gotta do what you gotta do 🙂

    Thanks!

  23. OMG! deeeelish! my kids and i made this recipe this morning. We added chocolate chips and put them in mini muffin tins. we used a bit of maple syrup to replace the coconut sugar, using half the amount. also only had 3 bananas and it was truly amazing. keep the recipes coming!!!

  24. OMG… deeelish! my kids and i made this recipe this morning and it was truly amazing. we added chocolate chips and put them in mini-muffin tins, baking for 15 minutes. also, instead of coconut sugar, we used half the amount in maple syrup. also only had 3 bananas and it was still wonderful. your site is really a blessing for us, please keep the recipes coming!

  25. We just had this for breakfast- YUM! I reduced the sugar even further. I used only 1/2 cup of honey for the two-loaf batch and no coconut sugar. I added a little bit of powdered stevia (and forgot the vanilla lol)

    All of my kids, even the one who doesn’t eat bananas, enjoyed it!

  26. I wish there weren’t so many different “flours” in the banana bread recipe…frustrating there isnt just a simple recipe with one MAYBE two low starch choices (like buckwheat & coconut flour)…the more ingredients, the more the burden is on the gut. Also rice like tapioca is hard on the glycemic index. Bummer. Thanks anyway. I love all the other ingredients.

  27. I am new to the grain free, (trying to go) sugar free way of eating. I CRAVE banana nut bread often and have a huge sweet tooth. I made this today and the subs I made were using stevia in place of coconut sugar since it’s what I had on hand, homemade vanilla extract in place of the liquid stevia, and no cinnamon as it’s not my fave in banana bread. I made them into muffins instead of a loaf and baked them at 375 for 20 minutes. SO GOOD. My old self would’ve liked them a bit sweeter, but since I’m kicking the sugar habit they were perfect. Will definitely make these again.

  28. Question: I know all the coconut flour recipes call for a lot of eggs but none seem to specify whether they’re using regular, jumbo, large or extra-large, which would definitely make a difference since you’re using so many! The organic cage-free eggs I use are extra-large. Should I still use the same amount you call for in this recipe or did u use small eggs? Thanks so much!!

    PS so happy to have found your site! I have chronic Lyme & have been baking gluten-free – using healthy whole grains & sweetening w/ just small amts of coconut palm sugar – for awhile & have gotten pretty good at it (if I do say so myself ;-)) I wanted to attempt grain-free & coconut flour but was a little nervous! So this recipe will be my very first foray into coconut flour baking. I don’t usually like stevia but I love ur idea of using it as a sweetness booster to use less coconut sugar. Brilliant! I also find that if the baked good has enough flavor & you warm it w/ butter u don’t need as much sugar. 🙂

  29. Hi Kelly, I made this recipe on Friday. It was awesome! I left out the coconut sugar entirely as I used 4 very ripe bananas. I taste-tested the batter (more than once) and it was plenty sweet. I also subbed maple syrup for honey because that’s what we have on hand. Thank you for this super delicious and easy recipe! Love your site–I tell everyone who will listen or wants info. 🙂 Lisa

  30. This is the best grain-free banana bread I’ve ever made (and I’ve made a few!).

    The texture is great & I added macadamia nuts also. I didn’t use stevia and reduced the coconut sugar to half.

    Thanks so much!!

  31. Have you tried this with almond flour? I don’t like the texture of coconut flour…so dense. Just wondering 🙂

    • I think it could, I’ve been having good results using starch and chia meal interchangeably. But I can’t be sure until I test it.

  33. Hi!!!

    I made this banana bread yesterday! I do agree, I wish the size of the pans was detailed in the instructions. The amount of batter made the same amount I always use for one 9 by 5 bread loaf pan! I may have left it in for ten minutes too long, but it turned out great. i sprinkled chopped, raw hazelnuts on the top of the loaf before baking. I think next time I will use more bananas for a stronger banana flavor. I also didn’t see stevia in the list of ingredients so didn’t add any, nor did I add any vanilla. That ight have given it a pop of extra flavor.

    All in all though, a great recipe! I think that it may take practice to bake with coconut flour and tapioca flour, but was glad that this tasty banana bread was an introduction.

    Great recipe!

    ~Alexia

  34. Hi Kelly, would you mind telling us what the August 18th update was? I’ve made this recipe as mini muffins for my daughter to take to school about 6-7 times since the spring, but have never printed the recipe out. I just refer to the bookmarked link. I made them this weekend and they turned out very differently and not as good in our opinion. We really depend on this recipe because my 14th month old loves these and they are a reliable snack for her. Am I correct in remembering that this recipe used to have 1/3 cup of honey and only 6 tbsps of coconut oil? And wasn’t the coconut sugar added in the dry ingredients? Am I missing anything else? That batch we made this weekend was paler in color and didn’t have the same depth of flavor. Is the color of the honey influencing that?? Thanks for your help!

    • You are correct. I simplified the recipe, and we prefer it this way. It was:
      Dry Ingredients
      1 teaspoon fine sea salt
      2 teaspoon cinnamon
      1/2 cup arrowroot flour
      1 cup coconut flour, sifted
      1/3 cup coconut sugar
      1 teaspoon baking soda
      1 teaspoon baking powder
      optional: 1 cup chopped walnuts
      Wet Ingredients
      4 mashed bananas
      8 eggs, brought to room temperature in a bowl of hot water
      1/3 cup honey
      6 tablespoons melted coconut oil or ghee

      • I am SOOO happy someone asked this already! I got halfway through the recipe & thought…”but the honey, where is the honey?!?” I looked around on your website & couldn’t find “my” recipe anywhere. FYI – I usually halve the recipe (I never have 4 bananas), omit the coconut sugar & use the full amount of honey. They still turn out beautifully. I guess i’ll have to print it out now!

  35. 4 mashed bananas= ? cups
    8 eggs = ? cups

    Do you have any suggestions on how to use some egg substitution to decrease the amount of eggs? Please answer ASAP. I am anxious to try your recipe.

  36. I always freeze my banana when they get ripe, but I wonder if frozen bananas will add too much liquid. Do you know? Has anybody made this w frozen bananas? Thank!

  37. I’ve just gone grain free and gluten free and still learning a lot about it all….I love baking, so am glad there are 100’s of recipes out there like this one, that I can still bake, stick to my eating plan and still enjoy the end result (and enjoy it more actually ) Thanks for this recipe I will save it to my to-bake list 🙂

  38. Hi-
    I notice that many people commenting are referring to stevia, yet I do not see that in your ingredients list. Can you comment on that? Does the bread need stevia to taste good. Also wondering if maple syrup can be subbed for the honey?
    Thanks,
    Maria

    • You can use maple syrup instead of honey. This recipe was tweaked, and the original one (with stevia I think) is posted in the comments 🙂

      • I used to add a little liquid stevia (like 1/4 teaspoon), but our tastes have changed so that we don’t need the extra sweetness 🙂

  39. I just made the this Banana Bread and it is the best ever. I did add a cup of unsweetened coconut with the chocolate chips. Yummy. Living in Hawaii we get lots of bananas and always trying a new recipe gluten free and they are always dry and fall apart without the added gums this is perfect and no grains & gums and I love the fact it has lots of protein with all the eggs.

  40. I can’t believe I have been sitting on this recipe for months and never made it. I just made 2 loaves today as a trial for a teacher appreciation dessert item and am going to have to make more as these loaves will not last that long. I can’t wait for my kids to come home to try it. Delicious. I did use the old recipe with honey, which I wouldn’t change at this point.

  41. My picky watt wife and 6 year old daughter loved this recipe! I have tried several other paleo banana bread recipes that I liked but they passed on. So good job 🙂 awsome recipe 🙂

  42. I just made your banana bread yesterday and it is one of the best! Both hubby and I really like it. Thank you!