This gluten-free banana bread is easy, satisfying, and uses one bowl – and not to mention dairy-free, with a vegan option too. Next time you want banana bread, give this recipe a try!
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Banana bread is one of the very best ways to say “I love you” in our house. Everyone in my family loves it, and even though I make gluten-free banana bread that’s also dairy-free and vegan, my husband and son just can’t get enough.
I have to say that aside from banana bread just being one of the best comfort foods around, it’s a battle between what’s better – the smell or the taste. Even though I love eating banana bread, I have to say that being a house that slowly starts smelling like warm sweet bananas with cinnamon and other spicy notes wafting through the house makes me feel so cozy.
Of course, this gluten-free banana bread can be made year-round – and it often is in our house. Whenever we have a couple of bananas that have started getting spotty if I haven’t been making as many smoothies as I planned on that week, we get banana bread as a result.
What I love about this bread is that’s simple – with just the ingredients you need to make a gluten-free banana bread taste delicious and the substitutes to make it safe for a dairy-free diet – it still tastes like the same banana bread I grew up eating. It’s one of my favorite things to make, eat, and gift to people I care about.
If you love banana bread, I hope you’ll give this gluten-free banana bread recipe a try. Before we dive into the recipe, I get a lot of questions about the recipes I’ve shared or why I chose ingredients that I have, so I’ll answer a few of those first.
Does banana bread contain gluten?
Traditional banana bread made with all-purpose flour does contain gluten, since all-purpose flour is made using wheat.
Even though a normal banana bread recipe contains gluten, you can easily make gluten-free banana bread by swapping out the all-purpose flour for a gluten-free flour blend or making your own gluten-free flour blend using gluten-free flours.
Read on: Are Bananas Gluten-free?
Easy gluten-free banana bread
I set out to make this easy gluten-free banana bread, for a few reasons:
- My family loves banana bread (who doesn’t?)
- I don’t always use the bananas in our house before they start turning too dark to be yummy
- It’s nice to have a gluten-free banana bread recipe on hand for weekend mornings, bringing to brunch get-togethers, or as a gift for hosting
What I love about the recipe most of all is that it’s easy. Who doesn’t love a recipe that comes together in one bowl and a pan, and most of the cook time is hands-off? I can get around just about any recipe that requires that minimal of effort. And when my house smells amazing as a result? Yes please!
Read on: 101 Gluten-free Dairy-free Snacks
Gluten-free flour
When it comes to making banana bread gluten-free, the most important thing to substitute is the gluten-free flour. You have a few options when it comes to making gluten-free banana bread – and you’ll find all kinds of recipes online with various types of gluten-free flour blends.
In my recipe, I like to keep things simple by using a premade gluten-free flour blend. My favorite gluten-free flour blend is King Arthur Measure for Measure Gluten-free Flour Blend, because it’s always provided a consistent result in every recipe I’ve used it for.
Plus, you can use it in any other recipe in a 1 to 1 ratio to replace all-purpose flour. So it’s really versatile and a big hero in my kitchen.
Can you substitute gluten free flour for all purpose flour?
In most banana bread recipes, you could easily swap out an all-purpose flour for a gluten-free flour blend, assuming the blend you use contains a binder, like xanthan gum already in it. If it does not, you could add your own xanthan gum.
When it comes to making swaps one to one from all-purpose flour to gluten-free flour, I usually try to use a gluten-free flour blend that I already know I like. Using a new-to-me gluten-free flour blend and not knowing the texture or density it creates when baking can be frustrating to me.
If you don’t have a gluten-free flour blend that you love, you can check out my post on the best gluten-free flour blends and give them a test drive to find one that suits your baking needs.
Dairy-free baking
This gluten-free banana bread is also dairy-free. I eat a dairy-free diet and although the rest of my family does not, they will eat just about anything that I make regardless of whether it’s dairy-free or not.
This recipe is made dairy-free by using coconut milk (I used the carton) and vegan butter in place of what you’d normally find cow’s milk and butter.
If you don’t love coconut milk or vegan butter, you can also use other dairy-free alternatives that you have on hand or like better. Almond, cashew, hemp, or rice milk would also work just fine in this recipe. In place of vegan butter, you can also swap that out for coconut oil, avocado oil, or another neutral flavored oil too.ย
Read on: Does bread have dairy?
Vegan Option
If you are looking for a gluten-free vegan banana bread, you can also make this recipe vegan! While I’m not vegan, I also avoid eggs due to a mild egg allergy. To make this recipe vegan, you can swap out the egg for a flax egg.
To make a flax egg, combine 1 tbsp ground flax seeds plus 3 tablespoons of warm water. You can let that set on the counter for about 5 minutes and it will start to create a gel consistency that is a great egg replacer.
The Best Gluten-free Banana Bread
This gluten-free banana bread is one of my family’s favorites, because it is:
- Moist
- Sweet
- Delicious
- Easy to make
- Smells amazing
- Uses one bowl
- Satisfying
Can I add mix-ins to my gluten-free banana bread?
Yes! You can add 1/2 cup of dairy-free chocolate chips or nuts of your choice to the batter right before transferring it to the baking dish. If you like other mix-ins, feel free to experiment!
How to make gluten-free banana bread in 6 steps
To make this gluten-free banana bread, you only need to take 6 steps! Let’s go through them below.
Step 1. Preheat the oven and prepare loaf pan.
To get started, preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Next, you’ll want to get your loaf pan prepared by lining it with parchment paper. This will help remove the banana bread from the pan much easier than if you just sprayed it with cooking oil, however you can do that too if you’d like to. I like to use an 8″ x 5″ glass loaf pan, but you can use any loaf pan you have on hand.
This is also a good time to prepare your flax egg if you plan to use that in place of a regular egg. To do that, you’ll mix together 1 tbsp ground flax seeds plus 3 tablespoons of warm water. You can let that set on the counter for about 5 minutes. You can add it to the wet ingredients in step 3 after it has created a gel consistency.
This is also a good time to mash the bananas, if you haven’t done so already.
Step 2. Mix together the dry ingredients.
In a large bowl, combine the gluten-free flour, white sugar, coconut or brown sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt. Whisk everything to combine well.
Step 3. Add the wet ingredients.
Next, add the mashed bananas, coconut milk, melted vegan butter, vanilla extract, and egg or flax egg. Whisk together until all the ingredients are incorporated well.
Step 4. Transfer batter to prepared loaf pan.
Once the batter is made, you can transfer it to the loaf pan you’ve prepared. Just pour it into the pan, and smooth out the top. It’s ready to bake!
Step 5. Bake gluten-free banana bread.
Transfer the gluten-free banana bread to the oven and bake for 60 minutes. At 60 minutes, use a toothpick to determine if it’s ready. You’ll know it’s done when a toothpick poked into the center comes out clean. If it doesn’t, add 5 to 10 more minutes of bake time until it does come out clean when tested.
Step 6. Cool and enjoy!
Once you banana bread is baked, the hard part begins – waiting! Let your banana bread cool for about an hour, so that it won’t fall apart when you cut into it. You can eat it as is or smear a little more vegan butter on top. Enjoy!
How long should banana bread cool before cutting?
The hardest part about making gluten-free banana bread is smelling it wafting through your house and needing to wait to cut into it! I recommend waiting at least an hour before cutting into it, so that it doesn’t break apart while it’s still warm. After it’s cooled off, it’s less likely to fall apart while cutting into it.
The Best Gluten-free Banana Bread (Dairy-free and Vegan Option)
This gluten-free banana bread is easy, satisfying, and uses one bowl - and not to mention dairy-free, with a vegan option too.
Ingredients
- 2 cups King Arthur Measure for Measure Gluten-free Flour
- 1/4 cup White Sugar
- 1/2 cup Coconut or Brown Sugar
- 3 tsp Baking Powder
- 1 tsp Cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp Nutmeg
- 1/2 tsp Salt
- 4 Bananas, mashed
- 1/4 cup Coconut Milk (from a carton)
- 1/4 cup vegan butter, melted
- 1 tsp Vanilla Extract
- 1 Egg or Flax Egg (1 Tbsp Ground Flax Meal + 3 Tbsp Warm Water)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F.
- Prepare your loaf pan by placing parchment paper in the bottom, pressing it in. This will allow for easy removal later after your gluten-free banana bread has baked.
- Prepare your flax egg (if using) by combining ground flax meal and warm water in a small bowl. Set aside for 5 minutes.
- In a large mixing bowl, combine the gluten-free flour, white sugar, coconut sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt. Mix together.
- Add the mashed banana, coconut milk, vegan butter, vanilla extract, and egg or flax egg. Mix together, then transfer to the prepared loaf pan, and smooth down the top. Transfer to the oven.
- Bake for 60 minutes at 350 degrees F in the oven. You'll know the banana bread is done when a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
- To remove the bread, lift out the parchment paper. Allow to cool at least 10 minutes (I know this will be hard!) before slicing.
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I hope that if you’ve been on the hunt for a gluten-free banana bread that’s also dairy-free and egg-free, that this recipe inspires you to get into your kitchen and whip up a batch soon!
If you haven’t been sure on how to make your banana bread gluten-free, I hope this has given you the ideas you need to get started. Keep your eyes open for those spotty bananas and get baking.
Love this post? Be sure to check out some of my other great breakfast posts!
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cindy says
Hi,
Can I use almond flour in this recipe?
Thank you!
Rachael Roehmholdt says
Almond flour has a different consistency and absorption than a gluten-free flour blend. If you decide to use almond flour, I’d anticipate the texture would be dense and maybe more moist than this recipe intended to be. That said, I haven’t tried it myself, so let me know if you do it and what happens!
https://www.wonderfulcook.com/ says
Fabulous recipe! It came out perfectly. This one was the most banana bread for me! I will definitely make this recipe again. Thank you!