Grain Free Banana Bread Recipe

I developed this gluten-free banana bread recipe in response to one of the most common questions on my healthy banana bread recipe: “Can I make this with almond flour?”

While my go-to banana bread recipe offers other gluten-free options within the post (including a delicious oat flour option), the almond flour answer is not as straightforward. I think it took me seven tries to get this recipe just right!

I modified the recipe to work with almond flour, which might be helpful if it’s your preferred flour, or you happen to have a surplus in your pantry.

Cinnamon Swirl Gluten Free Banana Bread

This banana bread is very tender, moist and decadent. These qualities are natural by-products of using almond flour and additional eggs to hold the bread together. This “bread” almost reminds me of pound cake in texture, and it could definitely pass as banana cake—perhaps you’d like to top it with cream cheese frosting.

While it’s different in texture from my favorite banana bread, this gluten-free banana bread is awesome in its own right. Like the other recipe, it’s easy to mix together—by hand, in one bowl, no less! It’s also naturally sweetened with honey or maple syrup. And, I believe it qualifies as paleo as well. Ready to make some?

I basically crossed my healthy banana bread recipe with the lemony-almond blueberry cake in my cookbook, Love Real Food (page 197). Here are the changes I made, and why:

Gluten Free Dairy Free Banana Bread For Celiacs Recipe

Almond flour is actually lighter than “regular” flour (all purpose or whole wheat) when you’re measuring them in the same fashion (stirred, spooned into cups, and leveled with a knife). One cup of regular flour weighs about 125 grams, whereas one cup of almond flour weighs about 92 grams. I’ve found that flour substitutions work out better when you keep the weight constant. For example, 1 3/4 cups (220 grams) regular flour is the equivalent of 2 1/2 cups (230 grams, close enough) almond flour.

This is also true for oat flour. Interestingly, with almond flour, I’ve found that another way to keep the weight constant is to simply pack the almond flour into the measuring cups. When fully packed, you can use the original measurement of 1 3/4 cups.

Almonds, like all nuts, naturally contain some oil. They contain more oil than the very small amount you’ll find in whole wheat flour. Fun fact: all-purpose flour has been stripped of all oils, which is why it keeps longer.

Gluten Free Banana Bread Recipe (with Almond Flour)

I was able to reduce the amount of oil in this recipe slightly, by dropping the oil from 1/3 cup to 1/4 cup. In fact, I was able to get by with as little as 2 tablespoons oil in this recipe, but I love the rich texture produced by 1/4 cup.

Regular flour absorbs far more moisture than almond flour, which is hardly absorptive at all. I found that I didn’t need the small amount of milk (1/4 cup) called for in the original recipe.

Eggs are absolutely key to achieving a proper rise for baked goods made with almond flour. Most of my baked goods made with regular flour call for two eggs, while this one requires four, or the middle will be deeply sunken in and wet. (In fact, these pictures show the bread slightly sinking in the middle, but my other batches were perfectly mounded—perhaps the eggs used for the photos were smaller than the eggs I had used in previous tests).

Banana Bread With Almond Flour

Why do you need more eggs? Regular flours contain gluten, which is a protein that provides structure. It essentially creates a framework that fills with air pockets and stays lofty after baking. Almond flour is gluten free, which means that we’re going to have to find structure elsewhere. Real eggs are the only solution that I know of that can provide sufficient structure. Do not try to make this bread with flax eggs instead—you’ll end up with an unappetizing pudding-like situation.

Baking powder. Baking powder is double-acting, which means that it starts producing bubbles when mixed with liquid, and produces more bubbles when it’s heated.

Since we added baking powder (which actually contains some baking soda), we’ll decrease the amount of baking soda. Another reason is that baking soda is much stronger than baking powder, and we simply need less when they’re used together.

Almond Flour Banana Bread (gluten Free, No Sugar)

In summary: The answer to the question, “Can I substitute almond flour?” is not so simple! The good news is that I use a similar formula for many of my quick bread recipes (like my pumpkin bread and zucchini bread) and muffins, so you can likely use this recipe as a template to adjust the others.

I’ve used almond meal interchangeably with almond flour in the past, but I strongly recommend using almond flour (made with blanched almonds) in this recipe for the best texture and flavor. I used Bob’s Red Mill’s super-fine almond flour (affiliate link).

Some of my other recipes specify packing the almond flour into the measuring cups, whereas for this one, you’ll measure the flour as you would any other (stir, spoon into cups, and level with a knife). You can read the reasoning behind this at the beginning of the previous section.

Perfect Gluten Free Banana Bread

This is really important! Generously oil and flour your loaf pan as shown in the photo above. If it looks excessive, you’re doing it right. If you don’t sufficiently oil/flour the pan, you might have trouble removing the loaf from the pan after baking.

Almond flour baked goods, since they’re gluten free, are especially delicate when they’re warm. You’ll need to let this bread cool in the pan for at least 30 minutes before you try to remove it from the pan or slice it. Trust me!

Make this almond flour-based banana bread for a gluten-free treat (it’s paleo, too). Enjoy it for breakfast or a sweet snack. It’s decadent enough to pass as banana cake, especially if you top it with cream cheese frosting. Recipe yields 1 loaf, which is about 10 slices.

Sugar Free Banana Bread

Recipe adapted from my healthy banana bread (which also offers gluten-free options for oat flour and gluten-free all-purpose flour), and the lemony-almond blueberry cake in my cookbook, Love Real Food (page 197).

Change it up: If you want to make this bread extra fruity, you could add up to 1 cup blueberries (lightly floured in almond flour so they don’t sink). Your bread may need up to 1 hour 10 minutes in the oven with this addition. Or, I suspect you could add ½ cup mix-ins like chopped walnuts, pecans or chocolate chips without needing to adjust the baking time.

Storage suggestions: This bread is quite moist and will keep at room temperature for a couple of days, in the refrigerator for up to 5 days, or freeze it for up to several months (slice it first if you’d like to be able to grab a single serving).

Gluten Free Banana Bread

Egg free/vegan note: I always try to offer substitution options when possible, but this recipe is highly dependent upon real eggs for structure and lift. I do not know of a workable alternative.

The information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice. See our full nutrition disclosure here.

Please let me know how it turned out for you! Leave a comment below and share a picture on Instagram with the hashtag #.

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© Cookie and Kate 2010 - 2023. All rights reserved. Cookie and Kate is a registered trademark of Cookie and Kate LLC.This easy banana bread is moist and delicious—and just happens to be gluten-free. With this simple recipe and your favorite gluten-free flour on hand, no one will know the difference.

I’ve been gluten-free for over 15 years. When I’m craving something, I don’t want a version of it that tastes “good for being gluten-free.” I want it to be as good as the real thing, and this banana bread delivers! It’s soft and moist and has a straightforward banana flavor that’s enhanced only by a touch of vanilla.

Vegan Gluten Free Banana Bread Recipe

Gluten is an elastic protein found in wheat (and barley and rye) that gives structure and a satisfying chewiness. Without it, gluten-free baked goods have the potential to be dense, crumbly, and disappointing even if the flavor is on point. But they don’t have to be!

With the right recipe, you can end up with a final product that is just as good or, dare I say, even better than the gluten-filled version. The best candidates for easy gluten-free transformation are recipes that don’t rely on the structure and chewiness that gluten provides.

Banana bread is a perfect example. It gets its moistness from the mashed bananas, structure from the egg, and chewiness from the melted butter—the flour contributes less than 50 percent of what it takes to make this loaf!

Gluten Free Banana, Coconut And Lemon Loaf

Not to mention, one of the pitfalls of making gluten-filled baked goods is over-mixing the batter. This develops the gluten and results in an unpleasant toughness. With our gluten-free batter, this is a non-issue.

These days, there are many brands that