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.
Gluten Free Marbled Chocolate Banana Quick Bread Recipe
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:
Almond Flour Blueberry Banana Bread • The Healthy Toast
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.
Healthy Banana Bread Recipe
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).
Easy Almond Flour Banana Bread W/eggless Option
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.
Healthy Chocolate Banana Bread (gluten Free!)
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.
Healthy 4 Ingredient 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.
Gluten 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 Recipe (with Almond Flour)
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 #.
Paleo Banana Bread
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© Cookie and Kate 2010 - 2023. All rights reserved. Cookie and Kate is a registered trademark of Cookie and Kate LLC.If you are looking for an incredible classic Almond Flour Banana Bread recipe, you’ve come to the right spot. It’s sweetened with maple syrup, has ripe bananas, and the perfect touch of cinnamon in every bite. It’s fluffy, moist, and super simple to make.
Making and eating bread is one of my favorite pastimes. 🙂 Once you try it, you will totally understand my obsession. The aroma of freshly baking bread is enough to make me drool, and it makes that first bite pure heaven.
Almond Flour Banana Bread Recipe (gf)
Almond flour gives the bread a lovely nutty flavor that goes so well with the bananas and other ingredients. The texture is so fabulous you wouldn’t even know that it doesn’t have flour in it if you didn’t make it yourself. Take it to your next potluck or party and everyone will be so excited about it.
This banana bread is so easy, and it comes together in a snap. The part that takes the longest is part is waiting for it to bake, but it’s a great time to clean up and work on other things.
Warm your oven to 325 degrees and line your baking pan with parchment paper. Mash the bananas in a large mixing bowl and mix in the eggs, maple syrup, coconut oil, and vanilla with a whisk.
Almond Flour Banana Bread (gluten Free, One Bowl!)
Add in the almond flour, cinnamon, baking soda, baking powder, and salt until everything is incorporated. Then transfer the bread dough to the loaf pan and bake for 50 minutes or until they are cooked all the way through.
What I enjoy
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