Healthy Banana Bread Recipe Using Almond Flour

This easy recipe for almond flour banana bread is moist, tender, and full of banana flavor. This healthy banana bread recipe is also naturally gluten-free, grain-free, and dairy-free. The recipe also includes a how-to video!

Banana bread is one of the most popular treats to bake. It’s a sweet quick bread that is does not require yeast, but it is leavened with baking powder and baking soda.

Gluten

This almond flour banana bread recipe is made a little different than my gluten-free banana bread recipe because it is made with almond flour. Baking with almond flour is different than baking with traditional wheat flour or gluten-free flour blends made with rice. It has a mild nutty flavor, and baked goods made with almond flour have a thicker and denser texture.

The Best Gluten Free Banana Bread

Almond flour is also packed with protein, healthy fats, and fiber. Almond flour is also gluten-free, grain-free, and is low in carbohydrates.

Making almond flour banana bread is an easy one-bowl recipe. It only takes a few simple ingredients to make this banana quick bread. You can see just how easy it is to make in the detailed recipe photos and recipe video.

Bananas: The bananas not only gives this bread it’s flavor, but also is key for the bread’s moist texture. The bananas are the reason this bread does not need oil.

Oat Flour Banana Bread

Almond flour: It is essential for the texture to use super fine blanched almond flour and not almond meal. Almond meal is ground almonds that still has the skins. Using almond meal will change the texture and flavor of the banana bread.

Sweetener: I have used both granulated sugar and pure maple syrup for this recipe. However, you can use other sweeteners like honey, coconut sugar, or even a sugar-free option like monk fruit, xylitol, or erythritol in this recipe.

Yes, almond flour is gluten-free. The flour is made by finely grinding blanched almonds into a flour. Almond flour is also grain-free and is a low carb flour. It is often used in Paleo and Keto recipes as well.

Healthy Almond Flour Banana Bread

The banana bread can be easily frozen once completely cooled. Wrap the loaf with foil or plastic wrap and then place in a plastic freezer bag. The loaf can be frozen for up to 3 months.

This almond flour banana bread is easily made with ingredient substitutions for those following a vegan, low carb, paleo, or keto diet.

You are going to love how easy this almond flour banana bread is to make! This super moist banana quick bread is a healthy treat.

Almond Flour Banana Bread (no Added Sugar)

This easy recipe for almond flour banana bread is moist, tender, and full of banana flavor. This healthy banana bread recipe is also naturally gluten-free, grain-free, and dairy-free.The recipe also includes a how-to video!

Serving: 1 slice | Calories: 413 kcal | Carbohydrates: 29 g | Protein: 14 g | Fat: 30 g | Saturated Fat: 2 g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.2 g | Monounsaturated Fat: 0.4 g | Trans Fat: 0.004 g | Cholesterol: 37 mg | Sodium: 182 mg | Potassium: 133 mg | Fiber: 7 g | Sugar: 15 g | Vitamin A: 72 IU | Vitamin C: 2 mg | Calcium: 142 mg | Iron: 3 mg

© MAMA KNOWS GLUTEN FREE. All images & content are copyright protected. Please do not use my images without prior permission. If you want to republish this recipe, please link back to this post for the 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?”

Almond Flour Banana Bread (gluten Free, No Sugar)

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.

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.

Almond Flour Banana Bread (gluten Free)

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 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.

Healthy Banana Bread (whole Wheat)

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

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.

Paleo Double Chocolate Banana Bread

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).

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.

Gluten Free Banana Bread Recipe (with Almond Flour)

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.

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.

Keto

Healthy Eggless Banana Bread (video Recipe)

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.

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.

Easy Almond Flour Banana Bread

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