The Best Gluten-Free Banana Bread! EASY to make with perfect texture and delicious flavor! Sure to become your go-to recipe!
This banana bread is a long-time reader and family favorite! This recipe has a few tricks so you get soft, moist, easy-to-slice and completely delicious gluten-free banana bread every time.
Is there anything better than a piece of warm banana bread slathered in butter? Dreamy. Everyone needs a go-to banana bread recipe!
Since going gluten-free I have tried a TON of banana bread recipes. Over the years I’ve decided my Mom’s recipe from growing up – tweaked to be made gluten-free – is my favorite tried-and-true banana bread recipe.
It is moist with the perfect amount of sweetness and banana flavor like traditional banana bread. Not to mention an ideal texture that is not crumbly, mushy or gummy like gluten-free baked goods can often be. This banana bread has moist crumbs
Whenever I have brown bananas on my counter this is hands down my favorite thing to make! (Close 2nd is this gluten-free banana cake!)
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Why You’ll LOVE This Recipe!
- Amazing crumb and texture
- Soft and moist – but not crumbly or gummy
- Stays delicious for up to 3 days
- Naturally dairy-free
- Easy to make!
VIDEO: How to Make It
This easy recipe is one of my favorite gluten-free breads of all time! If you love this bread be sure to try this gluten-Free pumpkin bread and this gluten-free zucchini bread. You also might like these banana pancakes or gluten-free banana muffins. Both recipes are made with the same gluten-free ingredients!
Ingredients You’ll Need
Here are a few notes on the key ingredients for this gluten free banana bread recipe:
- Gluten-Free 1:1 Baking Flour: I like to use a high quality gluten-free flour blend like gluten-free measure-for-measure flour blend like King Arthur Flour in my baked goods. It works best to use a blend that contains xanthan gum in this recipe.
- Almond Flour: Helps with texture and browning. A touch of almond flour is also my secret to The Best Gluten-Free Chocolate Chip Cookies. See the recipe card for nut-free instructions.
- Shortening: shortening gives this banana bread an irresistible crumb and texture. It also makes if so no dairy-free option is needed! I use organic palm shortening. My Mom used to use Crisco. Butter will work as well!
- A splash of milk: A few tablespoons of milk (or almond milk) help make this moist banana bread.
- Mix-ins! Add any mix-ins like chocolate chips, nuts or blueberries that you like! The possibilities are endless. You can use up to 3/4 cup of any mix-in.
Note: A tub of palm shortening will keep at room temperature in your pantry for many months. I always keep a tub of it around to make this banana bread when we have brown bananas!
How to Make It
Start by whisking together the the gluten free all purpose flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
In a separate bowl, mash up some overripe bananas and measure out 1 cup. It’s important to use exactly 1 cup of mashed bananas for the right texture.
This recipe also doubles great. The recipe takes about 2 1/2 bananas per loaf. So if you have 5 over-ripe bananas sitting around make two loaves! Nobody at my house complains when I do that!
- In a large mixing bowl, add the shortening and sugar. Beat with an electric mixer until fluffy
- Add the eggs, a teaspoon vanilla extract and almond milk and beat for 1-2 minutes until light and combined.
- Add the 1/2 the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix to combine.
- Add half the bananas and mix to combine. Repeat with the other 1/2 dry ingredients and bananas. (Adding them alternately helps the batter hydrate.) Fold in any mix-ins with a spatula.
- Pour batter and smooth batter into the prepared loaf pan.
- Bake for 50-60 minutes until toothpick inserted in the center of the loaf comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes in the pan then on a wire rack until fully cooled.
Mix-Ins
This gluten-free banana bread is such a great base recipe! I love it a classic banana bread loaf, but if you want to add in mix-ins go for it! You can add 1/2 cup of the following:
- chocolate chips
- chopped walnuts
- chopped pecans
- blueberries
- coconut
My kids are a huge fan of making this banana bread an extra special treat with the additional of chocolate chips.
Substititions
MAKE IT DAIRY-FREE: Yes! Organic palm shortening is naturally dairy-free. Use almond milk for the milk and this banana bread will be dairy-free.
MAKE IT NUT-FREE: Swap the almond flour out for ⅓ cup more of gluten-free 1:1 baking flour. Use regular milk or rice milk in place of the almond milk.How should I store this?
Storing Gluten-Free Banana Bread
Store any leftover fully cooled banana bread tightly wrapped in plastic wrap at room temperature. It will keep for up to 2 days.
You can freeze the unsliced, whole loaf by wrapping it tightly in plastic wrap and placing the loaf in a ziploc bag. Thaw the banana bread to room temperature before serving.
Gluten-Free Banana Bread FAQs
The secret to making delicious gluten-free banana bread is to use the right amount of bananas and shortening for the fat. Too much banana can destabilize the crumb and result in gummy banana bread. Butterfat also cause the crumb to clump up, so shortening works best!
Gluten-free banana bread is moist from using very overripe bananas and a combination of gluten-free 1:1 baking flour and almond flour for the dry ingredients. Almond flour adds moisture and flavor to the loaf so you have moist crumbs in the final product!
Yes! Baking powder is important to use with gluten-free flour when baking to give gluten-free baked goods the proper rise. Baking powder makes gluten-free banana bread have a lighter crumb and texture.
More Gluten-Free Baking Recipes
Happy Baking! I hope you love this gluten-free banana bread recipe as much as we do! If you try it be sure to leave me a comment/rating below. I’d love to hear from you!
The Best Gluten-Free Banana Bread
Video
Ingredients
Dry Ingredients:
- 1 cup gluten-free 1-to-1 all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup almond flour
- 1 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 3/4 teaspoon salt
Other:
- 1/3 cup shortening or butter I use palm shortening
- 2/3 cup sugar
- 2 eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 2 tablespoons almond milk or regular milk
- 1 cup mashed ripe banana about 2-3 bananas
- 1/2 cup chopped walnuts pecans, blueberries or chocolate chips (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350F. Grease a 9×5 loaf pan with cooking spray.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients. Mash the bananas together in a small bowl.
- In a large bowl, add the shortening and sugar. Beat with an electric mixer until fluffy and combined. Add the eggs, vanilla and almond milk and beat for 1-2 minutes until light and combined.
- Add the 1/2 the dry ingredients and mix to combine. Add half the bananas and mix to combine. Repeat with the other 1/2 dry ingredients and bananas. (Adding them alternately helps the batter hydrate.) Fold in any mix-ins with a spatula.
- Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Bake for 50-60 minutes until toothpick inserted in the center of the loaf comes out clean.
- Cool for five minutes in the pan. Gently turn out onto a cooling rack and cool completely. Enjoy! Store covered at room temperature.
Wow, It was very moist and tasty indeed! Don’t feel like I am eating a gluten-free banana bread at all! I reduced the sugar (used coconut sugar) to half as I thought the bananas already contain lots of sugar and it tasted just right! Thank you for this recipe Erin!
The best banana bread!!!I often get requests to make this bread from my husband who is not GF as well as my good friends.
I’m so glad you like the recipe! Always great when non-GF people love it too.
By far the BEST GF bananna bread I have ever made. I felt as if I had scored a touch down when I took my first bite of this perfection. To whoever is reding this: YOU MUST MAKE THIS!
Thank you Erin for this recipe!
-Raine
Thank you so much for this recipe. Best ever. I’ve made it twice now and it’s lovely. So moist and tasty. I used walnuts in the first and pumpkin seeds in the second.
I’m so glad you like it! Those additions sound delicious!
I have made this twice and it is awesome! Everyone loved it! Thanks
Five stars! This is the most perfectly moist banana bread! It’s hard not to have more than one piece 🙂
Wonderful! If my non gluten free husband likes it and readily eats it, then I know it works. I used butter and whole milk and raisins in my banana bread. My mother always put raisins in hers, so I like to use them too. Perfect banana flavor and nice crumb too. I love having a banana bread because sometimes a slice is all I want at breakfast. This is going to be my go-to recipe! Thank you!
This GF banana bread recipe truly is “the best”! The texture is perfect and the flavor divine. The most recent time I made this recipe was a few days ago, when I had 5 ripe bananas begging to be turned into bread. I doubled the recipe as per the instructions, but realized I was 1/4 cup short on mashed bananas. With no applesauce to be found, I opted to sub nonfat greek yogurt. I also decided to try using coconut oil as the fat, because I have about a gallon of it after my last trip to BJs. I was definitely worried about the texture of the batter, as even after vigorous mixing with an electric mixed it still looked lumpy and sad thanks to the chunks of coconut oil. I prayed to the baking goddess and put them in the oven, and when they came out all my fears evaporated. The real test, of course, came when they had cooled, and my goodness I’m surprised I didn’t eat a whole loaf right there. I regained my self control and put one in the freezer, and went to town on the other. So, fellow bakers, I had total success subbing up to 2 tbsp per loaf of bananas with greek yogurt, and using coconut oil as the fat. I also added 1/4 cup each of chopped pecans and chocolate chips to one loaf, and the results were divine. Happy baking!
Thanks for the comment! So glad to know it worked out with those substitutions. 🙂
This is my go to recipe for great banana bread. Yum!
This banana bread is awesome! So moist and flavorful. It’s a keeper.. thank you for the recipe!
I’m glad you liked it! 🙂
I made with Lakanto monk fruit sugar & used a 1:1 ratio for the substitution. Also, i did everything in food cuisinart to assemble. Unbelievable how D-Lish this recipe is!!!! Omgosh ty!!!!!
Sounds perfect can’t wait to try it
Well this gluten free banana bread is a real keeper. I had 9 frozen bananas so I tripled the recipe and made three loaves. It uses a combo of 1:1 flour and almond flour. I also used 1.5 cups of chopped walnuts ( 1/2 c per loaf) and I also added an extra 3 tbsp of lactose free milk ( 1 tbsp per loaf) and an extra tsp of vanilla . Baked for 58 minutes at 350 ( 50 just wasn’t quite enough) . Came out perfectly! Moist ( not grainy at all) and great banana flavour. I also used Fluffo shortening.
This was so good. I replaced the sugar with organic stevia ,and used no sugar added chocolate chips AMAZING!!
Turned out amazing! So yummy.
I don’t eat eggs so I subbed in bobs red mill egg replacer and then used butter instead of shortening but wow the texture is just perfect.