Gluten Free Banana Bread
Gluten Free Banana Bread is soft and fluffy, made with overripe bananas, brown sugar, and cinnamon, with minimal prep time and bakes in only an hour!
Gluten Free Banana Bread is PERFECT for a quick breakfast on busy mornings! It’s made with simple ingredients and comes together really quickly. You can cut this into slices for a grab-and-go all week. It also freezes well so you can make a double batch and grab it by the slice to put in the toaster!
This is one of my all-time favorite gluten-free recipes, and it will be your new favorite, too! It’s right up there with my Gluten Free Pumpkin Bread. Top with some soft butter and honey, or a tablespoon of almond butter and enjoy with a cup of coffee!
Table of contents
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Quick and Easy: This recipe is really fast to throw together, and doesn’t require any special steps or instructions.
- No Waste: This is a great way to use up bananas that are turning brown on the counter before they go bad!
- Gluten Free: This recipe is 100% gluten free, and you can be confident that you know exactly what’s in it and how it was made!
- Perfect Texture: This banana bread is light and fluffy, with a really nice texture that doesn’t break apart or crumble.
Ingredients You’ll Need
Gluten Free All Purpose Flour. I usually use 1:1 gluten free flour because it works really well with most recipes, and the taste and texture of the banana bread is perfect!
The Bob’s Red Mill Cup-for-Cup and King Arthur’s Measure-for-Measure gluten-free flour blends both contain xanthan gum already, so you won’t have to add any yourself.
Sugar. A mixture of granulated sugar and brown sugar gives the perfect sweetness level with extra flavor and moisture from the brown sugar.
You can still use all of one or the other, if that’s what you have in your pantry.
Chocolate Chips. Use semi-sweet chocolate chips, which balance really well with the sweetness of the bananas. You can also try dark chocolate chips, or white chocolate chips for some variation.
Bananas. Bananas that are over-ripe with brown spots on the skin and a softer center are perfect. Avoid bananas that have already turned brown in the middle.
The softer they are, the more banana flavor you’ll get. I use a fork or a potato masher for mashed bananas. You can also use your stand mixer or electric hand mixer.
A cup of mashed bananas takes about 2-3 overripe bananas, or 2 extra-large bananas. Use additional bananas as-needed.
Baking Powder and Baking Soda. To get the proper rise in the bread and a light and fluffy texture, use a combination of baking soda and double-acting baking powder.
I like my banana bread to be light and soft, so I use a full teaspoon of baking powder and a teaspoon of baking soda. If you want a denser bread, cut these measurements in half.
Spices. I like cinnamon and nutmeg in my banana bread. You can leave these out if you want something more banana-forward. You can also use a teaspoon cinnamon to sprinkle on top for decoration before baking.
Egg. The egg acts as a binder, holding everything together. The yolks also add fat to the recipe, which keeps moisture in the bread.
Butter. I always use unsalted butter so I can control how much salt is in the recipe. The butter has to be softened so you cream the butter and sugar together, which helps the texture of the bread.
You can skip creaming the butter and sugar together and add melted butter or vegetable oil instead, but the bread will be more dense (but still good!).
Kosher Salt. Balances the flavor and sweetness of the banana bread. 1/2 teaspoon salt is perfect.
Vanilla Extract. Adds flavor to the bread. You can add an extra teaspoon vanilla extract if you enjoy the flavor.
Kitchen Tools
For this recipe the only special item you need is a regular 9×5″ loaf pan. It will also help to have a stand mixer or electric hand mixer, but a whisk will also work.
How to Make Gluten Free Banana Bread
Time needed: 1 hour
- Cream together butter and sugar, then add wet ingredients.
Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease a bread pan with cooking spray or butter and dust lightly with gluten free flour. In a medium bowl, use an electric mixer or stand mixer to cream together white sugar and butter. Then mix in brown sugar, vanilla, egg, and mashed bananas.
- Whisk together dry ingredients.
In a separate bowl, whisk together all of the dry ingredients.
- Combine everything.
Slowly add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients, then mix together until just combined.
- Bake
Pour into the prepared loaf pan, and tent the pan with aluminum foil. Bake for 50-60 minutes in a preheated oven, or until the top is golden brown and a toothpick comes out clean.
- Let cool.
Let the banana bread cool for 5-10 minutes in the pan, then carefully transfer the loaf to a wire rack and allow to finish cooling before serving.
Recipe Variations
- Add a cup of chocolate chips, walnuts, chopped almonds, or pecans for chocolate or banana nut bread.
- Scoop this into a muffin tin for gluten free banana muffins.
- Serve toasted with butter and a drizzle of honey or maple syrup. This also goes great with a cup of coffee.
- Replace the banana with canned pumpkin puree to turn this classic banana bread into pumpkin muffins.
Recipe Tip! If I’m making this is my stand mixer, I’ll use the mixer to mash the bananas first. Mash them on a low speed. You can also use an electric hand mixer!
How to Ripen Bananas Quickly
You don’t need to wait for brown bananas to make this amazing banana bread! Here’s a few ways to make over-ripe bananas the same day, so you don’t have to wait to make this gluten-free banana bread recipe.
- Baking Bananas! Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and bake loose bananas in the oven at 400°F for 5 minutes, or until they’ve browned.
- Use the Microwave. Poke holes in the banana peels, then place in a bowl and microwave for 30 seconds at a time. It will take about 2 minutes to ripen the bananas.
- Let Nature Speed It Up! Place the bananas in a paper bag (preferably with an apple) and fold the top to close the bag. The paper bag traps ethylene gas and helps ripen the fruit faster. This should take about 24 hours for ripe bananas, so do it the day before.
- Keep Them Warm. Store the bananas in a warm place, keeping the bunch together. This may be the longest way out of all the methods, but they’ll ripen fast.
Frequently Asked Questions
Banana bread can end up rubbery when the batter is over-mixed, but because this banana bread is gluten free we don’t have to worry as much about this.
If you have gummy banana bread, you may have added too much xanthan gum. Try using a gluten free 1:1 baking flour that already has the xanthan gum added in, so you don’t have to worry about adding it separately.
Here’s a few tips that can keep your banana bread moist and stop it from turning into crumbs!
Flour mixture. Try to use a cup-for-cup flour mixture that already contains xanthan gum. The xanthan gum works as a replacement for gluten and helps hold everything together.
Don’t over-bake. Watch your time closely, adding 5 minutes at a time until a toothpick comes out clean. Baking the bread for too long will result in a dry crumbly texture.
The oven is too hot. If your oven temperature is hotter than what it’s set for, too much moisture will evaporate and your banana bread will dry out and get crumbly. This problem is pretty common. Use an oven thermometer to make sure the oven temperature is working correctly.
Measure ingredients. Use a butter knife to level the measure cups. Adding too much flour or other dry ingredients can create a dry texture.
The biggest thing that you can do for gluten free baking is choose the right gluten-free flour blend. There are a lot of options nowadays, and some really good mainstream ones that have a good balance of starch and protein.
Try to choose a brand that has xanthan gum already so you don’t need to add it separately. And if you use a 1:1 flour blend, you can substitute regular flour recipes with the 1:1 gluten free flour.
Recipe Tip! If you don’t have a dedicated bread pan you can use a meatloaf pan. You may need to do two batches and reduce the baking time slightly if your pan is smaller. Refrigerate the batter in-between if you’re making the second loaf of banana bread later.
How to Make Banana Bread Dairy Free
If you need a dairy-free or vegan option, there’s a few easy swaps you can make.
- Swap the butter for vegetable oil.
- If you’re vegan, swap the egg for 1/4 cup applesauce.
Storage
Refrigerate leftover pieces in an airtight container for up to a week.
Freeze gluten-free banana bread wrapped in a few layers of plastic wrap and placed in an airtight container for 3-4 months. You can also wrap the slices individually, then reheat in the toaster oven.
More Banana Bread Recipes
- Chocolate Banana Bread
- Vegan Banana Muffins
- Chocolate Chip Banana Bread
- Chocolate Chip Banana Muffins
Cooking Tips
- After greasing the bread pan, lightly dust it with gluten free flour. Turn the pan upside down and tap it a few times to remove any excess flour before adding your banana bread batter.
- Add banana slices decoratively on top of the bread before baking for an optional banana topping.
- If you use melted butter instead of creaming together the butter and sugar, this banana bread recipe will turn out more dense. Creaming the butter first helps lift the bread for a more fluffy texture.
If you loved this recipe, be sure to leave a 5 Star review below, and tag me with a photo of your finished recipe on Instagram @Jacqui_DishingDelish!
Gluten Free Banana Bread
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
- 1/2 cup white sugar
- 1/2 cup light brown sugar
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 large egg
- 2 cups overripe bananas, mashed
- 2 cups gluten free all-purpose flour , 1:1
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
Equipment
- 1 bread pan
- 1 electric hand mixer or stand mixer
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease a bread pan with cooking spray or butter and dust lightly with gluten free flour.
- In a medium bowl, use an electric mixer or stand mixer to cream together white sugar and butter. Then mix in brown sugar, vanilla, egg, and mashed bananas.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together all of the dry ingredients. Slowly add the dry ingredients to the banana mixture, mixing together until just combined. Pour into the loaf pan, and tent the pan with aluminum foil.
- Bake for 50-60 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean. Remove the aluminum foil for the last 10 minutes to get a golden brown top. Let the banana bread cool before serving.
Notes
- If you don’t have a dedicated bread pan you can use a meatloaf pan. You may need to reduce the cooking time if the pan is smaller.
- After greasing the bread pan, lightly dust it with gluten free flour. Turn the pan upside down and tap it a few times to remove any excess flour before adding your banana bread batter.
Nutrition
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