The Best Gluten Free Banana Bread

Remembering my mom and all of the baking we did together, I overhauled her 1950’s banana bread recipe. Out with the white flour, refined white sugar and nasty partially hydrogenated fat. In with gluten-free flour, coconut sugar and coconut oil. What a difference 50 years makes. Here is my modern recipe for the best gluten free banana bread!

Gluten Free Banana Bread

Mom’s original 1950 banana bread recipe used granulated white sugar, Crisco, and standard all-purpose white flour. This was the way to bake then, no questions asked. How things have changed. We now know how unhealthy those ingredients are. So how to save an old favorite recipe? Here’s how.

Gluten Free Flour Options

There are options for gluten-free flours: buy a gluten-free blend or make your own blend. I tested this recipe with both pre-blended and home-blended flours. 

For a purchased blend, I use Bob’s Red Mill 1:1 Baking Flour (blue bag) with great results. I’ve also tried their All-Purpose GF flour blend and a brand called Cup 4 Cup. Each blend is different (read the ingredient label) so you’re results might be different based upon your choice.

Creating your own blend requires teff flour, sweet rice flour, brown rice flour and sorghum flour plus cornstarch. This loaf has a rich brown, almost chocolaty color, a tender crust, slices nicely and tastes fantastic. I realize you’ve got to love baking to do this version but I wanted to include it.

Tools

To create your own GF blend you’ll need a digital kitchen scale, a terrific and inexpensive addition to your kitchen. Weighing ingredients is more accurate and actually faster.

I use a light silver colored, uncoated, heavyweight aluminized steel loaf pan. The one I use is made by Chicago Metallic and measures approximately 10″ x 5″. If your pan is a different size, you may need to adjust your baking time.

Lastly, a food processor makes it easy to mix sticky bananas, oil and other ingredients.

For another delicious gluten-free bread try this Irish soda bread.

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The Best Gluten Free Banana Bread

This overhaul of my mom's 1950's recipe uses gluten-free fours, coconut oil and coconut sugar. Use either a pre-blended flour or create your own. See notes at thend end of the recipe. To reduce sugar, use half coconut sugar and half monk fruit/erythritol blend.

Course Breakfast, Snack

Cuisine American

Keyword Banana, Bread, Gluten-free

Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 50 minutes

Total Time 1 hour

Servings 10

Calories 300kcal

Equipment

• Food Processor
• Light colored metal loaf baking pan

Ingredients

• 1 1/4 cups + 3 tablespoons gluten-free flour blend Bob's Red Mill 1:1 Gf Flour (blue bag) 219 grams
• 1 1/4 teaspoons baking soda
• 3/4 teaspoons baking powder aluminum-free
• 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
• 3 large ripe bananas, peeled 1 pound after peeling
• 1 cup coconut sugar or 1/2 sugar, 1/2 monk fruit blend
• 1/2 cup unrefined organic coconut oil, melted plus extra to grease pan
• 2 large eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Optional Adds

• 1/2 cup chopped walnuts
• 1/4 cup unsweetened flaked coconut

Instructions

• Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees. Using a paper towel, grease a light colored metal baking pan, approximately 5 1/2″ x 10 1/2″ (14×27 cm) with a teaspoon of coconut oil.
• To a medium bowl add flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt and whisk or stir to combine. To the bowl of a food processor fitted with the S blade add bananas, sugar, oil, eggs and vanilla. Pulse to combine until smooth. Add the dry ingedients and pulse until just blended.
• Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for approximately 50 minutes. The top will feel firm to the touch and a toothpick inserted into the center will come out clean with just a few moist crumbs. Remove from the oven and cool on a wire rack for 15 minutes. Run a long thin knife or metal spatula between the pan and bread to loosen it if needed, then turn the bread out on a wire rack to cool completely before slicing. Freeze what you don’t eat within a couple days.

Notes

GLUTEN-FREE FLOUR NOTES

For Bob’s Red Mill All Purpose blend use 1 3/4 cups or 9 ounces. For the Cup4cup blend use 1 3/4 cups or 9 3/4 ounces. Add add 3/4 teaspoon xanthan gum or guar gum to these as they do not have. The BRM blue bag already contains it.

MY HOME BLEND FLOUR

66 grams organic cornstarch, 53 grams teff flour, 50 grams sorghum flour, 25 grams sweet rice flour, and 3/4 teaspoon xanthan gum. Whisk together in a bowl until combined and use in place of the 1 cup GF blend.

Nutrition

Calories: 300kcal | Carbohydrates: 36g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 18g | Saturated Fat: 11g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 37mg | Sodium: 274mg | Potassium: 198mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 16g | Vitamin A: 81IU | Vitamin C: 4mg | Calcium: 42mg | Iron: 1mg