Last Updated on August 22, 2023 by Deliciously Organic
Banana bread is a comforting staple, and now it can be grain-free!
Somedays I start feeling discouraged about the food situation in America. I try to focus on the good being done by so many, but it often seems we’re up against giants. The companies that produce GMOs or sell foods with dozens of harmful ingredients have footholds everywhere I look. I wish politicians who promise to require labeling would follow through, but can they? I don’t really know.
I see so many uncertain factors about GMOs. Consumers are in the dark, and many big brands don’t want food labeling. Some companies support the labeling, though. It’s made a difference in my grocery shopping. A few weeks ago I was about to buy a food sold by a company opposed to GMO labeling. I quickly remembered their stance, looked around the aisle and found the food I needed from a company supporting transparency. I never thought I’d buy food this way, but for me, it’s important. Enough of our tax dollars subsidize the growth of GM crops. I don’t want my grocery money to support companies opposing accurate food labeling. I certainly support giving consumers the ability to make an educated decision. Has it made a difference in your shopping?
Adding confusion, some companies play both sides of the field. “It’s been reported that Nestle has donated $1.16 million to oppose GMO labels in California and yet a top Nestle executive went on record saying that customers should be the ones to decide about genetically modified foods.” What? From a marketing standpoint I can see why they would play both sides, but isn’t it sad that we don’t really know what or who to believe?
http://youtu.be/Lni6OAJz3skAs I was thinking about this, I was encouraged because a long-term study from France was published a few days ago showing the possible damaging effects of Roundup herbicide and genetically modified corn. Why is this encouraging? In a time when companies like Monsanto spend millions to “prove” their products don’t need scrutiny, a study like this may shed new light on the topic and get people thinking about what’s in their food.
I’m not a California citizen, so I can’t vote to support Prop 37, but I want to do what I can to get the word out. If this passes, it may begin a domino effect, giving us all the choice whether we want to purchase foods containing GMOs.
And now for the banana bread. If you’re looking for grain free, see the recipe below. Or if you need a gluten free bread (with grains) or whole wheat bread I’ve provided all options for you. It’s a basic recipe that you can add all sorts of mix-ins to, such as walnuts, pecans, chocolate chips, shredded zucchini, raisins, etc. After testing a few loaves, I had some leftover bread, cut it into cubes, dried them in the oven and my kids ate the little cubes with whole yogurt for breakfast. A great option!
PrintBanana Bread (Grain Free, Gluten Free, Paleo, Primal)
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 55 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour 10 minutes
- Yield: Makes one 5 x 9 - inch loaf
- Category: Baking
- Diet: Gluten Free
Ingredients
For the batter:
- 6 large eggs
- 1/3 cup coconut milk
- 1/4 cup honey (I used clover)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 8 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted (you can substitute with coconut oil)
- 3/4 cup coconut flour
- 1/2 cup almond flour
- 2 teaspoons grain-free baking powder*
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon Celtic sea salt
- 1 cup ripe bananas, mashed (about 2 large bananas)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350ºF and adjust rack to middle position. Place all ingredients in the bowl of a food processor and process until smooth. Pour into a buttered loaf pan (I always use a glass loaf pan to ensure even baking). Bake for 40-55 minutes until tester inserted in the middle comes out with a few moist crumbs attached. Cool for 10 minutes and then invert bread onto a cooling rack.
*To make homemade grain-free baking powder combine 1 part baking soda, 1 part arrowroot powder and 2 parts cream of tartar. Store in an airtight container for up to 6 months.
This recipe looks great….love all of the ingredients. I just recently went Paleo and it is so nice to see blogs posting Paleo friendly recipes that look super delicious…..makes it a tad bit easier. 😉
I’m looking forward to trying this! Thank you also for helping spread the word on prop 37; this is one of the times I am glad to be here in CA.
Hi What can you use instead of eggs I am allergic to dairy also Thx
I’m sorry, but I don’t have a substitution for the eggs. The recipe includes diary free options. Is there another option that you were looking for?
Try 1 tbs of ground flax seed and 3 tbs of water, mix then let it sit for 1-3 mins (to thicken). This will replace 1 large egg.
I’ve used chia seeds mixed with water in corn bread instead of egg and it was even better
you can use egg replacement with chia seed or even flax seeds after you soak them, I know the answers a bit late maybe but maybe it will help someone as for the Dairy people use coconut milk or cream to get a thicker texture .
I will be trying this recipe tonight ! I wanted to compliment you on an awesome website for organic nutrition. It’s like an adventure shopping for food nowadays. With all the research that’s has been established you would think GMO would be banned from this country, but we know how money walks here. Thank goodness to WHOLEFOODS they make food shopping easier.
Eggs are not dairy.
I do not have coconut flour on hand. Can I just substitute it with more almond flour or quinoa flour? Just need to be dairy free, not gluten free.
You can try that if you’d like, but I haven’t tested it, so I’m not sure how it will turn out. The coconut flour gives the bread stability so that it doesn’t fall apart. You could also check out the other two versions I have – gluten free and/or whole wheat: https://deliciouslyorganic.net/whole-wheat-banana-bread-recipe/
I thought almonds surpress the thyroid. Can u use almond flour in this recipe with hashimoto?
Almonds do not suppress the thyroid and are safe to consume.
Just what I needed to satisfy my major bread cravings right now. Been grain free for 3 weeks (2 months with very minimal grain
I used the quinoa flour in the cauliflower pizza crust recipe (which is great, thanks so much) and it turned out just fine. I will try it in this bananna bread as well since I already have it.
That’s my kind of paleo banana bread! Slathered in butter…yum. Butter makes everything better 😉 Great recipe!
What might be a possible substitution for the almond flour- my daughter has a tree nut allergy.
what is the best way to substitute baking powder? that is a non-option in our house or my hubby can’t eat it.
I don’t have a substitute, but if he can tolerate homemade baking powder (cream of tartar, baking soda, and arrowroot) then here’s a great recipe: http://tastykitchen.com/recipes/condiments/homemade-baking-powder-e28093-aluminum-corn-and-potato-free/
Hi – can I use all almond flour and almond milk?
Nevermind… I saw someone else asked the same question.
I find the whole GM debate so depressing – the UK has so far managed to keep it out – but these big companies are so fierce. And Nestle is depressing because that’s Nespresso – not sure we could get rid of this in our house 😉 LL x PS thanks for all the food for thought.
Whahoo! I love it when you post scrumpdidillyumptious recipes and I have everything in my kitchen to make it. 🙂
Looks amazing! Great photos!
Thank-you so much for this delicious recipe! Just made it and my man gave it a 10! Is it ok to leave out or does it need to be refrigerated?
I’m so glad you enjoyed it! You can leave it out for a day or two and then I would store the rest in the refrigerator.
Thanks so much! I can’t wait to make more of your grain-free, refined sugar free goodies!
I love to mix up the ingredients in my baking. Still love my grains ~ but the grain free options like this are great too. Lovely bread 🙂
You’ve done it again, girl friend! Amazing! I was thinking I’d rush into the kitchen right now and make it, then I remembered we used all the eggs at breakfast, ugh!
Anyway, what size loaf pan did you use? I have a 9×5 metal and a PC stoneware one, which would you recommend? Thanks! K
Thanks Karen. 🙂 I used a 9×5″ loaf pan. I used a glass pyrex loaf pan, so I’d recommend using your stoneware one. The metal ones can make breads brown too quickly. Enjoy!
Hi there, I’m new around here! I love love love your blog, we are so much alike. I also buy only organic products. Your banana bread looks incredible!
Thank you!
Beautiful Bread Carrie! The texture looks perfect.
It is all so daunting, overwhelming, yet mostly, frustrating. Thanks for the links, Carrie and for further educating me. What I struggle with are the disgusting, pre-packaged snacks at my son’s sporting events. I kind of get angry when I see doritos, granola bars, juice in foil pouches, even sugared water. I can’t tell everyone how to shop and when I am elected to do snack mom I bring something homemade and berries on a stick. It seems to go over really well and the kids gobble it up. But, what it really comes down to is a lack of consciousness and knowledge. I am going to post this on my FB wall. If one person reads it and gets it, then i have done my job!
I am a CA resident and reading any information to help me cast a better vote is helpful. Thanks for being so passionate about food, and spreading the word.
The bread looks delish!
OMG Carrie! This looks fabulous. I miss you; we are overdue for a phone date.
xoxo
Love u!
We are! I’ve thought about you quite a bit over the last few weeks!
Thank you for posting this! My mom and I live in California and eat very strict, healthy diets. I personally can’t eat a single carb, but I visit you to find yummy things to bake for her occasionally =) We’re both very vocal about nutrition so I’ll pass the word on and see if we can’t get a few more people to vote!
Thanks Carrie!
Thanks Rachel!
I love your recipes! Your site has been a staple for me and my family since they day I found it. Thanks so much for all of your hard work.
I need to stop wavering. I really REALLY believe in real food, but with all of the trouble it is to avoid the fake/man-manipulated stuff, sometimes I just want to give up. I do really well in our house, but I am having problems “prohibiting” my children from eating the neighbors oreos or pringles when they are outside, you know? With kids ages 4 and 2, I don’t want to make such a big deal out of avoiding that stuff because it makes them want it so much more. And for some reason, they would rather have store bought than they would homemade. (I don’t get that) I just don’t know how to go about it when you are outside of your own home. The last thing I want is for them to covet junk, but when they have access, if I don’t stop them, they will both gorge themselves. I feel like I have done something seriously wrong. (and that’s a crappy feeling)
First of all, any change is GREAT! Sometimes we can beat ourselves up over the things we don’t like in our lives, but truly, making healthy food changes will only help your family and it’s great that you’ve started! When my kids were really young (2 and 3), I was just starting to switch over to real food. We did great at home and then when we were at a neighbor’s house the kids would sometimes eat junk food. At that point, I decided it was ok, since we were making so many healthy changes at home. As my girls grew, I started talking with them about why we are making certain food choices. I read them articles (changing the language a bit so they could understand), kept a dialogue going about the reasons why I was buying certain foods, and constantly talked about making good choices. They can choose to eat healthy or the alternative. As time went on, their tastes completely changed (my oldest LOVES salad and when she was five I couldn’t get her to touch a single green leaf!) :). Now, they are 10 and 11 and it’s amazing to see how they usually make the healthier choice, not because I’ll be upset, but because they understand what it will do to their body. Now, this doesn’t mean they don’t ever splurge, but those times are very few and they get to make the choice. I don’t know if that’s any help, and I don’t by any means want to sound like “my kids have it all together”, because they don’t, but maybe it can encourage you to keep walking down this path. Little by little their tastes will change. Truly! It also gets easier as you go along and it’s so rewarding.
Thank you, thank you, thank you for helping to spread the word about proposition 37! I’m not a Californian either, but this issue should be important to EVERY American. Unfortunately, most Americans have no clue about GMOs, but it’s blogs like yours that opened my eyes to what’s going on with our food system. Bravo for bringing this issue to light.
Thank you, Leena. 🙂
If I leave out the honey, will it turn out ok or do I have to replace it with some other liquid? I’m sweetener-free. Thanks!
I haven’t tested it, but maybe you could use 1/4 cup more banana and leave out the honey completely. The bread might be a bit more dense. If you try it, please let me know how it turns out!
The recipe looks great, I can’t wait to try it. I just love the ones I’ve tried so far!
I just made this tonight into muffins with a handful of chocolate chips. Yum!!!! Thank you!
Good idea!
I’m new to the gluten/grain free baking, and I’m so glad I found your site!
Is the coconut milk the canned kind, and if so does light or full fat version matter?
Or is it the kind in the box?
Can’t wait for my bananas to ripen, looks fantastic. Thanks for all your hard work!
I like to use a canned coconut milk, such as Native Forest or Thai Kitchens. They contain less preservatives than those in the box or in the refrigerated sections and Native Forest coconut milk doesn’t contain BPA in the lining of the cans. http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001HTJ2BQ?ie=UTF8&creativeASIN=B001HTJ2BQ&linkCode=xm2&tag=deliciorgan03-20
can I substitute almond milk for coconut milk?
I haven’t tested it with almond milk, but I think that would be a good substitute.
I made this last night and ate it with my family today. It was awesome! My kids each had 3 slices. I have been on a grain free diet for almost a month. Thank you so much for the recipes that you are posting. They are a big help.
Hi Carrie! Just got your cookbook today…I am so excited! I did have a question for you about using coconut oil – after I melt if for a recipe (such as this one) and mix it with other ingredients I find it solidifies. What can I do to prevent this from happening? I understand that you’ve suggested to have other ingredients at room temperature – such as the eggs – my only concern is that they would not be good to use…I have a one year old so I’ve become a little paranoid. Also when I see coconut oil in a recipe is butter typically a good substitute? Thanks for your time, and all your great recipes!!!
I’m glad you’re enjoying the cookbook! Having the ingredients at room temperature is really the only way to ensure that the coconut oil doesn’t clump. From my understanding, eggs are hermetically sealed so they aren’t going to go bad from being out on the counter for a while to come to room temperature. You could also place the cold eggs in warm water for about 20 minutes to bring them to room temperature. Butter is sometimes a good substitute, but not always since the milk solids may burn when cooked or baked. I hope that helps! 🙂
Looks delicious! I’m going to hop into the kitchen and make some now! A fun note to Lynn about the eggs: contrary to our conventional American wisdom, the French don’t typically refrigerate their eggs. They let them sit out at room temperature! Though they use them rather quickly. Here’s an interesting article on it: http://www.francetoday.com/articles/2011/05/29/the_egg_and_i.html
And Carrie is right about eggs being sealed. Eggs naturally contain a bloom, a thin membrane covering that prevents them from spoiling. However, commercial egg producers wash the eggs prior to shipment, which destroys that bloom, so most eggs you buy in the grocery store no longer contain the bloom. Nevertheless, I certainly wouldn’t worry about them spoiling when bringing to room temperature. You’d have to let them sit out for several days without the bloom before they’d spoil.
Hello! I am dying to try this recipe. However, my boyfriend is diabetic and I would like to know in place of honey if I can use a sweetener . My fear is it will be so chemically processed and unhealthy. I have heard of granulated erythritol but I could not find much information about it to feel comfoetable. Do you have any suggestions or do you feel that the natural sweetness from the honey/bananas won’t have that much of a glycemic affect?
I’m not a nutritionist or doctor, so I can’t answer that question for you. You could probably use stevia as the sweetener but you might need to add another egg to the batter. As for the bananas, I don’t know if they have too high of a glycemic index for your boyfriend.
Just made this recipe tonight and it’s fabulous. I made muffins for easy snacking. They are super moist and have a great banana flavor…not at all overpowered by the coconut flour like many grain free recipes.
Made this last night…..your website is one of the first places I go to when looking for a grain free recipe. I usually choose baked goods with more almond flour than coconut flour as I just seem to prefer them more, but I have a large amount of coconut flour to use to I decided to make this one. I am so glad I did……Oh So Good and my kids loved it for breakfast! I plan on making a second loaf tonight and adding some chopped dark 86% chocolate. Great recipe. Thank you!
I’m so glad you enjoyed it! I love your idea to add dark chocolate. I’ll have to try that! 🙂
last try. this captcha code is killin’ me here. Recipe = Good.
I made this twice in a 4 cavity mini loaf silicone pan. Perfect and perfectly awesome. I just tried piling all that into a normal sized loaf pan and it was a disaster. It will not cook all the way thru. Too brown on the outside now, and I have resorted to cutting it into fourths because the inside not done, and sticking back in……. far too many ingredients so I am trying to salvage. I don’t know how you all got this to cook in a normal pan. the pic looks smaller and like less batter too, so not sure if you did it in two pans or what.
That’s interesting, I’m not sure why it won’t bake in a regular size loaf pan. Is it by chance a stone or non-stick pan? Non-stick tends to overbake the outside of breads very quickly and a stone loaf pan can cook breads too slow. I always use a glass, pyrex loaf pan. Maybe the pan is the issue?
Hi! Love your site and this looks delicious! Can you substitute regular whole mile for the coconut milk?
I haven’t tried it, but I think it would make a good substitute.
I made this tonight and followed all the instructions and let it cool.. but when I flipped it the middle fell out 🙁 I have read that coconut and almond milk need to be cooked at a lower temp or the middle does not finish..could that have been my problem?
Hmm…I’m not sure what happened. Did you make any substitutions in the recipe?
I had the same problem with mine in a glass loaf pan and I used raw whole milk instead of coconut milk.
No, I followed everything
Have you tried this recipe for muffins? If so how long do you bake them?
I haven’t, but I would bake them at 375 for about 23 minutes until golden brown on the edges.
I did them for 30 minutes and they were perfect! Love them..have you tried subbing out the banana for applesauce? Would love to do a apple spice muffin, TY 😀 and blessings!
Good to know! Yes, I’ve substituted with applesauce and they are fantastic!
I am trying to stay away from gluten for my son…he is also allergic to peanuts…with that being said we have never used anything with any kind of nuts…so I am leary using the almond flour…do you think I could just use coconut flour for the whole thing??? THANKS
Coconut flour soaks up lots of liquid, so replacing coconut flour for almond flour is very tricky. You might want to try my coconut cake recipe (omit the lemon curd and whipped cream). It makes for a great snack cake and you could put different mix-ins in it. My kids love this cake! https://deliciouslyorganic.net/grain-free-gluten-free-coconut-cake-recipe-lemon-curd-strawberries-cream/
Yet another wonderful recipe! You are a culinary genius!
I made your banana bread this morning and it is delicious!! I can’t even count the number of paleo baked goods (including several banana bread recipes) that I have made and they were terrible. 🙁 I was so discouraged because the ingredients are expensive and then there is the time involved in baking and clean up. I had nearly given up but decided to try once more and make your bread and I can’t thank you enough. 🙂 I have printed off several more of your recipes and am very anxious to try them. I do not eat dairy or refined sugar or gluten, and that can make for very limited diet choices. Thank you a hundred times over. 🙂
Thank you for the kind words. I’m so glad my recipes have been able to fill the void. I hope you keep coming back! 🙂
And did I say thank you?! 😉 Hugzzzzzzzz
Hi Carrie,
I made this the other day and it was just delicious. I am thinking of trying it as a carrot cake as well as a cheese one. Have you tried it that way? I was thinking for the cheese one, it might work if I added onions, parsley, feta mixed with a different kind of cheese?
I will try it this weekend and will report 🙂
I’m so disappointed this recipe did not work out for me as the inside would not cook. When I flipped it over the inside fell out. I tried to put the rest back in the oven on a cookie sheet to salvage but it was still too moist. I had to use a good quality metal loaf pan as I don’t have a glass one yet. The top was very brown but the inside would not cook. Maybe muffins would be better?
Hmm..Did you make any substitutions? A metal loaf will cause a bread to brown quickly on the outside, so that might have been the culprit. This recipe also makes great muffins. I usually bake them for about 23-25 minutes until golden brown.
I had same problem. Also a metal pan.
1. I make this or something similar all the time. I purchased a silicone pan with four mini loaf cavities. this works perfectly. not sure if it’s the silicone or the mini loaves, but might be a combination. I also have a hot and old oven, so using a lower temp for a little longer works better so the outsides dont get too brown. Tho sometimes they still do.
2. muffins also work 🙂
It makes three perfectly sized mini loaves (tho the pan is four mini’s)
Ha. And I’ll never buy store bought nanner bread. I loved it. My kids loved it. I made this in my nu wave oven. I had to guess. But i had it set for 8 power for 35 minutes. It was about an inch and a half of mixture in my glass pyrex dish. Turned out well. I even put some in a toaster oven, in muffin cups. Very delicious. Can’t wait to try other breads. I had the extract, coconut oil, eggs and baking powder and honey. Tho i had no baking soda… the coconut powder was about 1.30 for a cup. And i used almond meal, didn’t have almond flour. That was almost the same as the coconut flour. Thanks soooo much!
I’m so glad you enjoyed it!
I got your book and I couldn’t find almond flour in my local (very small town) grocery store. But I did find hazelnut flour. Could I substitute it? Can I just grind raw almonds in my grinder?
Thanks for your help
I haven’t tested it, but I think hazelnut flour would work just fine. And yes, you can grind raw almonds in your grinder.
Hi! I just made a loaf of this banana bread and it is fantastic! Thank you for the recipe! What is the best way to store it once cooled?
I like to wrap it some parchment and then a plastic bag. The parchment helps absorb some of the moisture.
Delicious bread! Thought I’d mention that I forgot to add the butter and it still turned out ok. I baked it in a rectangular baking dish rather than a loaf pan and it cooked through fine at 325 using the convection oven setting for about 35 minutes.
How can I mix this if I do not have a blender or food processor?
Thank you!
You could mix all of it in a bowl with a whisk.
Thanks for this recipe! I’ve made it three times now and it always turns out so good. Love how I can make it in my blendtec and now get a bunch of dishes dirty. So easy!
Would the texture turn out okay if I substituted (cup for cup) the pumpkin purée for the bananas and added some pumpkin pie spice. I have all the ingredients for his recipe but am craving pumpkin bread!
I only test the recipes on my site with the listed ingredients and measurements. If you would like to try a substitution, you are welcome to share what you used and how it turned out in the comments below. Thanks!
I am finding a different ratio for the grain free baking powder on your muffin recipe. Can you confirm which is accurate?
https://deliciouslyorganic.net/blueberry-muffins-grain-free-gluten-free/
These are two different recipes, so I don’t understand how to answer the question. Or, are you asking if I wrote this banana bread recipe wrong?
Sorry for the confusion. Are you saying there are 2 different ways to make grain free baking powder?
Within the blueberry muffins it has one recipe and in the banana bread recipe it has a different ratio
. Note below the arrowroot powder and cream of tartar flip flop.
1 part baking soda, 1 part arrowroot powder and 2 parts cream of tartar.
1 part baking soda, 1 part cream of tartar, and 2 parts arrowroot.
Sorry about that! It should read 1 part baking soda, 1 part arrowroot and 2 parts cream of tartar.
I printed this recipe in 2012 but just made it for the 1st time. In looking through the comments AFTER the fact l discovered the pan size is now clearly stated. I had an OMG moment when l scraped the batter into my 8”x4” loaf pan but fortunately knew enough to know it was too much. A small ramekin saved the excess and l suspect the person who had a hard time getting it baked correctly also had the wrong size pan. The recipe makes a good product that we will use as a once in a while treat as we are trying to keep cancer from recurring and keeping sweets to a minimum. I will look at your recipes more, later, and congratulate you on using food as your medicine for healing your thyroid.
When you introduce grain back into your diet after being on grain free diet for sometime. How do you know what grains are good or not good?
It’s best to talk to your holistic practitioner about this. They will know which soaked grains are best for you to start with after the healing process has taken place.