Easy Gluten Free Banana Bread (dairy and refined sugar free too!)
Easy gluten free banana bread is all it should be–one bowl and so moist that butter will just be optional. Wrap it up and keep it on the counter for breakfasts or freeze a loaf for later. It’s delicious and probably better than my regular version, plus it’s dairy and refined sugar free!
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Eating for a special diet can feel paralyzing. Like your world is falling apart. Just cutting one ingredient is bad enough, but cutting several makes you feel like all that’s left to eat is grass in the pasture.
I’ve threatened to try it more than once over the course of many years of health, and dietary ups and downs.
But when you stick it out and are determined to eat well no matter what your avoiding, this easy gluten free banana bread is proof that you can do it.
I’ve been making this bread for years and it’s original version is right here.
It’s the traditional stuff–white sugar, regular flour and my secret weapon: vanilla pudding mix. I’ve included pudding mix in this version as well, but it’s the Jell-O Brand Simply Good here which has no artificial colors and the ingredients are fairly straightforward. If you want to use regular instant vanilla pudding you can, but you’ll probably end up with some dairy and artificial colors in your bread.
I didn’t include any nuts in this version but you can certainly add a handful of walnuts to the batter. That’s always delicious.
How to make the best easy gluten free banana bread–my tips
-First, use those scary dark bananas. The more ripe they are, the sweeter they are and the more delicious your bread will be. Plus you have to mash them and ain’t nobody mashing up a green banana.
Be patient young Jedi and let those suckers get spotted.
-Second, you’ll want a good gluten free flour blend. I avoid those store bought blends because I cannot tell you how badly I hate the gritty nastiness of regular rice flour. Hate.
I’d rather eat the grass (see above reference) than gnaw on that stuff. I make my own non-gritty gluten free flour blend that I will recommend pretty much forever. If you want the best final result, make sure you make yourself a batch.
-You will need to add some xanthan gum to this version since I don’t add it to my base flour mixture. That helps give the bread some structure and body.
-Finally, this recipe makes one loaf and I recommend a small loaf pan here. More like the size of those aluminum disposable ones and not the size of the huge fancy ones. This one will work perfectly. Exact measurements for the pan are in the recipe. Don’t miss that part or you’ll screw things up.
Easy Gluten Free Banana Bread (Dairy and Refined Sugar Free Too!)
Ingredients
- 1/3 cup coconut oil
- 1/4 cup honey
- 2 eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 cup very ripe bananas mashed with a fork
- 1 3/4 cups gluten free all purpose flour blend
- 1/2 teaspoon xanthan gum
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup chopped walnuts optional
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350. Line a 9x5x2 inch loaf pan with parchment paper and grease the ends well. Set aside.
- In a medium bowl, blend the coconut oil and honey until smooth with whisk or hand mixer. Add the eggs and mix until combined. Add the vanilla, bananas and pudding and stir to combine.
- In a sifter over the top of the wet ingredients, add the flour blend, xanthan gum, baking powder, and salt.
Sift into the wet ingredients and stir until no pockets of flour remain.Fold in walnuts if you are using them. - Transfer to the loaf pan and smooth out the top.Bake in the center of your oven until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. About 40-50 minutes. Lift from the pan with the paper and allow to cool fully (at least one hour) on a cooling rack before slicing. Freeze, wrapped in plastic wrap for up to a month or wrap tightly and leave it out on the counter for up to a week.
About the Author
Rachel Ballard, RN, BSN brings more than 20 years of professional nursing expertise to Feast and Farm. With a love for nutrient dense foods that support wellness, she works to distill complex health information and current trends into recipes that fuel the best version of yourself. Read more about Rachel here.