This gluten-free banana bread is crazy-good in its flavor, texture, and super simple recipe! You'll love every moist and delicious bite, never once thinking that you're missing the gluten! Perfect with a hot cuppa tea or coffee or as a treat in a packed lunch.
Everyone loves a good banana bread...and the smell of it while it's baking is definitely a favorite.
It's a great way to use up ripe bananas and every bite is familiar and comforting.
I used to make Martha's Stewart's banana bread all the time because it's a delicious recipe...but it's not so great if you're gluten-free.
So here's my version of banana bread that is not only gluten-free, there is no refined white sugar, no xanthan gum...AND it's still crazy-good!
How To Make Gluten-Free Banana Bread
As with any banana bread, you want to start with really ripe bananas. The riper they are, the more natural sweetness they will give the bread.
For the dry ingredients, instead of using an all-purpose gluten-free blend, I do a simple combination of brown rice flour, tapioca starch, baking soda, and salt. No nightshades and no xanthan gum in this recipe!
For the wet ingredients, start with room temperature butter, but instead of using granulated sugar, maple syrup is the sweetener of choice. Beat and cream those together and then beat in eggs and vanilla extract.
Cooking Tip: You can easily make this gluten-free banana bread using a stand mixer, hand mixer, or a whisk or spoon.
Once the wet ingredients are all beaten together, it's time time to mix in the dry ingredients until everything is well mixed. Final step is to mix in the mashed bananas and some Greek yogurt for added moistness to the bread.
Transfer the banana loaf batter to a parchment lined loaf pan and bake for about 45 minute in a 350F/180C oven until golden brown.
As tempting as it may be to slice into this beautiful banana bread that smells oh-so-amazing when you pull it out of the oven, it's important to have some patience! Using the parchment to lift the bread out of the pan, let it cool to room temperature on a rack before slicing.
Commonly Asked Questions
Yes!
I have found that the optimal amount of banana for the best bread (peels removed) is about 300-350 grams. A generous amount of banana helps make the bread moist.
In the Recipe Notes below, I have given approximate volume equivalents to the weight measurements. However, measuring gluten-free flours by weight is much more precise and assures more consistent results than volume measurements.
I haven't tried making this recipe dairy-free, so I don't know what the results would be like if you used dairy-free substitutes or equivalents.
Yes! You can make two smaller loaves and freeze one, or simply freeze a portion of one loaf. Wrap in a couple layers of plastic wrap and seal in a resealable freezer bag with the air squeezed out.
Looking For More Banana Recipes?
If you have really ripe bananas lying around and want more recipes, try this ideas:
- Super Moist Gluten-Free Banana Bread (no butter, oil, or xanthan gum)
- Chocolate Swirl Banana Bread
And even though these next two recipes don't have "banana" in the names, there's banana in the mix to add natural sweetness!
I love storing the banana bread in the fridge and eating it cold. I love the slightly more "solid" texture and consistency, and it goes great with a hot cuppa coffee or tea. Give it a try with my Ginger Milk Tea Latte or Iced Matcha Tea Latte!
So if you're on a gluten-free diet and are also looking for something a little healthier without sacrificing flavor and enjoyment, this crazy-good gluten-free banana bread is for you!
~ Lisa.
Watch how to make it!
Crazy-Good Gluten-Free Banana Bread
Ingredients
Dry Ingredients (volume measurements in the Recipe Notes below):
- 140 g brown rice flour
- 80 g tapioca starch (same as tapioca flour)
- 1 ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
Wet Ingredients:
- ½ cup butter, room temperature
- ¼ cup maple syrup
- 2 eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 3 ripe medium-sized bananas, mashed 300-350g in weight after peel is removed
- ¼ cup full-fat plain Greek yogurt
Instructions
- Preheat oven 350 deg F (180 C).
- Line loaf pan with parchment paper.
- Combine all dry ingredients in a bowl and whisk together. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, beat the room temperature butter and maple syrup with mixer or whisk. (It is okay if the mixture is lumpy.)
- Add eggs and vanilla to the butter mixture and beat well.
- Add dry ingredients to the bowl and mix well.
- Add Greek yogurt and mashed bananas and mix well.
- Pour batter into prepared pan.
- Bake for 45 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the middle of the loaf comes out clean.
- Let cool in the pan for 5 minutes. Using parchment paper edges, lift loaf out of pan and transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely before slicing.
Notes
- Volume Measurements:
- 1 ¼ cup + 1 teaspoon brown rice flour
- ¾ cup + 1 tbs + 1 teaspoon tapioca starch
- Please note that gluten-free recipes work best with weight measurements because they are more precise than volume measurements. Gluten-free baking requires more precision and can be less forgiving than baking with regular all-purpose wheat flour.
- These volume measurements were made from spooning each of the flours into the measuring cups/spoons (so they are not packed) and leveling them off.
- The volume measurements are approximate. Make slight adjustments to the recipe as needed, adding a bit more Greek yogurt or a bit more tapioca starch or brown rice flour to achieve the correct dough consistency.
- ½ cup butter = 113 grams
- Banana sizes vary, so 3-4 ripe bananas = 300-350 grams (after peels removed).
- If you do not have a gluten-sensitivity and want to make this with all-purpose flour, simply use the equivalent amount of flour in weight of the brown rice flour and tapioca starch combined. i.e. 220g of all-purpose flour.
- Do not be concerned if, after "creaming" the butter and maple syrup, the mixture looks more lumpy than creamy. It is totally okay and will all work out once blended with all the ingredients.
- If you want a chocolate chip version of this banana bread, simply add 2-3 tbs of chocolate chips to the batter before baking, or sprinkle the chocolate chips on top.
- I used full-fat Greek yogurt in this recipe. I don't see why you couldn't use low-fat or non-fat Greek yogurt, but I am not sure if it will affect the finished product.
This recipe was originally published February 25th, 2018. It was republished with new photos, new writing, and updated Recipe Notes on April 27th, 2022.
JS
Exactly as advertised - crazy good! I didn’t have a number of ingredients listed eg Greek yoghurt, and not enough of the rice flour which I substituted with some buckwheat and all purpose flour I had lying around. Came out moist and yummy, it helped that the type of bananas I had at hand (the smaller Asian ones) lent a nice fragrance. My 83 yo mother had a hankering for banana bread, I whipped this up with your recipe and she (picky picky mouth) loved it! So thank you Lisa! Will try again with all your original ingredients next time 🙂
Thank you so much for making the recipe and sharing your modifications. I'm glad it all worked out and that your grandmother loved it, too!
Lisa
I have all the ingredients on hand and thought I give it a try. I’m glad I did. This gluten free banana bread was really moist and flavorful. Thanks Lisa for another great recipe!
Hi Lisa! Thanks so much for making the banana bread! It's a favorite in our house and I'm so glad you liked it!
Denise Williams
The recipe is definitely crazy good! I sent my husband to the store to buy two bananas. Well he came home with two huge bunches of bananas. Haha!! I was so excited because I knew I would have a reason to try this recipe. I added a few tablespoons of walnuts and it turned out sooooo good! My picky teenagers are really enjoying this as an after school snack. I still have bananas so I’m making another.
Hahaha! Husbands often translate a bit differently, don't they? But I'm glad the extra bananas motivated you to make this recipe! Thanks so much, Denise!
Christine Brown
Do u have to use tapioca flour or can you use only brown rice flour? Thx in advance.
Hi Christine. The tapioca starch in this recipe contributes to the bread's soft tender texture. You could certainly try it without the tapioca starch, but I can't guarantee that the texture will be the same. I hope that helps and thanks for the question!
Marianna
We LOVE this recipe!!! I have looked at all your gluten free quick bread recipes, and your cake/dessert recipes, but I do not find a recipe for a good, maple syrup-sweetened Carrot bread/cake; so I was wondering, how would I substitute carrots for banana? Could it work? I like your recipes best……
Thanks for reading!
Hi Marianna! Thanks so much for your comments...I'm so glad you like the banana bread recipe! I am actually working on a carrot quick bread recipe at the moment that I hope to publish soon. If you want to use this recipe and try it with carrots, I would maybe try mixing in 1 1/2 cups of grated carrot instead of the banana and see how that turns out? Keep in mind, too, that the ripe bananas also help contribute to sweetness to the bread, so if you get rid of the bananas, you may need to add more maple syrup to compensate. I hope that helps. Stay tuned for my other carrot bread recipe!
Marianna
Well, if you are developing a carrot bread recipe, I will wait for that! Got a banana bread going instead; why take a risk! 🤓
Can’t wait to see what you come up with……👍🏻
Thanks, Marianna! I hope whatever I come up with lives up to your expectations!
Hi Marianna! In case you check back on this comment thread, I wanted to let you know that I have a new carrot pineapple muffin recipe posted (you could easily turn this into a bread)! You can find it here: https://www.adayinthekitchen.com/carrot-pineapple-muffins/
Joseph
I had try your receipe as the end result turn into uncook dough. I also ommit the yoghurt. Can i reduce the amount of banana.
Hi Joseph. Thank you for trying the recipe! I would double check that all ingredients have been measured properly, that your oven has been set to the correct temperature, and that you have baked it for the amount of time as stated in the recipe. If all those are right, if the loaf still comes out uncooked in the middle, then continue to bake until a toothpick inserted in the middle of the loaf comes out clean. It could be that the actual oven temperature might not be the correct, even if you have set it correctly on the dial. It is difficult to say without me being right there with you when you bake, but I hope that helps. Thanks for the question.
Kasey Yeo
The cake is soft and very flavourful! It doesn’t taste like gluten-free at all. Thank you for this wonderful recipe! Can’t wait to try your other recipes!
That's awesome, Kasey! It's a favorite in our house and I'm so glad you liked it!
Cat
Could you tell me the difference between tapioca starch and corn starch. ?? ! Thank you.
Thank you for your question, Cat. Tapioca starch and corn starch are very similar in properties and function, but are from two different plants. Corn starch is, obviously, from corn, and tapioca comes from the root of the cassava plant. I, personally, limit using corn products because of food sensitivities. If you are wanting to substitute corn starch for the tapioca starch in this recipe, I am not exactly sure what the results would be. If you try it, please let me know how it turns out!