This super moist banana bread is soft and full of banana flavor. Mildly sweet and with no need for any butter or oil or xanthan gum, this beautiful banana bread is perfect for snacking alongside a hot cuppa coffee or tea.
Moist and full o' bananas.
That's what this banana bread is!
And the amazing texture and taste can be achieved without any butter or oil or xanthan gum....or gluten!
Crazy, right?
The Importance of Really Ripe Bananas
First of all, you don't just need bananas for banana bread.
You need really really really ripe bananas...and I mean REALLY ripe. I'm talking bananas that are spotted all over and falling off the stem without any effort. They are so ripe that they have really thin skin, are really pungent, and are waaaay beyond the optimal peeling-and-eating stage.
They should almost look like you might want to toss them...but don't!! Being this ripe means that they are at their sweetest and have the strong banana flavor that you need for this recipe.
Butter that is often used in typical banana bread recipes can help enhance the flavor of the bananas...but since there is no butter in this recipe, you have to make sure the bananas are over-ripe to help compensate.
If you use bananas that are at the perfect yellow, good-for-peeling-and-eating stage, your bread won't be as sweet or taste as banana-y.
If you find yourself wanting to make this bread, but you don't have super ripe bananas on hand, you can also "ripen" them quickly by popping them in the oven! In Food52's article about ripening bananas quickly for baking, Ella Quitner found the optimal way is to put the bananas in a 300F (150C) oven for 15-20 minutes where you get the best results of sweetness and the bananas.
Either way, I hope you get the idea. You need really RIPE bananas! 🙂
How To Make The Bread
Now you have to take said over-ripe bananas and either mash them with a fork or give them a spin in a food processor. The food processor will make them a lot smoother and more consistent, whereas mashing with a fork will probably give you little banana bits throughout the bread.
For the rest of the bread, you'll need your dry ingredients which is a mixture of brown rice flour, tapioca starch, baking soda, and salt. It's a very simple combination of flours that successfully takes care of the gluten-free element.
And then there are the wet ingredient mixture made up of full-fat Greek yogurt, eggs, maple syrup, and vanilla extract. They get whisked together until they form a uniform liquid-y consistency.
Then it's a simple matter of mixing the dry ingredients into the wet to form your basic batter. Again, a whisk is all that is needed!
And finally, the bananas get whisked in. The batter will be like a thick gravy consistency and can be poured into your baking pan.
After about 45 minutes in a 350 F (180C) oven, you are going to have this amazingly beautiful banana bread.
No butter.
No oil.
No xanthan gum.
It’s also worth mentioning that there is no refined sugar in this beautiful moist gluten-free banana bread. The ripe (remember....really ripe!) bananas and some maple syrup give the perfect amount of mild sweetness in every bite. It is simply pure banana bread goodness.. 😉
Just look at this amazingness! It's so moist, so tender, so good!
Store leftover banana bread in a container in the fridge because it is awesome when eaten cold! If cold banana bread isn't your thing, give a slice a quick warm-up in the microwave for 10 seconds.
If you're looking for a deliciously moist gluten-free banana bread and wanting to reduce fat in your diet as well, this is the one for you. And as I mentioned, it goes wonderfully with a hot cuppa tea like my Yummy Cuppa English Tea Latte or Ginger Milk Tea Latte. Or go cold with Iced English Tea Latte or Crazy Easy Triple Layer Iced Coffee!
Enough said. Get those over-ripe bananas and get baking this bread!
~ Lisa.
Super Moist 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 full-fat Greek yogurt (light Greek yogurt would probably work as well)
- ⅓ cup maple syrup
- 2 eggs
- 1 ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 3 large very very ripe bananas (about 350-360g in weight minus the peels)
Instructions
- Preheat oven 350 deg F (180 C).
- Combine all dry ingredients in a bowl. Set aside.
- Mash ripe bananas or process in a food processor. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, combine the Greek yogurt, eggs, maple syrup, and vanila extract and beat well with a whisk.
- Add the dry ingredients to the wet and mix well with a whisk.
- Mix the mashed bananas into the batter.
- Pour the batter into a parchment- lined loaf pan.
- Bake for 45-50 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
- Let 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.
- Really ripe or over-ripe bananas are important for this recipe. If your bananas are only perfect for eating fresh, your banana bread will not be as strong or as sweet.
- The texture of this bread is not as crumbly as other breads. It is very moist, but also a little squidgy.
- Keep it in a container in the fridge for up to 1 week. It tastes great cold! You can also heat a slice for 10 seconds in the microwave to warm up.
- Top with chocolate chips for an extra bit of sweetness!
Nutrition
This recipe was originally posted August 26, 2018 and republished in March 2020 with updated recipe, photos, writing, and recipe notes.
Monica says
Can you use almond flour instead?
Thanks for the question, Monica! I have never tried this with almond flour, but it has different characteristics for baking and I'm not sure what the result would be if you used it.
Cynthia Jones says
This is the perfect banana bread. I like to add a little spice like cinnamon ginger nutmeg touch of clove makes it wonderful and I put in coconut such a good tasting banana bread try it you’ll love it.
Hi Cynthia! Thank you for making the recipe and sharing your additions to the bread! They sound delicious!
John says
Hi Lisa!
My wife told me to write you a note thanking you for the SUPER MOIST GLUTEN-FREE BANANA BREAD recipe. I am the baker in the family and make a loaf for her about every two weeks. She LOVES it! (I do too!) It's hard to believe it’s gluten free.
I usually include walnuts and chocolate chips as well, but I kinda prefer it without these extras, but I bake what my wife requests… 🙂
Thank you!
Thank you so much for making the recipe, John, and thank you to your wife for encouraging you to leave such kind comments! Nice to read that you're the baker and that you bake the bread with her taste preferences in mind! (I, too, am a purist!)
R. Tosse says
I just made it tonight and it turned out great! Love that it’s not too sugary and tastes like real banana bread. I have issues with wheat and also all gums, so I am so happy to have found your recipe. I added chopped nuts on top with a small bit of turbinado sugar on top and even my husband loved it who is not gluten free. I hope you keep coming with the no gluten, no gum recipes! Thanks for making my week!
Hello! Thank you so much for your comments and for making the banana bread! I'm you liked it and how awesome that your non-GF husband also liked it! I hope you look up other baking GF baking recipes I have on the website that don't contain gums...there are cookies, muffins, cake, and other quick breads.
Shawne says
Absolutely love this recipe, it is my weekly go to for baking! Nicely done girl 🙌Thank you for sharing your inspiration
Thanks so much, Shawne! I'm so glad that you like the recipe and that you make it regularly!
Shawne says
Absolutely love this recipe, it is my weekly go to for baking! Nicely done girl 🙌
Roxie says
The pictures look great but the recipes are in metric so it makes me hesitant since the conversion to cups are not exact w/measuring.
Hi Roxie. Thanks for the comment. I have included volume measurements in the Recipe Notes, but yes...measuring by volume is less exact than measuring by weight and the results may vary. You could always try half a recipe to test it out.
amy says
This is the BEST Banana bread ever! I don't need to be gluten free but daughter wants hers that way so I have been playing around with different recipes... NOTHING to play around with this one just DO IT! It is FABULOUS! It IS super moist! It was totally sweet enough without the additional 1/3 cup of maple syrup, I just used 2 TBS and it was fine although everyone's sweet tooth is different.
I did end up having to bake it for 1.5 hours but the only problem that caused was a hungry husband asking like a kid, is it ready yeeeeeet??!!!
Hi Amy! Thanks so much for your comments! I'm so glad that it was a hit with your family, and it's awesome that 2 tablespoons of maple syrup was enough sweetness for your bread!
Dorris says
I made a regular banana bread for my mother, her husband and myself tonight. My sweet niece, who is coming to pick me up in the morning to go into town, is gluten-intolerant and I always forget. Thank you for this recipe, so I can make something delicious just for her!
Hi Dorris! I'm glad you found the recipe and I hope your niece likes it!
Kay says
Cooking time was too long for my oven. I only baked for 25 min. And the texture was dry.
Hi Kay! I'm sorry to hear that the recipe didn't work out. My only suggestions would be to double check the ingredients, make sure you're using super ripe bananas, and double check the oven temperature. Thanks for your comment.
Sue says
I made this loaf and used only Brown Rice Flour, and followed the rest of your recipe and I loved it. Thanks. It was yummy and moist.
Thanks for making the recipe and sharing your modification to it, Sue! I'm glad that you liked it and that the recipe worked with just brown rice flour!
Karin MacKinnon says
Fantastic texture!
Thanks, Karin!