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.
Lyndsay says
Can this recipe use all purpose 1:1 gluten free flour?
Hi Lyndsay! You can try...simply use the combined amounts of brown rice flour and tapioca starch I've specified in my recipe. I can't guarantee what the result will be like with the substitution, but it's definitely worth a go. Please check back in and let me know how it turns out!
Joseph says
Great instructions with cooking time and temp included.
Andi says
This is a great basic banana bread recipe. I used the same amount of 1 to 1 bobs red mill gf flour instead of the recipe and added walnuts, but kept the ratios the same. I just couldn’t be more impressed! Thank you so much, gf or not, it’s excellent banana bread!
Hi Andi! Thanks for sharing about how you subbed in a GF flour blend...I'm so glad it worked out!
Keely says
Hi! This recipe sounds delicious! Wondering if you've ever tried this recipe in muffin tins? Do you think it would turn out good?
I haven't tried it in muffin tins, but they should still work out. I would bake for 25-30 minutes and test for doneness with a toothpick. Thanks for the question, Keely!
Allison B says
This recipe is excellent! I just tried a version of it sweetened with half maple syrup/half molasses and added in a spice mix (coriander, cinnamon, cardamom, clove, and nutmeg) to make it more like gingerbread for the holidays and it turned out amazing. Thanks for posting. This is in my weekly rotation forevz now. 🙂
Dilly says
Great recipe! Used rice-free gluten-free flour blend (added some coconut flour to the mix) and it was great. I'm making a second batch since the family loved it so much! I'm keeping this recipe for sure...thank you very much!
Thanks, Dilly! I'm glad to hear that it worked with the flour substitutions!
Jeni says
This was an excellent recipe. Most gf baked goods do not keep the right texture past the first day, but this one did beautifully and so delicious too! We added unsweetened flaked coconut as well and loved it! Thanks for sharing.
Thanks back at you, Jeni! So glad you liked it, and adding flaked coconut sounds like a great idea!
LaShawnda says
I am dairy free. Do you have a suggestion to replace the yogurt?
Thanks for the question, LaShawnda! You could try non-dairy yogurt to see if that might work? But I can't confidently advise since I have never tried it and I do not know what the final result would be.
Dorrie says
You have banana bread after the first day!? LOL Just thought that was funny.
Pat says
Hi.
Can I make it with oat flour?
I don't know what the result would be like if you used oat flour, but you could certainly give it a try. Thanks for the question, Pat.
Vanessa says
Thanks for sharing! Do they keep long?
This banana bread will keep well in a sealed container in the fridge for up to 1 week. Thanks for the question, Vanessa!
Suzanne says
This looks so good! Do you use this dough for any other recipes?
I have not tried using this dough for other recipes, but I imagine you could do something similar for a pumpkin bread. If you try a variation on this banana bread, I'd love to hear about it!
Dee says
I made this recipe and although the texture was very good, I found it lacked flavor!pepsmoma@hotmail.com
Using really ripe bananas plays a big part in this recipe so the banana flavor is really strong, but you can also increase the maple syrup slightly to increase the sweetness. Thanks for your comment, Dee.
maddy says
Can I use potato starch instead of tapioca?
While I haven't tried it myself, I have read that you can substitute potato starch for tapioca starch. Let me know if you try it and how it turns out.
Trey says
Great recipe ! Can I use regular plain yogurt and gluten free flour? Will the measurements change?
Thanks, Trey! I think using regular yogurt and gf flour should work fine. I would make sure to use a full fat yogurt, though since it is thicker and closer to Greek yogurt consistency. Just be sure to check for doneness with a toothpick in case it takes longer to bake. Let me know how it goes!
Melissa says
I love the use of the yogurt and maple syrup, so yummy sounding and I bet it keeps it super moist!
I was happily surprised that the yogurt and maple syrup worked so well together. And yes, it does stay nice and moist! Thanks for the comment, Melissa!
Denise from Urb'n'Spice says
Banana Bread Magic, indeed, Lisa! Your Super Moist Gluten-Free Banana Bread looks amazing. Thanks for sharing your tips and for the step-by-step photos. I am pinning to try. 🙂
Thanks, Denise! Let me know if you get around to making it!