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It may sound crazy to start a recipe chat for Almond Flour Banana Bread by sharing that my family eats grains and gluten, but that’s the truth. Now, stick with me for a minute…
If you’ve been around Live Simply for any length of time, you know that we consume grains, like einkorn and spelt. It’s not uncommon for us to enjoy homemade pancakes, sourdough bread, and muffins using these flours.
I believe ancient grains, organic grains, and grains that are traditionally prepared (using methods that our ancestors practiced for thousands of years to help make grains more digestible, like sourdough) can be a beautiful part of a real food lifestyle. I also know that some people can not tolerate gluten.
I start today’s recipe chat this way (which is all about almond flour, a naturally gluten-free flour, and an incredible almond flour banana bread), because in our day and age gluten is oftentimes villainized.
When it comes to the subject of gluten, I believe we need to take a step back and ask more in depth questions about how we consume gluten. We need to look at the fact that our entire diet now revolves around heavily processed and manipulated grains (which includes spraying grains with glyphosate), the type of grain we consume and how that grain is prepared, the lack of variety and seasonality in our modern diet, the fact that we no longer consume fermented foods as our ancestors once did (listen to this podcast episode for information about fermented foods), and mega amounts of stress which wreak havoc on the body and gut.
As Robin O’Brien says, “Are we allergic to food, or are we increasingly allergic to what has been done to it?”
Whether you’re able to consume gluten or not, today’s recipe is for EVERYONE. You don’t have to label yourself as “gluten-free” to enjoy this banana bread or any gluten-free baked good.
I’m a huge believer in variety, so even if you can consume grains and gluten, I think it’s important to not rely on the same flour over and over again. It’s important to enjoy a variety of foods in your diet. And if you are gluten-free, this holds true as well. Maybe this means rotating out the flours you use for baking.
I’m not saying you have to overcomplicate things. I’m simply suggesting that variety is a good thing. This variety looks like eating seasonally as produce changes (even real milk changes with the seasons), as well as cooking and baking with a variety of staple ingredients (such as: flours, grains–like rice and quinoa, meats, etc.) When you consume real food, it’s very natural to add variety to your diet.
I hope today’s recipe becomes a favorite that you add to your meal rotation. This is a recipe that I originally shared on Live Simply back in 2013 (the birth year of the blog). Now, six years later, hundreds of thousands of people have made this recipe. Today, it’s time for an update.
What is Almond Flour?
As you probably guessed from the title, the base of this recipe is made with almond flour.
Almond flour is made by grinding almonds into a powder, which makes a “flour” that may be used in the kitchen to prepare various meals, including: cakes, muffins, breads, and even used as a binder in meatballs or a meatloaf (I do this often as an alternative to breadcrumbs).
Since almonds are naturally gluten-free, almond flour has become a popular gluten-free flour choice for baking. The flour definitely takes some getting used to since it doesn’t sub 1:1 with a gluten flour (like all-purpose flour). But once you get a feel for this flour, it’s delicious and easy to work with.
Almond flour adds a nutty, naturally-sweet flavor to baked goods. This means many times you can get away with using less sweetener in a recipe because the almonds naturally lend a sweet flavor to the baked good.
Almond flour is typically divided into two different categories: blanched almond flour and almond meal.
Blanched almond flour, the flour used to make this banana bread, is made by grinding up almonds that have had the skin removed. This is typically done by dropping the almonds in boiling water for just a minute or two, then cooling the almonds and peeling away the skin. Once the skin is gone, the almonds are “blanched.” Blanched almond flour is a yellow/cream color, and is typically light and fluffy so it’s ideal for pastries and lighter cakes and breads.
Almond meal, on the other hand, is made by grinding up almonds with the skin attached. Because of the skin, this flour is typically brown, has a coarse texture, and results in heavier baked goods.
If you want to learn more about the differences between blanched almond flour, almond meal, and how to use these flours for baking, this post from The Kitchn is helpful. Plus, you can see a visual difference between the flours, which is helpful when shopping.
For today’s recipe, I recommend using blanched almond flour. You’re welcome to try using almond meal, if desired, but the bread may not be as light.
Where Can I Find Almond Flour?
Almond flour is relatively easy to find. Almond flour can be found at Walmart, Target, Whole Foods, small health food stores, Costco, Vitacost, and Amazon. Both blanched almond flour and almond meal are typically sold in the baking aisle, right next to all-purpose flour.
Costco is my favorite place to purchase almond flour. Last time I checked, a 3-pound bag of Kirkland brand blanched almond flour was $10.99. That’s a crazy good deal! I’ve also purchased and enjoyed Honeyville, Blue Diamond, and Bob’s Red Mill brands over the years.
Alternatively, you can also make your own blanched almond flour and almond meal. I don’t know if this is the most cost effective option since the price of almond flour has come down over the years (thanks to its popularity). This post from Fool Proof Living shares how to make your own almond flour (both blanched and meal).
What You Need to Know Before Making This Almond Flour Banana Bread
Now let’s talk specifically about today’s updated recipe. Remember, this was a recipe that I originally shared in 2013 when the blog was just a baby. Over the years, thousands of people have made this recipe and shared the recipe on social media with friends and family. Before making this recipe, here’s what you need to know:
1. Weigh your ingredients.
There is one thing that I highly recommend for fail-proof baking: a scale. Well, actually, two things: a scale and quality ingredients.
It’s so important to weigh ingredients. This isn’t something that most Americans are used to hearing. We’ve become accustomed to relying on volume (cups) for baking. But here’s the issue: my cup of flour may not be the same as yours. In fact, it’s probably not. There are too many variables involved with volume measurements. This means that my results may be different than your results and vice versa.
When it comes to baking, I recommend weighing your most important ingredients. Plus, weighing ingredients is much easier; just keep adding ingredients to the bowl until the scale essentially tells you to stop. Trust me, it’s easier and way more precise. If you’ve ever made a (baked good) recipe and it didn’t turn out quite right (and the recipe is solid), it’s probably because there was too much flour added (or not enough). This is far too easy to do with volume measurements.
I’ve been using this scale, which we originally purchased for making coffee (weighing coffee beans), for a few years now.
2. This bread is very moist.
Thanks to the almond flour, this bread is incredibly moist. If you haven’t baked with almond flour before, this may come as a surprise when you first slice into the loaf. You may think the bread is slightly under-cooked, but it’s not. That’s just the almond flour shining through.
One of the reasons I’m re-sharing this recipe is because, in the past, some folks had issues with the bread being under-cooked. The new and improved recipe now includes a small amount of arrowroot starch to keep this from happening. This starch is gluten-free, so it doesn’t compromise the naturally gluten-free nature of this recipe (read more about arrowroot starch, here). That said, this bread is still super moist, which is what most people (including myself) love about this recipe. In my opinion, that’s what makes this banana bread the absolute best.
I recommend waiting to cut into the bread until it’s cool. If you cut the bread while it’s still hot (and this applies to many almond flour baked goods), the bread will almost be too moist. So wait at least 20 minutes after pulling the bread from the oven to begin slicing.
3. Add this bread to your food prep plans.
Because this bread is so moist, it doesn’t dry out in the fridge. This makes it a great bread to prep ahead on the weekend and enjoy throughout the week with breakfast or lunch, or even for dinner with soup or a salad or roasted chicken and veggies. My kids love this bread, so it’s a recipe I rotate often in our weekly breakfast menu. Once the bread cools, store the bread in a bag. Or, cut the bread and store the slices in a large air-tight container (my favorite prep containers can be found, here). Store the bread in the fridge for up to 5 days.
Ideas For Using Almond Flour
Beyond Almond Flour Banana BreadI know, you really want to make this almond flour banana bread. I get it. I promise, the recipe is coming up next. Before we bake together, I want to share a few of my favorite ways to use almond flour beyond today’s banana bread recipe…
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- Chicken Tenders: This recipe uses simple pantry ingredients, including almond flour, to create the best chicken tenders.
- Almond Flour Waffles: This waffle recipe is made with almond flour and arrowroot. The waffles freeze well, so they’re great to make on the weekend and stash away in the freezer for future breakfasts.
- “One Bowl” Almond Flour Chocolate Chip Cookies: This “miracle” recipe is made with almond flour, arrowroot, and a very small amount of honey (only 1/3 cup, hence the “miracle” title).
- Almond Banana Flourless Muffins: Okay, this recipe doesn’t call for almond flour, but if you’re interested in making almond flour bread you’re probably really into baking with almonds. This recipe calls for almond butter and zero flour (yes, you read that right). This is another great recipe to prep in advance for a weekday breakfast.
Almond Flour Banana Bread
So heavenly, it’s now a regular staple on our breakfast table and quite simply the best banana bread ever. Made with simple real food ingredients, like almond flour. Gluten-free and optional dairy-free alternatives.
Ingredients
- 2 1/2 cups blanched almond flour (260g)
- 1/4 cup arrowroot flour starch (34g)
- 1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 3 ripe bananas totally 1 1/4 cups once mashed (340g)
- 3 eggs
- 1/2 cup maple syrup (134g) or honey
- 1/4 cup plain whole milk yogurt (58g) or a dairy-free yogurt
- 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
Instructions
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Preheat the oven to 350ºF.
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Line a bread pan with parchment paper, or grease with butter or coconut oil.
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In a large bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients: almond flour, arrowroot starch, cinnamon, nutmeg, baking soda, and salt.
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In a medium bowl, mash the bananas. Then whisk in the eggs, maple syrup, yogurt, and vanilla extract. Whisk until thoroughly combined.
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Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients, and stir until combined.
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Pour the batter into a bread pan. Bake the bread, in the center of the oven, for 60 minutes, or until the center is firm. You can insert a knife in the center of the bread to check for doneness. The knife should come out clean when the bread is done.
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Allow the bread to cool for at least 20-30 minutes. Remove the bread from the pan by lifting the parchment paper out of the pan.
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Slice and enjoy. Store any leftover bread in a bag. Or, cut the bread and store the slices in a large air-tight container (my favorite prep containers can be found, here). Store the bread in the fridge for up to 5 days. This bread makes for a great make-ahead breakfast option.
Recipe Video
Recipe Notes
2019 Update: The original recipe, published back in 2013, did not include arrowroot starch. It also called for 1/4 cup of chopped walnuts (added to the batter). I've found this recipe works best with the small amount of arrowroot now called for in the recipe. If you loved the original version and don't want to include arrowroot starch, I completely understand. By all means, you're welcome to leave it out. That said, I highly recommend using the arrowroot starch. It makes a tremendous difference in the final texture of the bread. Also, if you loved the walnuts, you're welcome to still add them. Keep in mind, you won't see the addition of arrowroot in the video, as the video was made a couple of years ago.
Carb Information: I purposely do not share nutritional information here on the blog, because I believe in eating real food versus counting calories and numbers. But I have received many requests from folks following keto (by the way, I recently hosted Dr. Axe on the podcast and we talked all about keto) and wanting the carb information for this recipe. The number provided is for an entire loaf, not a slice...Carbs: 285g. If you choose to use honey, the carbs will increase.
Note: This post was originally shared in June 2013 with an update to photos and important information to help you as a reader, in June of 2019.
Can’t wait to try this – just got a huge bag of almost flour so love recipes where you can use just that flour instead of 5 or 6!
This was great. I usually feel these recipes are too dense. This one rose. I used applesauce for the honey. 10 grams of protein and 4 grams of fiber per slice. Makes for a good breakfast.
Wonderful, Georganne Karvunis-MacCallum! I’m so glad you loved the bread.
Hi I made your Almond Flour banana bread today. delicious and simple to make. However, it’s not low carb enough for my needs. What can I substitute for the honey that’s not sugar based? Love the almond flour (although I substituted Almond Meal from Trader Joe’s..much cheaper and just as good for this cake).
Hey Marlene, I’m so glad you enjoyed the bread!
I’m not sure there is a good substitute for the honey. In this particular recipe, I’m afraid the texture may change if the honey is left out. You could try leaving it out all together, but again, I’m not sure if the bread will come out the same.
Way late to this. But have you tried coconut syrup? It still has the “carbs” but is lower glycemic so it doesn’t spike blood sugar as bad. It’s a staple for us!
Great suggestion, Keri!
How many carbs in the banana bread
According to our nutritional calculator, the loaf has 291 grams of total carbs.
You can use Agave honey. It’s sweeter, denser and less carbs
You can use date paste – mashed dates softened with a bit of water – in place of honey. It’s thick and very sweet, but the dates are slower-acting carbs than honey or agave.
I was going to try to use Cary’s sugar-free syrup instead of honey to lower the carb count.
Rice malt syrup works as a good honey replacement
Do you know how many carbs there are per serving? My father is a diabetic and has to count carbs. We are trying to find alternative baking tips for him.
Hey Tonya, I don’t. According to our nutritional calculator, the loaf has 291 grams of total carbs. I’m guessing you could divide your number of slices by this number?
Love this bread! I’ve not cooked with almond flour before, and was afraid the bread would be too dense, but it was both light and fluffy, while also being hearty. The sweetness factor was just right. The best banana bread I’ve ever made. Thank you for the recipe. Do you have a carrot cake recipe by chance?
Great recipe, and there is definitely a reason that gluten-free is popular today – whole wheat kills, and scientists are slowly starting to prove it, but linking it to autoimmune disease and cancer.
Thank you. Gluten can be very dangerous, literally a killer, for some people. I have written an article on gluten here: https://livesimply.me/index.php/2013/07/17/gluten-friend-or-foe/. Enjoy the banana bread 🙂
Cannot wait to make this! Would it be possible to substitute 0% fat yogurt in place of the whole milk? It’s all I have on hand. Thank you! Lori
We only use whole milk products, so I haven’t tried fat free yogurt, but I bet it would still come out great. The yogurt adds great moisture! Let me know how it comes out! It’s delicious.
I used 1/3 cup Greek yogurt, worked out great. I also used 1/4 cup agave and 1/4 cup Xyitol. Instead of honey. It was moist and yummy.
Hey JM, I’m glad your version worked out so well.
I used organic pumpkin in place of the yogurt and it turned out AMAZING!!
So glad you’re enjoying the bread, Kayla.
I’m trying to make a vegan version. How much pumpkin did you use to replace the milk?
oh yum!! next time I’m doing that. Right now my first try is in the oven. Can’t wait to try it
I made this recipe on Friday night and I have to tell you that this is the most delicious banana nut bread I have ever had. This will be my standard from now on! The yogurt is a great idea, too. Did not bother with any fat free anything. Live a little, I say!
So glad you liked it! It’s a favorite in our house. The yogurt really does make it so moist. I must have moist banana bread. Full fat all the way 🙂
whereas i totally appreciate as many gluten free recipes as possible, it’s really hard to read all the “we love gluten and eat it and bread and pancakes and pizza” stuff. having to be gluten free totally stinks sometimes and makes eating challenging. add to that being a lifelong vegetarian and, well… i miss pizza. i miss bagels. i hate not being able to eat out freely because of cross contamination. maybe because you eat gluten you don’t realize how challenging it can be sometimes, so instead of leaving your site and slamming the door, i just want to say maybe be a little less woo-hooo we can eat gluten. it would make me, and maybe others like me, well, it would just be nicer. that’s all. thanks, and sorry if i seem snippy. i’m hungry and i really want a bagel.
I am sorry. It took a couple years of rich healing foods to get to the point that I can enjoy properly prepared grains. Hope you enjoy the banana bread. Are you planning to make it?
I guess having a comments section invites people to give their opinion… but seriously, coming on to someone’s page and telling them what they should or shouldn’t say is a bit like going to someone’s house and telling them how they can act there. If Terry doesn’t like what you have to say, there are plenty of other gluten-free sites. This is my first time on your site, and it sounds like your diet is pretty similar to what ours was a few months ago. We recently went gluten free for my husband and daughters. Do I miss pizza? sure, but honestly, I didn’t seem to have gluten problems before, but even I wouldn’t go back. You are improving her gluten-free life by contributing this recipe. It was great by the way.
Thank you, Kristin. Glad you enjoyed the recipe :).
While Terry lacked tact, I understand his/her “feelings”, so perhaps I can help build a bridge. Those of us who have obvious reactions to even mild contamination with gluten find it almost impossible to eat out. Eating out is a wonderful convenience for those who can. Due to lack of education, folks like you can be termed as eating with “a gluten free preference”. That muddies the water for us, because they begin to believe that it’s a preference for all of us. Therein lies a huge problem. Those preparing and serving gf food grow lax in handling it. And we, in turn, end up in the ER of a hospital, or in our beds at home for anywhere from 2 days to 2 or 3 weeks. Once you’ve suffered from this ignorance not only once, but several times, you realize you’re placing the quality of your life in someone else’s hands who may or may not hurt you. And sometimes you just cannot pack food to take with you, for example, when I travel internationally. I’m suspicious that Terry is one of those people, who like me, become very ill. I apologize for Terry’s manner, but would ask that you all try to look past that to the injury that brings Terry to that point of desperation. Hope this helps. Thank you!
And thank you very much for the recipe. I plan to make it tomorrow. 🙂
Thank you, Jacqui. Enjoy the bread :).
Kristen,
fwiw, I’m glad you included the part about your family eating grains. I have celiac, but I hate using such a high glycemic load food as rice flour as the basis for cooking bread, and I am also suspicious of the “grading on a curve” that most gluten free recipes seem to get. the fact that your family can eat wheat but actually chooses to eat this wheat-free bread was of important informational value to me when deciding to make this recipe. it was very appropriate. thank you for posting this recipe. going off to make it presently!
You’re welcome, Chris. I’m glad our story helped :). Enjoy the bread!!
Have you tried Udis or Against the Grain Bagels? Against the Grain also make an awesome frozen pizza and baguettes.
Hey Ann, I haven’t tried any of those recipes/products yet. Thank you for sharing!
I realize I’m responding to this years after the original comment but here goes….
First, the recipe looks awesome and is baking in the oven as I write this. Thank you Kristin for the recipe.
Second, I can’t really believe someone has the nerve to come to your site, take advantage of your free recipes and then tell you that you shouldn’t celebrate your family’s food culture. I know myself and I know that if I go to the grocery store on an empty stomach, I tend to make poor choices. Make this commenter should follow the same approach when leaving comments on a food blog. Try having a snack first to avoid making “snippy” and self-pitying complaints.
Made this bread, for the first time, this morning as a Birthday Gift for my gluten free friend. She loves banana bread as do I. I have been gluten free for 5 months due to celiac’s dx. I used no fat greek yogurt and used 1/2 cup of coconut and 2 cups of almond flour. Tryed this because my breads always seem to sink in the middle. My banana’s were frozen so my wet ingredIent’s are always a little “wetter”. The bread came out of the oven just beautiful and did not :sink”at all.
Love your site and thanks for this recipe.
So happy to hear that. We love it! Thank you for sharing 🙂
Really, really good recipe! This is my first time baking banana bread without traditional flour and you couldn’t tell the difference, great flavor. The only unusual thing that happened for me was that the bread REALLY stuck to the bottom of the pan, even though I heavily sprayed it with coconut oil before cooking. I’ll make this recipe again, no doubt!
Thanks. So glad you liked it! I occasionally have that issue with baked goods as well.
When making banana bread I use parchment paper in the loaf pan, just trim at the top. comes perfect with no sticking.
Awesome, Denise!
This looks delicious! I only have greek yogurt here right now. Do you think that would work?
Yes that should work great. It’s delicious!
Thanks! I think I’m going to try it today!
Could this still work using Almond Meal? I couldn’t find any blanched almond powder
I haven’t tried almond meal, but a few people have reported it worked well.
I just made this with Almond meal and it is fabulous!
Wonderful, Diane! Enjoy!!
My family LOVES this bread – recently I decided to do a Paleo challenge, which means this is great, except for the yogurt. Any idea what I could use in place? I wasn’t sure what the yogurt really added to the recipe, so not sure what to use for replacing? Maybe some applesauce instead? Thanks!
You could try raw milk, but that’s not paleo either. It is pretty important to the recipe.
Can I replace applesauce for the yogurt? I don’t have it on hand. Or can I replace it with almond milk and if so how much? Thanks!
I might try the milk. Applesauce is usually used as an oil replacement. I haven’t tried to sub it out though with milk, but that would be my best guess.
Someone above used pumpkin puree instead and said it was amazing
Wow! This is the very 1st GF recipe w almond flour thats turned out so moist & so absolutely delicioys!! I love that you used honey instead of sugar. So much healthier. Do u have a GF recipe that’s just as tasty for choc chip cookies?
Thank you so much! It really is delicious. We love this bread. Right now we use sprouted wheat to make our cookies. I haven’t tried a gluten alternative. I think I should start working on a recipe. Thank you for the suggestion!
What about using almond milk? I believe that should still fall in the paleo category.
very good. it is very moist and rich, and unfortunately hard to stop eating.
lol. Yes, that is the problem :). So glad you liked it.
The second time I made this recipe, I added 1/2 cup of cocoa powder and made it into muffins, very good!
Love that idea! Thank you for sharing. I think I’ll give it a try.
How long did you bake this recipe as muffins?
Hey Terri, My guess is around 20-25 minutes.
Kristin, A really good recipe… before reading all the comments I did substitute the yoghurt (was out) with applesauce. The bread is oh so tasty but took 10-12 minutes longer in my oven and even though the bottom was crusty the center in some places was very moist. Probably the applesauce is culpable (and/or my wonky oven?). All this did not preclude the bread from being devoured anyway. 🙂
This recipe is a keeper and next time I will make sure to have yoghurt on hand. Thank you!
I made this bread, it’s fantastic!
This morning I really wanted something like a muffin, but using almond flour. Since I love every one of your recipes I’ve tried, I checked for “almond flour”, and voila! This is absolutely delicious bread – don’t notice it’s not made with wheat flour. Thanks for all your work!
P.S. I also had some pumpkin puree to use and made this recipe – also yummy – you might like to try it too! http://www.realfoodwholehealth.com/2013/12/grain-free-gluten-free-pumpkin-spice-muffins-with-cinnamon-cream-cheese-spread/
I love this recipe, my very favorite.
I was looking for a recipe to try almond flour with and I am so glad I found this one! I was recently having a bad fibromyalgia flare up and some of the research suggests cutting out products with processed wheat (invokes a painful inflammatory response in the body) as well as refined sugar so this was perfect. I made it this afternoon and it tastes great. I did not have yogurt on hand so I used some sour cream instead and it did not seem to affect the taste although normally I will use the yogurt.
So glad you enjoyed the bread. It’s a favorite in our house 🙂
Should all-purpose gluten free flour (ingredients = whole grain brown rice flour, potato starch, rice flour and tapioca flour) work in lieu of almond flour, or is there something about almond flour that’s crucial to the bread’s success?
Hi Marla, I’m not sure how an all-purpose gluten-free flour would do in this recipe as I’ve never used one. If you choose to experiment, I’d love hear how it worked.
Hi Kristin, Thank you for sharing this beautiful recipe. I just baked it and had lovely results! I look forward to exploring your site and recipes more.
Thank you, Kimberly. So glad you liked the bread. It’s a favorite in our house :).
Do have the nutritional info
Hi Polly, I’m sorry, I don’t have any nutritional breakdowns on the recipes found here at Live Simply.
I’m doing “strict” paleo right now for a challenge at my xfit gym, so I subbed applesauce for the honey. Still delicious!
Hey Jessica, That’s awesome! What a great sub. So glad you enjoyed the banana bread.
I can’t wait to make this recipe. I don’t have any yogurt on hand. do you think I could substitute milk or butter (I have 2% and half&half on hand). This sounds amazing.
Hi Jane, I think the milk or butter may work, just watch the consistency of the batter and add a bit more flour if needed. Enjoy!
Can I substitute almond/coconut milk for the yogurt in the banana bread recipe? If so how much would you suggest. Thanks!!!!
Hey Amy,
You may need to play around with the flour amount if you use coconut/almond milk, but I think the substitution should work. Let me know how it goes.
I just made this, but I substituted the almond flour for half almond meal and half cashew meal! It’s all I had. I also substituted the yogurt for 2 tablespoons coconut oil. I added some pecans and dried cranberry and poured the mixture into 12 muffin cups. DIVINE!!! This recipe is delish and I can testify that it works well with the almond meal! I can’t wait for breakfast!
Hey Regan, Thank you so much for sharing! Your combo sounds delicious!! Enjoy breakfast tomorrow :).
They were so fluffy and delicious. Exactly like the traditional one I remember, and paleo and gluten free friendly (I also tolerate dairy and gluten and these work even if someone doesn’t)!! 🙂
Hey Regan, I’m so glad you enjoyed the bread!! Yay!! Thanks for stopping in to share.
I also used the 2 tablespoons of coconut oil instead of yogurt and used pecans instead of walnuts. It turned out very moist and yummy! The whole family, even my 2 year old loved it!
i made this recipe this morning and calculated the nutritional info… the bad news is: sadly, even trying to get 12 servings out of this bread, it still weighs in at 240 calories per slice with almost 15 grams of fat. mine also ended up pretty brown after 45 minutes of baking.
the good news: tastes great! thanks for the recipe! i will make it again and try to find a way to make it a little lighter.
Thanks for sharing, Elizabeth! We don’t count calories or fat, so I don’t include nutritional info. Glad you enjoyed the bread!
Hi is it possible to include the calories to this …it would be appreciated ….vey popular in my house….regards Ann
Hi Ann, We don’t count calories (so I don’t post the info), but I know there are a couple sites online that allow you to input a recipe and the site calculates the nutritional info. If you scroll above, I believe another reader calculated the calories posted here in the comments. Hope that helps :).
Thanks for the recipe, I didn’t follow it exactly as I didn’t have almond ‘flour’ or yoghurt but it provided a fantastic base to experiment from – I used freshly ground almonds with a little banana flour and tapioca flour, and used coconut rice milk in the wet mix. I also didn’t have runny honey so used a mix of honey and coconut palm sugar instead (I am chronically unable to follow recipes..!), similarly with walnuts, used pecans instead. Used a food processor to blend the dry, then the wet ingredients, then hand mixed the lot. This banana bread is delicious! Thanks again 🙂
Hey Lucille, Wow! Your version sounds absolutely delicious. Thank you for sharing!
I don’t know what I did wrong with this recipe. The outside ended up over cooked and the inside was raw and mushy. The only thing I can think of is that instead of 1/2 cup raw honey I used 1/4 cup Agave syrup and 1/4 cup spun honey. The salvageable portions tasted good though 🙂
Oh no, Emily. I’m sorry it was mushy and raw. I don’t use agave, so I don’t have much experience with how it bakes, but that may be the issue. I believe agave is a bit runnier and than honey (which tends to be thick). You may try adding a few tablespoons of coconut flour to absorb the extra liquid if you’d like to try again with agave.
This bread is awesome! I’m choosing to eat grain/refined sugar free for a couple days each week. This fits the bill. All six of my children loved it. I will be recommending this to my family and friends on my blog with proper acknowledgement. Thanks!
That’s awesome, Kathryn. I’m so glad it’s a hit in your house!
Kristin,
I made this following exactly your instructions and it could not be better.. Thx for this beautiful recipe and site 🙂 :). I will surely try more recipes 🙂 🙂
Hey Carole, Thank you! I’m so glad you enjoyed the bread.
Loved this! Made it tonight for my GF daughter. She is going to be so excited in the morning!! Question: since we are in fall and everything is PUMPKIN. Have you tried this with pure pumpkin instead of the bananas? Just curious. Thank you!!
Hey Alyssa, I’m so glad you love the bread. I’ve thought about adding pumpkin, but haven’t tried it yet. Let me know how it goes!!
Loved this banana bread! Next time I will have to grease my pan better (or use parchment paper) because a big chunk got stuck to the bottom.
Hey Anne, I’m so glad you liked it! 🙂 Lots of butter (or oil) or parchment paper is a necessity with almond flour baked goods.
This recipe is EXCELLENT!
I made a few substitutions:
I had to sub 1/2 cup hazelnut flour because I ran out of the almond flour
I subbed 1/4 cup of a can of coconut milk (the thick kind) for the yogurt (my kids are dairy sensitive right now)
I subbed 1/4 cup of cacao powder for the walnuts, cuz I’m pregnant and craving chocolate
I subbed 1/2 tspn stevia for the honey cuz I’m on a sugar free diet
And I added 1 banana, using 4 bananas, just to make up for the added powder from the cacao and the loss of the honey, making sure to keep the moistness
It turned out EXCELLENT, super happy with this! Thank you SO much!!!
Awesome, Jesus-in-the-city! I love your substitutions, and can’t wait to try them!
Hi, the bread is amazing! After a fail from another recipe using gf flour I was skeptical. This recipe so exceeded expectations. I used coconut cream in a can as yogurt replacement and doubled the vanilla (obsessed w/flavor). Otherwise followed precisely to be greeted by banana bread perfection.
Question, could aquafaba be used as egg replacement?
Thanks girl!!
So glad you loved the bread! I haven’t tried this with aquafaba, so I’m not sure if it will work.
LS Team
I absolutely love, love, love your blog. It is so perfect and this recipe looks fantastic. I can’t wait to try it. 🙂
Thank you so much, Rachel! Enjoy!!
I’ve been making this for awhile now but always end up with a very wet banana bread. What am I doing wrong?
Hey Vivian, The banana bread should be very moist (the nature of using almond flour). If you’d like a drier version, I’d recommend adding 1/4 cup of coconut flour to the recipe.
Oh ok…but mine falls apart kinda wet. Is that how it’s supposed to be?
Awesome, Vivian!!
Thanks for the awesome recipe Kristin. I was looking to use up my bag of almond flour and how lucky am I to change upon this. Just baked it and it was you are so right – it IS the best banana bread ever!! I did omit the honey though (as I was baking for a little baby) and added some raspberries. It still turned out beautifully. Can’t thank you enough for it has truly made my day… I’m usually a horrible baker but this was delicious! 🙂
Thank you so much for sharing, Sophie! I love the raspberry addition…great idea! Enjoy the amazing banana bread, and congrats on a gorgeous and yummy loaf :).
My daughter and I made this bread today for the first time and had a crazy idea to toss in some blackberries. Not so crazy after all! Super good bread. We’ll be making this one a lot!
I made this bread today and was skeptical because I haven’t been having much luck with low carb baked goods. This was amazing! Thank you so much! I had to make a few adjustments, as I only had 1/2 c honey, so I substituted Splenda for the other half, and I didn’t have whole milk yogurt, so I used my husband’s low carb banana cream pie yogurt. YUMMY!
I also took your way of baking it, using the parchment paper. No sticking. 🙂
I’m so glad you loved it, Carol!! Isn’t the parchment trick awesome?! It’s the only way I bake these days.
Hi Kristin,
I have already ranted and raved about this banana bread, as well as having made it a staple in our house. I was wondering if you ever thought of making a pumpkin-banana bread? Would that even be do-able? Just a thought.
Hey Carol, Great idea! I haven’t tried an almond free pumpkin/banana bread, but I love the idea!! I wonder if replacing the yogurt with pumpkin might work? Thank you for the great idea–I’m going to give it a try.
Well Kristin, I bit the bullet. I made Banana-Pumpkin Muffins!
I used your recipe, but I used 2 bananas, and added 1/2 c pumpkin puree,
and instead of cinnamon and nutmeg, I used 1 1/2 tsp of pumpkin-pie spice.
I put this into a 12 c muffin tin lined with paper cups and baked them at
350 for 15 minutes.
After 15 minutes, I added another 10 minutes because they were not quite done.
They were delicious! Next time though, I would only use 1 banana, and use 1 cup pumpkin puree, because they still tasted more like banana. I would also add 2 tsp pumpkin pie spice because I felt 1 1/2 wasn’t quite enough.
The only other thing I would do is look to see if any stores have parchment paper muffin tin liners! LOL The muffin did kind of stick to the paper. 🙂
Thank you again for a terrific recipe.
Any suggestion on what I could substitute for yogurt? We are dairy free right now because of my daughter’s health issue. Coconut cream? Or extra eggs?
Hey Ramona, Coconut yogurt would be the best option. Coconut cream may work well, too.
This sounds wonderful! Is it possible to substitute the yogurt for coconut oil? I have found similar recipes that use coconut oil instead.
Thanks!
Thank you, Alex. I’m not sure about coconut oil. It worth’s a try!
This is the best just like you said OMG!!!!! I cant believe how simple this was to make the only thing i did differently was use coconut milk yogurt instead whole milk yogurt and it still turned out very very yummy this will definitely be a family favorite in our house whole thank you so much for this wonderful recipe. Best BANANA BREAD EVER!!!!!!!
Awesome, Zee! It’s so great to hear that you love the banana bread. Enjoy every slice :).
I just made this except I ran out of almond meal/flour, so I just substituted it for hemp protein, banana flour, hazelnut meal and more nuts ( I had a bit left of each and wanted to use it up, so I ended up with probably 3 cups of dry), and added an extra banana so it had enough moisture from the extra dry ingredients, I used greek yogurt and coconut sugar because I didn’t have enough honey either haha.
It was delicious and moist, I even gave my mum some. I like recipes like this you can adapt it to what ever and it still turns out great.
Never underestimate the power of leaving a great recipe online!
I have made your banana bread twice now and it is truly scrumptious! Based on ingredients I had on hand, the second time around I tossed in 1 additional (making 4 total) very overripe banana and I substituted date sugar for all but a heaping tablespoon of the honey and incorporated 1/8 cup of chia seed to dry ingredients to help absorb the extra moisture of the 4th banana. It worked well, yielding a sort of light, poppy seed like crunch to the bread (not to mention extra fiber, which is a plus for me). Yummikins all the way around. Thank you for publishing and helping me satisfy my sweet tooth in a healthy, practical way!
I have stage IV cancer and trying to heal naturally so must be gluten free. A little doesn’t hurt but free for the most part. I have been mostly dairy free for many years but for some occasional organic cheese on homemade pizza so the yogurt is out and I’m going to try coconut cream. Will let you know how it goes. Thanks for the recipe. ( :
I’m interested to hear how the coconut cream works (great idea!). Thank you, Larry!
Coconut cream was divine. Best banana bread I’ve ever had. Thank You !
Just made these and I have used almond flour for about 3 years so when I saw everyone saying this is the best banana bread ever I was a little skeptical . I only swapped out the honey for maple syrup and made them into muffins so they would be portable for me and my husband. OMG THESE WERE THE BEST I HAVE EVER MADE!! you have made me very happy I’m already thinking of other fruit and nuts to change them up . Thank you, thank you, thank you!
Hey Laura, I’m so glad you’re enjoying the muffins/bread! Thank you so much for the feedback.
Thank you for this recipe! It is my favorite banana bread.
I’m so glad you love the banana bread, Jill :).
Banana Bread is in the oven. I used coconut flour and Greek yogurt. I tasted batter and oh yum-oh!! First time I bake GF anything. My kids can’t wait until morning to try it!!!
Awesome, Yvette! I hope everyone loved the bread!
This is a fantastic recipe and so easy! I’ve left off the whole milk yogurt before, only because I didn’t have it and have substituted skim milk, but the whole milk yogurt makes a huge difference in the texture and height the cake achieves while baking. I used Annie’s brand strawberry whole milk yogurt and it was incredible. The strawberry flavor does not affect the flavor of the banana bread at all, but it so delicious.
Hey Renee, I’m so glad you love the recipe. Strawberry yogurt sounds like a great addition!
Do you have the nutritional breakdown of this bread. I’m type 2 diabetic and was wondering how many carbs it has in it?
Hey Veronica, I don’t have the nutritional breakdown for this recipe. I believe My Fitness Pal provides a free nutritional calculator for recipes: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/recipe/calculator.
This recipe is fantastic! My boyfriend is currently on a grain-free, sugar-free, dairy-free diet, but I’ve been craving banana bread for ages, so I am super happy that I stumbled on this recipe. 😀
I had to make some tweaks: I used 1/8 c coconut yogurt in place of the dairy, and reduced the honey to 1 tbsp to counter the sugar in the yogurt. I had no nutmeg in the house, so I just added a bit more cinnamon. I also used 5 bananas to make up for the volume and moistness of the missing yogurt and honey.
I decided to make mini-loaves instead of 1 large loaf, and added a layer of fresh blueberries in the middle of each one.
They turned out amazing. Dense and filling but moist and perfectly sweet without ANY sugar. Thank you so much for posting this. I think it just became a staple in our house. 😀
I made this today and it is delicious!! my whole family loved it!! I will make this again.
I had high hopes for this bread, based on all the positive comments. Moist is definitely not the word I would use to describe this bread. It was absolutely mushy with a wonderful crust. I waited to remove it from the pan after it had cooled, only to find a puddle of liquid at the bottom of the pan. I did make a couple of alterations based on another comment: added another banana, added 1/4 cup cocoa, no honey and no nuts. The batter was not too runny and looked normal compared to other almond flour bread/muffin recipes I’ve tried. I have put it back in the over to dry out, if possible, for the next hour or two at a lower temp. If you can offer any suggestions as to why I ended up with such a soggy, but nice crust, mess of a bread, I am all ears.
Hey Eveuntoadam, Oh no, I’m sorry to hear that. To be honest, I’m not really sure what may have happened. Somehow the bread didn’t actually bake inside, from what it sounds like, but I have no idea why that happened. My only thought as to what may have caused this is the batter was missing the eggs, or there was an issue with the kind of almond flour used. I wish I could be of more help.
Thank you for your quick reply to my problem. I double checked to make sure I was not crazy thinking I had added eggs if I had not, and yes, there were the shells in the trash to prove my sanity. The problem could be the graininess of the almond flour, as you suggest. The flour is fresh and so I know it’s not that. I use Anthony’s blanched almond flour. I do not want to add another flour to balance the wetness. I want the almond flour to be enough and I want to get this right. I will be trying it again soon.
Can I use banana extract instead of bananas as Im low carb. Would it be too dry
Hey Karenm, The bananas are needed for the texture and sweetness of the bread.
Recipe sounds like exactly what I’m looking for!
I’m just wondering if you could give me a bit of guidance in terms of the size of bananas you used. (We’ve currently got really small ones, so I’m not sure whether to try out the recipe with 3 or even 4 of them!)
Do you have any idea how many cups or grams of smashed banana you usually get from your 2-3 bananas?
Hey Diana, Hmmm, good question! I’m guessing I get about 3/4 cup of bananas, but I haven’t actually measured them.
Thank you so much for this amazing recipe!! We have recently cut out wheat and sugar and love nut flours and natural sugar alternatives such as honey and maple syrup. This is the best banana bread recipe! I used it to make muffins and used Kefir as that is what I had, and added frozen blueberries. They were the most moist muffins I have ever made and soooooo much healthier. Thank you again, and now you have another follower!!! 🙂
Excellent Recipe. This is now my favorite Grain Free Banana Bread and I’m very grateful. I’ve made 1 loaf with yogurt and made one loaf with heavy cream. Both were perfection. I’m excited because even my picky family is enjoying this. We’ve tried and failed with other GF recipes in the last 4 years. Yours has won them over!
That’s so great to hear, Gwen! Thank you for sharing!
I made my banana bread for the very first time. This is an AMAZING recipe. Thank you for sharing. I’ve been avoiding baking and most sweets available out there (my husband and I both strive to stay fit and healthy). This recipe is revolutionary to our life. Now we can enjoy sweet which we both LOVE but stay healthy. Yay! 🙂
This banana bread recipe is sooo good that my husband and I couldn’t stop eating! lol So next time I plan to reduce honey to 1/3 cup. And mix 1.5 cup almond flour with 1 cup coconut flour to save us some calories & fat. Do you think that’ll still taste good?
Hey Theresa, Yay! I’m so glad you both loved the banana bread. I haven’t tried coconut flour in this recipe, so I’m not sure about the ratio, but it’s worth a try. I might try using 1/2 cup coconut flour for the first test. Let me know how it goes.
Incredibly moist and delicious treat! I had to substitute for the yogurt, and I used Coconut Cream, it worked well. It was the consistency of greek yogurt, and the fat content mimicked whole milk well. Thank you for the gluten free recipe, that even my gluten indulgent husband will eat happily!
Hey Laura, I’m so glad you’re enjoying the banana bread. Thank you for sharing the substitution–that’s very helpful for future recipe creators.
Hi Krisin. I live in Colorado, so perhaps the altitude has something to do with it? I followed your banana bread recipe and had difficulty baking through to a texture that didn’t seem uncooked in the middle. Baked the recommended temp and time, with goopy results, then baked for another 15 min & still soft in the middle. Wondering what I’m doing wrong? Could it be the yogurt? I’ve made banana bread often, but wondering what’s making it difficult to bake throughout? Any suggestions?
Hey Karin, I don’t have any experience with almond flour and higher altitudes :(. We’re at sea level here in Florida. Have you baked with almond flour at a higher altitude before? I wonder if it’s the almond flour, or something else is happening.
From searching around online, it seems like the following steps may help if the almond flour is the issue:
1. Increasing the oven temperature by 25 degrees, and baking the bread for longer (if needed).
2. Decreasing the baking soda.
3. Decreasing the sweetener slightly by a couple of tablespoons.
Wouldn’t you know, I had 3 ripe bananas sitting on my counter! In the oven now, can’t wait to enjoy a slice!
Awesome, Amy! I can’t wait for you to enjoy a slice.
Hi Kristin,
Just wondering if you know approx how many net carbs in each slice. I’m on the keto diet, and your banana bread looks awesome!
This is the best banana bread I have ever had!!?
I’m so glad you’re enjoying it, Clara!
Hi there,
Your recipe calls for a large bread pan. What are the dimensions for this pan? I have a basic loaf pan, and put all the batter in it. I hope i used the right one! Its in the oven now!
Hey Christine, A basic loaf pan is perfect!
Hi, Kristin, I followed your recipe exactly, except my yogurt was fat-free. This banana bread is delicious! I would post a photo but I’ve already had a slice.
Awesome, Vivian! I’m so glad you’re enjoying the bread.
I made this bread as specified in the recipe, and it was delicious. I would line my pan with parchment paper next time, as I used a dark bread pan and the edges were slightly too brown. I think parchment paper might help with that. I have printed this recipe to save it for future use. Future, like…next week! thanks for the recipe, Kristin!
Hey Kimberly, Thanks for sharing your recipe success. Yes, parchment should definitely help with that!
Hello,
Is there anything we can substitute for the yogurt if it needs to be dairy free? Thanks.
Hey Stephanie, I would use a dairy-free yogurt made with coconut milk, almond milk, or cashew milk.
Just made this recipe last night. I try to not eat wheat when possible so I love the idea of baking with almond flour. This recipe turned out almost perfect. The taste is great! However, the middle unfortunately sunk and was a little too gooey in the center. I tried baking it for an extra 10 minutes, but this didn’t help much. It’s still edible, but I’m wondering if there’s something I could do next time to fix the sinking issue. This is a problem that I have encountered many times baking with almond flour and I’d love to find a solution! Any suggestions?
Thanks for the recipe!
Hey Joanna, Almond flour is naturally moist, so it won’t have the dry texture that gluten flours produce. A slightly-sunken center is normal when working with just almond flour, but the center should still be cooked. The center shouldn’t collapse, but it won’t have that perfectly domed center that’s normal for a gluten-based quick bread. To help with that, you could try moving the bread to the center of the oven (or the place where the heat is evenly distributed). Another thing that may help is trying a different pan–usually ceramic pans cook a bit more evenly. Metal pans can cause the outside to cook/brown quickly, but could result in an uncooked center while the outside looks really brown. Those are just my initial thoughts. Another idea for this particular recipe is to make muffins, and reduce the time.
One option for helping the center rise a bit is to add some arrowroot starch–that should help. You wouldn’t need a lot, maybe 1/4 cup?
I tried making it with almond meal, but it didn’t come out right. The almond meal soaked up all of the liquid and the dough was very dry. I tried adding more liquid, but it wouldn’t “liquify.” 🙁 I guess there is more of a difference between almond flour and almond meal than I thought.
The taste though was very good! The honey and almond flavor with banana was so sweet and delicious!
I’ll have to try again sometime with almond flour.
Hey Lynn, Thanks for the feedback. I don’t recommend using almond meal in this recipe. You really do need blanched almond flour to make this. For something like pancakes, the substitution may work, but not with a delicate bread or baked good.
Very moist! Not too sweet so perfect for breakfast (if you like very sweet banana bread, I would suggest a tad more honey). Thank you for the recipe!
I’m glad you liked it, Clarissa!
Followed the recipe exactly – using coconut oil in the pans – but should’ve followed the PICTURE and used parchment paper! I cannot get them (made 2) out of the pans :(. I’m sure they will taste great, but baker…beware!
Thanks for sharing, Sandy. Enjoy!
Thanks for the recipe. Mine turned out waaaaaaay to wet. I had to do a double bake it. Since bananas can vary in size, I think that is where things went wrong. I am going to fiddle around and see if I can get to something that will work every time. It tastes great!
Thanks for sharing, Corrie Ann. Good idea.
Tried the recipe, amazing! I was a couple of tablespoons short on almond flour and used flax meal for the missing amount, Turned out just right. Looking at Corrie Ann’s comment, this might have done just the trick, keeping it from getting it too wet. The only problem is, I can’t stop eating it 🙂
Kerstin – I was thinking adding ground flax seed would fix the issue. I will give it a go the next time. 🙂
Hello Ms. Kristin,
We made a double batch, just because it sounded so yummy.
Oh my goodness!
We were NOT disappointed : )
Thank you for all you do!
Hey freidia, I’m so glad you’re loving the bread. Yay! Thank you :).
Made this today and it was super yummy! I didn’t have enough almond flour, so used 1 1/2 cups almond flour and 1 cup whole wheat flour. I used 1 1/2 tsp baking powder instead of soda, since I can taste soda in baked goods. The whole family loved it, even though it was “healthy!” :o)
Awesome, Kara! Great adjustments.
Thanks, made this last night and we all like it, even my grandbaby. I have been trying to find a good gf banana bread but nothing has turned out well till now. Here are my changes for personal preference and/or what I had: maple syrup instead of honey, left out walnuts, threw in blueberries, skipped nutmeg, kefir for yogurt. Success!
Awesome, Belinda. Your modifications sound amazing!
I really want to try this recipe. I have a question though…. does it really work without any leavening?
Hey Rhonda, I wouldn’t skip the leavening agent: baking soda.
Hi,
I made this banana bread yesterday and it amazing. I used unsweetened almond milk instead of yogurt since I don’t have dairy and it was still moist.
Hey Sharmin, I’m so glad you’re enjoying the bread, and I’m so glad the almond milk worked as a sub. Thank you for coming back to share and rate the recipe, too.
I’m making this bread now (it’s in the oven!) and I made some lower-carb modifications so I’m ready to see how it turns out and will let you know.. instead of yogurt I used sour cream, and (not really as a sub, but additional thickening) in place of honey I used whipped cream cheese spread. Everything else was ok.. We shall see!! Oh, and I didn’t use the walnuts because I prefer banana bread without nuts, and all I have are pecans anyway. 🙂
Awesome, Jennifer. Let me know how it comes out.
Well, it smelled and smells completely amazing.. but I’m still finding that no matter what I cook with almond flour I can’t get past the taste after its done… it’s super moist, and smells delicious but I can’t get past the almond flour taste. ?
Yea, almond flour will have a subtle, (sweet) almond taste. But it shouldn’t be overpowering? What kind of almond flour are you using?
Best banana bread I have ever made! I forgot to add in walnuts but I think the kids would have preferred that anyways. Perfect! Thank you!
Yay, Amanda! I’m so glad you enjoyed the bread.
I have cashew yogurt. Would that work?
Hey Whitney, It should.
Very good flavor, but it stuck to my pan and came out in pieces, The cooking time is off too, I did mine for 50 mins, starting to burn on top. What did I do wrong?
Hi Darcy,
Kristin is currently out of the country, but I’ll make sure to let her know of your comment so she can respond when she returns. ~Rachel
Hey Darcy, I’m not sure what may have gone wrong. Oven temperatures can differ from oven to oven (unless calibrated), and the position in the oven can make a difference too. I would recommend moving the bread to a different location in the oven (maybe the center rack). Also, using parchment paper in the pan or greasing the pan generously will help with the sticking issue. Allow the bread to cool before removing it from the pan, too. This allows a quick bread to set.
Can I use coconut yogurt instead?
Hey Wan ki, Definitely!
Great banana bread and truly healthy
Glad you liked it, Katerina!
I just tried this and it came out perfectly. These are the changes I made. I used 2 eggs instead of 3, I used 1/4 cup honey instead of 1/2, I used 1/4 cup soy milk instead of the yogurt, and I used 2 medium bananas instead of 3. In addition to the 1/4 cup Walnuts – I added 1/4 cup raisins. I used a dark loaf pan. It was ready after 45 min of baking. I let it rest for at least 15 minutes. It is moist, but not overly, and it did not stick to the loaf pan.
So glad you’re enjoying the bread, Rose! Thank you for sharing what you did.
How many Carbs in this bread?
Hey Barb, According to our recipe nutrition counter: 291 grams for the entire loaf.
Thanks for the recipe. Turned out delicious and pretty moist. I added a few things: coconut oil, applesauce and topped it with cashew nuts. Everything was great, but I felt it was way too dense and I didn’t feel like eating any more of it because it felt way too heavy. Any ideas on how I can make it less dense? Perhaps reduce the almond flour amount and add another flour – perhaps oat flour?
Hey Priyanka, I’m not sure since the recipe tweaked from the original. That could have made a difference.
This recipe nailed it for me! I have tried so many banana bread recipes that fell in the middle and got sticky or soggy after a few days. I was not happy with any of them. so I was searching for a new recipe and found this one. it turned out perfect. I added the arrowroot flour which I am sure made the difference that I needed and only used a fourth of a cup of honey.. and I baked it as muffins rather than bread. perfect rise and moisture, did not get soggy in the middle or dense it is now on my favorites list and will be the only banana bread recipe I will be making
That’s awesome, Sharon! I’m so glad you found a winner with this banana bread recipe.
I have this baking in the oven right now! I can’t wait! I subbed maple syrup for honey because that is what I have today. I also added chocolate chips : )
Made this bread exactly as written except added a little bit of organic unbleached wheat flour instead of the suggested arrowroot flour (didn’t have any) and added some dark cocoa chips to one loaf — it turned out AWESOME! My husband has been hounding me ever since to make more. He takes some to work as a snack. Making more today and going to add blueberries. Makes a perfect snack and breakfast on the run. Very filling too. We’re not gluten-free; I just like that it is healthy, tasty, and simple.
Thank you so much for sharing this recipe! It is a new favorite in this house.
That’s awesome, Kim. I’m so glad you guys are loving the bread.
Hi, I was wondering if this would freeze well? I can’t wait to try it!
Hey Anita, Yes, you can 🙂
This banana bread is one of the best I’ve ever had…gluten free or not! My son and husband devoured 1/2 the loaf within 1 hour. I will be keeping this recipe forever and it’s my new go-to brunch dish for everything! Thanks! This is a keeper! I still can’t believe it’s grain and sugar free!!!
Thank you so much for this. I made it last night but subbed cream cheese for yogurt (because it’s what I had and also sounded more appealing to me) and it came out beautifully. I’ll definitely be making it again.
This bread is mouthwatering but I have a fear/doubt of calories in it.
Tell me approx how many calories one loaf contains? Waiting for reply asap, bcoz I want to try this recipe at earliest
Hey Fit&cheese Burger, The calories are posted above in the recipe. We focus on nourishing real ingredients over counting calories around here.
Just tried this recipe and it came out fantastic, Changes I made were: almond milk instead of yoghurt (halved the amount), and date syrup instead of honey. A keeper for sure!
Just tried this recipe and it came out fantastic, Changes I made were: almond milk instead of yoghurt (halved the amount), and date syrup instead of honey. Omitted the salt and nutmeg. A keeper for sure!
GREAT recipe!
I substituted sour cream for yoghurt and agave for honey.
My family loves it!
Absolutely the best banana gf bread I have ever made. Tried lots of recipes and this is definitely my favorite! Can I substitute the almond flour with a mix of coconut flour and oat flour? Or is texture compromised? Thanks!
Have you tried making this a pumpkin bread, subbing pumpkin puree instead of the bananas?
Hey Mindy, I have this recipe: https://livesimply.me/2014/11/03/ultimate-fall-baking-use-almond-flour-pumpkin-bread/
Hi, Kristin, have had a “go to” banana bread recipe for some time, but was interested in experimenting with almond flour and glad to find your recipe with its minimal amount of sweetener. I checked the bread after 50 minutes and found it completely wet in the middle and quite dark on the outside. Left it in for cycles of five minutes until I finally pulled it out at about 1.15 minutes, as it was just getting burnt on the outside. I am a skilled cook, though not a frequent baker, and wonder if the problem is that I was baking it on the bottom third shelf rather than at the halfway mark/level. Also, I just watched the video — hoping to see an image of your oven! — and noted you used parchment paper…is that to obviate cleaning the pan? With many thanks! Susan
Hey Susan,
I’m sorry you had that experience. There are a few things I can think of (just troubleshooting):
1. Pan: Different pans (clear, dark, ceramic, etc.) need more of less time to cook. Another factor can be the position of the bread in the oven–this will also effect the baking time.
2. Flour variation: I’m currently remaking this recipe and weighing the flour amount to post. I think this one addition will help folks who are experiencing issues with the bread being undercooked. My thought is since the only measurement provided is a volume measurement (cups), we are using a different amount of flour, which is causing the bread to come out too wet for some folks. Weight measurements will fix this issue in the future. I apologize for not having weight measurements up when you made it. Now, keep in mind that almond flour does produce a very moist crumb, but it should be super mushy or undercooked. It should be very moist, though. Adding 1/4 cup of arrowroot starch to the dry ingredients will produce a bread that’s easier to work with as far as the moist texture.
Best banana bread in the history of the world. I am seriously in love with almond flour for baking, pancakes, et. al. Everything turns out SO MOIST. This banana bread recipe is off the chart. I am late to the party, but I am REALLY looking forward to checking out your other recipes; your web site looks fantastic. Thank you!
Hey Roxanne, I’m so glad you’re enjoying the bread.
Forgot to rate with stars, definitely a 5. But also wanted to add that my two dogs love it too. I don’t usually give them table scraps, but the ingredients in this bread allow them to have a bite! It also keeps beautifully in the fridge for many days.
I just made this and it really is the best! I made a couple of substitutions out of necessity, so I wanted to leave a review to let you know what worked. I didn’t have yogurt on hand, and I had just opened a can of full fat coconut milk for another recipe, so I added a little vinegar to make sour coconut milk so the baking soda would have something to react with. I didn’t have enough honey, so I used maple syrup. It just cooled enough for me to have a slice and it’s perfect! This is my first foray into baking since being diagnosed with a gluten sensitivity, and I’m very happy it was successful. I will make this again and again. Thank you!
Awesome, Andrea! I’m so glad you’re enjoying it!
This is by far the best banana bread I’ve ever made/had… period. So much better than any with regular flour, my family was shocked to discover it was made with almond flour.
I’m literally using this recipe for the rest of my life.
Hey Danielle, I’m so glad you’re enjoying the banana bread!
This was so good! Do you think I could substitute the bananas with strawberries?
I’ve made this banana bread several times (with some minor modifications) with great success. I decided to try it with pumpkin purée. I subbed a box of organic pumpkin purée instead of banana. Unfortunately, the bread collapsed most of the interior had a pudding-like consistency and I couldn’t serve it to my company. however, it was delicious. I used the whole box, which was 16 oz. Was that the problem?
Hey Belinda, My thought is 16 ounces was too much pumpkin for the number of bananas needed. I would stick about about 1 cup of pumpkin puree for this.
This was very delicious! Do you think I could use strawberries in place of bananas?
Hey Janna, I’m so glad you enjoyed it. I don’t believe strawberries will work.
Darn! I have been searching for a strawberry bread recipe using almond flour, but have not been able to really find any.
I just tried this recipe and followed it exactly and Boy what a disaster! I tried it twice one with a traditional bread pan and one with a stone pan and both I ended up throwing out. To say it was moist was an understatement. Soping wet is a closer description. I am very disappoint as it is a struggle to find anything gluten free that actually tastes great. On the positive….I will try this recipe again with some tweaking of course….The pieces that were not as wet (outside edge pieces) were really tasty!
Hey Leanne, Try adding 1/3 cup arrowroot starch. This should help solve the issue.
Ive made this recipe a few times now and absolutely love it. I would like to make it in smaller mini bread pans to give has christmas gifts but im not sure how to modify the cook time to be able to complete them, or how many mini pans to use. Would you be able to help me in figuring this out? if not I under stand. Thank you so much for sharing your recipe and for any help you can give!
Hey Erin, I’m not sure how small the pans are, but my thought is you’d need more of a muffin bake time. So maybe around 22-25 minutes, and then check on one to see how done it is.
This Banana bread is amazing. I made it dairy free as by using coconut milk vanilla yogurt and it was perfect.
I just made this and followed the recipe with no substitutions…it was amazing! My family loved it too and didn’t even question/comment that it was “different” than the usual. This one will be the standard going forward. Thank you!
That’s fantastic, Sara!
I’m curious how you store it. In the fridge? Or in the pantry ok?
Hey Ana, I store my bread in the fridge.
This is a great recipe! Thank you! I made it exactly like you stated and it was delicious! Made more to share with others. I look forward to making your other recipes. Thanks again for your efforts!
Awesome, Karen! I’m so glad you enjoyed the bread.
What’s the nutritional breakdown – please.
Thank you
Hey Ronald, What specific nutritional breakdown are you looking for?–calories? sugar?
Really fantastic recipe. Woke up and discovered 2 overripe bananas, and found your recipe, modified everything to 2/3 approximately since I had only two bananas. And used fat free Greek yogurt since that’s what’s I had. It’s a very forgiving recipe. Baked in a square pan for 45 minutes. Thanks for this, will surely make it many times!
Came out PERFECT!!
This came out perfect and delicious! I was a bit concerned about previous comments about being too moist in the center, so I substituted one quarter cup of the almond flour with same amount of psyllium husk flakes, and the texture was perfect. Thanks for the recipe!
So glad you enjoyed it, Debra! Great idea to add psyllium husk.
I have made this loaf twice now. So delicious and something I can eat when just a little hungry and wanting something filling and yummy.
Did not substitute anything as one little slice can make no difference to my diet. I have passed this recipe on to others.
This is now my go to bake every Sunday and lasts for ages.
Many thanks.
Hi Kristin,
I’m not gluten free or grain free but I describe my diet as “grain light”. After my MD warned me I was well into the prediabetic range a couple years ago I cut carbs drastically and learned to bake with almond and coconut flour. Most recipes are fair to good, but this is great! Since I always tinker with recipes today I made blueberry banana bread: I used 2 c almond/ 1/3 cup coconut flour, substituted
low sugar blueberry yogurt for plain and halved the honey. I also added fresh blueberries and a splash of soy milk since coconut flour is very absorbent. Delish!!! I cut slices and freeze separately and bring them to work in the am. Thanks for a wonderful recipe.
My 3yr old and I made this today. It’s so delicious! She couldn’t wait for it to come out of the oven and gobbled it up soon after. We added 1/3 cup Lily’s Dark Chocolate chips.
I made this recipe following the directions to a tee. When I went to pull it out, the edges were burnt and the center was uncooked. What do we do in this type of situation?
Hey Jackie, I’m sorry that happened. My best advice in that scenario is to lower the oven temp, or adjust where the bread is in the oven.
I have an idea to use this to make frozen ice cream sandwiches… mixing mini chocolate chips into the real vanilla ice cream. Sandwich between two slices and freeze. Hope it works!
Literally the BEST banana bread!
So glad you’re loving it, Chardea!
Hi Kristin, I made this recipe for the 1st time last night. I used a glass bread pan and watched lowered the heating time versus lowering the temp. It did not stick to a toothpick in the middle, but still looked undercooked. Also, the sides showed signs of burning. It is a large amount of batter for one bread. Would it help to put in two smaller glass loaf pans to keep from burning and undercooking? Also, using honey versus sugar….doesn’t the honey make the bread heavier? I don’t want a dry crumbly bread…but I also don’t want a bread that looks undercooked. Would almond meal work ok instead of blanched almond flour?
Hey Mike, Did you add the arrowroot starch? The recipe was just recently updated with this modification, so that should help with the undercooked issue. Asking so I know how to help. I’ll offer some troubleshooting below, too:
The bread will still be very moist, but should be cooked through when it’s done baking. The bread really needs the full 60 minutes to bake, from my experience.
The top will appear dark brown, but if you have an issue with the bread beginning to burn on top, I recommend moving it to a new location in your oven–every oven has a hot spot and sometimes moving the bread out of the super hot spot helps to prevent premature burning. If it still looks like it’s burning on top, you could cover it with some parchment. You’ll notice that the bread in the photos has a dark brown crust, which is what should be expected.
You could certainly try to add sugar, if you want. For the almond meal versus flour, this is addressed in the post, so definitely check that part out.
I talk about the difference between the two flours, and suggest using almond flour, but you could try almond meal. Almond meal usually produces a heavier baked good.
Hope that helps for now.
Hi Kristin….
I did add the Arrowroot corn starch. Saw that suggestion when I found your recipe.
The burning was not on top but along the edges and some side. The bread tasted good.
Just looked undercooked….not mushy in middle but soft. Baked on middle shelf of oven
to get even heat. The batter looked too loose….may try to add more flour. It may also be
the glass baking dishes or elevation location.
Thanks for your feedback help. Great recipe! Going to do some minor changes and try again.
Hi
The banana bread tastes delicious although it appears under cook. I baked it for an hour using original recipe without arrowroot flour. I used sugar instead of honey. It is super moist.
Thank you for sharing this great recipe. How do I prevent it from appearing under cook?
Hey Linda, I’m so glad you liked it. The best solution is to add the arrowroot starch–that definitely helps–and weigh the ingredients versus using the cup measurements.
hello, i’ve been making your recipe since 2014! everyone loves it! one question though, did you change the recipe? i don’t remember the arrowroot flour (:
ok, i see this is a developed recipe (: so another question; what do you think of using cornstarch as a substitute for arrowroot starch? thanks (:
Hey Seba, Yes, the recipe recently went through an update. There’s a note under the recipes “2019 Update” with the original recipe and the recent revisions–just the addition of arrowroot and the absence of walnuts. I don’t know if cornstarch would work. If you had success with the previous recipe, I would stick with that.
I didn’t have arrowroot flour so I substituted corn starch. It’s 1.5 teaspoons of cornstarch to 2 teaspoons of arrowroot flour. In this recipe it translates into 9 teaspoons. I made muffins and they turned out wonderfully. I’m not sure how it would work for a loaf.
Awesome, Miriam! So glad you enjoyed them. Thank you for sharing!
I used the original recipe again (my 2nd try) without the arrow root as it was not obtainable where I lived. It turned out alright and delicious. Substitute honey with sugar.
I do not plan on adding any other flour since it turned out ok.
That’s great, Linda! So glad you’re liking the banana bread.
This bread is absolutely the bomb and just perfect for my sweet “clean” tooth. I make it almost every weekend. I am using the old recipe without the arrowroot flour starch and its perfect! Love it!
Hey Lilly, That’s awesome! I’m so glad you’re loving the bread!
This banana bread is absolutely fantastic. I’ve been making it for years. A couple of things with the new recipe – if you don’t have arrowroot starch – I used ground flax seed, and it came out great! It reduces the moisture in the center of the bread that people complained about. It bulks it up a bit. I LOVE the substitution of the maple syrup. Also, I didn’t have any yogurt, so I used sour cream this time. Probably not as healthy, but in a pinch it worked perfectly, and gave it a sour cream coffee cake flavor. I also tried the parchment paper for the first time, instead of greasing the pan. It’s the bomb! It prevented the outside from getting overdone. A great recipe that just keeps getting better!
Yay, Roxanne! So glad you’re enjoying the new recipe variation. Thank you for sharing! So helpful for others.
Hello! What are the differences between the old recipe & the new one – is it only the addition of the arrowroot flour? Would you be able to repost the old recipe? It worked soooo perfectly for me last time I baked it!! 🙂 Thank you!
Hey Christina, It’s posted in the notes section under the recipe. The only change is the use of maple syrup in place of honey and the use of arrowroot.
I made a double batch of these yesterday. I cut down on the maple syrup so I could add organic chocolate chips. I also added pecans. They are phenomenal! And my kids love them, too. I’ve been looking for a recipe this good for years. Thank you!
Yay, Miriam! That’s awesome!!
Amazing! I have made this many times but this time I used shredded zucchini instead of yogurt and it made it way less wet and fluffier. I liked it a lot better and was happy to leave out the dairy. Highly recommend if you’re dairy free.
I so enjoy your site and your recipes. Would you please consider adding a print option so we can enjoy your recipes a little more easily. Thank you.
Hi Rose!
There is a print button at the top of the web page! When you fist get to the page there are three buttons to click: Print recipe, show comments and jump to recipe.
Hope this helped!
LS Team.
I had everything I needed to make this only to find that my dad ate two of my bananas just hours before! Haha! I mashed my remaining banana and replaced the needed volume with unsweetened apple butter. Worked great! Otherwise I followed the recipe exactly (using the dairy free coconut yogurt option). My dark pan cooked quicker at 45 min, and lowering the temp to 325 halfway through the cook. This is a nice loaf with a lovely texture!
lol, so glad that worked, Tara! Thank you for coming back and sharing and rating. That means so much.
So happy you loved it, Tara! Thank you for taking the time to comment and rate.
LS Team.
This was a lovely weekend spoil to enjoy with a cup of tea 🙂
When I make my next batch I will slightly increase the amount of banana, as my first attempt tasted a bit more of cinnamon than banana for my personal taste.
So good, thank you for the recipe.
I see that this recipe has tons of great reviews, but had to add mine! I made this for the first time yesterday and was amazed at how it came out. I think this may be the closest in texture and flavor to a banana bread or tea bread made without AP flour that I’ve tried yet. I appreciate the addition of other nutritious ingredients like yogurt (I used whole goat milk yogurt in mine), honey, and 3 whole bananas. With the inclusion of 3 eggs and the healthy amount of almond flour I feel good about this as a snack or a part of a good breakfast. Our family has no health issues particularly associated with gluten, but I try to bake and cook with other products where I can to increase the nutrition profile. This is absolutely going to go into regular rotation at my house. I really appreciate your approach to ingredients and home products. Thanks for sharing!
That’s awesome, Emily! I appreciate that you came back to review the recipe. That means so much!