Welcome to the only banana bread recipe you’ll ever need! Whether you’re gluten-free or looking for a breakfast or sweet treat made with healthy, nourishing ingredients, look no further than this almond flour banana bread. It’s made with no oil, butter, or refined sugar. But you’ll never know because it’s perfectly moist and sweet. It’s the perfect recipe to make when you have extra bananas or overripe bananas about to go bad.
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What readers say…
“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.”
Roxanne
What Makes This Recipe So Incredibly Good
In our family, we consume grains, like einkorn and spelt. It’s not uncommon for us to enjoy homemade einkorn pancakes, sourdough bread, and einkorn muffins.
I’ve also come to love gluten-free flour, particularly recipes made with almond flour. This gluten-free banana bread recipe has become a favorite with our whole family. Here’s what I love about this recipe.
- Simple, Nourishing Ingredients: We’re all about simple, real food. This recipe is the perfect example of how a few simple pantry ingredients come together to create the most delicious banana bread.
- Super Moist: Almond flour makes incredibly moist baked goods. From the softest chocolate chip cookies and bread to pancakes.
- Natural Sweetness: Typical banana bread is made with added sugar, from brown sugar to cane sugar. Instead, this healthy recipe is a quick bread you can feel good about. It’s naturally sweetened with blanched almond flour or almond meal, honey or maple syrup (or stevia for a low-carb option), and extra ripe bananas.
- Zero Gluten: This bread is 100% gluten free and the perfect treat, make-ahead breakfast, or snack for anyone with a gluten intolerance or celiac disease.
Ingredients
To make the best almond flour banana bread, you’ll need a few simple ingredients:
- 2 1/2 cups blanched almond flour
- 1/4 cup arrowroot flour starch
- 1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 3 ripe yellow bananas
- 3 eggs
- 1/2 cup maple syrup or honey
- 1/4 cup plain whole milk yogurt or a dairy-free yogurt
- 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
What is Arrowroot Starch? Arrowroot is a white, flavorless powder. It’s similar to cornstarch (without the corn) in that it thickens food. Almond flour alone can result in a soggy, dense bread. Arrowroot starch (which is paleo-friendly, gluten-free, and vegan) improves the texture of almond flour treats. Arrowroot lasts a long time. Use it to make stir-fry sauce, almond flour chocolate chip cookies, this particular recipe, almond flour waffles, and homemade foundation powder or dry shampoo.
How to Make, Step by Step
To make this recipe, you’ll need a large mixing bowl, medium-size mixing bowl, and 9×5-inch loaf pan. Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Line the bread pan with parchment paper.
Step 1: Mix Dry Ingredients
In a large bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients: almond flour, arrowroot starch, cinnamon, nutmeg, baking soda, and salt.
Step 2: Combine Wet Ingredients
In a medium bowl, mash the bananas. Add eggs, maple syrup or honey, yogurt, and vanilla extract. Whisk until thoroughly combined.
Step 3: Combine Wet and Dry Ingredients
Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients. Stir until combined. If you’re adding chocolate chips, walnuts, or dried fruit (see suggestions in next section), stir the ingredient into the batter now.
Step 4: Bake
Pour batter into the prepared loaf pan. Bake, in the center of the oven, for 60 minutes or until the center is firm. Insert a knife in the center of the bread to check for doneness. The knife should come out clean when the bread is done.
Let the bread cool for at least 20-30 minutes on the top of the stove or a wire rack. Remove the bread from the pan by lifting the parchment paper out of the pan. Almond flour sets as it cools, so it’s important to avoid cutting the bread during this time.
Add-Ins
I love plain banana bread, but sometimes it’s fun to add mix-ins. Here are a few ideas…
Dark Chocolate Chips: Add 1/2 cup of milk chocolate chips or dark chocolate chips to the batter, stir to combine. Or use cacao nibs.
Walnuts: Add 1/4-1/2 cup chopped walnuts to the batter, stir to combine.
Dried Cherries or Cranberries: Add 1/4-1/2 cup of dried fruit, like dried cherries or cranberries, to the batter and stir to combine.
Variations
Make this recipe dairy free, egg free, or sugar free. Or, instead of bread make paleo banana bread muffins.
Dairy Free: This recipe calls for yogurt. Use plain Greek yogurt, whole milk yogurt, or make it dairy-free with a plain plant-based yogurt.
Sugar Free: Instead of honey or maple syrup, some readers have used 1/2 cup applesauce or 1/2 teaspoon stevia. I haven’t tried these sweetener variations, but readers have experienced great success with these sugar-free substitutions.
Egg Free: Some readers who need an egg substitute have used flax eggs. Instead of real eggs, make a flax egg by combining flax seeds and water. How to make your own flax egg (you’ll need 3 flax eggs). This variation may result in a flat bread (a bit more dense), but still delicious.
Pumpkin Bread: If you love this healthy banana bread, try making the pumpkin variation. Use 1 cup pumpkin puree instead of mashed bananas. Follow this pumpkin bread recipe.
Make Muffins: Most quick bread recipes are easily turned into muffins by decreasing the baking time. Spoon the batter into a muffin pan with muffin liners. Bake for 22ish minutes or until firm on top. You could also make mini muffins; just use a mini muffin pan. Or, for a flourless muffin recipe, make flourless almond banana muffins.
What’s the best almond flour to use?
Almond flour is made by grinding almonds into a powder. The flour is commonly used to make keto and low carb treats. It can be used to make cake, muffins, cookies, breads, or as a binder in meatballs or meatloaf (a gluten-free alternative to breadcrumbs).
There are two different types of almond flour…
Blanched almond flour: Made by grinding up almonds with the almond skin removed. This is done by dropping the almonds in boiling water, 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. It’s ideal for making pastries, cakes, and breads.
Almond meal: Made by grinding up almonds with the skin. This flour is typically brown, has a coarse texture, and results in heavier, dense baked goods.
Which is best? I’ve used both almond flour and almond meal to make this bread recipe with great success. I prefer fine almond flour for a lighter texture, but almond meal may also be used in this recipe.
Can I substitute all purpose flour for almond flour?
All purpose regular flour is not a substitute for almond flour in this banana bread recipe or other almond flour bread recipes.
Almond flour, with the absence of gluten, doesn’t perform the same as a gluten-based flour like all purpose, whole wheat flour, or einkorn flour.
If you’d like to make a regular banana bread, with a gluten flour, make this einkorn and spelt bread recipe or einkorn maple-banana muffins. Einkorn is easier to digest than wheat, so it’s my preferred gluten flour.
Pro Tips for Best Results
1. Weigh the flour. There is one thing that you need for fail-proof baking: a scale. Well, actually, two things: a scale and quality ingredients. My cup of flour is probably not the same as your cup of flour. Not weighing flour may result in disappointment when making cookies, cakes, or quick breads. Plus, weighing ingredients is much easier; just keep adding ingredients to the bowl until the scale tells you to stop. I’ve been using this digital scale for a few years now.
2. Use parchment paper: Line the bread pan with parchment paper so it’s easy to remove the bread and let cool. This will prevent the bread from sticking to the bread pan and falling apart, which can easily happen with almond flour before it’s fully cool. Grease the pan with a bit of oil or butter, then place the parchment paper inside the pan. The butter/oil will keep the parchment in place so it’s easy to add the bread batter to the pan.
How to Store and Freeze
Because this bread is so moist, it doesn’t dry out in the fridge. Once the bread cools, store the loaf in an airtight container or bag for up to 1 week in the fridge. Eat at room temperature, cold, or reheat a slice in the microwave or a toaster oven.
The bread is even better the next day, so make this recipe for a prep-ahead meal for breakfast, a snack, or a dinner side dish. I’ll share a few serving ideas under the printable recipe, below.
Freeze the bread, once fully cool, in a freezer bag for up to 3 months. Freeze the bread whole or sliced.
Almond Flour Banana Bread
Equipment
- bread pan 9×5-inch loaf pan
- large bowl
- medium bowl
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
- Preheat the oven to 350ºF.
- Line a bread pan with parchment paper, or grease with butter or coconut oil.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients: almond flour, arrowroot starch, cinnamon, nutmeg, baking soda, and salt.
- In a medium bowl, mash the bananas. Then whisk in the eggs, maple syrup, yogurt, and vanilla extract. Whisk until thoroughly combined.
- Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients, and stir until combined.
- 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.
- 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.
- Slice and enjoy. Store any leftover bread in a bag or large airtight container. Store the bread in the fridge for up to 1 week.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Try these simple, reader-favorite recipes that are naturally gluten-free.
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Serving Ideas
Serve this bread as a sweet treat, breakfast, lunch, or snack (one of my favorite 31 healthy and easy snacks). Serve a slice by itself, topped with butter or almond butter, or serve a slice of bread with one of these delicious recipes for a complete meal.
For Breakfast
- Scrambled Eggs
- Spinach Feta Omelette
- Ham and Cheese Omelette
- Omelet Cups
- Healthy Yogurt Bowls
- Serve a slice with a homemade chai latte, iced chai tea latte, or pumpkin spice latte.
For Snack
- Spread two slices of bread with cream cheese to make a banana bread sandwich (also a great lunchbox meal)
- Top a slice of bread with butter or your favorite nut butter
- Serve with a cheese stick or rolled up turkey
- Enjoy a slice with a piece of fruit
For Dinner
- Serve as a side dish with a vegetable (frozen roasted vegetables are delicious) and chicken (whole roasted chicken or crispy chicken thighs)
- Serve as a side dish with a bowl of soup
- Serve on the side of a big salad, like Kale and Romain Caesar Salad
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.
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!
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 :).
Oh ok…but mine falls apart kinda wet. Is that how it’s supposed to be?
Awesome, Vivian!!
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.
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!!
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
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.
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!!
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.
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!
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.
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!
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 :).
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!
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!
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 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!
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.
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.