Almond Flour Banana Bread is naturally gluten-free and tastes just as delicious as a traditional recipe! It’s the perfect way to use up any ripe bananas you have on hand.
Why You’ll Love It
It has a great texture. Baking with almond flour requires more eggs and less oil than traditional banana bread, but don’t let that throw you off. It still has a soft and tender crumb that you’ve come to expect from a quick bread.
It tastes amazing. This recipe has the perfect banana flavor, with just the right amount of sweetness. It makes a delicious snack or breakfast on the go.
It’s gluten-free & dairy-free. If you’re serving friends or family members with special dietary needs, this Paleo bread is a great option made without grains, gluten, or dairy. (If you need a nut-free option, try my Oat Flour Banana Bread or Buckwheat Banana Bread, instead.)
It’s easy to prepare. All you need is one bowl to stir this batter together, then it will bake to perfection in the oven. The hardest part is waiting for it to bake and cool, because it will make your home smell so good!
Ingredients You’ll Need
It’s best to use finely ground blanched almond flour for this recipe, rather than almond meal (which has brown specks in it), for the fluffiest results. Almond flour already creates a very moist, dense quick bread, so using almond meal will potentially make the loaf a little too wet in the middle.
If you prefer to use butter instead of oil, you can replace the olive oil with melted butter, or try using melted coconut oil, instead. You can also add in some chocolate chips for extra sweetness, or chopped walnuts or pecans, for added texture.
How to Make Almond Flour Banana Bread
1. Prepare the pan.
Preheat the oven to 350ºF0 and prepare a 9-by-5-inch loaf pan by spraying it with cooking spray, then press a piece of parchment paper into the pan. The oil will hold the paper in place, so it won’t wiggle when you add the batter later.
Next, peel 3 large ripe bananas and mash them with a fork until they look relatively smooth.
2. Mix the batter.
Add the mashed banana to a large mixing bowl, along with the almond flour, eggs, maple syrup, salt, baking powder, cinnamon, and olive oil.
Stir well, until no lumps remain. You can fold in any extras you like here, such as chocolate chips or chopped walnuts.
Note: There’s no need to separate wet ingredients from dry ingredients in gluten-free baking, since there’s no risk of over-mixing. However, you can whisk the almond flour, salt, and baking powder together first, if you’d like to break up any clumps that way.
3. Bake.
Pour the batter into the prepared pan, and sprinkle on any toppings you like. (This is optional.)
bake until the loaf is golden on top and feels firm in the center, about 55 to 60 minutes. You can test the center with a toothpick, to make sure the bread isn’t still uncooked in the middle. (Because this bread is so moist, it takes a little longer to cook than a grain-based recipe.)
4. Cool & enjoy!
Let the bread cool completely in the pan, or use the parchment paper to lift it out of the pan and let it cool on a wire rack. Once it’s cool, it’s ready to slice.
Because it’s so moist, be sure to store it in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days. You can also freeze individual slices tightly wrapped in the freezer, if you’d like to save it longer. Thawing it overnight in the fridge will help it soften up again before you’re ready to enjoy it again.
Frequently Asked Questions
No. You can’t simply swap almond flour for another flour, because almond flour has a much higher fat content, and isn’t as dense as all-purpose flour. It also is gluten-free, so it won’t bind as easily as regular flour. (Hence, why you need more eggs.)
Yes, you can use a 1/4 teaspoon of baking soda for every egg in this recipe, instead of using the baking powder.
This recipe is not low-carb as written, since it calls for maple syrup and bananas. You can use a sugar-free maple syrup, if you’d like a lower sugar option, but the natural sugar in bananas will not make this a “keto banana bread.”
If you want to use honey as the sweetener, use a little less than what is called for in the recipe. (A 1/4 cup should work.) Honey has a stronger flavor, and you don’t want it to overpower the bananas.
Oddly enough, using a granulated sugar in this recipe makes it more mushy. I absolutely love the flavor of this banana bread when you use 3/4 cup coconut sugar, but the texture will be softer and more mushy with this swap.
If you need an egg-free banana bread, I’ve already got a tested Vegan Almond Flour Banana Bread recipe here on my website. I don’t recommend using flaxseed meal (or flax eggs) as a replacement, because the eggs provide structure in this recipe. In general, beware of making substitutions with gluten-free baking, because it’s not as forgiving as using all-purpose flour.
Need more almond flour recipes? Be sure to try my Almond Flour Chocolate Cake, Almond Flour Muffins, and Almond Flour Brownies or Pancakes.
Almond Flour Banana Bread
This almond flour banana bread is naturally grain-free and gluten-free, made with just a few simple ingredients. I love that it’s naturally sweetened with maple syrup!
Servings:
Ingredients
- 3 large ripe bananas (about 1 ½ cups mashed)
- 2 cups blanched almond flour
- 3 large eggs
- ⅓ cup maple syrup
- ½ teaspoon fine sea salt
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
Instructions
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Preheat the oven to 350ºF and lightly spray a loaf pan with oil. I also like to line it with parchment paper, so the bread will easily lift out later. Peel the bananas and mash them on a plate.
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Add the mashed banana to a large mixing bowl, along with the almond flour, eggs, maple syrup, salt, baking powder, cinnamon, and olive oil. Stir well, until no lumps remain.
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Pour the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top with a spatula. Bake until the top starts to crack and feels firm to the touch in the very center, about 50 to 55 minutes.
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Let the bread cool completely in the pan, then slice and serve. Because this bread is so moist, I recommend storing it in the fridge for the best shelf life, up to 1 week. (I’ve also left it at room temperature for 24 hours with no issue, if you think you’ll eat it quicky.)
Video
Notes
I use olive oil in this recipe because it doesn’t thicken when it comes into contact with eggs that are cold from the fridge. If you would prefer, you can use coconut oil instead, or you can leave it out if you don’t mind a slightly different texture for the bread. (The oil makes it easier to slice, in my opinion.)
Nutrition
Calories: 191kcal, Carbohydrates: 18g, Protein: 6g, Fat: 12g, Saturated Fat: 1g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g, Monounsaturated Fat: 1g, Cholesterol: 47mg, Sodium: 114mg, Potassium: 226mg, Fiber: 3g, Sugar: 10g, Vitamin A: 87IU, Vitamin C: 3mg, Calcium: 88mg, Iron: 1mg
If you try this Almond Flour Banana Bread, please leave a comment below letting me know how you like it! I really appreciate your feedback.
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Reader Feedback: Which flavor of quick bread should I made next? Which flours do you prefer to use?