This Healthy Gluten-Free Banana Bread is made with brown rice flour and arrowroot starch and completely egg-free and dairy-free! Sweetened with maple syrup.
When the world started making banana bread a few weeks ago, I did too. Comfort food and solidarity seemed like the right course of action. And it still does.
But this time, instead of making one of the banana bread recipes on this website, I experimented.
In gluten-free and egg-free baking, nut and seed butters and nut flours play such a useful role in taste, texture, and binding capabilities. While I love my tahini, decadent chocolate peanut butter, and roasted strawberry breads, none of them are nut-free.
I wanted to share a classic banana bread recipe that checked all the boxes.
- Healthy
- Gluten-free
- Egg-free
- Naturally-sweetened
- Nut-free
One that fits the requirements without giving up flavor. This is where the magic of bananas really shines.
Healthy Gluten-Free Banana Bread Ingredients
Here's the major ingredients you'll need:
- Overripe bananas
- Brown rice flour
- Arrowroot starch
- Ground flaxseeds
- Maple syrup (or honey)
- Coconut oil
- Vanilla extract
- Ground cinnamon
Tips for Baking Gluten-Free Vegan Banana Bread
- The riper the bananas, the better. Overripe bananas give you stellar natural sweetness but also make for great binding properties.
- Brown rice flour can be found at most major grocery stores and health stores. I often purchase mine on Amazon.
- Arrowroot starch helps with structure and keeps this recipe corn-free. If needed and works in your diet, cornstarch is a suitable substitute.
- Maple syrup works in conjunction with the overripe bananas to naturally sweeten this bread. If you are not vegan, honey can work as a substitute if necessary.
Can I add mix-in's? Absolutely. Here are a few ideas:
- Walnuts, pecans, or cashews (if not nut-free)
- Dairy-free or regular chocolate chips
- Dried fruit such as cranberries, raisins, or cherries
Pro tip: With or without butter, slather a bit of date paste on a slice for a truly delicious treat!
More Gluten-Free Bread Recipes
Healthy Gluten-Free Banana Bread
Ingredients
- 2 flax eggs 2T ground flaxseed + 6T warm water
- ⅓ cup coconut oil melted and cooled
- 1 ½ cups (290g) mashed overripe bananas (3 medium)
- ½ cup maple syrup or honey room temperature
- 1 ½ teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 1 cup (152g) brown rice flour
- ⅓ cup (45g) arrowroot starch
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ¾ teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Line an 8 ½ x 4 ½ loaf pan with parchment paper. Prepare your flax eggs and allow to sit for 4-5 minutes.
- In a large bowl, add the melted coconut oil, mashed banana, maple syrup, vanilla extract, and flax eggs. Stir to combine. Add remaining ingredients and stir until mixture is evenly incorporated.
- Transfer batter to prepared pan and bake for 55-60 minutes. A tester should come out with only a few crumbs. Allow bread to cool completely before slicing.
Lisa
Absolutely love this GF recipe! It was my first time to use flax as a egg substitute. My husband and kiddos loved it and I am delighted! The halved bananas on top are beautiful!
Tessa
Thank you, Lisa! I am so happy everyone enjoyed it! :)
mandy
looks so yummy just two flour !!
for the flaxseed, are there any replacement for flaxseed ?
Tessa
Thank you! You could use ground chia seeds as a replacement.
Amanda
I've never made anything with exclusively gluten-free flours before, but stumbled upon this recipe by accident (I think I clicked over to your site from Kate's guacamole recipe) and had three overripe bananas and some brown rice flour and arrowroot starch to use up. I was low on flax, coconut oil and maple syrup, so swapped in eggs, canola oil (reduced to 1/4 cup) and brown sugar (reduced to 90g). I folded in 75g of chopped walnuts at the end. And then, of course, my loaf pan was also occupied, so I made this in a muffin tin instead. Despite the substitutions, I have 12 beautifully domed, fragrant muffins that taste great. I so appreciate you providing an excellent base recipe for me to mess with based on what I had on hand. I'll put this in my regular rotation. By the way, if anyone else is looking for muffin timing, the muffins smelled done and sprang back at 20 minutes, but I had read that GF baked goods can be a little gummy and benefit from longer baking, so I left them in another 3-5 minutes and they didn't come out overdone.
Tessa
That is so awesome. Thank you, Amanda! I am glad to hear that those subs worked out so well.