This post may contain affiliate links. Please read our disclosure policy.
This gluten free banana bread recipe is moist, tender, delicious, packed with tons of banana flavor—and made easily in one bowl with only 10 minutes of prep time.
I've tweaked and perfected this recipe for over 20 years, beginning before I started baking gluten free, and it's absolutely perfect!
“Perfect recipe! As always, weighing ingredients is better than using measuring cups. I made it today with no modifications or additions and this bread is moist and tastes wonderful. The crumb, texture, and taste are spot on. Thanks for the great recipes, this is truly the BEST site for GF cooking and baking.”
my take
Nicole's Recipe Notes
No burning: The batter has tons of moisture from all those bananas, so it won't burn before it bakes all the way through.
The best texture: The acid of the sour cream and the sugar in the ripest bananas you can find tenderizes the crumb.
One bowl: Not having to pull a separate bowl for mixing dry ingredients means faster cleanup and less mess.
Easy preparation: It's made with melted butter, so you don't have to wait for it to soften. Float cold eggs in warm water for a few minutes; warm up cold sour cream on low power in the microwave for 20 seconds.
Recipe ingredients
Here are some things to keep in mind about the ingredients in this recipe before you begin:
what's in it
Recipe ingredient notes
- Gluten free flour blend: Any high quality all purpose gluten free flour blend with a finely ground rice flour should work in this recipe.
- Baking powder/baking soda: Adds rise and helps the bread brown in the oven.
- Salt: Brightens all the flavors and balances the sweetness.
- Sugar: Adds sweetness and keeps the bread tender.
- Butter: Adds richness and flavor, and also tenderness.
- Eggs: Add rise, hold the bread together, and aid in rising.
- Sour cream: Adds tangy flavor and keeps the bread tender.
- Vanilla extract: Adds depth of flavor.
- Bananas: Ripe bananas have tons of natural caramelized sweetness in them.
How to make gluten free banana bread
It's easy to make banana bread in one bowl by whisking together the dry ingredients first (gluten free flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and sugar), then adding the wet ingredients (melted butter, beaten eggs, sour cream, vanilla, and mashed ripe bananas).
Transfer the mixture, which should be thick but soft, to a prepared loaf pan and smooth the top. Bake at 350°F for about 50 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out mostly clean, and not wet. Let cool, then slice and serve.
substitutions
Ingredient substitutions
The full list of ingredients is in the recipe card, and you'll find dairy, eggs, and refined sugar. Here are my suggestions on how to replace them, or to add mix-ins:
Dairy free
In place of butter, try using vegan butter. My favorite brands are Melt and Miyoko's Creamery.
In place of sour cream, any plain, nondairy, gluten-free sour cream alternative should work fine. If you'd like to use plain nondairy yogurt, be sure to drain it of liquid until it's the consistency of sour cream or it will add too much moisture.
Egg free
There are two eggs in this recipe. You should be able to replace each of them with a “chia egg.”
For each “chia egg,” combine 1 tablespoon ground white chia seeds + 1 tablespoon lukewarm water and allow to sit until it gels. If you have another egg replacer you prefer, try that. This recipe is so adaptable that it might work.
Mix-ins
You can add about 1 cup of mix-ins to this recipe. Try folding in 1 cup of soft nuts like chopped walnuts or chopped pecans. Or fold in 1 cup of semi-sweet chocolate chips once the batter is otherwise ready to transfer to the pan.
My Pro Tip
Expert tips
To make the perfect gluten free banana bread, follow this recipe precisely, measuring by weight, not volume, wherever possible. And follow these tips:
Use very ripe bananas
Choose bananas that have ripened enough to be evenly speckled and have a strong aroma. Like I often have shredded and drained zucchini in my freezer to make gluten free zucchini bread, I keep ripe bananas on hand in the freezer. I peel, slice and freeze ripe bananas, and store them in the freezer in a zip-top bag. You can defrost them either at room temperature or in the microwave for about 20 seconds on 75% power.
Mix the bananas gently
Mash the peeled, ripe bananas very well before adding them to the batter. Then fold them into the batter at the end, rather than stirring aggressively.
Use room temperature ingredients
When you allow your ingredients to come to room temperature, you'll notice it's so much easier to mix them. You'll also notice a finer end product because you didn't have to overmix your ingredients to fully incorporate them.
Let the bread cool completely before slicing
As tempting as it may be to slice into your bread as soon as it's out of the oven, try to resist. When you allow your bread to cool, you'll enjoy a better texture. In addition to the improved mouth feel, the bread will be easier to slice and won't fall apart.
Gluten Free Banana Bread Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 cups (280 g) all purpose gluten free flour blend, (See Recipe Notes) (click thru for complete info)
- 1 teaspoon xanthan gum, omit if your blend already contains it
- ¾ teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ⅔ cup (133 g) granulated sugar
- 8 tablespoons (112 g) unsalted butter, melted and cooled
- 2 (100 g (weighed out of shell)) eggs, at room temperature, beaten
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- ⅔ cup (150 g) sour cream, at room temperature
- 1 cup (200 g) peeled ripe bananas, mashed (from about 2 small- to medium-size bananas)
- 1 small (less) ripe banana, for the top (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350°F. Grease a standard 9 x 5 inch loaf pan, and set it aside.
- In a large bowl, place the all purpose gluten free flour, xanthan gum, salt, baking powder, baking soda and sugar, and whisk to combine well.
- Create a well in the center of the dry gf banana bread ingredients and add the melted butter, eggs, and vanilla, then the sour cream, and mix until just combined.
- Add the mashed bananas (200 g) and fold them into the batter, taking care not to further squish them.
- Scrape the batter into the prepared loaf pan, and smooth the top with a wet spatula. If you're using the optional banana as a topping, place very thinly sliced bananas (cut lengthwise) on top of the smooth batter, sparingly.
- Place the pan in the center of the preheated oven. Bake until golden brown on top, and a tester inserted in the center comes out with no more than a few moist crumbs attached.
- Baking time will be about 50 minutes without the additional bananas on top, and about 1 hour with them. If the gluten free banana bread loaf is browning too fast for the center to bake fully, tent with foil while it finishes baking.
- Allow the gf banana bread to cool in the pan for 10 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely before slicing and serving.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
make ahead/leftovers
Storage instructions
This bread stays fresh at room temperature, wrapped tightly, for at least 3 days. For longer storage, slice the bread fully, and wrap each slice tightly in plastic wrap or Glad Press ‘n' Seal, then freeze for up to 3 months.
Defrost a slice by leaving it at unwrapped on the counter for about 30 minutes or for 20 seconds in the microwave. You can also toast it on low in the toaster oven for 30 seconds to refresh it.
FAQs
In general, when baked goods rise in the oven and then fall as they cool, they were baked in an oven that is running hot. The outside of the bread cooks too quickly, before the center has a chance to bake all the way through. Always bake using a small, cheap, freestanding oven thermometer, as most ovens run hot.
As bananas ripen, they develop natural sugars that you can't make this bread without. To speed the ripening of your bananas, place them in a brown paper bag with an apple. The gases from the apple will speed up the ripening of the bananas.
No, almond flour can't be used as a replacement for an all purpose gluten free flour blend, which is why I recommend using our recipe for almond flour banana bread instead.
It should work fine to divide the raw batter into muffin tins and bake muffins with it, but I haven't tried that. Instead, here's a recipe for gluten free banana muffins that are tender and delicious.
A standard 9-inch x 5-inch loaf pan holds 8 cups of batter. That's enough batter to make 3 mini loaf pans if they're about 6-inches x 3-inches each. They should take about 25 to 30 minutes to bake.
You can slice the bread after it's cooled in the pan for about 10 minutes in the pan and then 30 minutes out of the pan on a wire rack.
No, but many readers have said that their “usual” high altitude adjustments that they use for conventional recipes work in my gluten free recipes.
Hands down it takes like my old gluten Banana Bread.
My husband even asked for seconds……
Thanks for developing this recipe.
You’re so welcome, Anne. Thank you for sharing that, and I’m so glad you have your old banana bread back!
Is truly IS the best. My go-to recipe every time. Quick, easy, delicious!
So glad you love this banana bread recipe, Susan. Thank you so much for sharing your experience.