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This easy gluten free banana bread recipe is everything you could want: moist, tender, delicious, and packed with tons of banana flavor but not too much sweetness. Best of all, you only need one bowl and 10 minutes of prep to make this classic recipe.
Why you'll love this recipe
You know how the crumbs from a truly moist quick bread like banana bread can be picked up with the back of a fork? This is that gluten free banana bread. Here's why I think you'll love this recipe:
- The best texture: The acid of the sour cream and the sugar in the ripest bananas you can find tenderizes the crumb of the bread.
- One bowl: Not having to pull a separate bowl for mixing means faster cleanup and less mess between you and that warm bread when it comes out of the oven.
- Melted butter: Since this banana bread is made with melted butter, you don't have to set your butter out to soften first. If your eggs aren't at room temperature, float them in some warm water for a few minutes; warm up the sour cream on low power in the microwave for 20 seconds.
- No burning: The batter is relatively stiff, so it keeps its shape during baking, but has tons of moisture from all those bananas, so it won't burn before it bakes all the way through.
Recipe ingredients
- Gluten free flour blend: I like Better Batter or Nicole's Best here (be sure to add xanthan gum), but Cup4Cup works great, too.
- Baking powder/baking soda: Add rise to your quick bread, and the baking soda also helps with browning in the oven.
- Salt: Brightens all the flavors and balances the sweetness.
- Sugar: Granulated sugar adds a sweet taste, but also helps keep the bread super fork tender.
- Butter: Adds richness and flavor, and also tenderness. Be sure to melt the butter and let it cool briefly so it doesn't heat the raw eggs.
- Eggs: Add rise, hold the bread together, and aid in rising.
- Sour cream: The tang of sour cream enhances the banana flavor; the acid tenderizes the bread and sour cream has less moisture than buttermilk so the bread holds its shape.
- Vanilla extract: Adds depth of flavor.
- Bananas: Ripe bananas have tons of natural caramelized sweetness in them. Never run out of this most important element of banana bread by freezing ripe bananas, then defrosting, mashing (with the liquid!) and adding to your banana bread.
How to make gluten free banana bread
Once you have the ripe bananas you need for this recipe, you probably have everything else in your pantry and refrigerator. Here's how to make this easy 1-bowl bread:
Whisk the dry ingredients
In a large mixing bowl, place the gluten free flour blend (including xanthan gum), baking powder, baking soda, salt, and granulated sugar. Whisk to combine well.
Add the wet ingredients
Create a well in the middle of the dry ingredients, and add the melted butter, beaten eggs, and sour cream. Mix to combine, then fold in mashed bananas carefully so they maintain some texture.
Bake at 350°F, then cool and slice
The raw batter is thick but soft. Scrape it into a prepared loaf pan, spread into an even layer, and baked until cooked all the way through. It usually takes about 50 minutes.
Recipe tips & tricks
To make the perfect gluten free banana bread, follow this recipe precisely, measuring by weight, not volume. And follow these tips:
Select your ingredients carefully
Be sure to use one of my recommended gluten free flour blends, measured by weight. And 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.
Don't over-mix the bananas in the batter
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.
Ingredient substitutions
If you have additional allergens or intolerances, you may need to substitute some of the ingredients in this recipe. Here are my best educated guesses for how to do that:
Dairy free
If you need a dairy free option, 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.
Vegan
Just follow both the egg and milk substitutions above, and you'll have a yummy vegan bread. Just be sure that your sugars are vegan, so they're not prepared with bone char.
Banana nut bread
This recipe is adaptable enough that you can add about 1 cup of mix-ins, and it will still turn out well. If you'd like to make banana nut bread, try folding in 1 cup of soft nuts like chopped walnuts or chopped pecans.
If you'd like, you can also make this into banana chocolate chip bread. Just fold in 1 cup of semi-sweet chocolate chips once the batter is otherwise ready to transfer to the pan.
Alternative sugars
I haven't tried this recipe with a granulated sugar alternative, but it might be worth trying to replace the granulated sugar with Lankato brand granulated sugar alternative. It does tend to be drying, though, so you may need to add a bit of water. Add it slowly, though, and try to match the texture you see in the photos and video.
Keep in mind that you can't replace a granulated sugar, like the white sugar in this recipe, with a liquid sugar, like maple syrup or honey, without upsetting the moisture balance. That can result in a loaf that just won't bake through without burning, so it collapses as it cools.
I think you should be able to replace granulated sugar with coconut sugar, but try grinding it into a finer powder first since it's typically very coarse.
FAQs
Adding the correct amount of moist ingredients, like ripe bananas, butter, and sour cream, will result in a beautifully soft, moist gluten-free banana bread.
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.
Your oven may be too hot (see above). You may also just not have allowed your banana bread to finish baking. It's best to use an oven tester and bake until it comes out with no more than a few moist crumbs attached.
No, you cannot use unripened bananas to make banana bread. As bananas ripen, they develop natural sugars. 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.
Like any quick bread, you must let your banana bread cool completely before slicing it. If you rush, and turn it out of the loaf pan too quickly, it will compress the crumb. If you try to slice it before it's cool, you'll tear the banana bread, no matter how cleanly you try to cut.
Yes, sometimes you can fix undercooked banana bread! If you realize that your bread isn't fully cooked within about 10 minutes of taking it out of the oven, and the oven is still hot, put it back in!
The gf banana bread won't rise as high as it would have, but it shouldn't lose its shape as much when you finally take it out of the oven again and hopefully you can slice and eat it.
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. For an almond flavor with this recipe, try serving a slice with smooth, creamy almond butter.
Storage instructions
This bread stays fresh at room temperature, wrapped tightly, for at least 3 days. For longer storage, I prefer to slice the bread fully, and wrap each slice tightly in plastic wrap or Glad Press ‘n' Seal, then freeze for up to 3 months.
When you ready to eat, you can defrost a slice by leaving it at unwrapped on the counter for about 30 minutes. To speed up defrosting, try defrosting the slice for 20 seconds in the microwave. For a refreshed taste, toast it on low in the toaster oven for 30 seconds.
Gluten Free Banana Bread Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 cups (280 g) all purpose gluten free flour blend, (I used Better Batter; click through for full information on appropriate blends)
- 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.
Nicole, I can’t wait to make this recipe! I’ll have to find a sour cream substitute as I need to avoid dairy. I already know from making your Pumpkin Granola Breakfast Cookies that the Bob’s Red Mill all purpose gluten free flour works great in these kinds of recipes. Everyone that tried those cookies loved them . . . and most of those people didn’t have to eat gluten free! I always substitute Earth Balance for butter too. So far so good in doing that. Keep the awesome recipes coming! I love trying them out!
Hi, Linda,
If you can do soy, I think the Tofutti ‘sour cream’ is a really good sub. Tasty. That, or you can try souring some nondairy milk (almond milk would probably work well) with 1 tablespoon vinegar per cup of milk, and using that instead. The batter will be thinner, but the recipe should still work. Thanks for the kind words. :)
xoxo Nicole
I love banana bread! Nicole, you just keep on keeping on bringing on all these wonderful replacement recipes for our old favorites!!! I’m also thinking I could use pumpkin in place of bananas or zucchini for a fun change. Looking forward to having this with a cup of coffee for breakfast or lunch or or……. :)
Hi, Peggy!
This recipe would definitely be a good base for another quickbread. You’d have to add some pumpkin pie spice for pumpkin, but that sounds wonderful! May I have some? ;)
xoxo Nicole
But of course…we’ll teleport you to Sacramento & we can share some with coffee! BTW, I see we have at least two Peggys…wondering if maybe I should add to my name to tell us apart. hummm
xoxo Peggy
Hi, Peggy,
Oh how I wish I were in Sacramento, instead of NY! I’ve always felt like I was meant to live in California. Can’t explain it. And I would be honored to share some coffee and banana bread with you.
There are a few Peggys, actually, but I know which one you are (since I see your email address on the back end of the blog, where I respond to comments). But you could give yourself a moniker, of course, for ease of reference. Peggy from Sacramento?
xoxo Nicole
How do you think this would play egg-free? Maybe an extra banana and some egg-replacer? Maybe some flax instead? Maybe some applesauce for fluff? AAAaaaahhhh… reasons my baking experiments are bouncing off the walls..
Hi, Lisa,
I don’t have much egg-free experience, but applesauce will add moisture, but will not otherwise substitute for eggs. I would go with a hot water-flax seed slurry. Look what I found — a whole egg-free blog! This post seems like it has really specific, valuable information. Hope that helps!
xoxo Nicole
Thanks!! Egg and gluten free is a beast, but I like a challenge. :)
Hi, Lisa,
Yeah, egg-free is tough row to hoe, especially when you pair it with gluten-free, but you’ve got the right attitude. The flax seed slurry is your best bet. Definitely don’t bother with expensive (and largely ineffective) egg replacers. They don’t work well at all. Just don’t try to make angel food cake, which calls for nearly 2 cups of egg whites, and you’ll be fine. :)
xoxo Nicole
I hear you on the traveling gluten free meal… only I am traveling to another state far far away. So I am bribing my family into picking up the goods for me.
a slice of honeybaked ham, simply potatoes mashed potatoes, cranberry sauce… and my dad is making me creme brulee for dessert (because you don’t haul pie 1,000 miles :-) )
Hi, Amanda,
No. You do not haul pie 1,000 miles. It sounds like you’re putting together a nice meal for yourself, though. Sounds like I should be grateful that I’m only going about a 2 hour drive away, and can take my little wheelie cooler, like I usually do. :) Have a Happy Thanksgiving.
xoxo Nicole
I am going to try bringing some Fahlstrom Farms Garlic Cheddar Biscuits with me, I think they will hold up. My cooler will be with me too, gotta have car snacks!
Happy Thanksgiving to you as well
Hi there,
Can I add an extra banana with 2 large eggs instead of 2 bananas and extra large eggs? I also have half of a bag of chocolate chips with banana bread recipe written all over it. Thank you!
Hi, JoAnn,
Always lovely to hear from you. I think adding an extra banana and removing one egg sounds like a fine plan. The bread will likely be a bit more dense, but that doesn’t sound like a big problem. Let us know how it goes! Oh, and chocolate chips are never a wrong choice. :)
xoxo Nicole
Too bad I used all those frozen, overripe bananas on Monday . . . not to worry, there will always be more coming soon in my house! I was glad to see the picture with the melted and cooled butter that has a little lump of butter left in it. When the kids melt the butter for my recipes, they are always asking if the lump of butter is okay — now I know the answer! You are always so helpful, Nicole! :)
Hi, Anneke,
You’re here! Always nice to ‘see’ you. ;)
Oh, god, yes. Lumps and all, throw it in. As long as it’s softened, it’s good to go. Your kids are so helpful (and inquisitive!). :)
xoxo Nicole
spotty ‘nanas – check
Better Batter – ckeck
sour cream – check
looks like I’m baking tonight!
(ps – little hint…when nanas start to turn, they don’t get eaten. Soooo just peel them, put them in a freezer bag & when you’re ready to make nana bread just thaw & pour into mixture. They’re easily broken down with a spoon & no un-necessary roughness!)
You’re like a MinuteWoman, Pam! You’re ready to go.
Maybe that’s what I should do – peel them first before tossing them in the freezer. When the peel turns all black in the freezer, it grosses me out. good tip!
Here’s a tip for you, to slow the ripening of your fruits: BluApple. I love my blu apples. Fewer brown bananas. ;)
xoxo Nicole
you are an angel!!! Ordered…’cause we love veggies & fruits, but sometimes they spoil too quickly!! thanks for sharing!!!! :)
You bet, Pam! I love my blu apple. And you can sign up for emails from them, reminding you to change the insert. One less thing to remember. I need that!
xoxo Nicole
This recipe was perfect timing….a friend of mine had told another person that she had a recipe for banana bread that had sour cream in it…only her recipe had gluten in it. I was going to ask her for her recipe and then hope I could convert it. You’ve already done it for me!! Thank You!!
You bet, Sandy. It’s my pleasure!
I love perfect timing. It’s so … serendipitous! And then I get to say a fun word. Win-win. ;)
xoxo Nicole
Perfect! We have a bunch of old bananas and I have a 5-year old who wants to bake banana bread!
This is so much easier than my 4 bowl, dirty the whole counter use every spoon recipe. Will try it this weekend, thanks so much.
Hi, there, Tracey,
It’s amazing when you realize that something simple can be easy, isn’t it? ;) So glad you’re going to give it a try!
xoxo Nicole