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 this is the best gluten free banana bread 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.
Ingredient notes
- 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 350ยฐF, 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. I keep ripe bananas on hand by peeling, slicing and freezing ripe bananas, and storing them in the freezer in a zip-top bag. Defrost them either at room temperature or in the microwave for about 20 seconds on 75% power. Be sure to add everything to the batter, including the liquid that the previously frozen bananas will release.
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.
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.
Substitutions options
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 banana bread
If you need a dairy free option, in place of butter, try using vegan butter. My favorite brands are Melt and Miyoko's Kitchen.
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 banana bread
There are two eggs in this recipe. You should be able to replace each of them with a โchia egg.โ
For each โchia egg,โ combine 1 tablespoon ground 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 banana bread
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 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.
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.
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
- ยพ teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ยฝ teaspoon baking soda
- โ 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
- โ 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 350ยฐF. 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.
Notes
Nutrition
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
- ยพ teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ยฝ teaspoon baking soda
- โ 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
- โ 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 350ยฐF. 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.
Notes
Nutrition
Thanks for stopping by!
Hi, Iโm Nicole. I create gluten free recipes that really work and taste as good as you remember. No more making separate meals when someone is GF, or buying packaged foods that arenโt good enough to justify the price. At Gluten Free on a Shoestring, โgood, for gluten freeโ just isnโt good enough! Come visit my bio!
Chris says
We loved this moist, beautiful cake. I added choc chips and replaced the sugar with 1/3 cup stevia to make it healthier. I only cooked for 40 mins but my oven seems to be on the hotter side. Will be making again for sure. Yum yum, thankyou for this recipe! ๐
Brenda says
Where is the chocolate banana loaf recipe recipe?
Nicole Hunn says
Hi, Brenda, so sorry for the inconvenience. I’ve done some blog housekeeping, and the banana bread variations have changed URL. You can always use the search function to pull them up, but here’s a direct link: https://glutenfreeonashoestring.com/gluten-free-chocolate-chocolate-chip-banana-bread/ If you’re being redirected from the recipe index, please clear your browser’s cache and you should see the right recipe, just under a different URL. Thank you for your patience!
Serena Mahabir says
Aw – I was looking for the cinnamon swirl banana bread you previously had! Do you still have that recipe somewhere? Thank you for all the great recipes!!
Nicole Hunn says
Hi, Serena, I sure do, and so sorry for the inconvenience. I’ve done some blog housekeeping, and the banana bread variations have changed URL. You can always use the search function to pull that one up, but here’s a direct link: https://glutenfreeonashoestring.com/gluten-free-cinnamon-swirl-banana-bread/ If you’re being redirected from the recipe index, please clear your browser’s cache and you should see the right recipe, just under a different URL. Thank you for your patience!
Brenda says
This is NOT chocolate banana loaf as the front picture indicates!
Nicole Hunn says
I apologize for the confusion, Brenda. I’ve made some changes to the site, and you may have to clear your browser’s cache for the changes to be visible. Here is a direct link to the chocolate chocolate chip banana bread recipe.
Nina says
Thank you Nicole! This banana bread is so scrumptious! I was pleased that it was the perfect sweetness since most other banana bread recipes I end up having to use way less sugar than the recipe calls for. I used Bob’s Red Mill 1 to 1 flour and it turned out great! I will definitely be making this again, but next time with chocolate chips!
Michele says
Can you use yogurt instead of sour cream?
Nicole Hunn says
You can try using Greek-style yogurt, Michele, but not regular yogurt which has way too much moisture.
Ati says
Hello! I was wondering, can I add choc chips?
Nicole Hunn says
I think that would be fine, Ati. I wouldn’t add more than 4 or 5 ounces, though. Hope that helps!
Tilly Taylor says
BRILLIANT! Even my Grandma (who is very particular about food) loved this when I made it. Thank you so much for this recipe Nicole!
Nicole Hunn says
I’m so glad, Tilly! It can be nerve-wracking baking for a tough critic. Glad we made the grade!
Janet says
I am eager to try this bread and would like to substitute Earth Balance (which contains salt) for the unsalted butter in order to reduce the dairy content. Should I omit the 3/4 tsp. salt, or just reduce the amount?
Nicole Hunn says
I don’t recommend Earth Balance as it has much more moisture than butter. Please see the substitutions section for information on what I do recommend. Earth Balance is very salty, but I’m afraid I don’t know how much salt it has per tablespoon so I don’t know what to suggest. Sorry!
Patty B says
This is so moist and banana flavored! Better than my families regular recipe! I used miyoko butter substitute and forager non dairy sour cream, added walnuts (my fav) and this was absolutely moist and delicious! Had to stop eating it! Thank you Nicole!!
Nicole Hunn says
Love Miyoko’s vegan butter, Patty! So glad your dairy free subs worked so well.
Julie B says
Absolutely amazing banana bread! I made it exactly as written (using Better Batter)…weighed all the ingredients at room temperature, prepared it exactly as recommended, and baked in two small loaf pans instead of one big pan, added chopped walnuts to one loaf. The resulting bread was incredible! I made it for two friends who are gluten-free by choice for health issues, and they are not fans of store-bought GF breads nor of packaged GF baking mixes. I had told them of your website, which I just recently discovered, and I told them I would make the banana bread for them first to make sure they liked it. One loves walnuts and the other does not, thus the two small loaves. They each got their own loaf, and they could not believe this banana bread was GF! This couple does love to bake, and I gave them the recipe and your website address along with the bread. One other thing…I baked these loaves in my 1950’s Thermodore wall oven, and I always use an oven thermometer to be sure of the temp. Thank you for all you have researched, tested, created, and shared.
Nicole Hunn says
That’s so lovely of you to say, Julie! I’m so glad you enjoyed the recipe and that you were able to share it. Thank you so much for the kind words, and I’m glad you found me! :)
Barbara S says
I love this recipe! I didn’t have sour cream so I used plain yogurt and it turned out delicious. I also used Cup 4 Cup. One thing is for certain, this is a dense bread so I decided to put half of the batter in two bread pans and they turned out lighter and fluffier(a bit smaller but that’s ok).I also added 1 tsp cinnamon to the mix and also some crushed walnuts to the top. Thanks again!
Nicole Hunn says
So glad you enjoyed the banana bread. For the future, and for others’ benefit, plain yogurt of regular consistency is not a proper substitute for sour cream, Barbara. Greek yogurt is, which has significantly less moisture. That’s why your bread is dense. The recipe made as written isn’t particularly dense. If you don’t have Greek style plain yogurt, just strain regular plain yogurt until it’s the proper consistency.
Hema Rajan says
This recipe is delicious. The bread came out moist even without the sour cream. I added some sugarfree condensed milk instead.
Raymomd Kirsten says
Very GOOD RX I found my-y oven was -25 degrees. Thanks for the tips.
Nicole Hunn says
Amazing, right? I feel like a separate oven thermometer should be sold with every new oven. :)
Stony says
Well, I just put it in the oven! I had to use rice flour and cornstarch as I’m in the middle of nowhere right now. But it looks divine already. Thank you for the recipe :)
Nicole Hunn says
A simple mix of rice flour and cornstarch really isn’t an all purpose gluten free flour blend, so I wouldn’t recommend that! I do have a couple of recipes that use only rice flour, though. I’d try those!
Ann R says
I think the writer meant that sheโs in an area where she doesnโt have immediate access to a store that sell gluten free ingredients. In our beautiful countries of Canada and the US there are lots of very small towns that are hours away from the typical stores found in bigger cities.
Soooโฆ Iโm making this banana bread recipe today. Thanks for a recipe thatโs going to make banana bread that has a beautiful crumb and great flavour.๐
Donna Doss says
This bread is delicious. I did not have sour cream so I used a 5 ounce container of vanilla greek yogurt. It is so moist.
Nicole Hunn says
Added vanilla flavor actually sounds nice, Donna. I normally don’t like baking with flavored yogurts at all, but the banana flavor in this bread is strong enough to handle it. So glad you loved it!