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This is the only gluten free banana bread recipe you'll ever need. It’s incredibly moist, full of real banana flavor, always gets rave reviews.
Why you'll love this recipe
- Super moist and tender texture (thanks to sour cream or a dairy free sub!)
- Quick & easy (one bowl method)
- Tastes even better than your “old favorite” classic banana bread (and mine!)
- Can use frozen bananas to make it any time
- Trusted recipe (150+ 5-star reviews!)
“Excellent recipe! It turned out even more moist than the regular non-gluten banana breads I’ve baked or bought. Thank you Nicole!” – Patricia
If you are enjoying making bread, you must try out my classic gluten free bread recipe and both my gluten free sourdough bread and gluten free bread crumbs recipes.
Ingredients explained
what's in it
This simple GF recipe is made with a handful of simple gluten free pantry staples. Your success is basically assured if you understand what each ingredient does:
- Gluten free flour blend – A well-balanced, high-quality gluten free flour blend, like Better Batter's original blend, Nicole's Best multipurpose, or Bob's Red Mill's 1-to-1 (the blue bag) adds structure to keep the bread together without the toughness that mixing a gluten-filled quickbread fully can create. If your flour is Nicole's Best, add 1 teaspoon xanthan gum; Bob's has some xanthan gum but needs 1/2 teaspoon more.
- Very ripe bananas – The riper, the better. Their natural sugars deepen the flavor and improve the texture, but any ripe bananas will do. Measure 200 grams peeled bananas by weight so your bread has plenty of flavor and sweetness, but isn't too moist to bake all the way through.
- Sour cream – Makes this recipe special by adding richness and acidity to create a uniquely moist and tender crumb. Be sure yours has some fat to enhance the bread's mouthfeel.
- Butter – Melted butter makes prep easier, and adds richness plus some gentle chew that's super satisfying.
- Eggs – Help bind the bread and provide structure to hold the rise as the bread cools, so there's no sunken top.
- Granulated sugar – Enhance the sweetness of the bananas and help keep the crumb tender. It also adds bulk, so even if your bananas are super sweet, don't reduce it further.
- Baking powder, baking soda & salt – The essentials that round out flavor, provide rise, and help the bread brown in the oven. Fun fact: baking soda reacts with bananas to create those brown flecks in the bread.
- Vanilla extract – Add depth through a complex blend of flavors, unlike artificial vanilla which only has vanillin.
How to make gluten free banana bread
Follow along with my clear instructions below to see how to make gluten free banana bread in your own kitchen.
1. Combine dry: Start by whisking your dry ingredients—flour, leaveners, salt, and sugar—together in a large bowl.
2. Add wet: Create a well in the center and add the melted butter, eggs, vanilla, and sour cream. Mix until just combined.
3. Add bananas: Finally, fold in the mashed bananas gently. The batter will be thick but soft and easy to spread.
4. Transfer and bake: Scrape it into a greased 9×5-inch loaf pan and smooth the top with a spatula. Bake at 350°F for about 50 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out with a few moist crumbs but no wet batter.
5. Cool: Let the bread cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely before slicing.
substitutions
Allergy-friendly swaps and add-ins
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 – Replace the butter with your favorite vegan butter (like Miyoko’s or Melt). For sour cream, use any plain nondairy alternative, or drained plain nondairy yogurt.
Egg free – Swap each egg for a “chia egg” (1 tablespoon ground chia seeds + 1 tablespoon warm water, mixed and allowed to gel).
Mix-ins – Add up to 1 cup of extras like chopped walnuts, pecans, or chocolate chips. Fold them in once the batter is mixed and ready for the pan. Add up to 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon to the dry ingredients with or without other mix-ins, and try sprinkling about 2 tablespoons cinnamon-sugar on top of the raw bread right before baking for a warm, sweet crispy top.
Expert tips
Use bananas that are deeply speckled or fully brown. The riper they are, the sweeter and more flavorful your loaf will be.
Mash the bananas thoroughly, then fold them in last. This keeps the batter light and the crumb tender.
Bring all your ingredients to room temperature. It makes mixing easier and prevents overworking the batter.
Let it cool completely before slicing. Warm banana bread is tempting, but slicing too soon can make it gummy or crumbly.
Gluten Free Banana Bread Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 cups (280 g) all purpose gluten free flour blend, (See Recipe Notes for Recommendations)
- 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 slightly less ripe banana, sliced thinly lengthwise, for topping (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. Whisk to combine well.
- Create a well in the center of the dry ingredients. Add the melted butter, eggs, and vanilla, then the sour cream. Mix until just combined.
- Add the mashed bananas (200 g) and fold them gently into the batter to avoid overmixing.
- Scrape the batter into the prepared loaf pan, and smooth the top with a spatula dipped in water. 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 the top is golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with a few moist crumbs but no wet batter.
- Baking time will be about 50 minutes without the additional bananas on top, and about 1 hour with them. If the top is browning too quickly before the center is fully set, tent loosely with foil for the final 10–15 minutes.
- Let the banana bread cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely before slicing.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Storage instructions
Let the banana bread cool completely, then wrap tightly and store at room temperature for up to 3 days.
For longer storage, slice the loaf, wrap each piece individually in plastic wrap or Press'n Seal, and freeze for up to 3 months.
Defrost slices at room temperature, microwave for 20 seconds, or toast gently to refresh.
FAQs
Usually, that means your oven is running hot. The outside sets too fast, before the center can bake through. Use an oven thermometer to confirm your temp.
Fully ripe bananas give the best flavor and texture. To ripen quickly, place them in a brown paper bag with an apple overnight.
No—this recipe needs a structured blend. Try my almond flour banana bread instead.
Yes! Try my gluten free banana muffins or divide the batter from this recipe into three 6×3-inch pans and bake for 25–30 minutes.
I have made this recipe numerous times.
My family overwhelmingly likes this recipe the best.
Thanks for working hard at perfecting this.
I usually bake by weight, not cups. Didn’t see a weight for the flour, otherwise perfect!!
Oddly, the weight is on your website but not when I printed it out!
Hi, Linda, thank you so much for sharing your experience with this recipe. I’m so glad it sounds like it’s your go-to banana bread recipe. About the weights/cups issue, you just have toggle the Customary/Metric measurements button to metric (it defaults to customary), and then you can print out the recipe using weights. :)
My son and I love to bake together and this is first on our list to try for Spring Break! Looks so good with the sour cream.
That’s great to hear, Juniper!
Hello there!
I was wondering which one of your mock up flour blends would you recommend for this recipe? Thank you,
Madi
Hi, Madi, if a recipe is like this one and calls for an all purpose gluten free flour blend, as opposed to a specific formulation, and you’d like to use one of my “mock” blends, I would always recommend my mock Better Batter blend. Among the mock blends, it’s the best, and it would work perfectly in this recipe. I hope that’s helpful!
Delicious. Easy to prepare, not too sweet, soft and moist. My new GF banana bread recipe.
So glad to hear it, Karen! Thank you for sharing your experience.
The BEST GF Banana Bread recipe ever! Easy to make, very moist. Thank You!!
So glad you loved the banana bread, Dana. It’s one of my favorite recipes. So glad it was such a hit. Thank you for sharing that!
Well another successful baking session – this banana bread knocks it out of the park. Made a double recipe just because I had lots of frozen very ripe frozen bananas to use.
My suggestion is to thaw them overnight in the fridge in a bowl then squeeze them out into a measuring cup since they will be black in colour an mushy soft.
I have added the fine zest of one small lemon & half the juice from that lemon to the liquid ingredients plus a splash of vanilla. Just like I saw on a Julia Child show a million years ago. Seems to brighten up the bananas a wee bit.
Other than that slight modification – this is a perfect recipe for those dear old bananas in your freezer.
I made this recipe with Monk Fruit instead of sugar, and I can’t believe I found a GF (and sugar free) banana bread that is so good!! The texter is just perfect: soft and moist. I think it is better than banana bread made with regular flour!
So great to know that it worked with a sugar alternative, Rebecca! Thank you so much for sharing that.
I made the GF banana bread. I think your ratio for the chia egg replacement is off.
I used 1 T chia seeds with 1 T water . It was a solid paste almost a solid. So I used 1/3C water with 1 T chia seeds as the chia guide states. However, it stilled turned out very dense.
Any suggestions ?
There are 2 eggs in this recipe, M, so you’d have to use twice as much, and it sounds like you only made 1. Also, I recommend using ground white chia seeds, not whole seeds. Regardless, I’m afraid that this won’t ever produce exactly the same results as actual eggs. If you have another egg replacement that is generally successful for you, I’d suggest trying that. The substitution suggestions that I provide are just a starting point.
Made this with butter and regular Greek yogurt. It’s incredible, moist and sweet and very delicious!
So glad you love this recipe, Lucille! Thanks for letting me know that Greek yogurt worked in place of sour cream!
Just want to tell you that I use many of your recipes. I have made this banana bread many times. Thank you for so many GF recipes that work. I do live at elevation (7300 feet) and make adjustments for that. I typically adjust cookie and cake recipes by adding extra GF flour and lessening the baking soda and powder. I do not adjust recipes that use yeast. For example, in this banana bread recipe I add an extra 1/2 cup flour and lessen the baking powder by 1/4 tsp and the soda by 1/8 tsp. I also use Caputo floreglut flour for all of my baking.
You’re so welcome, Terri. And thank you so much for sharing the adjustments you make for elevation. It’s one condition I simply can’t recreate, so I can’t give anyone first hand advice, so your experience is so valuable. And so glad you love the banana bread!