This Gluten Free Banana Bread is moist, sweet, tender, and filled with chocolate. Your guests will never know it's gluten-free. (dairy free alternative)
There's no real magic to baking gluten free banana bread. The most important decision is what type of flour to use.
I often use Bob's Red Mill 1 to 1 Gluten Free Baking Flour because it can be replaced one-to-one, and usually, no one can tell. Now, those more sensitive types might be able to, and it depends on what you are using it for, but in general, your audience will thank you.
Gluten Free Baking Tips
Choice of flour
I have tried just about every gluten free flour on the market, and years ago, I made my own flour mixes. I am so happy that there are so many great options available at the grocery store these days.
I have had much success with Bob's Red Mill 1 to 1 Gluten Free Baking Flour, King Arthur Gluten Free Measure for Measure Flour, and Pillsbury Best Gluten Free All Purpose Flour Blend. In most cases, these should work as an exact one-to-one replacement, but you do have to test them out with some recipes. I can assure you in this recipe: it works!
Baking times
Baking times for gluten free recipes should be the same. I always suggest using a thermometer in your oven now and then to check and see if it's heating to the correct temperature.
I cook my baked goods in the center rack of the oven even if this means I cook cookies and muffins in two batches. We all know that cookies on the top and bottom racks just don't turn out the same.
Storage
Storing gluten free baked goods can be challenging because they do not stay as fresh as those baked with all-purpose wheat flour. I would suggest storing it for only a few days or keeping the bread in the refrigerator. You can always warm it up for 20 seconds in the microwave.
Nutrition
Some readers ask me about how the nutrition of gluten free flour stacks up to white flour. As I like to say, dessert is dessert, and in this case, it makes no difference. Gluten free does not equal healthy.
Measuring gluten free flour
You can measure gluten free flour the same way you would regular flour. I like the spoon and level method, where you fill the measuring cup using a spoon, then take a butter knife and level it off. That way, you can be pretty sure you are being accurate.
If you are interested in learning more about the pros and cons of starting a gluten free diet, check out these resources.
This Gluten Free Banana Bread is easily made in one bowl by mashing some ripe bananas and mixing some wet and dry ingredients together. Make sure you mash those bananas really well. Oh, and the house smells AMAZING while it cooks.
I've doubled this recipe and made two big loaves, and I've also made super moist Gluten Free Chocolate Chip Banana Muffins out of this. Pop those babies in the freezer for an extra sweet treat next week.
Ingredients for Gluten Free Chocolate Chip Banana Bread
- 1 ½ cups Bob's Red Mill 1 to 1 Gluten Free Flour - You could also sub out ½ cup of this flour with ½ cup of almond flour to add more protein to this and a bit more structure.
- ½ teaspoon salt -makes all the flavors work together
- 1 teaspoon baking soda - makes it nice and fluffy
- ¾ cup white sugar - can substitute coconut sugar or brown sugar
- ½ cup unsalted butter, melted and cooled
- 2 large eggs, room temperature
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 3 overripe bananas, mashed really well, no chunks - makes it so moist
- ½ cup chocolate chunks or chips - I always use Enjoy Life Chocolate Chunks, so good
Photo from Canva
How to Make Gluten Free Chocolate Chip Banana Bread...
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Spray a 9 x 5 inch loaf pan with cooking spray.
- It's so simple just whisk together all dry ingredients together in a large bowl.
- In a small bowl, mix all wet ingredients together and then pour into the bowl of dry ingredients.
- Add the chocolate chips and stir. You can also use blueberries, peanut butter chips, or white chocolate chips. Get creative!
- Mix well and pour into the prepared loaf pan that has been sprayed with cooking spray.
- Cook on the center rack of the oven until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
- Let cool on a wire rack completely before cutting.
You guys are going to love this Gluten Free Banana Bread because it's...
- easy to make with pantry staples
- incredibly moist
- jam-packed with chocolate chips
- crave-worthy
- perfect for gifts
- gluten-free (but you can't tell!)
- delicious!
Tips and Tricks
How can I make this Gluten Free Banana Bread dairy free?
You can substitute the melted butter for melted coconut oil or vegetable or canola oil. To melt your coconut oil, just put in the microwave for ten-second increments and take it out when it is still slightly solid with some melting.
How do I know when this bread is done cooking?
It can be a little tricky but inserting a toothpick into the middle and ensuring it comes out clean should work. If it's not done stick back in the oven for a few extra minutes and then check again. Allow the bread to cool before slicing it.
How do I store my banana bread?
In the unusual case that you have any banana bread left, you can wrap it in foil or put it in an airtight container for a few days in the fridge. Warm it up before eating if desired. You can also wrap it in freezer wrap and place it in a Ziploc bag to store it in the freezer for up to three months.
What to do With Leftover Bananas?
So many options for leftover bananas. We like dicing ours into coins and freezing them for future smoothies. Or you could get fancy and make Chocolate Peanut Butter Banana Popsicles or Banana Bliss Balls.
More Easy Gluten Free Bread Recipes
- Blackberry Banana Bread
- Gluten Free Pumpkin Bread
- Gluten Free Zucchini Bread
- Chocolate Donut Holes with Pomegranate Cream Filling
- Or Click here for all my Easy Gluten Free Desserts.
Recipe Adapted from Allrecipes.
Gluten Free Banana Bread
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cup Bob's Red Mill Gluten Free 1 to 1 Flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¾ cup sugar
- ½ cup unsalted butter, melted and cooled
- 2 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 3 ripe bananas, mashed
- ½ cup chocolate chip chunks
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a loaf pan with cooking spray.
- Whisk all dry ingredients in a large bowl.
- In another bowl mix all wet ingredients together. Make sure butter has cooled before adding it.
- Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and add the wet ingredients in. Mix until combined.
- Pour into prepared baking pan and top with more chocolate chunks. Bake for about 40-50 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into center comes out clean. Let cool before slicing.
Notes
Nutrition
Traci | Vanilla And Bean
Ohhh yesss... schmeared with peanut butter FTW! Banana bread is right up there with mac & cheese, pot pie and pizza as far as comfort food goes. This looks fabulous Karen and packed with so much goodness!
SharonT
Delicious!! I made it this evening. Best banana bread ever! I did have a little problem with the recipe though as it made more than one large loaf pan's worth of batter. I scooped the extra out of the large pan and into two small loaf pans. The large pan needed about 6 minutes longer baking time than the others.
Mary Bostow
Hi. I tried this recipe and it was amazing!! Making it again today.🤗🤗Thanks and keep the recipes coming.👍
Danielle
I love banana bread! It's one of my favorite baked goods to gift to others, so I love that I can now make it gluten-free as well!
Kelly Anthony
This will be perfect for our weekly bible study get togethers. I'm always looking for delicious gluten free breads to make for my GF friends!
Veena Azmanov
Gluten free, so healthy. Combo of Banana and Chocolate Chips makes it so delicious and tasty. So moist and amazing.Love it.
Katie
What a perfect use for the bananas on my counter 🙂 The chocolate chips add just the right amount of sweet!
Em
Not sure what went wrong but this took over an hour to bake through. I did use thawed frozen bananas and the texture was very soft.
But it is delicious and no one would ever suspect this delicious bread was gun-free! Next time I will use fresh bananas.
Karen Kelly
Yes, I'm sure that had something to do with the thawed bananas bc they would put off a lot more moisture than regular ones. Glad you liked it!
Haley
Would bobs red mill all purpose baking flour work? Or do you have to have the 1 in 1?
Karen Kelly
Yes I think that would work well. I have used that many times. I haven't tried it in this specific recipe but I think it will be fine.
Patty
Just so you know, I kind of hate you! Our friends are gluten free and love banana bread. I found this recipe and in all honesty, this is the best gluten free banana bread I've ever eaten! I couldn't stop eating it! (That's why I kind of hate you) 😃
Karen Kelly
Wow, you had me scared there for a second. I am so glad you liked it! Thanks for taking the time to leave a review!
Patty
I thought I'd keep yout in your toes. 😁 Sorry if it scared you.
Patty
Nice typos.... 😟. I'm sure you understood my gibberish.....
Sophia
Is there no milk needed?
Karen Kelly
No, no milk in this recipe.
Rick Jonie
Thank you for sharing this article! I am definitely going to try and make it but would including some post-workout powder ruin the recipe? I want a nice post-workout treat, but don't want it to taste bad.
Karen Kelly
You might be able to put a tbsp or so of protein powder but I haven't tried it so I can't say for sure.
Jill D.
Delicious!!!!!!
Karen Kelly
So glad to hear it!!
Brandi
Will make again for sure! Delicious ❤️
Karen Kelly
Aw thanks for letting me know! So glad you liked it!
Charlotte
I’m very excited to try this but I can’t get hold of the flour you have used, in the U.K. Can I just substitute it for a regular GF flour like Doves? Would I keep the quantity the same? Thanks.
Karen Kelly
Yes, I think you can try using the same amount of your brand of flour. I have had other readers do this with success. Let me know how it goes!
Nyia
Hi! Can the butter needed for this recipe be replaced with vegan butter, coconut oil, or olive oil? If so, should I use the same measurements?
Karen Kelly
Hi Nyia, I think you could just replace butter with the same amount of vegan butter with no problem. I haven't tried it but it should work. Let me know how it goes!
Nicole
Making them as muffins now, but cannot find how long to cook them! Do you have an estimated cook time for muffins?
Karen Kelly
Hi Nicole, the cooking time is 40 minutes for bread but you might want to try 30 for muffins then check with a toothpick. Not sure why the cooking time isn't showing up for you! Send me photo and I'll share on Instagram and tag you!
Sharon
Amazing recipe...I made this with Tapioca flour (1.5 C) and I used mini loaf tins (x4) and used a toaster oven. It turned out with an amazing texture almost chewy...totally yummy. I think I needed less time to bake because of this change... maybe 35 min total... but you'd just want to check in on them. My family totally approved. This is a keeper recipe
Karen Kelly
Sharon, these are great ideas! I haven't tried it with tapioca flour or a toaster oven. Thanks so much for letting us know!
Sherri Ann
This is now my go to banana bread recipe. I've tried lots of GF banana bread recipes but could never get it right. This one is just perfect. I've made it three times now. I love it, and my non-GF hubby loves it too. I put walnuts in it and add walnuts to the top along with the chocolate chips. It's so delicious!
Karen Kelly
Thanks so much for letting me know how it worked for you!
Cynthia Prairie
Love this recipe. The Banana Chocolate Loaf recipe was easy and came out delicious!
Karen Kelly
Thanks so much for letting me know!
Cathy
Made this for the first time today. We baked it for 50 minutes but the outside got really brown and the inside was still rather under cooked.The better cooked portions tasted great. Any ideas how to get it to cook through.
Karen Kelly
Cathy I'm sorry to hear you had trouble. This recipe has been tested hundreds of times and photos are reviews uploaded on Pinterest so I know it works. I'm thinking maybe your oven temperature is a bit off. I know mine is! I would try it at a lower temperature so it doesn't get as brown on the outside but can back through in the middle.
Carolynn
Made this recipe using my Namaste Perfect Flour Blend. Added a 1/2 cup of ground walnuts with dark chocolate chips. Made 6 Mimi loaves-baking for 25-30 minutes. They turned out perfect! And so yummy!
Karen Kelly
Carolynn, I love hearing about this recipe working with other brands of flour. Thanks so much for letting us know!
Gabby lewis
This banana bread is amazing! I swapped out the butter for full fat Greek yogurt and it worked miraculously! I also added chopped walnuts for an added crunch! Definitely a keeper!
Karen Kelly
Gabby I can't believe the yogurt worked! I need to add that to the notes. Thanks so much for letting me know.
Ashley
This recipe was SO good! My fiancé couldn’t even tell it was gluten free. We ate the whole loaf in a few days.
Karen Kelly
Thanks so much for letting me know! If you are comfortable with it, could you please leave me a rating. That helps me so much.
Jules
I’ve now made this recipe half a dozen times! So good! Today we made it into assorted sized muffins. I sub applesauce in for butter and my gluten eating family loves them, especially my picky hubby. I’m gf and so thankful for this yummy never fail recipe!
Karen Kelly
Yay! I am so happy to hear that and I agree that no one knows it's gluten free!
Sarah
Tasty and easy! I converted these to muffins and changed baking time to 19 minutes.
Karen Kelly
Great thanks for letting me know this recipe works for muffins!
Kara
Can I use salted butter?
Karen Kelly
Yes just leave out the additional salt.
Lisa
Really delicious, I love any recipe that uses a healthy number of bananas! I made several changes: I used 1 cup GF flour, 1/4 cup almond flour, 1/4 cup hemp seeds, and 1/4 cup unsweetened coconut. I also used coconut oil instead of butter, and only 1/4 cup brown sugar. It was plenty sweet. Baked perfectly at 45 minutes. Thank you!
Allie
Does the GF flour used need to contain xantham gum? I have King Arthur GF all- purpose flour that does not contain xanthan gum (I have no idea what that is but it seemed to make a difference in other recipes). Thank you!!!
Karen Kelly
I have had readers use that flour and it works. Good luck!
Kate
In the oven as I type. It smells & tastes amazing. I added a scoop of protein powder & 1/4 cup of maple syrup. Thanks for the recipe!
Karen Kelly
Thank you for the tips!
Pamela
Karen, OMG! This is the BEST Banana Bread recipe ever. Gluten or Non-Gluten. My husband tried it (who does not have to avoid gluten) and said, "No way this is gluten free!" Yes, way! Thank you. I'm your newest fan. Love you site. Love your vibe. Thank you for sharing your wisdom and talent. Pamela 😉
Melissa
Do you think I could use Coconut Flour? If so, same amount?
Karen Kelly
Sorry I don't think that would work. I don't have good luck using coconut flour alone but you could add it in with some other gluten free flour blend.
Lina Nardone
Excellent! I used Bob's Red Mill Flour and I baked it in an 8" x 8" pan. Frozen bananas and thawed and drained them a bit.
Walnuts, raisins and delish ! Thanks !
Karen Kelly
So glad to hear it! Thanks for all the tips!
Emily
Beat GF banana bread I’ve made yet! Even non GF husband agrees! Definitely keeping this one in the archive. Love that it’s ingredients you have on hand, not crazy mixtures of specialty flours.
Karen Kelly
So glad to hear that!!
Susan Myers
This is absolutely the best ever banana bread that I have ever tasted, let alone made! I made this for my son who has celiac disease. No one would ever know that this is Gluten Free, and guaranteed to blow anyone away, when they try it! Thanks again for posting this recipe!
Karen Kelly
Wow, thanks for the glowing review!
Chrisy
Easy and delicious! This is moist and didn't taste gritty.
Karen Kelly
Great so glad it worked well for you!
Sarah Syra
My boyfriend is celiac and this is the only banana bread he'll eat😂🙌 this recipe is so amazing and it's delectable every time. I made a loaf today with a chocolate swirl on top and some added cinnamon and but et in the batter and it's to-die-for! I wish I could attach a picture. Thanks a bunch
Karen Kelly
That's so great to hear! Thanks for letting us know.