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A recipe for Gluten-Free and Vegan Banana Bread that tastes equally as delicious as your traditional banana bread. No one will know it is gluten and dairy-free!
I often get asked why my recipes use certain flours/starches and why some are vegan while others are not. My recipes are almost always gluten-free because I eat gluten-free (most of the time), but as I’m sure you’ve discovered I am certainly not vegan or paleo or follow any real diet for that matter. Honestly, there is no rhyme or reason to it, my recipes come out the way they do entirely based on what I have on hand.
Sure I make the occasional grocery shop, but especially when it comes to baking there’s always different combinations that can yield the same result. I’m not about to go running out to the store to buy cornstarch and buckwheat if I already have tapioca flour and brown rice flour on hand. Same goes for eggs. If I’m out but have some flaxseed in the fridge, flax egg here we come. When there’s a will there’s a way!
Of course I’m also a sucker for a good science experiment. A while ago I read that mixing applesauce and baking powder can act as a binder instead of eggs. Obviously I forgot to write down where I read it or how to do it, but I gave it a shot and the baking gods must have been on my side because it actually worked out in this recipe.
I really had no intention of posting this recipe when I was baking it because I made it last-minute for C when I visited Montreal a few weeks ago. I sneakily made it gluten-free so I could eat it too. He was shocked at how good it was despite its “healthiness” (healthy food can taste good people!!!) that I knew I had to recreate and photograph it. I then made them into muffins when I catered and fooled everyone there too. I declare myself the banana bread queen because damnnnnn this.is.good.
The Best Ever Banana Bread {Gluten-Free & Vegan}
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 60 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour 10 minutes
- Yield: 12-16 slices 1x
- Category: Snack
- Method: Bake
- Diet: Vegan
Ingredients
Dry:
- 3/4 cup brown rice flour*
- 1/2 cup + 2 tbsp gluten-free oat flour (ground rolled oats)*
- 3/4 cup potato starch*
- 1/4 cup tapioca starch*
- 1 tsp xanthan gum**
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp salt
Wet:
- 1/2 cup applesauce, warmed up and then mixed with ½ tsp baking powder
- 1/4 cup coconut oil, melted
- 1/2 cup maple syrup
- 1/2 cup unsweetened almond milk
- 4 ripe bananas
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- Optional: 1 cup chocolate chips or nuts (or a combination)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
- Spray a 9 x 5 inch loaf pan with coconut oil or non-stick spray (bread is big so don’t use a smaller sized pan)
- Combine all dry ingredients and set aside.
- In a separate bowl mash up bananas. Add in warm applesauce (premixed with baking powder), melted coconut oil, maple syrup, almond milk and vanilla and stir to combine.
- Add wet ingredients to dry and stir until just combined.
- Add in chocolate chips or nuts if desired.
- Scoop batter into pan and bake for 55-60 mins.
- Remove from oven and let cool for at least 30 mins before removing from pan and placing on a wire rack to cool completely.
- Will keep in a sealed container on counter for up to 5 days.
*Or replace brown rice flour, oat flour, tapioca flour and potato starch with 2 1/4 cups + 2 tbsp of regular all-purpose or whole wheat flour.
**If using regular all-purpose or whole wheat omit xanthan gum
***Can also be made into 12 large muffins (bake for 25-30 mins or until top is brown and springs back)
Like this recipe? Check out some of my other baked goods!
I was skeptical at first. I bought all the ingredient which totaled about $50 because I do not do healthy-style, non-gluten cooking so I did not have anything laying around.
Made the bread exactly as the recipe prescribes and WOWWWWW!!!!!
It is the best banana bread I’ve ever had. It’s light on my stomach, delicious, dense, and most crucially, moist.
I highly recommend the chocolate chips and a few walnuts.
My passionate thanks to the author. The athletic team potluck I am going to tonight is going to love it. That is, if I don’t eat it all by then.
Hey do you think this recipe would work in an automatic breadmaker where you put all the ingredients in at the same time? Curious to try!
Thx, loving your recipes, keep em coming.
Hi Allie!!!! Thank you so much! It’s always nice to hear from people “in real life” on the blog 😉
I’m not certain if it would work in a bread maker. I find it doubtful because certain ingredients (like the baking powder and applesauce) need to be mixed together before hand. I’ve never used a bread maker though! If it works let me know 🙂
🙂 I’m also a big foodie and discovered what you were doing on instagram! It’s so inspiring to see you turning your passion a full-time job! I had a food blog for about a week but school busy-ness got in the way of regular posts – maybe I’ll start it up again sometime 🙂 I hope your blog keeps growing and more people know about it!!
Thanks for the reply – I thought as much since breadmakers do the mixing automatically but I thought I’d test it out and see. I’ll let you know how it goes!
The best ever Banana Bread Gluten Free and Vegan. By looking at this bread you would never know that it is healthy bread. It looks so rich, yummy and just scrumptious. To die for and melts in your mouth. Awesome!!!!!
Hi lady! I just made this and it was AMAZING!!! I’ve been craving banana bread like crazy and stumbled across your page. I completely forgot to add the maple syrup but added a few chocolate chips and it is just sooo so good!!
Thank you for this recipe! I’ll definitely be making this again!
Hi Zilia!! So happy you liked it 🙂 I wrote optional for the chocolate chips, but let’s be honest when are chocolate chips optional?!?! Eat a slice for me!
This banana bread looks delicious. My Hubby would leap over tall buildings to get a slice of this because he loves chocolate chips in bread.
Side question: I guess I didn’t realize it before, but are you gluten intolerant?
I used to bake banana bread once a week in Australia, but no where near as healthy as yours. I combined butter, white flour and sometimes chocolate in it! I like yours because it it healthy and looks very moist 🙂
I definitely like to experiment…hence why I can be all over the place with the pancakes…you know, when I’m actually making them! But I’m not at ALL confident enough in the baking realm to get too adventurous! I never knew that about the applesauce and baking powder! That’s awesome! I WILL be giving that a try!
Hmm, my “best ever recipe”? That’s a toughie…but the first one that comes to mind would have to be my Chocolate-Covered Orange Pancakes. I mean, I DID make them (willingly) three times before posting the recipe! 😀
That and the thin mint pancakes are my fav pancake recipes (and pancake pictures!!!!) you are seriously a genius!
Awww, you just made my DAY!! Love you so much, girlie! xoxo
I LOVE banana bread! This looks mouthwateringly delicious. Thanks for linking up to Healthy Vegan Fridays! Please make sure to link this recipe to this week’s HVF post on one of the co-hosts blogs!
I eat plant strong and gluten free which means I avoid oil. Sometimes I will eat a little coconut oil when it’s in small quantities but 1/4 of a cup is way too much for me. Any idea on substitutions? Normally I would use applesauce but I fear that would be too much in this recipe.
Hi Jessica! Thanks for stopping by 🙂 You can definitely try to substitute with more applesauce (there’s already a 1/2 cup). You could also try sweet potato or pumpkin? It may not be as moist but it should still turn out pretty well!
Thanks for stopping by 🙂
Oh I love everything banana bread. This looks amazing!
I bet it makes great French Toast the next day (although that may override the vegan party).
Happy weekend!