This delicious banana bread is super moist, grain-free, gluten-free, dairy-free and made with no sugar. It's easy to make in just one bowl, loaded with spiced banana flavor and topped with crunchy toasted walnuts.
Why you'll love this flourless banana bread
- It's vegan, gluten-free, grain-free, dairy-free, sugar-free and sweetened with ripe bananas. The perfect guiltless treat!
- This is the best paleo banana bread with coconut flour and walnut topping, and perfect for a hearty breakfast or a quick afternoon snack. It will replace your traditional banana bread in no time! Try it with a smear of almond butter. And if you're not following a paleo diet, try a smear of peanut butter or ghee for variety.
- Nothing beats the amazing aroma of fresh baked banana bread in the oven.
- Bananas are high in potassium and a healthy boost of fiber. They also add delicious sweetness and moisture to the dish.
- Coconut flour contains protein and good fats, and it's grain-free.
If you love bananas, you'll also love some banana oatmeal breakfast cookies.
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Ingredients and substitutions
- Ripe bananas: add moisture and all the sweetness to this banana bread recipe. Make sure they're ripe with brown spots which brings out their natural sweetness and makes them more digestible.
- Eggs: add moisture and richness, and helps the loaf rise. They also provide stability and structure as well as a tender texture to this flourless quick-bread.
- Nut butter: aside from adding moisture and fat, is high-protein which helps to add structure to the banana loaf. You can substitute any natural nut or seed butter. If your nut butter is salted (I suggest you use unsalted) don't add any extra salt to the batter.
- Coconut oil: helps to add creaminess to baked goods. It's also a dairy-free alternative.
- Coconut flour: replaces regular flour with the help of eggs, nut butter and coconut oil. It is also grain-free and gluten-free!
- Baking soda and baking powder: help with the rise.
- Vanilla extract, cinnamon and nutmeg: provide a warm depth of flavor and spice.
- Walnuts: add a satisfying crunch to the banana bread.
see recipe card for all ingredients and quantities
How to make banana bread with coconut flour
Preheat oven to 350°F. Line a 9x5-inch loaf pan with unbleached parchment paper using a 5-inch wide strip and a 9-inch wide strip, criss-crossed in the pan to cover bottom and sides.
In a large bowl, add the mashed bananas (you can mash them right in the bowl), eggs, nut butter, melted coconut oil and vanilla. Mix well until fully combined.
Clean eating tip: it's best to use a creamy natural nut or seed butter made up of only nuts or seeds (and sometime a pinch of sea salt), without all the additives.
Add the coconut flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg and sea salt. Combine well without over mixing.
Pour into prepared pan scraping all batter with a silicone spatula, and smooth evenly.
For the topping, in the same bowl combine chopped walnuts, 1 tablespoon melted coconut oil and ½ teaspoon cinnamon. Sprinkle the walnut topping onto the loaf.
Bake for 50-60 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the loaf comes out clean.
Allow loaf to cool for 20 minutes in pan before carefully removing to finish cooling on wire rack.
Hint: the secret to this moist, easy to make, healthy quick-bread recipe is that it's sweetened with only bananas!
Tips, Tricks and Variations
- Make sure you use very ripe bananas for this loaf recipe. They should have brown spots and the banana will be naturally sweet inside.
- Mash your bananas really well before mixing in the other ingredients. A few little banana pieces is okay, but the key is to get that banana flavor well distributed throughout the loaf.
- Once the batter has been poured and the bowl scraped clean with a spatula, use the same large bowl to mix your walnut topping ingredients.
- Check the banana bread around the 40 minute mark. Everyone's oven temperature can vary and you want to finish with a golden tender crumb. Do the toothpick test by inserting a wooden toothpick in the center of the loaf and checking for doneness. When the banana bread is finished baking, the toothpick will come out clean. A few little crumbs is okay but not a smear of uncooked batter.
- You can always add about a ½ cup of chocolate chips, chocolate chunks, coconut flakes or chopped nuts to the batter to change it up.
FAQs
A perfect ripe banana will have many brown spots speckled all over the peel. The peel may also turn completely brown/black. This allows the sugars to form in the banana and adds perfect sweetness to banana bread. If you're in a hurry and only have unripe or yellow bananas, pop them into a 300°F oven (with the peel on) on a lined rimmed tray (they may ooze a little) and bake until they turn black, about 20 minutes depending on how unripe the bananas. Let cool before peeling.
Equipment
- Large mixing bowl
- Fork to mash bananas
- Sturdy spoon for mixing
- Silicone spatula
- 9x5-inch loaf pan
- unbleached parchment paper
- Nice to have: hand mixer or stand mixer, though really not necessary.
Storage
Store the loaf, tightly sealed in an airtight container at room temperature for a couple of days. If longer then store in the fridge.
The loaf freezes well stored in an airtight container. It can be frozen whole or sliced. Wrap the slices individually in parchment paper or plastic wrap before placing in an airtight container. When you're craving a piece, just pop it out of the freezer and allow to thaw in the fridge or on the counter.
Recipe
Best Paleo Banana Bread with Walnut Topping
Equipment
- 1 9x5-inch loaf pan
- 1 large bowl
Ingredients
Banana bread batter:
- 4 large ripe bananas, mashed (~575 grams, 2-½ cups)
- 4 large eggs
- ½ cup nut butter (140 grams), (I use almond butter)
- ¼ cup unrefined coconut oil, melted (24 grams)
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- ½ cup coconut flour (75 grams)
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1-2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ¼ teaspoon fine sea salt
Walnut topping:
- ½ cup chopped walnuts
- 1 tablespoon unrefined coconut oil, melted
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 °F. Line a 9x5-inch loaf pan with unbleached parchment paper using a 5-inch wide strip and a 9-inch wide strip, criss-crossed in the pan to cover bottom and sides.
- In a large bowl, add the mashed bananas (you can mash them right in the bowl), eggs, nut butter, melted coconut oil and vanilla. Mix well until fully combined.
- Add the coconut flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg and sea salt. Combine well without over mixing.
- Pour into prepared pan, scraping all batter with a silicone spatula, and smooth evenly.
- For the topping, in the same bowl combine chopped walnuts, 1 tablespoon melted coconut oil and ½ teaspoon cinnamon. Sprinkle the walnut topping onto the loaf.
- Bake for 50-60 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the loaf comes out clean.
- Allow loaf to cool for 20 minutes in pan before carefully removing to finish cooling on wire rack.
Notes
Nutrition
This recipe was slightly adapted from Civilized Caveman Cooking
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