This Seriously Great Banana Bread is truly- seriously great. Not just seriously great for a gluten free banana bread. It is straight up great! I also have options for making it dairy, egg and nut free. And it will still turn out fabulous. It is a super moist, sweet and soft bread with tons of banana flavor. The topping adds a bit of texture and spice. My kids call it “cake,” but with much of the sweetness coming from the bananas instead of sugar, I don’t feel terrible giving them a second slice.
Mix It Up!
This is banana bread batter is very versatile. Many substitutions for all kinds of food allergens can be made without any big changes in taste, texture and appearance. The batter comes together quickly too. Start with the sugar and butter, then the eggs and remaining wet ingredients. Gradually add the dry ingredients and it is good to go! It can be made into an 8 or 9 inch single layer cake, muffins, mini muffins or 9 x 5 loaf. You would only need to adjust the bake time for the different size pans.
Lotta Tops!
After you decide what you want to bake this deliciousness in, top it any way you’d like. With the Crumb Topping recipe in this post or try my Cream Cheese Frosting. If you want a nut free crumb topping, I have a variation for that in the recipe below too. The pics below show both the almond flour and oat crumb versions. All of the crumb toppings are simple to make. Just combine the dry ingredients, then slowly add the butter or dairy free alternative until it begins to make pea size crumbs. Then it is ready to go! Many variations of this recipe have deliciously helped me through years of my family’s food sensitivities. I have served it as birthday cakes for more years than I can count too!
Go Bananas! More Gluten Free Recipes
- Banana Cream Pie
- Peanut Butter Banana Chocolate Chip Cupcakes
- Chocolate Banana Cupcakes
- Make Ahead Banana Bread Oatmeal
- Dairy Free Chocolate Covered Banana Ice Cream
- Banana Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting
- Dairy Free Tropical Rum Ice Cream
- Breakfast Cookies
Seriously Great Banana Bread
Ingredients
For the Banana Bread:
- ½ cup softened butter or dairy free alternative
- ¾ cup sugar
- 2 eggs sub 2 Follow Your Heart eggs + 1 tsp vinegar for egg free option
- 1 ½ cups mashed overripe bananas 3-4 large bananas
- ½ cup vanilla flavored creamer I use So Delicious brand dairy free
- 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 2 cups Gluten Free Flour Blend with xanthan gum I use Bob’s Red Mill 1 to 1 Baking Flour
- ½ tsp Salt
- 1 tsp baking soda
- ½ cup chopped unsalted walnuts (optional)
For the Topping:
- ¼ cup light brown sugar
- ¼ cup Gluten Free Flour Blend with xanthan gum I use Bob’s Red Mill 1 to 1 Baking Flour
- ½ cup instant oats or almond flour
- ½ tsp cinnamon
- sprinkle of salt
- ½ cup melted butter or dairy free alternative
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Grease a 9 x 5 loaf pan.
- In a small bowl, combine flour, salt and soda. Set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar with a mixer. Add the remaining wet ingredients one at a time until all are combined well.
- With your mixer on a slow speed, gradually add the flour mixture until combined fully. Pour batter into the greased loaf pan.
- In a small bowl, combine all dry ingredients for the topping. Gradually add the butter (you may not need all of it) until it resembles damp sand. If it gets too wet, add a little more of one of the flours.
- Sprinkle the topping mixture on top of the batter in the loaf pan. Bake for 70-80 minutes. Begin checking after about 50 minutes and if it is browning quickly, cover it loosely with aluminum foil. It is done when it resists pressure from lightly touching the center of the loaf. If you let it bake too long, it will get dried out and crumbly. It will continue to cook for several minutes after you remove it from the oven as well.