These decadent Gluten-Free Banana Bars are moist and delicious! If you have a ripe banana or two sitting around, come see why this recipe is a reader favorite! They are easy to make and even more fun to eat. Mix up a batch in under 45 minutes!
These incredible banana chocolate chip bars will surely please even the pickiest dessert lover. They are moist, loaded with ripe banana flavor, and dairy-free!
If you want even more banana deliciousness, try these Gluten Free Grilled Banana Whoopie Pies or these Gluten Free Banana Oat Muffins! You will want to try this amazing gluten free banana microwave cake…make it in just 3 minutes!
Recipe At A Glance:
Allergen Information:
These banana bars are gluten-free, soy-free, and dairy-free if you use dairy-free chocolate chips.
This is one of my favorite gluten-free flour blends for cookies, cakes, pie crust, biscuits, and muffins! (Do not use this flour blend for yeast recipes.)
Ingredient Notes:
- Gluten-Free Flour Blend – I tested this recipe with Bob’s Red Mill 1:1 and King Arthur Measure for Measure (pictured above.) Other blends should work, but you may need to adjust the wet and dry ratios slightly.
- Almond Flour – Use almond flour and not almond meal.
- Brown Sugar – You can use brown sugar or coconut sugar if you want a low-glycemic sweetener.
- Baking Powder and Baking Soda – Use aluminum-free baking powder.
- Coconut Oil – You can use another type of oil, or butter if you are not dairy-free. If you do use butter, use unsalted butter.
- Eggs – Size large.
- Bananas – Use ripe bananas. If your bananas are not ripe, see my banana ripening tips below.
- Dark Rum and Vanilla Extract – The rum can be omitted if you do not want alcohol in this recipe.
- Chocolate Chips – Use the Enjoy Life brand if you need dairy-free chips.
Tips for ripening bananas:
If your bananas are not ripe enough, don’t worry. Try one of these ideas to ripen your bananas:
- Place your bananas on a baking sheet and bake at 225º F for 20 minutes.
- If you are not in a rush, you can place your bananas in a brown paper bag and let them sit on the counter for a few days. (Don’t forget to close the bag!)
- You can grill the bananas. Use a knife to slit down the peel. Place the bananas on the grill. Close the lid and cook at 300º F for 15 minutes.
You may also want to try this delicious gluten free banana bread pudding. Are you ready to make them? If you prefer more of a cake, try my easy homemade Gluten Free Banana Cake recipe!
Tips For Sucess
1. If the coconut oil is hard (which happens when it is cold), warm it for 25 seconds in the microwave oven.
2. You can make this recipe as a cookie cake if you prefer.
Recipe Step-By-Step Directions:
Step 1: Add your dry ingredients to a large bowl and whisk to blend.
To measure your gluten free flour, I recommend using the spoon method or leveling method. In a perfect world, people weigh their flour, but most do not own a kitchen scale. Put the measuring scoop into the flour and fill. Do not pack the flour. Use a knife to scrape along the top to remove the extra flour. Use a spoon to fill the measuring cup. Use a knife to level along the top to remove the extra flour.
Step 2: Add your wet ingredients to a smaller bowl and whisk to blend.
Step 3: Add your bananas to a bowl and mash them into a puree using a fork. Add to the wet ingredients and mix well.
Step 4: Combine the wet and dry ingredients and add the chocolate chips or mix-ins. Mix until the batter is the consistency of cookie dough.
Step 5: Spray an 8×8 baking pan with gluten free baking spray. Add the batter to the pan.
Step 6: Bake the banana bars at 350º F for 30 minutes or until done. Insert a toothpick into the bars. If the toothpick comes back clean, the bars are finished baking.
Step 7: Remove the bars from the oven and place them onto a cooling rack. Allow the bars to cool, then slice.
Mix-Ins:
- Chocolate chips. Chocolate is made to go with bananas! You can use bittersweet, dark, or milk chocolate!
- Nuts like pecan, walnut, or even almond!
- Caramel chips. Did you know that caramel brings out the flavors in this banana bar recipe?
- To make this banana bar recipe dairy-free, use Enjoy Life chips. Their chips are vegan and melt really well in recipes.
Recipe FAQ:
Store these banana bars in an airtight container for up to 4 days in the refrigerator.
Yes, these bars freeze really well. Let the banana bars cool completely, then freeze them in a zip-style freezer bag.
More Gluten Free Cookie Bar Recipes:
- Gluten Free Matcha Cookie Bars
- Easy Gluten Free Maple Chocolate Chip Bars
- Gluten Free Peanut Butter Cookie Bars
Love This Recipe?
If you made and enjoyed this recipe, I would be incredibly grateful if you could leave a comment below. Please include which flour blend you used. This helps others know that this recipe is delicious. Thank you!
Gluten Free Monkey Bars
Ingredients
- 1 cup gluten free flour blend * see note
- ½ teaspoon baking powder aluminum free
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ¾ cup coconut sugar or brown sugar
- ½ cup coconut oil or butter
- 1 ½ cups smashed bananas
- 2 tablespoons dark rum
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 2 eggs large
- ½ cup raisins or chocolate chips
- ½ cup almond flour * see note
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350º F.
- Use coconut oil spray to cover an 8×8 baking pan.
- In a small bowl put mashed bananas, dark rum, coconut sugar, melted coconut oil, vanilla, and eggs. Mix well.
- In a large mixing bowl add all dry ingredients and whisk thoroughly to blend.
- Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients.
- Add in the raisins or chocolate chips (depending on how much sugar you want in these.)
- Pour mixture into baking pan.
- Bake for 30 minutes, or until done.
- To test for doneness, insert a toothpick into the center of the bars. If the toothpick comes out clean, it is done baking. If you see batter or crumbs, the bars need to bake longer.
Notes
- Make sure to use very ripe bananas if you want a sweet banana flavor.
- I have tested this recipe with King Arthur Measure for Measure GF and Bob’s Red Mill 1 to 1 GF blend. That doesn’t mean others will not work, I just have not tested other flours.
- If your gluten free flour blend doesn’t contain Xanthan Gum, add 1 teaspoon.
- I highly suggest using almond flour and not almond meal. Almond meal is more coarse and will make your bars grainy.
- These bars will keep for up to 4 days in an air-tight container or up to 4 months in the freezer.
SPECIAL NOTE
Please know that every gluten free flour blend has a different starch to grain ratio. If you use a blend I didn’t test, you may need to adjust your moisture levels in your baked goods.
Nutrition
Nutrition Disclaimer
Nutritional information is an estimate provided to you as a courtesy. You should calculate the actual nutritional information with the products and brands you are using with your preferred nutritional calculator.
(*Photos updated from the original 9/2015 post date.)
My new go-to banana recipe!! I subbed faux sugar and it was a super hit everyone loved it. What a great texture and flavor!!
I am thrilled everyone loved the banana bars. Thank you for letting us know faux sugar worked. Which brand did you use?
Could I use a loaf pan? I dont currently know where my 8×8 has gotten off to.
Hi Kelly, you can definitely use a loaf pan, but you will need to bake it a lot longer. Maybe do a toothpick test at the 40 minute mark?
These turned out great.
I used Kailua in place of the rum and replaced the raisins with shredded unsweetened coconut.
Will definitely make these again.
I love the idea of using Kahlua! Thank you so much.
These are amazing! I was out of almond flour, so I subbed in oat flour. I also did not have rum, so I subbed in 1 T of unsweetened applesauce and 1 T of maple syrup. Weird combo, but it worked out great! This recipe was a perfect way to use up my ripe bananas! Thanks for making such an amazing recipe!
Wow, your combo sounds delicious. I am so glad you enjoyed the recipe!
I have made a few different banana bread recipes and this takes the cake. I give it to family and friends and they love it. It doesn’t taste gluten free, it’s moist and delicious!
I am thrilled you love this recipe. It is one of my very favorites! Thank you!
Delicious, didnt have almond flour but did have shredded coconut and worked wonderfully. Highly recomend very easy recipe
I am so glad to know shredded coconut worked well. I love banana and coconut flavors together!
LOVE these!! I used less coconut sugar and subbed the eggs for a chia egg and they turned out perfectly. I’m keeping them in the fridge and enjoy them cold as well. I think I like them better than regular banana bread. Can’t stop eating them! Thanks for this recipe! Will definitely be making again.
I am so glad you loved the banana bars. I love that you came back to tell us it worked well with a chia egg, thank you!
I just made these on a Sunday morning and they turned out perfect! I have been gluten free for years but now my 7 year old son needs to be gluten free, so now the whole family is swapping out. These are awesome.
I am thrilled you all love them, Priscilla. Thank you so much for coming back to let me know.
I would like to try this recipe! Are the 2 tablespoons of rum cooked off enough (i.e. safe enough for kids)?
Hi Em, it should be safe for the kids, but you can also use rum extract (only 1 teaspoon!) if you prefer, or just omit it.
I have GF flour (Bob’s Red Mill) but not almond flour. Can I omit or just add 1/2 cup more GF flour?
Hi Shannon, I have not tested this, but I think you can omit the almond flour and add an additional 1/4 cup of the flour blend. Be sure you are using the 1:1 and NOT Bob’s red bag flour blend (has bean flour in it and can make things taste bitter.)
These are simply divine. I have made them three times and they came out perfectly each time.
I didn’t have rum so I omitted that and it was just fine.
This is now a favorite of mine. Thank you so much for creating this. LOVE this blog!
You made my day. These banana bars are one of my very favorites on the blog 🙂
Oh my goodness! These are delicious! I didn’t have almond flour so I used 1 1/4 cups BRM GF flour. I used semi sweet chips. Next time I may throw in some peanut butter chips too. Definitely will be in my rotation! I can’t wait for my man to try them.
I am so glad you loved this recipe. It is one of my kids’ favorites.
Hi! Lovely recipe! Yum! I made a few variations to the recipe, based on what I had on hand. I used ‘Jo’s gluten free all purpose flour mix’ from Jo Stepaniak’s ‘Food Allergy Survival Guide’ cook book. I try to always have some mixed up & on hand. I also used xanthan gum. I used the real sugar, the kind with the minerals and such still in it. My local grocery store chain brand, nothing special. I’m not meant to consume coconut, so I used olive oil for the oil. I didn’t use rum, cus I didn’t have any on hand, I used a bit each of vanilla, almond & lemon extract. My family loves that combination in baked goods. I used flax ‘eggs’ for the eggs (1 tablespoon ground flax seeds, 3 tablespoons hot water, per ‘egg’. Mix with a fork or whisk to combine & let rest til thickened), cus if a child wants to lick the beaters or the mixing spoon, I don’t have to worry about raw egg in the batter. I started doing that when my children were small & I’ve been using flax eggs ever since, cus I always have ground flax meal in a bag in my freezer, but, sometimes I don’t have eggs & I live way out of town, so a run to the store takes too long. I had some Pamela’s brand ‘Nut Flour Blend‘ in my freezer, so I used that for the nut flour. I did use milk chocolate chips for the chocolate chips, cus my husband prefers them. I also used 1/2 cup of the raw nut & seed mixture I have in a jar in my fridge. It was a mixture of sunflower & pumpkin seeds & cashew & pecan pieces. Again, this is a mixture my family loves in recipes. Gotta keep the troops happy! I used a small rectangular baking pan, instead of the square pan, I was worried it might overflow the pan cus I mixed my wet ingredients in my food processor work bowl so a lot of air went into the mixture. I worry about a pan overflowing in the oven as it bakes. It was just the right size pan. The recipe came out well & baked for the amount of time you listed. Even with all the changes, the cake came out well & my family is enjoying it for dessert! Thank you for the delish recipe!
I am so glad you enjoyed them. I love your modifications!!
Love this recipe! Omitted the almond flour and used extra King Arthur flour. Used extra vanilla in place of the rum. Everything else worked out perfectly and I especially love using coconut sugar. Will definitely make them again with a few tweaks that others have suggested. Thanks so much for yet another great recipe!
I love how you made some changes. I am really glad you liked them :-).
I made these using Krusteaz gluten free flour and they turned out fantastic! I was afraid that the batter was a little too runny, but they baked up soft and moist.
I am so glad you enjoyed the recipe, Rebecca. I haven’t used that flour so I will have to pick some up :-).
Can I use regular sugar instead of coconut sugar for this recipe?
Hi Paula, you can definitely use a different sugar, I recommend brown sugar.
These are really excellent. I had some bananas we’d forgotten about and needed to use. These looked easy enough, so I decided to try them. Huge hit with our entire family. Even my banana bread hating daughter loved them. The one modification we made was we didn’t add the rum (wasn’t sure the kids would like that flavor), and instead of 2 TBSP of rum, we added 1tsp of almond extract. I really felt like that made a huge difference and added a boost that normal banana bread doesn’t have. We liked them so much, we made a second double batch right away! Really really great recipe.
I am so glad you all liked them, even your banana bread hater :-). You made my day coming back to let me know.