This gluten-free chocolate banana bread is rich, moist, and loaded with deep chocolate and sweet banana flavor in every bite! It is so easy to make, and this decadent gluten-free quick bread bakes up soft and fluffy. It is so delicious that no one will ever guess it’s gluten-free!
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I hope you are ready to make something incredible today. This recipe is really easy, and the chocolate and banana flavors explode in your mouth! I don’t know why writing up my banana bread with cocoa powder recipe has taken me so long.
This recipe has passed the test with my gluten-free family, and I brought it out to our weekly cul-de-sac get-together. We are the only gluten-free ones on the court, but everyone is pretty used to me bringing something for taste testing. Nobody could tell this banana chocolate loaf was gluten free. No one. Kids and grownups alike all gobbled it up!
This recipe is loosely based on my popular Gluten-Free Banana Bread with Chocolate Chips recipe. I can’t wait to hear what you think! If you have sourdough discard to use up, you will love this Gluten-Free Sourdough Banana Bread.
What sets this gluten free chocolate banana bread recipe apart:
- The sweetness from the ripe bananas adds a delicious layer of flavor.
- This is a double chocolate banana bread, and it tastes like a decadent dessert!
- You can make it as a loaf or in a muffin tin.
- It is freezable, so you can make a double batch and freeze a loaf.
Made Sandi’s Easy Gluten Free Chocolate Banana Bread and it was DELICIOUS!! Bought extra bananas this week just so I can make it again.”
caroline r., blog comment
Allergen Information:
This homemade chocolate banana bread recipe is gluten-free, nut-free, soy-free, and oat-free. You can easily make it dairy-free with plant-based butter.
If you love bananas, try these moist Gluten Free Banana Bars or this decadent Gluten Free Pineapple Banana Bread!
Ingredient Notes:
For the full list of ingredients and amounts, please go to the recipe card below.
- Gluten Free Flour Blend – I tested this recipe using King Arthur’s Measure for Measure Gluten Free Blend. That doesn’t mean other gluten free flour blends will not work. This means I have not tested any gluten-free flour blends. I can not guarantee the recipe will work if you use other mixes. Some blends need more moisture, so reference the photos below of the batter.
- Xanthan Gum – If your gluten free flour blend doesn’t contain xanthan gum or guar gum, please add one teaspoon.
- Milk – You can use regular or non-dairy milk. I used almond milk, but other dairy-free kinds of milk will work. I do not recommend canned coconut milk. If you use almond milk, it is good to see if your almond milk is gluten-free.
- Cocoa Powder – Several cocoa powders are gluten free. I used Anthony’s Cocoa Powder in this recipe. Be sure to read the ingredients to verify it is gluten free.
- Chocolate Chips – Use the Enjoy Life brand if you need dairy-free.
- Butter – I recommend unsalted butter.
How To Ripen 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.
Step-By-Step Photos and Directions:
Step 1: Add your dry ingredients to a bowl. Whisk to blend and add the chocolate chips.
How to measure gluten free flour:
Step 2: Add your bananas to a bowl. Use a pastry blender to mash your ripe bananas. (Trust me, this tool is magic, and it is much easier and quicker to mash bananas!)
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Add in the rest of the wet ingredients and mix them together.
Step 3: Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients.
Step 4: Mix the wet and dry ingredients into a semi-thick batter.
HINT: Be very careful not to overmix your batter. Mix the ingredients until they are just barely mixed. I don’t recommend a standing mixer because they tend to overmix, making your banana bread turn out denser.
📢 Sandi says: Every gluten-free flour blend has a different starch-to-grain ratio. The brand of gluten-free flour you use will affect the moisture of the batter. If your cake batter is too runny, add more flour, and if it is too thick, add more liquids.
Read Why Gluten-Free Flour Blends Vary to learn more about this.
Step 5: Add your gluten free chocolate banana bread batter to a greased loaf tin. You can also line the tin with parchment paper, and I wish I thought to do this because removing the cake from the pan is so much easier to speed up cooling!
Step 6: Sprinkle more chocolate chips on top.
Step 7: Bake at 425º F for 8 minutes, then reduce the oven temperature to 350º F. The high heat for the first few minutes allows the cake to rise better, making a nice dome top.
Bake for 45-50 minutes, depending on the size of your loaf pan.
How do you know when the chocolate banana bread is finished baking?
To test for doneness, insert a toothpick into the center of the bread. If the toothpick comes out clean, it is done baking. The banana bread must be baked longer if you see batter or crumbs.
Be sure to allow the bread to cool completely before slicing. You may also enjoy this Gluten Free Strawberry Banana Bread recipe.
Try these fun flavor variations:
- Drizzle white chocolate over the top of the loaf instead of baking chocolate chips on top.
- Add nuts like walnuts or pecans.
- Try a swirl with another bread as I did with this Gluten Free Chocolate Pumpkin Swirl Cake.
Frequently Asked Questions:
If your banana bread isn’t moist, it could be that the gluten free flour blend was too starchy, making your bread dry. This can happen as every blend is different. If you notice your batter is thicker than the photo of the batter above, you may need to add more liquid.
This can happen if you use expired baking soda or if your oven temperature is off. It is good to check both before baking. Another reason the center can fall is if you open the oven door while the bread is baking. Try to resist the urge to check on it opening the oven door.
You can definitely bake the batter in a muffin tin. Bake for 20 minutes and check with the toothpick test mentioned above.
If you love sweeter bread recipes, check out my Gluten Free Cinnamon Raisin Bread recipe too!
This recipe is the bomb! seriously the best banana bread ever made, and I have tried tons of different recipes, this one beats them all. I usually don’t comment but man, this one is good, even with small changes made to the recipe it’s still super amazing. (as in, less coconut oil and instead canola oil or no vanilla extract etc if you have run out). 10/10!”
Dani, blog comment
More Gluten Free Banana Recipes:
- Easy Gluten Free Banana Snack Cake
- Fluffy Gluten Free Banana Cupcakes
- Banana Flambé Sundaes
- Gluten Free Banana Muffins
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 will help others know this recipe is delicious. Thank you!
Gluten Free Chocolate Banana Bread
Ingredients
Equipment
Method
- Add 1 cup gluten free flour blend, 1/2 cup cocoa powder, 1 teaspoon baking soda, 2/3 cup brown sugar, and 1/4 teaspoon salt to a bowl. Whisk to blend and add the 3/4 cup chocolate chips.
- Add 3 ripe bananas to a bowl. Use a pastry blender to mash your ripe bananas quickly. (Trust me, this tool is magic, and it is easier and quicker to mash bananas!) Add in the melted 1/4 cup unsalted butter, 1/4 cup coconut oil, 1 large egg, 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract, and 1/4 cup non-dairy milk. Mix them together.
- Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients. Mix the wet and dry ingredients into a semi-thick batter.
- HINT: Be very careful not to overmix your batter. Mix the ingredients until they are just barely mixed. I don't recommend a standing mixer because they tend to overmix, making your banana bread turn out denser.
- Add your gluten free chocolate banana bread batter to a greased loaf tin. You can also line the tin with parchment paper, and I wish I thought of this because it is so much easier to remove the cake from the pan to speed up cooling!
- Sprinkle more chocolate chips on top.
- Bake at 425º F for 8 minutes, then reduce the temperature of the oven to 350º F. The high heat for the first few minutes allows the cake to rise better, making a nice dome top.
- Bake for 45-50 minutes depending on the size of your loaf pan.
- To test for doneness, insert a toothpick into the center of the bread. If the toothpick comes out clean, it is done baking. If you see batter or crumbs, the banana bread needs to bake longer.
Nutrition
Video
Notes
- I tested this recipe with King Arthur Measure for Measure gluten free flour blend. I am sure other blends will work, but I haven’t tested them. Some blends are starchier than others, so use my photo of the batter in the post. You may need to add more liquid.
- If your blend doesn’t contain xanthan gum or guar gum, add 1 teaspoon.
- To make this awesome gluten free chocolate banana bread dairy-free, use dairy-free butter and a dairy-free chocolate chip like Enjoy Life.
- I used almond milk, but other dairy-free kinds of milk will work, but I do not recommend canned coconut milk.
- If you can’t have coconut oil, any light oil will work well.
- This gluten free chocolate banana bread should be stored in an air-tight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. It freezes really well in a freezer-safe zip-style bag.
Nutritional 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.
Tried this recipe?
Let us know how it was!
This recipe looks awesome – haven’t tried it yet, but just printed out the recipe for my next baking session! I’d ask a favor…If possible, could you remove all of the space-wasting info at the top of every recipe? When you go to print it, the whole first page is spread out info on equipment needed, prep time, cook time, total time, etc. etc. I find myself having to cut, copy and paste on all of your recipes to try and get it to print out on 2 pages, back to back! Thanks SO much for all of your lovely GF recipes!
Hi Lola, Unfortunately, I don’t have any control of how the recipe lays out to print. It is part of the recipe card that is a part of my blog. I do hope you enjoy this recipe. It is a family favorite.
My sweet (pun intended) 4 year old neighbor made this incredibly delicious bread for me and it was perfect! Her mom sent me the recipe and I was pleasantly surprised that it was from one of my favorite authors.
This bread has wonderful depth with the different chocolate ingredients. It’s moist without being soggy. The texture is amazing (us celiac folks know what I am talking about). This great bread recipe is going to be in my rotation a lot.
Thanks sweet girl for introducing me to my new favorite bread!! And thanks Sandi for creating yummy recipes!
What a sweetie for your little neighbor to make this bread for you. The chocolate and ripe banana flavors make this bread so good. I hope you get a chance to try more of my recipes. The pineapple banana bread is also a winner.
Not sure if anyone asked this, but since bananas come in several different sizes, what did you use?
Hi Corie, Mine were probably medium-sized.
Thank you!
You are very welcome.
Hi Sandi,
This looks delicious! What size loaf tin did you use?
Thanks!
Hi Sam, my loaf pan was 9.5×5 inches.
I have not made this yet but after reading the reviews, I know it will be great. After making regular chocolate chip banana bread for 30 years, I learned that the mini chocolate chips make a nicer bite into the bread-just a suggestion.
Thanks for the tip on chocolate chip size, Susie. It is a great idea.
Best ever! I make it into muffins and they don’t last long. I also switched the chocolate chips out and add peanut butter chips. (we have gf &df allergies). I purposely let ghe bananas go brown to make this!
Peanut butter chips sound really good too! I am so glad you loved this quick bread recipe!
Made this today and have just had my first piece – oh so yummy!
I followed your tips and added the Xantham gum and, as I had 4 bananas, put them all in along with two smaller eggs!!
The result was a very moist and enjoyable treat and one I have earmarked to make again!
Thank you
I am so glad you loved this cake, and wow…I bet four bananas gave so much flavor!
Best reception ever. My family love it. I will bake again for our neighbour.
I am thrilled your neighbor loved this chocolate banana bread. Thank you so much for trying my recipe!
This bread is delicious every time. Does not taste GF. Moist and “chocolaty”
I am so glad you love this chocolate banana bread recipe, Karen. Thank you!
I love this recipe. Make it often. I am wondering if I could double the batch and bake it in a 9 in spring pan or would I need to triple the batch? I want to use this recipe for a birthday cake.
Hi Regina, I haven’t tried this, but it should be okay in an 9 inch spring form pan.
This is an amazing recipe. I baked longer than called for. The flavor is wonderful. I find GF flour grainy sometimes but this was wonderful considering it was only one cup GF flour and 1/2 coco. Thank you Thank you
I am thrilled you loved this recipe, Carolyn. Thank you!
I tried it with Reese’s peanut butter chips cause that’s all I had. It was delicious the family ate it all!
I am so glad everyone loved this recipe. I often make it in a muffin pan and freeze them so we have them all week. Thank you for coming back to leave a review!
Amazing! So moist! I used Target brand Gluten Free Flour Blend, which does indeed include Xanthan Gum. For less than $3 a bag, it’s never failed me!
I recently bought some of the Target flour to experiment with. I am so glad you enjoyed using it in this recipe!
Moist, delicious, and so easy to make!
I am so glad you loved this banana bread. Thank you!
Excellent moist bread!
Thank you so much, Cindy. Which gluten free flour blend did you use? I am so glad you loved the recipe!
I made this at home and it was incredible! Couldn’t wait to make it again. I just made it again in Sedona, AZ (altitude 4500 ft). This time it sank as soon as it came out, and it was a little undercooked. Do you know the changes I need to make to the ingredients and to cooking time at a higher altitude?
Hi Terry, I am not sure about high altitude baking, but I asked the question in my Facebook page and here are some of the comments: My cakes and cookies need to be baked at 375 not 350. What works best where I am is the 25/25 method. Bake at 25 degrees higher than the recipe – this helps the outside cook faster as it rises and the middle won’t sink in later. Also, bake for 20-25minutes less. Depending on what you’re making you can also add a little extra flour or baking soda. But for baked goods like cakes, muffins etc I add a little extra liquid and usually an extra egg and I cut back a little on baking powder or soda (so if it says 1 1/2 tsp baking soda I’ll do 1 tsp). I also bake at a slightly higher temperature so instead of 350F I’ll do 370F for the first part then drop it back down to 350F.
Hi, this recipe looks so delicious and I look forward to trying it! If I want to make muffins, what do you suggest for baking time/temp?
Hi Debbie, follow my muffins recipe for baking instructions so you get the perfect dome top. https://www.fearlessdining.com/gluten-free-chocolate-banana-muffins/
I just tried this recipe and it is amazing . It is very moist and delicious. I baked the bananas as recommended in the recipe and that was a game changer. It brings out the flavor of the bananas and the sweetness. I totally recommend this.👍
I am so glad you loved this recipe! Thank you so much for coming back to let me know. Baking the banana is definitely a game changer!
This recipe is the bomb! seriously the best banana bread ever made, and I have tried tons of different recipes, this one beats them all. I usually don’t comment but man, this one is good, even with small changes made to the recipe it’s still super amazing. (as in, less coconut oil and instead canola oil or no vanilla extract etc if you have run out). 10/10!
You made my day. I am so glad you enjoyed it, and that coconut oil worked well in this recipe. Thank you.
This recipe is great! I brought it to my work potluck and people loved it. I told my kids its gluten free, (which usually scares them off after a nibble) but they didn’t care. They loved it and wanted more. I’m happy to oblige with a great homemade recipe. So much better than them buying/eating store bought anything!
I am so glad this recipe passed the test with so many non-gluten free eaters. You made my day sharing your comment. Thank you!
This was everything you purported it to be, Sandi! As this was my first attempt at any of your recipes, I was blown away at how delicious this chocolate banana bread is; as you suggested, I’d wager no one can tell it’s gluten free . . . but, they won’t get the chance, as it was gobbled up immediately by the gf goblins.
I do have one question: do you think monkfruit could be effectively substituted for the brown sugar in this recipe?
Again, thank you so much for doing the hard work of recipe testing, and presenting these recipes to us free of charge!
I am so glad you loved this recipe. I can’t tolerate monk fruit and other sweeteners, but I do know several of my readers do use it in my recipes. I don’t recall if anyone wrote to me about this specific recipe. If you try it, please keep me posted on how it turns out.
Just made these tonight and it turned out absolutely incredible, recently discovered I am allergic to wheat and will definitely be checking out this site for more amazing recipes!
I am so glad you loved this chocolate banana bread. My husband has been bugging me to make it again LOL. I do hope you find some more recipes to try!
This was very easy to make. Smelled amazing while it was baking! Not overly sweet. Nice texture! Yum!
I am so glad you enjoyed this bread. The level of sweetness can easily be modified if you would like it a little sweeter.
I have made this recipe twice. I made muffins instead of a loaf. They are so good. If you like chocolate and banana, you will love this recipe.
I am thrilled you all loved these muffins. I am a big fan of chocolate and banana together :-).
Love this recipe!! Easy to follow.
I can’t have chocolate so I used unsweetened carob powder and sweetened carob chips. It came out so delicious!! Moist and flavorful! My whole family enjoyed it! Definitely will make again and strongly recommended!
Thank you so much for this recipe!! 🙂
I am so glad you loved it. My kids are always asking me to make it again :-).
Excellent recipe, easy to make! This bread comes out so moist and delicious! It’s a must make.
Thank you so much, Jaki. I really appreciate your coming back to let everyone know :-).
This is a delicious recipe. My family didn’t even know it was gluten free and devoured it.
Thank you so much for coming back to let everyone know how good it is.
Oh my gosh, this chocolate banana bread is FANTASTIC!! The texture is perfect, so moist, and the pairing of bananas and chocolate is delicious. It also goes great with vanilla ice cream on top!
I am so glad you loved the recipe. I hope you come back and try more of my recipes!
I made a double batch with King Arthur flour and avocado oil. I used less than half a cup total of coconut sugar. I made muffins and little donuts and cooked them for 20 mins. They came out great with just enough sweetness for us! Thank you for sharing this!
I am so glad you loved the recipe, and it is very good to know that coconut sugar worked well. I am sure this info will help other readers. Thank you!
This was fantastic! My teenagers loved it and could not tell it is gluten free
I am so excited everyone liked my recipe. Thank you for coming back to rate the recipe and leave a comment, I really appreciate it!
Made this tonight! It was absolutely delicious😋 Great texture, moist, to die for. Thank you for sharing! And it was so easy to make.
I am thrilled you loved it, Emily. I appreciate your coming back to let us know!