The Best Gluten Free Banana Bread {Dairy-Free Too!}

You need to try my new gluten free banana bread recipe. Fill it with cranberries, blueberries, or chocolate chips. It is moist, delicious, and so easy to make with simple ingredients. This homemade loaf is both gluten- and dairy-free, and I snuck in a few healthy ingredients too!

This homemade gluten free banana quick bread is loaded with sweet bananas and your favorite mix-ins. I am sure this gluten free cranberry banana bread will quickly become your family's favorite breakfast bread.

I recently remade this loaf of banana bread because I wanted to show it with chocolate chips. I love making this recipe in the fall with fresh cranberries, but cranberries are only available just a couple of months a year, so I wanted to show you some yummy options.

If you love cranberries, you will want to try these Gluten Free Cranberry Muffins and these Gluten Free Cranberry Shortbread Bars recipes, too.

Why This Recipe Is Great:

1. This homemade banana chocolate chip bread is not only gluten free, but it is dairy-free too!
2. It is healthy enough to serve with breakfast but tastes good enough for dessert!
3. It makes a wonderful addition to your Thanksgiving holidays, and you can enjoy it in less than an hour.
4. Using over-ripe bananas helps me keep the sugar content a bit in this sweet gluten free cranberry banana bread recipe.

Like so many others here, I followed the recipe…sorta kinda. Used Cup4Cup flour and a bit of almond flour but didn’t have flaxseed anything so kinda adjusted those amounts. Used buttermilk instead of almond, because that’s what we had and I used to always add a bit of sour cream or yogurt to my favorite banana bread recipe before we had to watch our gluten intake. Doubled up on the actual bananas as ours were smallish, and did not add any chips, nuts, berries on this first run. I’d have given it five stars, but the cooking time had to be about doubled which I was ready for based on the other comments. The bread is delicious, moist, and a keeper. It’s great having a recipe that is so forgiving, so adaptable!"

Leslie P., blog comment

Allergen Information:

This gluten free banana bread recipe is gluten-free, dairy-free, and soy-free. See the Substitutions section below for nut-free and gum-free options.

Tips To Ripen Bananas:

If you don't have over-ripe bananas, here are some easy ways to ripen your bananas quickly:

1. Place your bananas (with the peels on!) on a baking sheet and bake at 225º F for 20 minutes. The low-temperature heat will also help to caramelize the bananas, adding to their sweet flavor.
2. If you aren’t in a hurry, you can put your bananas in a brown paper bag and let them sit on the counter. (Don’t forget to close the bag!)

If you love bananas as much as we do, check out this gluten free black sesame banana bread or this gluten free strawberry banana bread recipe!!

Are you ready to see how easy this moist, gluten-free, dairy-free banana bread with cranberries is to make? Grab your ingredients:

Top Pick

King Arthur, Measure for Measure Flour 3 lbs

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.)

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Ingredient Notes:

• Gluten Free Flour Blend - I tested this recipe using Bob's Red Mill 1 to 1 Gluten Free Flour Blend and King Arthur's Measure for Measure Gluten Free Blend. That doesn't mean others will not work; I just have not tested other flours.
• Xanthan Gum or Guar Gum - If your flour blend doesn't contain this, you must use it to hold your banana cranberry bread together. See the Substitutions section below for a gum-free option.
• Baking Powder and Salt - Use aluminum-free baking powder.
• Almond Flour - Use almond flour and not almond meal. Almond meal is coarsely ground and will make your bread grainy. See the Substitutions section below for a nut-free option.
• Sugar - Use cane sugar.
• Flaxseed Meal - Make sure to use ground flaxseed meals and not whole flaxseeds.
• Non-Dairy Milk - I used almond milk, but you can use any plant-based or regular milk.
• Coconut Oil - You can substitute a light oil or use butter if you are not dairy-free. Be sure to warm the oil if it is solid.
• Eggs - Use size large.
• Pure Vanilla Extract - you want to use real and not imitation vanilla.

Substitutions:

• To make this recipe gum-free, use my DIY Gluten Free Flour Blend. It uses psyllium husk instead of xanthan or guar gum.
• To make this recipe nut-free, omit the almond flour and add ¼ cup of additional gluten free flour blend.

Fun Mix-Ins:

This should really be called a gluten free banana bread base recipe, meaning the banana bread recipe is awesome, and you can use it with any fruit or mix-in :-). Here are some ways I have changed up this recipe:

• Blueberries
• Apple
• Chocolate chips or chocolate chunks
• Nuts (almond slivers, pecans, walnuts, etc.)

Tips For Sucess:

• Do not use a stand mixer or electric mixer to make this recipe. They tend to overmix your batter, leaving you with a dense loaf.
• Let the batter sit for 15 minutes before baking. This allows the rice flour in your blend to soften, eliminating any grittiness.

How To Make Gluten Free Banana Bread:

Step 1: Add the dry ingredients to a large mixing bowl and use a whisk to blend.

Step 2: Add the wet ingredients and whisk in a smaller bowl. If using coconut oil, be sure it is warmed so that it is a liquid.

Step 3: Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and add the fresh cranberries, chocolate chips, or other mix-ins. Mix gently. It is important to mix until the batter is just barely mixed, or your bread will turn out dense.

Step 4: Your gluten free banana bread batter will look like this when it is mixed.

🔑 Sandi says: Add more flour or liquid if your batter is runnier or looks dry. Every gluten free flour blend has a different grain-to-starch ratio, which greatly affects the moisture level of your baked goods.

Step 5: Pour the batter into a greased bread loaf tin. Bake at 350º F for 40-45 minutes. Remove from the oven and set out to cool. The actual baking time will vary depending on the size and depth of your bread pan.

If you love this recipe, give my popular Gluten Free Banana Bars recipe a try, too!

If you love chocolate and bananas, give this easy Gluten Free Chocolate Banana Bread a try too!

Recipe FAQ:

If you love this holiday bread, wait until you try my homemade Gluten Free Panettone Bread recipe!!

More Gluten Free Quick Bread Recipes:

• Gluten Free Cranberry Chocolate Chip Bread
• Gluten Free Matcha Green Tea Banana Bread
• Gluten Free Banana Sesame Bread

📖 Recipe

Gluten Free Super Moist Banana Bread with Chocolate Chunks

Sandi Gaertner

An incredibly easy gluten free banana bread with lots of chocolate chunks.

4.68 from 25 votes

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Prep Time 10 minutes mins

Cook Time 45 minutes mins

Total Time 55 minutes mins

Course Gluten Free Breakfast Recipes

Cuisine American

Servings 10 slices

Calories 342 kcal

Ingredients

  

1x2x3x

• ▢ 2 bananas
• ▢ 2 eggs
• ▢ ⅓ cup coconut oil * see note
• ▢ 1 cup almond milk
• ▢ 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• ▢ 2 cups gluten free flour blend * see note
• ▢ ½ cup almond flour * see note
• ▢ ¼ cup flaxseed meal
• ▢ 1 teaspoon baking powder
• ▢ ½ teaspoon baking soda
• ▢ ⅛ teaspoon salt
• ▢ ⅓ cup walnuts
• ▢ 1 cup fresh cranberries
• ▢ 1 cup sugar coconut or brown sugar is fine too

Instructions

 

• Preheat the oven to 350º F.
• In a large bowl, add the dry ingredients and whisk to blend.
• In a medium-sized bowl, add the wet ingredients and mix.
• Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients. Add the fresh cranberries and walnuts.
• Mix together and pour the batter into a greased bread loaf tin.
• Bake for 40-45 minutes until done.

Notes

1. If you can't find fresh cranberries, you can use other fruit like blueberries, raspberries, or even chocolate chips as pictured!
2. 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.
3. If your gluten free flour blend doesn’t contain Xanthan Gum or Guar Gum, please add 1 teaspoon.
4. I highly suggest using almond flour and not almond meal. Almond meal is more coarse and will make your donuts grainy.
5. You can substitute the coconut oil for another light oil or butter.
6. To test for doneness, insert a toothpick into the center of the donut. If the toothpick comes out clean, it is done baking. If you see batter or crumbs, the donuts need to bake longer.
7. This bread will keep up to 4 days in an air-tight container, or up to 4 months in the freezer.

If you don't have over-ripe bananas, here are some easy ways to ripen your bananas quickly:

1. Place your bananas (with the peels on!) on a baking sheet and bake at 225 for 20 minutes. The low-temperature heat will also help to caramelize the bananas adding to their sweet flavor.
2. If you aren’t in a hurry, you can put your bananas in a brown paper bag and let them sit on the counter. (Don’t forget to close the bag!)

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

Serving: 1gCalories: 342kcalCarbohydrates: 47gProtein: 6gFat: 16gSaturated Fat: 7gCholesterol: 33mgSodium: 131mgPotassium: 195mgFiber: 6gSugar: 25gVitamin A: 69IUVitamin C: 3mgCalcium: 95mgIron: 2mg

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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.

This post was updated from an older November 2018 post with more recipe details.