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Home Recipes Bread Recipes

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

Published: Nov 15, 2018 · Modified: Mar 18, 2021 by Sandi Gaertner · 13 Comments · This post may contain affiliate links

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A Pinterest image of a sliced loaf of banana bread.

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!

a loaf of gluten free banana bread sliced on a cutting board
Jump to:
  • Why this gluten free banana bread is great:
  • Tips to Ripen Bananas:
  • Ingredient notes:
  • Fun mix-ins:
  • How to make gluten free banana bread:
  • Expert tips and recipe FAQ:
  • More Gluten Free Quick Bread Recipes:
  • 📖 Recipe
  • Fearless Dining
  • 💬 Comments

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 gluten free banana bread is great:

This homemade banana chocolate chip bread is not only gluten free, but it is dairy-free too! It is healthy enough to serve with breakfast but tastes good enough to be a dessert! It makes a wonderful addition to your Thanksgiving holidays and you can enjoy it in less than an hour.

Using over-ripe bananas helps me keep the sugar content a bit in this sweet gluten free cranberry banana bread recipe. Bananas are nutrient-dense and help even out the tartness of the cranberries.

a sliced loaf of banana cranberry bread on a cutting board
Here is a shot of this banana bread with the fresh cranberries.

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:

Ingredient notes:

cranberry banana bread ingredients
  • 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 will need to use it to hold your banana cranberry bread together.
  • Almond flour - you will want to ensure your bag says flour and not almond meal. Almond meal is coarsely ground and will make your bread grainy.
  • Coconut oil - you can substitute a light oil or use butter if you are not dairy-free.
  • Flaxseed meal - this adds some fiber and omega 3's. Make sure to use ground flaxseed meals and not whole flaxseeds.
  • Pure vanilla extract - you want to use real and not imitation vanilla.

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.)

How to make gluten free banana bread:

steps one and three photos

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

Step 2: Add the wet ingredients and whisk in a smaller bowl.

Step 3: Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and add the fresh cranberries or mix-ins. Mix gently. It is important to mix until the batter is just barely mixed, or your bread will turn out dense. Do not use a standing mixer.

step 4 and 5 photos

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

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.

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

a slice of cranberry banana bread on a wooden plate

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

Expert tips and recipe FAQ:

How do you know when the bread is done baking?

To check to see if the gluten free banana cranberry bread is done baking, insert a toothpick in the middle of the bread. If the toothpick comes out smoothly, it is done. If there is any batter or crumbs on the toothpick, bake for an additional 10 minutes.

Can you use dried cranberries?

You can definitely use dried cranberries, but they will not taste the same. If you want to use blueberries, they make a great substitution for cranberries.

Can you make this banana bread recipe nut-free?

You can definitely make this gluten free banana bread recipe nut-free. Omit the almond flour and add ¼ cup of additional gluten free flour blend. Also, use flaxseed milk instead of almond milk.

How long will this banana bread keep fresh?

These banana bread will keep up to 4 days in an air-tight container or up to 4 months in the freezer.

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

a slice of gluten free banana chocolate chunk bread on a white plate

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

a loaf of gluten free banana bread sliced on a cutting board

Gluten Free Super Moist Banana Bread with Chocolate Chunks

Sandi Gaertner
An incredibly easy gluten free banana bread with lots of chocolate chunks.
4.71 from 24 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
  

  • 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.

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Reader Interactions

Comments

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    Recipe Rating




  1. Ptedder

    November 25, 2022 at 3:38 pm

    5 stars
    This recipe was delicious! Thank you for sharing it!

    Reply
    • Sandi Gaertner

      November 26, 2022 at 1:23 pm

      I am so glad you all loved the recipe. Thank you!

      Reply
  2. MaryAnn

    February 01, 2022 at 12:02 pm

    HI Sandi - love all your recipes , especially that you use my two favorite GL flours. Question on this recipe, if I dont want to use the flaxseed meal, should I up the almond flour , or change anything else in the recipe??

    Reply
    • Sandi Gaertner

      February 01, 2022 at 4:33 pm

      Hi MaryAnn, thank you so much for the compliment. I think substitute is fine with almond flour.

      Reply
  3. Pamela

    August 07, 2021 at 12:18 pm

    4 stars
    Hi Sandy, thank you so much for sharing this recipe. It sounds delicious! I was wondering if you could use something besides almond flour? My granddaughter can’t have nuts, and so I would like to make banana bread that we can both have.
    Thanks,
    Pam

    Reply
    • Sandi Gaertner

      August 07, 2021 at 12:20 pm

      Hi Pam, You can leave the almond flour out and add an additional 1/4 cup gluten free flour blend.

      Reply
  4. TLJ

    June 18, 2021 at 11:51 am

    I made this delicious recipe today as muffins... they make 21 muffins, baked at 375 degrees for 20 minutes. I used buttermilk instead of almond milk. I also used poppyseed instead of flaxseed. Also added a handful of coconut. Now for a ha ha... the recipe is titled Banana Bread with Chocolate chunks, but now where in the recipe does it tell you how much chocolate to use. So, I used 1 cup blueberries and 1/2 cup chocolate chips, 1 tbsp of grated orange peel...
    Yes, I did really did tweak this recipe, and they were beyond awesome. It will give me courage to try a number of different things with the basic batter. 11/10!

    Reply
    • Sandi Gaertner

      June 18, 2021 at 7:07 pm

      I am so glad you enjoyed the banana bread. I will add in how much chocolate. This recipe started out using cranberries, but those are so tough to find year round so I remade it with chips.

      Reply
  5. Fun size wife

    December 06, 2018 at 5:21 am

    4 stars
    This came out very nice, but it took and hour and 20 minutes to bake. I'm not sure where the 30 minute baking time came from.

    Reply
  6. sara

    November 16, 2018 at 1:36 pm

    5 stars
    Perfect for all of us who are gluten free and are craving both bananas and the winter flavor of cranberry. The almond flour gives it a nice subtle flavor boost but the bananas shine through the most 🙂

    Reply
    • Sandi Gaertner

      November 16, 2018 at 2:40 pm

      I am so glad you like the almond flour addition 🙂

      Reply
  7. Justine Howell

    November 16, 2018 at 12:05 pm

    5 stars
    I'm all about cranberries this time of year, this bread was perfect!

    Reply
    • Sandi Gaertner

      November 16, 2018 at 12:34 pm

      I wish cranberries were a thing all year round. I love their juicy tartness!

      Reply

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