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 free and dairy-free, and I snuck in a few healthy ingredients too!
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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 down a bit in this sweet gluten free cranberry banana bread recipe. Bananas are nutrient-dense and help even out the tartness of the cranberries.
Tips to Ripen Bananas:
If you don't have over-ripe bananas, here are some easy ways to ripen your bananas quickly:
- 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.
- 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 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:
- 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 nee to use it to hold your banana cranberry bread together.
- Almond flour - you will want to make sure 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 different 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 meal and not whole flaxseeds.
- Pure vanilla extract - you want to make sure 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:
Step 1: Add the dry ingredients to a bowl and whisk to blend.
Step 2: In a smaller bowl, add the wet ingredients and whisk.
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: 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!
If you love chocolate and bananas, give this easy Gluten Free Chocolate Banana Bread a try too!
Expert tips and recipe FAQ:
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 an additional 10 minutes.
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 the cranberries.
You can definitely make this gluten free banana bread recipe nut-free. Omit the almond flour and add ¼ cup additional gluten free flour blend. Also use flaxseed milk instead of almond milk.
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!!
More Gluten Free Quick Bread Recipes:
- Gluten Free Cranberry Chocolate Chip Bread
- Gluten Free Matcha Green Tea Banana Bread
- Gluten Free Butternut Squash Quick Bread
- Gluten Free Banana Sesame Bread
Recipe
Gluten Free Super Moist Banana Bread with Chocolate Chunks
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
- If you can't find fresh cranberries, you can use other fruit like blueberries, raspberries, or even chocolate chips as pictured!
- 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 or Guar Gum, please add 1 teaspoon.
- I highly suggest using almond flour and not almond meal. Almond meal is more coarse and will make your donuts grainy.
- You can substitute the coconut oil for another light oil or butter.
- 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.
- This bread will keep up to 4 days in an air-tight container, or up to 4 months in the freezer.
- 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.
- 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!)
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.
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MaryAnn
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??
Sandi Gaertner
Hi MaryAnn, thank you so much for the compliment. I think substitute is fine with almond flour.