This deliciously hearty yet soft and moist Paleo banana bread is made with no grains, dairy, and no added sugar. It’s gluten free, Paleo, sweetened only with bananas and perfect for breakfast or a snack with your favorite spread. Kid approved and easy to make!
So…it’s not the first time I’ve posted a banana bread recipe on this site, that’s for sure. There’s the nut-free banana blueberry breakfast bread, almond butter chocolate chunk banana bread and cassava flour banana bread, to list just three. BUT, for whatever reason I always just assumed that to make banana bread truly what I wanted it to be, I had to add some sort of sweetener. The bananas couldn’t be enough, could they?
Well, as it turns out, banana-only sweetened banana bread can be just as delicious as any bread with added sweetener. My kids actually had no idea I did anything different with this bread and the two loaves I made were gone within a couple of days.
As usual, I had a few goals/rules in mind when approaching this bread. First, no added sweetener besides the bananas. Told you that one already, I know 🙂 Second, no nut butters. I LOVE nut butter and bananas together, and nut butters works really well in paleo breads, doing the job of eggs, oil, and even leavening in my opinion.
But, sometimes we need to let our nut butters rest, because let’s face it – using 1/2 or 3/4 cup of our precious (and pricy) nut butter on a banana bread isn’t always desirable. Almond flour is pricy enough, adding nut butters on and the loaf starts to seem…not worth it, perhaps.
With this recipe the ingredients are simple – way overripe bananas (the softer/browner the better for this one), coconut oil (refined or unrefined) a grain free flour mixture of almond and tapioca, cinnamon, salt, leavening agent. To get a bit of a better rise on this bread, I used a homemade paleo baking powder made of baking soda and cream of tartar, however feel free to use regular baking powder if you aren’t concerned with keeping this paleo in the strictest sense.
On the topic of rise, make sure you don’t make this bread (or any other quick bread) in a blender or with an electric mixer. Simply stir the dry ingredients into the wet until you get a lumpy batter with no flour spots – no need to try to make it smooth – in fact doing so will ensure you get a flat bread. The bread will have great texture and rise to it if you’re nice and lazy with your mixing 🙂
I went totally “naked” with this bread with just the addition of a bit of cinnamon for flavor, but feel free to add any of your favorite mix-ins, including chopped nuts, chocolate chips, blueberries, cranberries, or anything else you can think of. It’s a great basic paleo banana bread recipes that’s quite forgiving, versatile, and always delicious!
It’s perfect toasted with a little butter or nut butter (oops, nut butter again) and good totally plain, too. I recommend storing it loosely covered at room temperature for the first day, and covered in the refrigerator after that. You can also freeze the loaf and defrost in the refrigerator once reader to eat.
I hope you guys are ready to bake something super easy, tasty and satisfying! Preheat your oven and peel your bananas! Let’s go!
Hearty Paleo Banana Bread {Banana Sweetened}
Hearty Paleo Banana Bread {Sweetened with Bananas Only!}
Ingredients
- 4 small/med very overripe bananas or 3 larger ones, mashed well
- 4 large eggs room temp
- 2 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 1/4 cup coconut oil melted and cooled to almost room temp
- 1 3/4 cups blanched almond flour
- 1/2 cup tapioca flour
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp baking powder or make your own paleo baking powder*
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp fine grain sea salt
Instructions
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Whisk together all dry ingredients and set aside. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F and line a medium loaf pan with parchment paper.
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In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs and mashed bananas, then vanilla and coconut oil until well combined.
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Slowly stir the dry mixture into the wet (don’t use an electric mixer - you will overmix the batter and prevent it from rising properly) just until moistened and no visible flour remains.
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Transfer batter to prepared loaf pan and bake in the preheated oven for 50-60 minutes until deep golden brown and toothpick inserted into the center of the loaf comes out clean. Allow to cool completely in the loaf pan resting on a wire rack, then remove using the parchment paper to help you, slice and serve. Enjoy!
Recipe Notes
*To make paleo-friendly (corn free) baking powder, mix 1 tsp baking soda with 2 tsp cream of tartarfollow. For this recipe, you will need just 1/2 tsp total of this mixture.
Nutrition
What I Used to Make My Paleo Banana Bread:
Want more delicious Paleo quick breads? Try One of These!
Banana Blueberry Breakfast Bread {Nut Free}
Almond Butter Chocolate Chunk Banana Bread
Hearty Cinnamon Raisin Breakfast Bread
Simple Pumpkin Breakfast Bread
Double Chocolate Tahini Banana Muffins
Tell me!
What’s the last thing you baked?
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This looks great and I can’t wait to try it! I don’t have tapioca flour on hand though, is there a substitute?
Another hit, Michele!
Wonderful!
I see coconut sugar but you didn’t mention the amount in the recipe 🙂
It’s cinnamon 🙂
Could you use something else besides tapioca flour?
Are you able to list total carbs for diabetics. Thanks
Can you tell me what size loaf pan you used?
this might be a silly question. But can i add shredded zucchini in this as well?
I don’t have almond flour but do have coconut. Could I substitute?
Those 2 flours have very different properties so subbing doesn’t work. Typically you’d use less than half the amount of coconut flour than almond flour in any given recipe, plus coconut flour requires additional liquid ingredients so it’s tough to know without testing.
Made this tonight and it was fantastic! My family had no idea it was Paleo. I forgot the coconut oil and vanilla and added an extra banana. While it was still good, I would encourage you to follow the recipe. I’m going to re-make it next Sunday!! Ps. If you follow WW, it’s 11 points per serving.
Awesome! And glad you know it’s a forgiving recipe too 🙂
The banana bread is amazing:)!! I just made it last night and will try it for French toast tomorrow!! Best paleo banana bread I’ve made yet! Thank you for sharing!
So happy you liked it!
MIchelle,
Can I substitute arrowroot flower for the tapioca?
Yup that should work just fine 🙂
This is so tasty! And the texture is perfect to soothe my cake cravings. My body doesn’t tolerate tapioca well, so I subbed with sweet rice flour and it came out perfectly. This will be my go-to banana bread recipe from now on. Thank you!
So glad the recipe worked out for you, and very good to know the rice flour worked as well!
Just made this with 5 Thai bananas since they’re so tiny. I didn’t think it would be sweet enough but it’s so good! Will definitely make this again and share the recipe with friends!
So delicious! My family loved it and that made me happy. It is truly the best paleo bread ever! Thank you for sharing this recipe, Michelle.
Yay! So happy to hear you all loved it 🙂
Tried this today and it’s so delicious, truly a guilt-free treat, thanks for the recipe! I only had 1 1/4 cups of almond meal so I substituted the rest with tapioca flour but it still turned out so good! By the way, how long can the banana bread stand at room temperature and also in the chiller?
SO glad it worked out! I usually keep it at room temp for a day before refrigerating.
I made this and it’s just come out from the oven and looks amazing! Can’t wait to slice it to see how it turned out and of course taste it too. Thanks so much for this recipe! My husband and I have only recently decided to go paleo, so this banana bread is a godsend.
I hope you enjoy!
This bread is a game changer – finally a truly no added sugar bread that tastes great! For health reasons, I keep all sugars under 30 g a day. That means no added sugars at all most days. I make some zucchini muffins sweetened with bananas only, but the texture is much moister – not necessarily in a good way.
This bread had a divine texture and just enough sweetness – my taste buds have changed considerably and so this bread is plenty sweet for me. I had it warm with a dollop of almond butter – it was – to use my English sister’s word – gorgeous!
I will be making this as french toast with a bit of NH maple syrup, my splurge meal Christmas morning, when the family is eating traditional cinnamon rolls!
I need to remember using arrowroot flour with Almond flour to get a better texture when baking bread.
I’m thrilled you liked it! I swear by arrowroot or tapioca mixed with almond or coconut flour to get the texture just right. You’ll love the French toast!
I am new to paleo baking and have a question! I made this banana bread and also your pumpkin bread last week. I was amazed at how delicious they were..until day 3 when I cut a slice (i had gotten to the middle by then) and it was super sticky. Took a bite and it was almost tasteless but with a weird sticky texture. The banana bread had a very weird taste – kind of bitter. Am I supposed to put this in the fridge or what am I doing wrong? Both the breads seemed to be baked long enough!
I typically only have my bread out at room temp for about 24 hours, then I refrigerate and toast it a bit before serving. I haven’t had the sticky/no flavor issue with refrigeration. A bitter taste isn’t normal so I would get rid of it ASAP and refrigerate next time after the first day.
Thanks for replying! I will try again 🙂
I’m wondering if maybe her baking powder isn’t the culprit. I switched to Argo a while back and have been pleased with the results, though I frequently double on the baking powder + baking soda and add maybe 500mg of ascorbic acid to GF recipes to nudge them into rising a bit better. If Tabitha used an aluminum-based baking powder, that might explain the bitter or metallic taste.
Jeanne has a really good post on baking powders here:
http://www.artofglutenfreebaking.com/2012/11/baking-powder/
It came out amazing!! Thank you for the recipe.
could I use Bob Red Mill’s Paleo flour (combination or almond and coconut flour) instead of straight almond flour?
I’m sure you can, however I’m not sure of the exact measurement needed! I think it would be less due to the coconut flour in the mix.
I can’t wait to try this recipe! Wondering if I can use ghee in place of coconut oil? Would you recommend that as a good substitute?
Yes, I think that should work well 🙂
How long would you cook it for if you were using monk loaf pans?
Mini
Not entirely sure, I would check after 25 mins and see how they’re doing!
Hi I plan to make this over the weekend. But I wanted to make muffins instead of loaf bread. I’m assuming that will work just fine, yes? and how long do you think the muffins need to bake? Thank you.
That should work fine, I’d say they might need to bake 25 mins? You can always check with a toothpick when they look like they’re done 🙂
This was really tasty when I made it! I forgot one egg but that’s my fault, whoops. I do have a question though. I tried another banana-sweetened only bread today (a 21DSD lemon poppy bread) and the same thing happened where the bottom of the pan was really wet. I am guessing this is from the bananas. Am I using too much parchment paper? Maybe I should use a different sized loaf pan? I believe mine is 9×5. I took the loaf out of the pan after 20ish minutes to cool on the rack since I didn’t want it to just sit in liquid.
Thank you for all your recipes! I made your buffalo chicken dip for a Superbowl party and it was a hit 🙂
This is truly EXCELLENT! My go-to banana bread from now on. I made mine in a mini loaf pan (made 3 generously sized mini loaves). Baking time was approx 35-40 minutes in my oven. It was done when the top was a rich golden brown. I also used about 3 medium-sized bananas (normal size bananas basically), as well as the paleo baking powder you suggested and it worked perfectly! Made it for guests – everyone loved it.
That sounds great! I’m so thrilled you enjoyed!
Thank you so much for this amazing recipe, Michelle! I really missed banana nut bread, and this is a truly wonderful recipe. I appreciate all the time and effort you put into your recipes. (-:
Glad you enjoyed!
Love the combo of tapioca flour with almond flour for the right texture! Great suggestion. What is the ratio that you would recommend if a recipe that doesn’t specify using tapioca flour? How much would you add for either 1c almond flour or 1/2c coconut flour? Thanks!
OMG. This recipe is Great! I didn’t have the tapioca flour so just used all almond, and no coconut oil so used vegetable oil,also no bread pans -muffins. Baked for 28 min.They are delicious. Sweetened by bananas, doesn’t require add’link sugar. Very moist.
So happy you enjoyed!
I LOVE this recipe!!! Comes out perfect every time. Actually, every recipe that I’ve made from your blog is delicious. My boyfriend and I are working towards a paleo based diet and your recipes makes that feel easy! I never feel like I’m “missing out.”
I don’t understand how this is the best banana bread I have EVER had but I’m totally okay with it! Even my husband loved it! Thank you for this recipe I will definitely be making this more!!
What an awesome recipe! I made this today in an effort to save my rapidly ageing banana and wow the finished bread is incredibly soft, moist and super yummy. Thanks for sharing this amazing recipe. x
Mine is gooey on the inside. I kept testing it and putting it back in the oven till it was in there for an hour and a half then started to burn. Still wet inside like a soggy sponge.
Sorry to hear that! Sounds like too much banana or too little flour. Even if you follow the recipe exactly this can sometimes happen since brands can vary and the bananas might have been bigger/smaller.
Thank you
This was quite soggy in the center! I put it back in a couple of times and covered it with foil and it eventually cooked through. Just tossed out the very center, which remained a bit gooey. I definitely could have made a mistake so I’ll try it again to see if it bakes up better. 🙂
Literally the most amazing banana bread ever. I cant believe its not gluten!!
So thrilled you liked it so much!!
This recipe is awesome. I love how there is no added sugar so I don’t feel as guilty when I eat about half the loaf! I added some raisins to the recipe and it was amazing. I’ve made so many of your recipes and tell friends about your blog all the time. Thanks for another great one!
So happy you love it!
I halved this recipe and made 11 muffins that turned out great! I cooked them for about 13 minutes in a coconut oil greased muffin pan. They still stuck, but I managed to get them out of the pan pretty much intact. Thanks for this awesome recipe!
Happy it worked out!
Not to be mean, but to save others from wasting their precious almond flour – I made this, following the recipe exactly, and it was an epic fail – one of those paleo “breads” that can’t cook through (too wet, not enough structure) no matter how long you cook it. I tried leaving it in an extra hour at 270 to try to fix the problem, and it was still just like pudding inside.