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!
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Paleo Banana Bread (Naturally Sweetened & No Added Sugar)
This super moist healthy paleo banana bread is made with almond flour and naturally sweetened with ripe bananas — no added sugar needed!
You can never have too many banana bread recipes, that’s for sure!
There’s the nut-free banana blueberry breakfast bread, almond butter chocolate chunk banana bread, zucchini banana bread, and cinnamon swirl banana bread.
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.
Making the Most Simple Paleo Banana Bread
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.
For a truly simple banana bread, I used no nut butters and no sweeteners.
Making Paleo Banana Bread with Minimal Ingredients
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.
Super Moist Paleo Banana Bread Without Sugar
Using super ripe bananas is essential for both natural sweetness AND moistness.
Almond flour is also partially responsible for the delicious moistness of this banana bread.
Why This Banana Bread Is So Soft and Tender
The combination of almond flour along with tapioca or arrowroot flour creates a wonderfully soft and tender texture for this bread.
Tapioca or arrowroot gives the bread slightly more elasticity than using almond flour alone. With gluten free and paleo baking, elasticity is something we’re typically missing!
No Fancy Equipment Needed for the Best Banana Bread!
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!
Ways to Serve This Banana Bread
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toasted with a little almond butter
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as French toast
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as muffins
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with berries
Easy Add-Ins and Toppings for Your Best Paleo Banana Bread
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!
A handful or two of chopped nuts, chocolate chips, blueberries, cranberries, or anything else you can think of.
This is 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.
How to Store Paleo Banana Bread
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!
Healthy Paleo Banana Bread {Almond Flour, 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 Video
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
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
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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 🙂
Excellent recipe. Only added ½ tsp more cinnamon as I love cinnamon. Baked a little longer. Easy and delicious. Just as good as the sugar/wheat flour I used to make. And so good, it’s kind of addicting….yum! 😆
I cheated, added 3 Tbs brown sugar crushed cashews, doubled the cinnamon, vanilla and tripled the baking powder. And chopped one of the bananas so there’d be some chunks in the bread (Hawaii style) Shaka!
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 🙂
I know this was a year and a half ago, but for anybody wondering the same thing, I’ve found that an instant read thermometer is crucial for banana bread baking. The bottom will be the moistest spot, and will be the last part to cook completely. In the banana breads that I’ve made, the top sometimes gets pretty dark, but tenting with aluminum foil will help. When you’ve made a recipe in a certain pan once or twice, the thermometer may not be necessary, but I always feel more comfortable with it anyway.
So good to know thanks!
I haven’t made the bread yet…. I was wondering, with the thermometer – what temp is recommended for the bread to be done?
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.”