This is not the classic banana bread recipe of your childhood. It is, however, quite similar in many ways. Like the loaves your mom made from her batter-splattered recipe and turned out of her dented metal loaf pan, it’s certainly moist and banana-y. It’s ridiculously aromatic. It presents a terrific use for those bananas you picked up on sale that are now forlornly browning on the counter. It’s got a familiar ingredient list that calls for pantry staples including butter, eggs, sugar, buttermilk, vanilla, and not much else. It’s quite a sight to behold. And, in the words of the talented baker who created this banana bread recipe, it is “divine right out of the oven with melted butter, supreme when toasted with a little butter and honey, and sinful with your favorite cream cheese frosting.”
Sound familiar? This really quite lovely banana bread recipe ingeniously calls for roasting the bananas whole prior to incorporating them into the batter. The technique sort of intensifies the banana-y flavor. (Clever, huh?) Although truth be told, we consider this step to be optional—especially those days when you want as little time as possible to elapse between the anticipation of banana bread and the actual incarnation of said banana bread.
Yet this banana bread is quite different in one important way. It’s gluten-free. Because of that, it simply can’t possess quite the same texture or mouthfeel as the loaf to which you’ve grown accustomed. It’s just a little denser, a little crumblier. We don’t think that’s such a bad thing. Not at all. Though it may not be quite the same in taste and texture as you’re accustomed, trust us when we say it’s the same in terms of temptation. Because perhaps what’s more important than what goes into a recipe is what comes out. Karen Morgan, who created this gluten-free banana bread, recalls that when she first tasted this bread, it inspired her to believe that “maybe, just maybe, life was going to be beautiful once again.” We don’t know how to improve upon that.–Renee Schettler Rossi
Gluten-Free Banana Bread
Ingredients
- 4 very ripe bananas, roasted (recipe follows)
- 1 1/2 cups Bob’s Red Mill all-purpose gluten-free flour
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 stick unsalted butter, at room temperature, plus more for the pan
- 2 large eggs
- 2/3 cup buttermilk, (either low-fat or full-fat)
- 2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2/3 cup chopped pecans
Instructions
- Position an oven rack in the center of the oven. Preheat the oven to 350°F (176°C). Butter a 9-by-5-inch loaf pan.
- In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the flour, sugar, baking soda, and salt and mix on low speed until blended. Add the butter and continue to mix on low speed until blended. Add the eggs, increase the speed to medium and blend until smooth. Reduce the speed to low, immediately add the buttermilk, and gradually bring the mixer up to high speed. Continue to mix until the batter is light and fluffy, stopping once or twice to scrape down the sides of the bowl.
- Stir in the bananas, vanilla, and pecans just until combined. Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and cover loosely with aluminum foil.
- Bake the banana bread for 1 hour, 15 minutes, or until a knife or wooden skewer inserted in the center of the loaf comes out clean. Let the banana bread cool in the pan on a wire rack for 10 minutes. Run a knife around the sides of the pan and then carefully turn the loaf onto the wire rack. Let cool for at least 15 minutes before slicing. If serving the banana bread with cream cheese frosting—an act we heartily endorse—then let the banana bread cool completely before slicing. (Any leftover bread ought to be wrapped in aluminum foil or plastic wrap and refrigerated for up to 5 days.)
Notes
To Roast Bananas
Preheat the oven to 350°F (176°C). Line a rimmed baking sheet with aluminum foil. Arrange the bananas in a row on the prepared baking sheet. Using a paring knife, make 6 small slits in the top side of each banana peel. Roast until the peels are black and bulging, with juices oozing from the vents you created prior to roasting, about 15 minutes for regular-size bananas. Remove from the oven and let the bananas cool completely on the pan. Hold one of the roasted bananas over a bowl and begin peeling the roasted banana. The flesh of the banana should fall out seamlessly. Holding the peel of the banana over the bowl, run your fingers or a spoon along the interior of the skins, as you would a squeegee down a window pane, to extract the caramelized juices. Mash the bananas in the bowl with a fork or a potato masher until no large clumps are visible.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Recipe Testers’ Reviews
While this wasn’t my favorite banana bread ever, this was the best gluten-free banana bread I’ve ever eaten. The recipe is easy to follow and creates a texture to regular banana bread that’s nearly spot on— without requiring fun with molecular gastronomy to achieve the results. My co-workers were big fans, too.
We’re into muffins and cupcakes as they’re easy to store and a treat for the kids, so I made these as muffins, using King Arthur gluten-free flour mix. I roasted the bananas (as well as the pecans), and found that the roasted bananas made the flavor jump, and also sweetened the bread quite a bit. For future reference, I think 3/4 cup of sugar would be better for me. I froze the rest of the muffins so I can have them for longer than the five days. I am new to gluten-free baking, and this was a good choice.
WOW! As one who has friends and family who are gluten intolerant, I’m always on the the search for what I call “crossover recipes,” AKA food that I can serve that will delight all of my guests—those without allergies and those with sensitivities included. This recipe is fabulous.
I found out less than a week ago that I have celiac disease. I was pretty devastated, and on Valentine’s day said “just one more time” and had a high-gluten meal. That went very badly for my poor gut.
This is the first gluten-free baking I have done, and let me tell you, this bread is AWESOME. Granted, I have always preferred my banana bread just a tad dense and crumbly (though, like I said, it’s just a tad). Thank you so much for giving me hope for baking. I’ve always been a big baker, and this has let me see that I can still be a baker!
I did use light brown sugar instead of standard granulated sugar. And I did roast the bananas. The bread fell apart a bit when transferring to the cooling rack, but the taste and mouth-feel are just superb.
Holly, I’m sorry to hear about the diagnosis. I understand your devastation. And because I understand, I’m over the moon to hear that you liked the banana bread. And we have more where that came from. If you go to our Advanced Recipe Search and click on Gluten-Free, you’ll see an array of options. Or you could just click on this link. Let us know what recipes—from our site or others—are satisfying your cravings. In the meantime, we’ll be thinking of you.
Roasting the bananas made a delicious difference. Great banana bread recipe and a wonderful GF recipe. Easy and delicious. It doesn’t get much better than that.
So glad you liked it, Twila!
Hi,
How exactly do you roast bananas? I would love to surprise my gluten-intolerant daughter with this goodie!
Thanks
What a lovely and thoughtful mom you are, Centella. Actually, the recipe, or rather the technique, that the author recommends for roasting bananas can be found directly beneath the recipe on this very same page. We’ve found that bananas can turn a little liquidy when roasted, so you may wish to drain that off prior to incorporating the banana mush into the batter. And if you’re short on time, you can actually omit the roasting–several of our testers used raw bananas and were quite pleased with the results. Roasting simply mellows and sweetens the banana flavor slightly. Whichever approach you take, please check back with us and let us know your daughter’s reaction…
Hi, Cantella! Glad to have you join us here.
Having made this recipe several times (just because it is so darned good, plus I have celiac disease) I would encourage you to roast the bananas as recommended. All you do is poke 6 holes in each of the four bananas, place them on a tinfoil-lined baking sheet, roast about 15 minutes at 350 degrees F, and voila! They add a lovely flavor. I also recommend toasting or roasting the pecans, too, if you have the time. I made this recipe again this afternoon, but this time used my miniature loaf pans to permit me to freeze the breads individually. They turned out very well.
All the best of luck with this recipe. Please let us know how it worked out!
I made this gf banana bread last night. I was concerned when the batter seemed so thin, but it baked up superb. I didn’t have buttermilk, so I used regular milk instead, which was fine, but next time I will used buttermilk. What a wonderful recipe with great flavor and amazing texture. Thank you so much!
Not having made it my guess would be that it would be much better with buttermilk. Without the buttermilk there isn’t any acidity in the recipe to react with the baking soda.
Having made this recipe numerous times (it still remains my favourite!) I always use buttermilk. As with other recipes using buttermilk it definitely adds great depth of flavour that would be lacking somewhat without. I agree that it definitely does need acidity to react with the baking soda (like in other quick breads, etc.).
For Tanya or anyone else who finds they do not have buttermilk in the house, simply add 1 tablespoon of white vinegar or lemon juice to the measuring cup and add enough regular milk to make 1 cup (or adjust accordingly) . Let stand 5 minutes before using.
Hint: This recipe is also great with grated bittersweet chocolate!