I was craving gluten free banana bread today, and every good craving deserves to be met, don’t you think? Fortunately for me, a reader had recently shared her great-grandmother’s banana bread recipe, and invited me to make it.
She had taken this treasured recipe and converted it to gluten free banana bread just by exchanging my gfJules Flour for the all purpose wheat flour her grandmother had long used. It turned out beautifully!
Knowing that grandma’s recipes are always the best (no matter whose grandmother — that’s just a constant), I was eager to give her recipe a try. I updated grandma’s recipe with a modern tweak here and there (oh yes, and I did make it gluten-free!), but I think you’ll agree that this recipe is a family jewel.
Erin F:
Just pulled GF banana bread out of the oven. It tastes delicious and my home smells wonderful! I completely stopped baking until I found gfJules GF All Purpose flour!!! So grateful for it!
Thanks so much to Erin F. for sharing her family’s recipe. I think we can all agree we are blessed to have this recipe in our gluten free repertoire!
Now, go make grandma proud and bake this wonderful bread for your family! Try mini loaf pans (better for sharing!) or double to make two large loaves. You’re going to want more!
Grandma’s Gluten Free Banana Bread
Grandma's recipes are always best. This old fashioned recipe got a makeover--now it's a treasured gluten free banana bread recipe everyone loves!
Ingredients
- ½ cup (8 Tbs.) butter or non-dairy alternative (I used Earth Balance® Buttery Sticks)
- 3/4 cup - 1 cup granulated sugar (may use less, to taste)
- 2 eggs + 1 egg white (or favorite non-fruit egg substitute)
- ½ cup buttermilk (or ½ cup minus 1 Tbs. non-dairy milk plus 1 Tbs. lemon juice)
- 1/2 cup mashed banana (= approximately 1 banana)
- 1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
- 1 ½ cups gfJules™ All-Purpose Gluten-Free Flour (203 grams)
- ¼ tsp salt
- ½ tsp baking soda
- ½ cup chopped pecans (optional)
Instructions
Preheat oven to 350°F or 325° F convection.
Oil and lightly flour with gfJules Flour one 8.5 x 4.4 loaf pan and one mini loaf pan or two muffin cups; or use one larger 9 inch loaf pan.
In a medium mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar, whipping until light and fluffy. Add eggs and blend until integrated.
If making non-dairy buttermilk, add 1 tablespoon lemon juice to a liquid measuring cup, then add enough non-dairy milk to total 1/2 cup. Allow the mixture to stand while mashing and measuring the banana.
Mash one large, ripe banana and measure to be sure it equals 1/2 cup, but no more. Add part of another banana if necessary.*
In a separate bowl, whisk together gfJules Flour, salt and baking soda.
Add mashed banana and vanilla extract to the sugar mixture, then add buttermilk alternately with flour mixture and mix well, beating one minute after blended. Stir in nuts, if using.
Pour batter into the loaf pans, filling 2/3 full; add remaining batter to mini loaf pan or muffin tins.
Bake large loaf for 60 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean; bake mini loaf pans 30 minutes; bake muffins 15-20 minutes. The bread will be lightly browned and should spring back to the touch.
Remove to cool on a wire rack for 15 minutes, then run a butter knife around the inside of the loaf pans and invert gently to remove the bread.
*gfJules’ Note: In quick bread recipes, it’s important not to add too much fruit, as it can make the bread too dense and heavy and can cause it to remain un-cooked in the middle.
I hope you love this recipe as much as we do!
Don’t forget to pin it for later!
Just made this and it was so good and didn’t taste gluten free (you know what I mean) that I cried! I was a big bread eater before I suddenly couldn’t 2 yrs ago. I’m going to try your bread recipie right now!
YAY! That’s the way it’s SUPPOSED to be, isn’t it?? So happy you’ve found the key to happy gluten free baking from now on!
~jules
Traveling next week. Get a yearning for big muffins in the airport that are never GF! So I made this recipe into muffins yesterday! Recipe made 7 large muffins. Wrapped and in the freezer, ready for travel. Had to taste one! So good!
That’s an awesome travel plan, Claire! Thanks for letting me know! Safe travels (I know they’ll be tasty travels!).
~jules
Can I make this with the sandwich bread mix in my bread machine? Stirring the ingredients and doing any kneading is very taxing on my wrist, hence why I have a machine. I’d like to have it less cake and more bread-like, so definitely want to add the yeast. Are there any particular changes I’ll need to make? When I make bread I use ginger ale, but for this will I need milk or is soy milk acceptable? I’ve got some really ripe bananas just begging to be made into bread.
Jules,
I just made this today and it is delicious! I followed your directions exactly and it turned out perfectly. My guests will never know it is gluten free. Thank you so much!
Wonderful to hear, Brenda! The best recipes are those no one ever realizes are gluten-free! Thanks so much for letting me know!
~jules
Can I make this using the TFal bread machine? Mixing by hand is taxing on my wrist, hence why I love this machine. If I can use the machine, what changes do I need to make? Will I need to add a packet of instant rise yeast?
Hi Renee, you would use the quick bread/sweet bread setting. No need to add yeast. It should work well but may take some tweaking to get the bake times just right.
~jules
Hi Jules – I just made my second recipe with your flour – last weekend I made surprise muffins – came out great – and today I made this banana bread and it came out PERFECT and is delicious! Don’t think the dh has any clue these were GF. 🙂 I made it in one large stoneware 5×9 loaf pan and was perfect.
Oh Kell that is music to my ears! SO happy for you! And so happy you can share with anyone and never have to worry that they’ll be judging your “gluten free” recipes! It’s the best when no one is the wiser! Happy baking!!!
~jules
This recipe makes the most delightfully tasting GF banana nut bread! I recently got a kitchen aide mixer for my birthday and wanted to give it a spin. I had 4 bananas that were RIPE so I put two and two together and decided to make FOUR loaves of banana nut bread! One for my BF( because he needs one to himself) one for my mom and her fianace, one loaf for my RNs and one loaf for the rest of the administrators. I reached out to Jules to see if this recipe was one you could quadruple, she was kind enough to offer feed back that it would be best to only double the recipe. I followed suite and sure enough the bread tasted just as it would if you made a single batch; not too sweet, moist and full of flavor!
That’s great to hear, Chanelle! Thanks so much for sharing your experience and that doubling the recipe two times made four loaves that were so well loved! What a kind gesture to bake for all those lucky folks!
~jules
Hi Jules:
I purchase your flour all the time. I have a question though. I want to make the banana bread, but I like to use Truvia sugar blend which is a blend of Erthritol (sugar alcohol), sugar and stevia.
I’ve used in other recipes to cut down on sugar, but I’m not really sure if or how it affects the recipe. They don’t always turn out right even if I follow it exactly, except for using the Truvia in place of the sugar.
With Truvia, you only use half of what you would use in regular sugar.
Can you share your thoughts and any ideas you may have?
Thank you.
Janie
Hi Janie, I personally like using the blown sugar substitutes which measure 1:1 for sugar since you have the same granulation added to the recipe and no fussing around with changes. That being said though, this recipe has a lot of sugar as it’s written and I think the sugar could be reduced and then you add your sub based on that reduced amount. I don’t have any experience with Truvia in this recipe, but give it a shot and maybe make as muffins instead of a loaf so you have more control over the middle being baked. Let me know how it goes!
~jules
I made this recently and it turned out perfectly! I was careful to measure my banana out. Everyone who ate it thought it was so delicious and moist. Thanks Jules!
That is fantastic to hear, Cheryl! Thanks so much for taking the time to come back and let me know! It always makes my day to hear that my products and recipes are making people happy!!!
~jules
I made this a couple days. It was delicious! Though I baked it for an hour and got the temp where it needed to be it had the appearance of being under done. The batter felt very liquid to me so I must have missed a step ir added something I shouldn’t have. It really was good. My 4 year old grandson said so.
I’m so glad you all loved the recipe (and 4 year olds never lie about whether they like your baking!). Sometimes it’s hard to know if you’re measuring mashed fruit just right, and of course there’s variability in measuring flour, so weighing flour is always recommended (135grams is one cup of my flour) for perfect accuracy, but if it still tasted yummy, that’s a victory! You can also always try the recipe as mini loaves or muffins next time – it’s easier to control the bake time and make sure that it’s cooked all the way through. Happy baking!!!
~jules
This was perfect! I used frozen bananas that when thawed, release some of their juices. It was the perfect texture!
That’s awesome, Jamie! Did you drain them after thawing or just add them with the liquid? I often freeze bananas for smoothies – maybe I’ll use them in this recipe next time!
~jules
I always have extra ripe bananas that I freeze for banana muffins. There is liquid when they thaw out so I just drain them; it works great & I don’t waste any bananas!
Yes! So smart and good point about draining all that excess liquid.
~jules
This is the best banana bread I have ever eaten, gluten-free or otherwise! Thanks for sharing the recipe with us.
So happy you loved it, Betty! Thanks for letting me know!
Happy Baking!
~jules
Help! This is the third loaf of Grandma’s Banana Bread I have baked, and the third loaf that has fallen. It looks beautiful when I take it out of the oven, but I can stand there and watch it fall. Within a few minutes, it looks nothing like it did when I removed it from the oven. What am I doing wrong. Banana was measured to 1/2 cup, brand new box of baking soda. I am missing something. Any suggestions?
Hi Pam, I’m so sorry you’re having trouble with this recipe! First question: what GF flour are you using? Also, are you using an egg substitute at all? Is your oven temperature accurate? I have an oven thermometer in my oven and it shows radical temperature changes sometimes that lead to recipe fails. Since I can’t afford a new oven (!), I just try to keep tabs on it to make adjustments where necessary. Let me know the answers to these questions, or just email us at [email protected] and we can walk through the recipe with you to help you get it right!
~jules
Don’t know if I can do this in the bread machine, but I have tried 2 times and it falls as well any suggestions!?
Hi Jenn, what setting are you using? Are you checking with a toothpick to make sure it’s fully cooked before removing? When loaves sink, that’s often the cause of it.
~jules
Jules, I follow your recipes exactly as written. Using the gfJules all purpose flour, butter, regular eggs, buttermilk, everything the same. Thought of trying again with some baking powder, but since recipe doesn’t call for it, was wondering if that would help or not matter?? My oven temperature seems to be right on.
I just tried this recipe and had the same result of a falling loaf. I used 3 eggs as I didn’t have anything to use for an egg white substitute. It looked so nice when it came out of the oven! (and it was done) Am about to eat it as part of my lunch, so I hope it at least tastes good. (I can’t get Jules flour, so I used Compliments All-Purpose GF flour blend – it has xanthan gum added already)
Hi Holly, adding 3 eggs instead of 2 eggs + 1 egg white means that more liquid than the recipe called for was added. When you have sinking loaves of any kind of bread, one factor to consider is whether there’s too much liquid added or not enough dry ingredients. The other thing is that the blend of gluten free flours you used is different from the one used to make the breads you see pictured. All gluten free flours are different, which is something that’s hard to get used to when you have been accustomed to just using “all purpose flour” in wheat recipes. Here’s some more information on different gluten free flours so you can get a better idea of what that blend may have been lacking or had too much of. I hope that helps, and that the loaf still tasted good for you! Taste is always more important than looks!
~jules
Thank you for giving a great flour blend. I live in Uganda & so I have carry all my flours in my luggage! We have the most amazing small sweet bananas here that I use for bread. Is there any problem making the whole reicpe as mini-loaves? I’m the only one in my home & I’m trying to lose weight. This is my favorite quick bread! Got some banana’s needing to be used tomorrow!
Hi Rozena,
So glad to hear you’re able to bring my flour back to Uganda in your luggage! How resourceful!!!
No problem at all using this recipe in mini-loaves or muffins, just dial back the bake time. Start testing for doneness with a toothpick at 20 minutes for muffins (they may need to go to 30, but you don’t want to over-bake) and around 30 minutes for the mini-loaves (again, test until you find out the best time for your size mini-loaf pans). Enjoy the breads! They freeze really well too, so you can pull out a mini-loaf when you want one and not be tempted to eat a whole loaf (I know I am, sometimes!).
All the best,
~jules
I must made this WONDERFUL bread and it taste amazing!:) The only thing is, is that is didn’t rise too well. It’s not sunken and didn’t fall. It just didn’t rise like yours did. It taste amazing still the only thing I substituted was the buttermilk. I used half cup sweetened almond milk minus 1 tbs plus 1 tbs lemon juice (as instructed). Is that the reason why? I also used a metal loaf pan (same size as in your instructions). I baked it for 60 min and it was a little darker brown but not burnt. Clean as a whistle with the toothpick too.
Thanks so much! You are an incredible chef and I love your recipes:)
Thank you so much Missy – you’re very sweet to say that! 🙂
Usually when there are any problems with a fruit bread recipe like this, it’s with the amount of bananas in measured. Sounds like maybe it was too heavy on the bananas and light (by comparison) on flour. Bananas can be a bit hard to measure; do you think this could be the problem? The other thing that comes to mind is that perhaps your baking soda is getting old. You may want to try a new box for your next recipe!
~jules
Yes…the baking soda is a little after it’s date. I never knew that;) I measured with a measuring cup the mashed banana, so I don’t think it was that. Thank you!
Great, Missy! Glad we figured it out!
~jules
Can I use these recipes in my bread machine or are they only geared for baking in the oven…
You could certainly use your bread machine for this recipe, just make sure to put it on the “quick bread” cycle since there’s no yeast.
Enjoy!
~jules
I made these & followed Carefully..why did my muffins cave in & not completely bake well in the middle? I had adjusted the temp for muffins to 325 as I normally do for muffins so as not to burn them…but at 20 min they were very close to over browning. It’s still quite gummy and incredibly moist as opposed to breadlike
Hi Janine, what kind of gf flour did you use? Did you measure your bananas once mashed? Any other recipe substitutions that you made? Let me know, and I’ll try to help figure out what might have gone wrong for next time! Hopefully they still tasted yummy, despite the sinking in the middle.
~jules
Hi I made Grandma GF banana bread. Flavor was awesome my favorite . Raised beautiful measured carefully I did do double batch.After I took out as it cooled. Brown beautiful color it did fall. Tasted great what I do wrong??
Thanks Teri
made Gf Grandma recipe it great tasted great but it fell,what did I do wrong ?
Hi Teri, I always have to start by asking whether you made any substitutions? A different kind of GF flour makes a huge difference. Egg-free? Any other subs? Bananas need to be measured accurately or there is too much moisture in the recipe and the bread could fall. Lastly, I would say that it didn’t cook long enough. Those are my ideas without hearing more – feel free to email us at [email protected] and we’ll try to walk through the recipe with you and see if we can find out what went wrong. At least it tasted great so you didn’t have to throw out your hard work!
~jules
This was absolutely unbelievable and the most delicious banana bread I have had in many years, since I gave up gluten; and so was the French bread. I am grateful you brought samples of these to the Sept. 13th meeting; and would love to hear that buying these products at a store near Annapolis, might be a future development. any chance ? thanks again for your deligence and brilliant creativity.
Thank you so much! I was glad to be able to come to the meeting and to share! If there are stores in Annapolis that you would like to see carrying my products, please have them contact us!
~jules
My girlfriend just made zucchini bread, and I LOVE banana bread, but I usually cannot have either because in addition to being Celiac, I am also allergic to eggs. *sigh* Any chance this recipe could successfully be made with egg substitute?
Hi Kim, I totally understand where you’re coming from. The easiest way around this situation is to make it yourself, so you can control what goes in and what does not, and you can ensure it will be tasty.
If I was going to make this recipe egg-free, I would try a flaxseed meal + water sub (found in my egg-free baking article). I would also suggest baking this egg-free as muffins first, to better control the bake time. If it’s delicious as a muffin, then try as a sliced bread. You should also take a look at the tips and recipes in my book, Free for All Cooking, which teaches how to bake egg-free as well. Let me know how it goes!
This sounds SO good. But I cannot tolerate corn as well as gluten. Will you ever be adding a flour that is both gluten and corn free?
Hi Marilyn, I totally understand and please know that your needs are on my list. Hang in there – I hope to be able to help you very soon! In the meantime, please check out my book, Free for All Cooking, which details ways to make your own flour mixture without corn!
~jules
Jules, I just sent my husband for some bananas as I am about to crack open my 4 lb box of GFJules flour to make this delicious bread. I hope you are continuing after the 4 lb boxes! I too believe that I am developing a corn issue…. Just one more thing to eliminate, it is so frustrating. So happy to support you and wishing you every success! Hang in there!
Hi Donna, we are definitely continuing after the 4lb boxes! We have lots more products and sizes in store, just takes longer than I’d like to get it all going! Thanks so much for hanging in there and being patient! I’m also working on corn-free options, so stay tuned! Enjoy this recipe and thanks SO very much for your support!!!!
~jules