Coconut Flour Banana Bread is a naturally sweetened gluten-free quick bread recipe with simple ingredients. Perfect for impressing the family with!
I love to make this coconut flour banana bread recipe in rotation with my almond flour banana bread and oat flour banana bread!
I made coconut flour banana bread without any added sugar or sweetener, not even maple syrup or honey. Sounds just like coconut oil fudge from the other time, right?!
I had 8 bananas laying in a cupboard waiting to ripen, so they were all ready at once. Gluten-free banana bread with coconut flour here we come. It also happens to be grain-free, dairy-free and paleo!
A few years ago I was on a gluten-free kick for a bit and bought not 1 bag of coconut flour, but 2! Long gone its expiry date but it is still sitting and taking lots of room in my pantry.
So, I decided to experiment and what not a better way than with ripened bananas. Because apparently, I ripen them by pounds as well. So, this easy coconut flour banana bread is next!
Ingredients You Will Need
To make the best banana bread recipe without flour, you will need just 9 simple ingredients.
- Coconut flour: You have to use only coconut flour. Unfortunately you can’t substitute it with any other flour. I also haven’t experimented with dried coconut meat.
- Eggs: Eggs are crucial when baking with coconut flour. You can also use 1/2 cup egg whites instead. If you want to make it vegan, you may try to use flax eggs or chia eggs but bread won’t rise as well and be more dense.
- Peanut butter: I use smooth, creamy and unsalted peanut butter. You can use any other nut butter or seed butter like cashew butter, almond butter, sunflower seed butter, tahini etc.
- Bananas – must be ripe: Pictured above are previously frozen bananas that have been thawed. Since this banana bread relies on natural sweetness of bananas, you want to use the sweetest bananas possible. Here is a quick tutorial how to ripen bananas faster.
- Baking staples: Baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, vanilla extract and salt.
Baking with Coconut Flour
Coconut flour is very tricky to bake with. It doesn’t contain gluten like wheat, that’s why this coconut flour banana bread wouldn’t rise like applesauce banana bread.
It is also very “thirsty” and absorbs a lot of liquid. I used only 1/2 cup of flour for the entire loaf. I still have lots of it to use, so I made chocolate coconut flour muffins with frozen cherries and they were delicious.
Also, you gotta use a lot of binding agent to keep things together. Many coconut flour recipes online use lots of eggs. Using 5-6 eggs per recipe didn’t sit well with me. But peanut butter, I could never say “no” to peanut butter. That’s how I was able to reduce the amount of eggs needed.
How to Make Banana Bread with Coconut Flour
Here is a quick overview how to make coconut flour banana bread. There is a full recipe card below.
- Combine wet ingredients: In a large mixing bowl, mash bananas with a fork or a masher. Then add eggs, peanut butter, baking powder, baking soda, vanilla extract and salt. Whisk well until combined.
- Add coconut flour: Stir until a thick batter forms. It will be very thick and that’s what you need.
- Bake: Transfer into lined with parchment paper 9 by 5 inch loaf pan level with spatula. Then bake for 50 minutes in preheated oven to 350 degrees F.
- Cool and slice: Remove bread from the oven and let it cook in the pan for 15 minutes. Then remove onto a cooling rack and let it cool completely before slicing with serrated knife.
Tips for Best Coconut Flour Banana Bread
- Do not skip cooling the bread: This bread is delicate and if you attempt to slice it while still warm, it will crumble and fall apart.
- Don’t skip the eggs: Unlike many other recipes on the web, my recipe uses only 2 large eggs, so the bread doesn’t taste egg-y. But as mentioned above, baking with coconut flour requires eggs.
- Line the loaf pan: With parchment paper otherwise the bread more likely will stick to the pan.
- Do not use any other flour: Coconut flour is the only flour you can use in this recipe.
- Use very-very ripe bananas: Use not ripe enough bananas and your bread won’t be sweet as we do not use any added sugar.
How Does It Taste?
So, that is what happened 8 years ago when I first made this recipe. This coconut flour banana bread came out very tasty. I always judge by my 9 year old’s reaction because he is past the stage of a picky eater and food-related tantrums unlike my 4 year old. He loved it!
The texture of the bread was very tender and the bread itself very moist with dominant peanut butter flavor. Thanks to peanut butter and coconut flour, I could keep the bread sweet without any added sugar which is always a plus.
Try it and let me know your thoughts. I’m going to warn you though, banana coconut flour bread has a different texture than traditional gluten bread. But looks quite normal, right?! Tastes pretty amazing too!
Can I Freeze It?
Absolutely. Quick breads and muffins are perfect for freezing and pulling out later for lunches, breakfast and snacks.
Store: Store leftovers in a cool dry place for 2 days, then transfer to an airtight container and refrigerate for a few more days. This bread is moist, so mold can grow very quickly.
Freeze: Bake coconut flour banana bread and cool completely. Place in a zip-top gallon-size plastic bag or airtight container, let out as much air as possible and freeze for up to 3 months in the freezer.
To thaw, simply defrost on a counter for 3 hours or overnight. Bread will taste like fresh.
FAQs
No. All-purpose flour is made from wheat and contains gluten, it rises differently and needs different amount of liquid. Any wheat flour like whole wheat flour, spelt flour etc. should not be used for best results.
No. Almond flour are ground almonds and it does not absorb moisture the same way as coconut flour. Also you can use any other gluten-free flours.
Not really. As described above, my kids loved it! Peanut butter has very strong taste and overpowers the coconut flour quite well. Not to mention mashed banana flavor helps as well.
More Healthy Banana Recipes
- Almond flour banana muffins
- Healthy pumpkin banana bread
- Healthy banana chocolate chip muffins
- Chocolate banana chia pudding
- Protein banana bread
- Cottage cheese banana bread
- Greek yogurt banana bread
Coconut Flour Banana Bread
Equipment
Ingredients
- 4 medium very ripe bananas with many brown spots
- 2 eggs large
- 1/2 cup any nut butter unsalted (I used peanut butter)
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup coconut flour
- Cooking spray I use Misto
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line 9 x 5 loaf pan with unbleached parchment paper and spray with cooking spray.
- In a large bowl, mash bananas with a fork or masher. Then add eggs, peanut butter, vanilla extract, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and salt. Stir to combine. Add coconut flour and stir well to mix.
- Pour batter in prepared loaf pan and bake for 50 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.
- Remove from the oven and let cool for 15 minutes. Then transfer to a cooling rack to cool off completely. Do not skip as bread will fall apart. Cut into 10 slices and enjoy.
Notes
- Store: Keep in a cool dry place for 2 days, then refrigerate in an airtight container for up to 2 more days.
- Freeze: Bake and cool completely. Place in a zip top gallon size plastic bag, let out as much air as possible and freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw on a counter for 3 hours or overnight.
- Nut and seed butter: You can use any nut butter like almond, peanut, cashew, sunflower butter or tahini.
- Additions: Chopped walnuts, fresh or frozen blueberries, chocolate chips, dried or fresh cranberries.
- Eggs: They are a must as they hold bread together. I have not tried this banana bread recipe with any egg replacer.
- Can I use any other flour? The answer is no. Coconut flour is very unique like no other – it is very “thirsty” and absorbs a lot of liquid.
Love it. Even using Macro PB with no added sugar, salt or preservatives and the loaf is just right in texture, moisture and taste and great with the bananas giving enough sweetness and I love the hint of cinnamon. So easy to make and with a reasonable amount of eggs for the coconut flour. One thing, in the recipe it mentions 9 x 5 loaf pan – now I am 79 yo in Australia now using metric but I grew up with the old system and know a 9 x 5 loaf pan is 9 inches x 5 inches but I’m not sure if the younger generation would be aware. Just a thought. Of course it doesn’t change those numbers if you click on “metric” because that is in the text.
Thank you and so glad it turned out so well for you!
I have made this recipe 5 times with flax eggs and it turns out great.
So happy to hear this, thanks for letting us know Jenna!
This looks delicious! I was hoping to make this with just the ingredients I have on hand, and I don’t have baking powder, only baking soda. I usually substitute 1/3 tsp baking soda for every 1 tsp baking powder. Would that work for this recipe? Thanks in advance. 🙂
Sorry it has not been tested without using baking powder, but if you try, do let us know!
Baking powder is made with baking soda plus an acid to activate it….like cream of tartar. even adding a bit of vinegar or lemon juice or yogurt can help activate the baking soda but you might increase the amount you use.
Thanks for this great recipe. I just tried it exactly as it’s written and it worked out beautifully. Myself and my family all loved it! And it was not crumbly at all.
I’m not a regular baker but really liked this recipe because it has no added sugar or oil other than nut butter. I used peanut butter. I was wondering if you think I can do a similar recipe with carrots instead of bananas? Do you have any healthy recipes for carrot cake/loaf?
Since bananas are more liquid than carrot, I am not sure they would work in this recipe. We do have a recipe for almond flour carrot cake if you would like to give that a try or morning glory muffins with shredded carrots.
Can I use unsalted butter instead of nut butter
I am not sure that would work as it tastes differently, but if you are allergic to nuts, you can try sunflower butter.
This is (I kid you not) the first recipe involving coconut flour that I have really enjoyed! Not eggy! Yes, it does fall apart a little, but that doesnt mean its dry. Thanks for the recipe!
So happy to hear Lanie!
I love this recipe and now that I’ve gone vegan I recently made it using two chia seed ‘eggs’ and less nut butter – beautiful! Ultra moist and crumbly but still tastes great, and I also like to include a handful of blueberries for extra sweetness and some chopped nuts on top for crunch 🙂
Sounds amazing, glad to hear it worked with the chia seed eggs!
Smelled amazing & tasted nice ❣️ but it was crumbley when cutting and falling apart a bit (I’m not a regular Baker) is this because I used more baking powder to substitute baking soda?
Baking is a science and any changes to the recipe as written will affect outcome. Glad to hear it tasted amazing!
Hello, this looks very tempting. I’m curious about the combination of baking powder and baking soda. From what I’ve just read, baking soda needs an acid to activate it and create the bubbles that make something rise. I can’t see any activating acid in this recipe? (apple cider vinegar, lemon juice etc). Hesitant to try it out until I’m clear on this…. Thanks
This recipe has been tested multiple times as is. Can’t wait to hear how you like it!
Baking powder has cream of tartar in it, which is an acid. So the baking soda will be activated.
I only had 3 bananas and added chocolate chips. Tastes wonderful! Very moist! Great recipe!
Tired this for the first time last weekend. It was so good! My children have been asking non stop for me to make this banana bread again. I’ll be making 2-3 more loaves today. Thanks for a healthy treat recipe my kids absolutely love!
So glad you are enjoying it!