Paleo Banana Bread
Posted Jan 04, 2018, Updated Jun 17, 2024
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This is the best Paleo Banana Bread recipe! It’s easy to make, moist with a beautiful crumb and tastes like it’s from a bakery but it’s grain-free & dairy-free, with no refined sugar.
Banana bread is always in season! And this bakery-quality paleo banana bread recipe is the best you’ll ever try!
It truly is the best grain-free banana bread I have ever eaten. Here are a few reasons why I love this recipe, and you will too:
- It’s so moist with a beautiful crumb.
- The ingredient list is short, and consists of items you probably always have on hand (including overripe bananas – which, let’s face it, we all usually have sitting on our counter or in our freezer)!
- It’s a healthy and nutritious treat that doesn’t taste like it – it’s truly decadent and delicious.
Paleo Banana Bread: Ingredients & Substitutions
Here are a few potential substitutions that can be made in this recipe. I do not recommend altering the amount or type of flour at all. Paleo baking is truly a science, and the ratios & kinds of flours used in this recipe were carefully tested and chosen.
- Coconut oil. Grass-fed butter or ghee are good substitutes.
- Almond butter. Cashew butter is the best substitution, but any nut or seed butter can be used in this recipe.
- Maple Syrup. Honey is a great substitute.
- Mix-ins. These are optional but recommended. You can use baking chips, nuts, seeds, dried fruit, shredded coconut, etc.
Paleo Chocolate Chips & Bars
Sometimes it’s hard to figure out which chocolate chips are Paleo, so here are some of my favorite healthier chocolate options.
- Hu Kitchen Chocolate Gems. This is my favorite paleo chocolate. These gems are delicious and easy to toss into cookies (no bar chopping required).
- Hu Kitchen Dark Chocolate Bars. You can also buy dark chocolate bars and chop them up to toss into these paleo chocolate chip cookies.
- Lily’s Dark Chocolate. They make chips and bars that are stevia sweetened, low carb, keto, etc.
- Enjoy Life Foods Dark Chocolate Chips are a good option that are vegan, dairy-free but not fully paleo.
How to Make Paleo Banana Bread
Let’s walk through how to make paleo banana bread step-by-step, and don’t forget to watch the video for additional guidance.
Begin by preheating your oven to 350 degrees F. Then, line an 8×4” loaf pan with parchment paper and grease. Set aside.
Note on pan size
I prefer an 8×4″ loaf pan, however, you can use a 9×5” pan but your loaf will be thinner. You will also need to decrease the baking time by 5 minutes.
Then, combine coconut flour, almond flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and cinnamon in a small bowl and set it aside.
Then, in a large, glass mixing bowl melt together coconut oil and almond butter (for about 1 minute on high), stir until combined.
Next add the mashed banana, maple syrup and vanilla extract stir until combined. I like to add these ingredients before the egg to make sure the mixture is cool and the egg doesn’t get cooked when added!
Then, stir in the egg until the mixture is smooth.
Next, add the dry ingredients to wet ingredients and mix until completely combined. Let it sit for 2-5 minutes to thicken slightly.
Once the paleo banana bread batter has thickened, stir in your desired mix ins ( we always choose chocolate chips). Here are some suggestions:
- Chocolate Chips (milk, dark, light, etc.)
- Walnuts
- Pecans
- Cinnamon chips
- White chocolate chips
- Blueberries
- Dried fruit (cranberries, rasins, etc.)
- Swirl of peanut butter or Nutella
- Unsweetened coconut
Then, evenly spread the batter into the prepared loaf pan and bake in the preheated oven until the top is set and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
Let the paleo banana bread cool in the pan for at least 30 minutes before gently removing the loaf from the pan to a wire rack to cool completely before cutting and serving.
Serve
Serve this bread warm with a slather of grass-fed butter (or cinnamon honey butter), almond butter (homemade vanilla almond butter), or peanut butter.
Store
Store this paleo banana bread recipe in an airtight container or plastic bag to ensure it does not dry out. If you plan on eating the entire loaf in a day or two, you can store it at room temperature. If it will take longer, I recommend storing it in the refrigerator.
Freeze
This paleo banana bread freezes very well. I recommend freezing it in slices in an airtight container. That way you can pull out a slice at a time to enjoy.
Paleo Banana Bread Recipe FAQs
Make sure you use overripe, brown bananas. They have the best flavor, maximum sweetness, and are the easiest to mash! They should be very dark brown or almost black and soft to the touch.
Yes, you can double this recipe and bake it in two loaf pans.
Yes, fill the wells of a standard muffin tin with 1/4 cup of batter and bake in the preheated oven for 15-20 minutes.
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Best Paleo Banana Bread Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 large overripe bananas (1 cup, mashed)
- ¼ cup coconut oil
- ¼ cup creamy almond butter
- 2 Tablespoons pure maple syrup
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 eggs lightly beaten
- ¼ cup coconut flour
- ¼ cup almond flour
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon
- ½ cup chocolate chips
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line an 8×4” baking pan (you can use a 9×5” pan but your loaf will be thinner and baking time will be less) with parchment paper and grease. Set aside.
- In a small bowl combine coconut flour, almond flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and cinnamon. Set aside.
- In a large, glass mixing bowl melt together coconut oil and almond butter (for about 1 minute on high), stir until combined.
- Add mashed banana, maple syrup and vanilla extract stir until combined.
- Stir in egg.
- Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients and mix until completely combined. Let it sit for 2-5 minutes to thicken slightly.
- Gently mix in chocolate chips.
- Pour batter into prepared pan and bake for 30-40 minutes, until top is set and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
- Let cool in the pan for at least 30 minutes before gently removing the loaf from the pan to a wire rack to cool.
- Slice and serve.
Video
Notes
- Coconut oil. Grass-fed butter or ghee are good substitutes.
- Almond butter. Cashew butter is the best substitution, but any nut or seed butter can be used in this recipe.
- Maple Syrup. Honey is a great substitute.
- Mix-ins. These are optional but recommended. You can use baking chips, nuts, seeds, dried fruit, shredded coconut, etc.
- Hu Kitchen Chocolate Gems. This is my favorite paleo chocolate. These gems are delicious and easy to toss into cookies (no bar chopping required).
- Hu Kitchen Dark Chocolate Bars. You can also buy dark chocolate bars and chop them up to toss into these paleo chocolate chip cookies.
- Lily’s Dark Chocolate. They make chips and bars that are stevia sweetened, low carb, keto, etc.
- Enjoy Life Foods Dark Chocolate Chips are a good option that are vegan, dairy-free but not fully paleo.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Banana Bread Pudding!
I loved this recipe, though, the consistency is far closer to bread pudding than banana bread. The taste is wonderful! I added some shredded coconut along with the chocolate chips. If you want this to be closer to traditional banana bread/pound cake texture, I’d suggest increasing the almond flour. However, this is the only paleo bread pudding recipe out there I have seen and super excited to make it for guests … ONE DAY!
Hey Lori – if your bread was the texture of pudding it likely needed to be baked longer – I’m glad you liked it but it should not have that texture! LOL!
I have been making this weekly for months- my toddlers are OBSESSED!
Thanks for the amazing recipe 💖
So good for my healthy mother.
I used pecan butter rather than almond butter, honey & butter. It was delicious! It took forever to cook though.
Not a cook or a baker by any stretch of the imagination. This bread came out delicious!! My family and I polish off a loaf in no time flat. It’s moist, not overtly sweet and the flavors meld well. Going to have to double up an make more than one loaf at a time. Thank you!!
Made this last night and it’s AMAZING!!! I used ghee instead of coconut oil, King’s Arthur gluten-free flour instead of coconut flour, and also walnuts – SO FREAKING DELICIOUS. And filling! And much healthier than traditional banana bread. I will never go back to the old recipes! Thank you SO much. This is also perfect for a quick healthy breakfast 🙂
Thank you Liz!
Thanks much for this recipe! It was so easy and everyone in my house loves it. They don’t even know that it’s paleo. 😉
Thank you Catherine!
So I just made this 15 minutes into baking I realized I forgot the maple syrup. It was delicious! Didn’t need the extra sweetener. I made two loafs one I topped with pumpkin and sunflower seeds and one as per recipe .
So glad to know! I was going through comments hoping to find out perceptions on sweetness & how much I could cut back the syrup. Thank you! With the chocolate chips already in there, think I’ll try omitting as well.
I just made this and it came out delicious!! Super moist! The only substitution I made is that I used peanut butter instead of almond butter because I didn’t have any around, but still came out awesome! Any tips for storing?
This is the BEST! I add walnuts and Lilly’s chips and this bread make my husband sooo happy! We wrap in foil and put in the fridge. You don’t have to worry about more than 3 days… it’s so good you’ll eat thru it fast!
Thank you Lizzy!
Made it for quarantine, and the whole family loved it (even the “i hate paleo” kids)!
LOL Woo hoo!! Wining the kids one slice of paleo banana bread at a time! 🙂