April 21, 2018 By Nancylynn 41 Comments

Healthy Banana Bread | Gluten Free Banana Bread

So dreamy delicious, this Gluten free Banana Bread is also dairy free, refined sugar free, and oil free. This Healthy Banana Bread is 21 Day Fix Approved too…but rivals even the best unhealthy banana breads of my past.

Confession #143: Although I feel the most at home in my kitchen, I am not usually much of a baker.

I mean – I can follow a recipe…but coming up with my own cake, muffin, or cookie recipe usually takes me a million tries. Especially because there is definitely a learning curve for gluten and dairy free baking.

That’s why this banana bread is such an enigma.

I mean, I decided to make it on a total whim.

It was cold. We didn’t have plans. I had ripe bananas. And so we gave it a whirl…using the ingredients I had on hand.

Ingredients for Healthy Banana Bread

These are the ingredients I used to make this bread:

1 ¾ cups gluten-free all purpose flour – you can sub whole wheat pastry flour, regular whole wheat flour, or even oat flour for this. Do not use almond or coconut flour as they will not turn out.
1/3 cup of unsweetened applesauce – you can sub coconut oil of you don’t have applesauce
1/3 cup honey or maple syrup – either works great!
2 eggs – I haven’t tried this without eggs or with an egg replacer
1 rounded cup mashed ripe bananas (about 3 medium or 2 large bananas – and get them super ripe and sweet)
¼ cup unsweetened vanilla almond milk – you can sub any milk that you have here
1 teaspoon gluten-free baking soda
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
optional mix-ins: 1/2 cup dairy free chocolate chips – I used Enjoy Life mini chips

I didn’t take any in process pics because I honestly had no idea how it was going to taste…especially since I made a last minute decision to ditch the butter.

Overhead photo of two eggs in a glass bowl on a blue and white striped kitchen towel, three bananas, and a stand mixer on a wooden surface.

I will admit to staging this photo after I knew the bread was going to be on the blog. 😉

I debated using coconut oil, but then I thought about how delicious banana bread is with peanut butter drizzled over top. And so in an effort to hoard the all teaspoons, I went with unsweetened applesauce at the last minute…which I squeezed out of my son’s applesauce pouch, lol.

And while I love to bake with almond flour, I decided to use Bob’s Red Mill 1-1 Gluten-free all purpose flour for this one to keep it easy to sub for all the Gluten folks out there! You can sub whole wheat pastry flour or regular whole wheat flour- it will turn out great!

Anyway – enough about my process…let’s talk about the end result.

Omg, you guys…this bread is so freaking dreamy delicious and rivals any other gluten and sugar filled banana bread that I’ve ever had. It’s the kind of bread you wrap up and give as a present. Or make for your BFF when she comes to visit. Or give to the new mom in your neighborhood. It’s totally giftable.

Can I freeze Gluten Free Banana Bread?

Yes! I’ve even been known to hide a slice or two in the back of the freezer. Shhh! Don’t tell the rest of my family!

It was so good, that most of my photos have tiny fingers in them…because my kids were literally begging to eat it. To the point that I finally gave in and we ate pieces of banana bread right on the living room floor where I was attempting a quick photoshoot.

I thought about taking new pics for you all, but thanks to the wonderful readers on my Facebook page who talked me out of it, I decided to just post the recipe so you can get baking asap!

What are the 21 Day Fix container counts for this Healthy Banana Bread?

I used chocolate chips for ours, so my bread is a treat swap…but if you stir in some walnuts or raisins, you can eat this bread for breakfast and not use up a treat. It’s super low in sugar, so it’s perfectly on plan to eat this way every day! I’l explain how to count these different options in the recipe card below!

WHAT IS A SWEETENER TEASPOON THAT IS IN THE RECIPE CARD?

While on the 21 Day Fix/Ultimate Portion Fix Autumn gives us clear rules about what we can use our teaspoons on- oils, nut butters, mayo, and butter. BUT in the “tea and coffee bar” section of the program materials, Autumn says you can have 1-2 tsp of things like maple syrup or honey in 1-2 cups of coffee per day.

She does not, however, count these sweeteners in her recipes. I have begun to note it in my newer recipes because I think it’s important to keep in mind. While there’s a little bit of gray area here, I am hoping this provides some clarification. So, since I only use the tiniest bit of sweetener in my coffee each morning, I’m comfortable using some of the “leftover” sweetener teaspoons throughout my day.

Looking for other Gluten Free desserts like Gluten Free banana bread?

Gluten Free Chocolate Cake with Peanut Butter Frosting [Grain free | Dairy Free | 21 Day Fix]

Healthy Banana Oatmeal Blender Muffins [Gluten-free | Dairy-free ] | 21 Day Fix Blender Muffins [Weight Watchers]

Gluten Free Chocolate Chip Zucchini Muffins [ Dairy-free] | 21 Day Fix Zucchini Muffins

Healthy Instant Pot Apple Crisp | Gluten-free Apple Crisp

Healthy Instant Pot Peach Crisp [Gluten-free | Dairy Free]

Healthy Pumpkin Oatmeal Banana Bread | 21 Day Fix Pumpkin Oatmeal Banana Bread [Gluten-free/dairy-free]