How to Make Banana Bread Using Almond Flour
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Moist and flavorful banana bread made entirely with almond flour for a naturally gluten free quick bread.
When it comes to baking, I’m all about creating delicious recipes that everyone can enjoy. While I’m not a gluten-free forward recipe creator, I believe that when an ingredient like almond flour can make a recipe appeal to both gluten consumers and non-gluten consumers, it deserves a spot in my recipe index.
This almond flour banana bread is a perfect example— moist, flavorful, and naturally gluten-free, yet loved by all. Whether you’re avoiding gluten or just looking for a new twist on a classic, this banana bread is sure to become a favorite in your kitchen.
What does your freezer look like? Ours is full of frozen veggies, Dino nuggets, popsicles, meatballs, and a ton of random over-ripe bananas.
Because that’s what you do, right? You buy bananas, most of them get eaten, but after several days, you have one or two that are on the verge of death but you can’t bring yourself to toss them because “I can make banana bread!”
And then it happens again the next week, and the next week, and before you know it… Your freezer could make a dozen loaves of banana bread at any given time.
Ya feel me?
That’s how this almond flour banana bread came about. A freezer full of frozen bananas, a ¼ of the bag of the almond meal I used for my lemon macarons continuing to get in my way in my pantry, and a bag of pecan meal I received in a shipment from the pecans made in this praline ice cream.
Oh, and my dear gluten free neighbor who can never try any of my treats because I am, like, 90% of the time using regular flour in my baked goods (she did cut off the graham cracker crust of my Key lime pie bars a few weeks ago).
You’ll love Banana Bread with Almond Flour
This variation of banana bread is for gluten-eaters and non-eaters alike! Just because we’re using almond flour doesn’t mean we’re sacrificing anything in the way of texture or flavor. This nutty banana bread is still a really lovely quick bread texture that is a gluten-free way to use up ripe bananas.
But let me tell you what, friends– this bread is going to rock your socks. And I speak from experience when I say this bread disappeared almost too quickly to hand off to my neighbor (no worries– she got about ⅓ of the loaf!).
Because we are no strangers to banana bread in this house, I used my regular banana bread as a guide, but changed several things to accommodate using almond flour and the lack of gluten as a binder as a result.
I also had a very specific texture I wanted at the end of my baking (I didn’t want dense). So I had to play around with leaveners a bit.
So first, let’s talk about almond meal vs almond flour in order to understand what we’re looking to use in this particular almond flour banana bread.
What you’ll need to make Banana Bread Using Almond Flour
Grab these 10 ingredients:
• almond flour
• ground cinnamon
• baking soda
• baking powder
• salt
• ripe bananas
• eggs
• granulated sugar
• unsalted butter or neutral oil
• vanilla extract
ALMOND MEAL VS ALMOND FLOUR: WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE?
Almond meal and almond flour are two ways of classifying a gluten free flour made entirely from ground almonds. Though there is no “official” difference, there are some things to keep in mind about the two:
1) Something labeled “almond flour” is typically more finely ground than one labeled “almond meal.”
2) If your ingredient is labeled as made with “blanched almonds,” you can assume this is the most finely ground type of almond flour or meal because blanching removes the skins of the almonds.
3) If your ingredient has brown specks in it, the almond skins were still intact during grinding. These flours/meals can taste nuttier than those without skins, and will add more texture to your baked goods.
As you can tell, because almond flour and almond meal are both made from simply ground almonds, regardless of whether or not the skin was intact during grinding, these two ingredients are fairly interchangeable.
That said, it’s best to think of what exactly you need your almond meal/flour to do in the recipe.
For this almond flour banana bread, insuring you have super fine almond flour is not entirely necessary. In fact, I used a combination of pre-made almond meal, pre-made pecan meal, and about ⅓ of my own almonds that I pulsed in a food processor for the loaf I photographed.
You can see in my food processor that I had some larger chunks of almonds and pecans in the flour even after processing.
So, this is a long-winded way to say almond flour or almond meal are fine for this recipe.
If using almond meal or making your own almond meal/almond flour from your own raw almonds, just be sure to pulse several times in the food processor to create the finest almond flour that you can and know your bread may taste a bit nuttier and have some noticeable chunks of nuts in it.
How to Make Banana Bread With Almond Flour
STEP #1
Start by whisking together the almond flour, cinnamon, baking soda, baking powder, and salt, then set this mixture aside.
STEP #2
In a medium size bowl, whisk together the bananas, eggs, sugar, butter/oil, and vanilla extract until smooth.
STEP #3
Gently fold the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients until everything is combined, then pour the batter into the prepared pan. Top with banana slices, if desired, then bake.
The texture of this bread really surprised me. It was a bit denser than banana bread made with traditional all-purpose flour, but it was not as dense as some gluten free baked goods can occasionally be.
Each bite is bursting with banana flavor, and the nuttiness is great for those who already like nuts in their banana bread (hello, banana nut muffins).
Almond Flour Banana Bread Tips
• While it’s not completely necessary, I love adding sliced bananas to the top of my banana almond flour bread, just for a little extra something.
• Consider roasting your bananas like I do in my banana pudding cheesecake for mega banana flavor!
• Be sure you’re using a very fine “flour” for this bread. Use a blender or food processor to get the right texture.
Variations of this Almond Flour Banana Bread Recipe
I’ve made a note in the recipe that while it calls for melted butter, another neutral oil like vegetable or canola is totally fine, rendering the whole loaf gluten and dairy free. Which is the best of two worlds in the baked good area.
Change up the spices! Add nutmeg and ginger for a more robust “fall” flavor, or add some cardamom for more of a “chai” flavor profile.
Using different kinds of nut flour can change the flavor, too. Roasting your nuts before making nut flour can also bring some more depth of flavor to your bread.
Feel free to use melted coconut oil for subtle coconut notes.
So get to thawing some of those bananas, y’all. We’ve got some gluten free banana bread baking to do!
Banana Bread With Almond Flour Recipe
Ingredients
- 3 cups (336g) almond flour1
- 1 and ½ teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 3 medium very ripe bananas mashed (about 1 and ½ cups)
- 3 large eggs
- ¼ cup (50g) granulated sugar
- ¼ cup (57g) unsalted butter or (60g) neutral oil
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350ºF (177ºC). Spray a 9" x 5" loaf pan with nonstick spray. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the almond flour, cinnamon, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
- In a medium size bowl, whisk together the bananas, eggs, sugar, butter/oil, and vanilla extract until smooth.
- Gently fold the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients until everything is combined, then pour the batter into the prepared pan. Top with banana slices, if desired.
- Bake the loaf for 50-60 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely in the pan. Store leftovers in the refrigerator up to 5 days. Loaf freezes well, up to 3 months. Thaw in refrigerator overnight.
Notes
- Almond flour: you may use almond flour or almond meal. You may also use pecan flour or pecan meal. Pulse in a food processor several times to make the smallest granules possible and sift if necessary.
Nutrition Disclosure
All nutritional values are approximate and provided to the reader as a courtesy. Changing ingredients and/or quantities will alter the estimated nutritional calculations.
This sounds amazing, Love that you have weight measurements for the flour and its not loaded with added sugar. I can’t wait to try this.
LOVED! Had to bring a friend who was GF dinner and wanted to bring something homey + random frozen bananas strewn throughout the freezer = perfect recipe! Thanks Lynn!
You are so welcome!
Thank you! We LOVE this version for our allergen-friendly house whenever we have bananas to use up 🙂
Thanks so much, Michaela 🙂
Thanks so much, Julie! 🙂
This was the BEST breakfast! My girls gobbled this banana bread up!
Thanks so much, Erin!
Great recipe! I added some butterscotch chips which took it up a level!
Ohhh, I love that, Jessica! Thanks for letting me know 🙂
Thanks, Taz!