Super moist and delicious Easy Grain-Free Banana Bread. To make this recipe, it’s as simple as mashing a few ripe bananas, combining the grain-free, gluten-free and nut-free ingredients in one bowl, mixing and baking.
One of the flours in this bread recipe is called tiger nut flour, sometimes labelled ground tiger nuts or even chufa flour. Don’t worry; tiger nuts are not actually nuts. They are small tubers, also known as yellow nutsedge.
If you’ve journeyed into a grain-free lifestyle, know that it’s possible to bake a fantastic treat even without any grains while keeping the recipe gluten-free and vegan!
When I bake this wonderfully moist Easy Grain-Free Banana Bread recipe my home smells SO good!
With the arrival of the cooler days, I’m thrilled to announce that my oven will be on at least once per day—so, get ready for even more fresh recipes!
Close up of sliced grain-free banana bread with allergen-friendly chocolate chips decorating the top.
A slice, off to the left side, includes seed butter spread.
Easy Grain-Free Banana Bread
A baked treat without grains (wheat, rice, sorghum, oats)! If you can’t consume grains for now or possibly forever, this recipe is for you!
This bread is also perfect if you must avoid nuts and don’t consume eggs or dairy! So, yep, this banana bread recipe is vegan and concocted with beautiful plant-based ingredients.
Grain-Free Banana Bread Video
YouTube Video link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y7yPO1cOrEI
5 Tips to help you make this recipe:
Here are a few tips to help you make this banana bread:
1 – Sift your flours and starches. Tiger nut flour and some starchy ingredients can be clumpy at times. Avoid large chunks in your bread by sifting or even whisking the flours/starches first before adding them to the mixture.
2 – Ripe bananas. Including perfectly ripened bananas in this recipe will help to add natural sweetness to your bread. Don’t be afraid to use super ripe, dark brown bananas, even the bruised ones with spots.
3 – Baking paper (unbleached parchment paper). Line your bread pan with some magical compostable unbleached parchment paper. You can add a little coconut oil to the corners and bottom of the pan to help keep it in place. With this paper, removing the bread from the pan will be a breeze! And, remember to remove the baking paper after 10 minutes of cooling time in the pan.
4 – Baking and cooling times. You will need to bake this loaf for at least 65-70 minutes to make sure it’s baked throughout, even if this is a vegan recipe without eggs. Gluten-free and grain-free ingredients take a similar amount of time, if not longer, to bake. Let the baked banana bread cool completely (overnight is great) on a wire rack (baking paper removed) before slicing!
5 – Day old banana bread is best! For some bread recipes eating a slice fresh out the oven is excellent but not for this perfectly moist banana bread. Enjoying a slice (or two) the next day is best because the inside has had time to cool, set and will make it less sticky to slice.
This Easy Grain-Free Banana Bread is:
- Super moist (even without eggs)
- Oil-free
- Nut-free
- Refined sugar-free
- Grain-free & gluten-free
- Plant-based & vegan
- Simple to make
- Oh, so yummy!
- Allergy-safe for school/office
As for the texture, as mentioned in the first point, this is a super moist banana bread recipe. If you prefer a drier crumb, consider reducing the starchy ingredients and increasing the tiger nut flour. Doing so will help the texture be less sticky once baked. If you’re not sure, bake it once as is. The second time you make it, adjust the ingredients to your preference.
Bonus Baked Banana Bread Treat
Did you know that you can take the same grain-free banana bread mixture and bake it into soft cookies?
It’s possible and such a perfect grab-and-go snack! Plus, this way, the dough is super easy to customize with add-ins such as unsweetened shredded coconut, dried cranberries, raisins or even more allergen-friendly chocolate chips!
When I baked the banana bread recipe dough as cookies, I did add one extra half cup of tiger nut flour to thicken the batter-like mixture. I also refrigerated the dough (kept it in the bowl) for 30 minutes.
The cold dough was easier to scoop out and shape into cookies! If you want to make these before I share the final instructions, the baking time should be around 28 minutes at 350° F. Bake them on a parchment-lined cookie sheet.
What are tiger nuts?
Tiger nuts are nutritious little tubers (not an actual nuts) to cook and bake with when following a grain-free and nut-free lifestyle.
These gems can have different names such as chufa, earth almond, Cyperus esculentus or even yellow nutsedge.
They can grow in various parts of the world and require a similar growing season as other popular crops (corn, wheat, oats, soy). A good crop requires at least 4 months without frost. One plant can grow upwards of 50 little tubers.
Most brands I’ve found and purchased are organic. Make sure they are certified gluten-free.
If you’re not sure about consuming tiger nuts, please consult your medical professional (although they might not know what tiger nuts are). Naturopaths should be familiar with them or, better yet, do your research anytime you introduce new foods into your diet, especially when you have multiple food allergies or sensitivities.
More Grain-Free Recipes:
- Pumpkin Bars
- Pumpkin Cookies
- Pumpkin Tarts
- How to Make Grain-Free Bread
- [VIDEO] How to make Cassava Flatbread/Pizza Crust (6 ingredients)
- Special Gluten-Free Vegan Shortbread
Grain-Free Plant-Based Guide
Did you find this post and would love more information on grain-free ingredients while consuming a mostly plant-based diet?
Visit Fresh is Real’s most recent post: Grain-Free Plant-Based Guide
Questions Before You Start?
The best way to ask your recipe questions is in the comments of this post (scroll to the bottom) or the Facebook group.
The group is a great place to ask allergen-friendly baking questions, get tips, inspiration and share recipes! Join our amazing and friendly Gluten-Free Vegan Baking by Fresh is Real Facebook Group!
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Easy Grain-Free Banana Bread (GF/V)
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 65-70 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hr 25 mins
- Yield: 1 loaf 1x
- Category: Bread, Treats, Snacks
- Method: Oven-Baked
- Cuisine: Grain-Free, GF, Nut-Free, Vegan, Plant-Based, Allergen-Friendly
- Diet: Gluten Free
Description
An easy one-bowl mix and bake kind of treat! This grain-free banana bread recipe makes the perfect school or office snack! The ingredients are also free of wheat/gluten, peanuts, nuts, eggs and dairy making this a wonderful allergen-friendly and vegan recipe! Fun fact: tiger nuts are not actual nuts. They’re little tubers!
Ingredients
- 3 medium ripe bananas, mashed
- 1/2 cup homemade hemp milk*
- 1/4 cup golden flaxseed meal (110g)
- 1–1/4 cup tiger nut flour (110g)**
- 1/2 cup cassava flour (65g)**
- 1/4 cup arrowroot starch (25g)**
- 1/2 cup coconut palm sugar (75g)
- 2 tablespoons baking powder (GF/CF/AF)
- 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
- 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
- Decoration: chocolate chips (allergy free) (optional)***
Instructions
Before you begin, make sure to watch the Easy Grain-Free Banana Bread video tutorial.
Step 1
Preheat your oven to 350° F and line a bread pan with unbleached parchment paper. TIP: To help your parchment paper to stay in place, add a little coconut oil to the corners and bottom of your pan.
Step 2
You can make homemade hemp milk by blending 1/3 cup of organic hemp hearts with 1-1/4 cups of water. Blend in a high-speed blender until frothy. To remove any unwanted larger bits, pour the beautiful plant milk through a nut mesh bag or fine sieve. Store any leftovers for a few days. Or as an alternative, use any plant milk that is safe for you and your family.
Step 3
To a mixing bowl, mash the ripe bananas. You’re looking to get approximately one generous cup of mashed bananas. Add the flaxseed meal, hemp milk and mix. TIP: sift the flours and starch before adding them to the bowl to avoid clumps! Add the rest of the ingredients: tiger nut flour, cassava flour, arrowroot starch, coconut palm sugar, baking powder, sea salt, cinnamon, lemon juice, pure vanilla extract, and mix until everything is well combined. TIP: Make sure to get the dry bits of ingredients hiding under the mixture!
Step 4
Transfer the batter mixture to your prepared bread pan. Decorate the top with a few allergy safe chocolate chips (semi-sweet or dark chocolate). TIP: you can push them down a little with a chopstick or the end of a knife. Transfer to a preheated oven on center rack and bake for 60-70 minutes (70 minutes was perfect for me).
Step 5
Once the edges are darker, remove the bread pan from the oven. Cool in pan for 10 minutes, then gently slide out the loaf by gently pulling on the parchment paper. Place the loaf on a wire rack and let it cool completely before slicing. Allowing your bread to cool overnight (gently covered with a clean tea towel) is recommended. Slice and enjoy it!
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*If baking treats for school or the office, please make sure to use allergen-friendly plant milk. Substitutes: rice, soy, GF oat, coconut, etc.) I did not test other kinds of plant milk for this recipe. Almond or cashew milk could work if you’re baking for yourself and can consume nuts.
**Grain-Free Flour Alternatives:
Please note that I haven’t tested these options.
- Sub tiger nut flour with almond meal/flour.
- Sub cassava flour with the following: 1/2 cup of starch (choose 2 to 3 of the following: arrowroot, tapioca, potato starch) for a total of 1/2 cup.
- If you don’t have arrowroot, increase the cassava flour to 3/4 cup.
- Sub 1-1/4 cup of tiger nut flour (or nut flour) with GF oats (e.g., 3/4 cup quick oats, 1/2 cup oat flour).
**Gluten-free substitute options (not grain-free):
Please note that I haven’t tested these options.
- Instead of 1-1/4 cup of tiger nut flour and 1/2 cup of cassava flour, try 3/4 cup sorghum flour, 1/2 cup light buckwheat, 1/2 cup GF oat flour or quick oats. And keep the arrowroot starch listed in the recipe.
- Sub arrowroot starch with tapioca flour/starch or even potato starch.
- Consider trying 1 cup of sorghum flour, 1/2 cup starch for a version without oats. Keep the buckwheat flour to 1/2 cup.
- If you don’t have or like buckwheat flour, you can replace it with more sorghum and oat flour or brown rice flour.
***Do you love chocolate chips or even dried cranberries? You can fold more (up to 1/2 cup) into the mixture but doing so is optional. I prefer decorating just the top as it creates a less sweet treat.
Notes
This banana bread is best the next day! Letting it cool overnight helps to set the crumb to make it less sticky to slice. It will still have a very moist crumb, which makes this loaf extra yummy! You can keep it on the counter at room temperature for a day or two. Slice any leftovers and store in the fridge for up to one week.
If you like a drier texture, consider reducing or leaving out the arrowroot starch and cassava flour. Try subbing with more tiger nut flour or almond meal/flour is you can consume nuts. Please note that I did not test this option yet. You will still have the flaxseed meal and the mashed banana to help bind the ingredients.
Three (3) medium bananas or two (2) large bananas are excellent for this recipe. You’re looking to get a generous cup of mashed bananas.
