Banana Oat Bread (refined sugar-free)
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Banana Oat Bread is a no sugar, gluten-free treat which is baked with greek yoghurt for a deliciously moist texture and tang. Crammed with bananas and nutritiously dense seeds it makes for an ultra satisfying snack or start to your day. Especially good topped with salted butter or your favourite nut butter.
If you are looking for a satisfying and deliciously tasty simple Banana Bread recipe then may I suggest (nay, demand!) that you bake this one.
I make this Banana Oatmeal Bread regularly for the whole family and having it on hand in the kitchen pays dividends throughout the week. A slice of banana bread (especially spread with peanut butter!) is delicious to snack on throughout the day (in fact I developed this recipe when nursing my twin daughters and it was a lifesaver). It's great for serving it up to the children for quick breakfasts and we all enjoy it accompanying vanilla yoghurt for a no-hassle dessert.
I'll show you how to make this easy recipe perfectly first time using simple ingredients and no special equipment (save a loaf tin to bake it in!).
Why You’ll Love This Banana Oat Bread
- Easy peasy - it takes 10-15 minutes tops to mix the batter together with no mixer required. Wooden spoon all the way baby!
- No refined sugar – this is not an overly sweet treat. All the sweetness comes from a small amount of honey (or maple syrup) and lovely ripe bananas.
- Gluten-free – with no hard to find flours. Just jumbo rolled oats and almond flour.
- Oil and butter free – the extra fat is just not needed and instead we use plain yoghurt and eggs
- Protein packed – thanks to crunchy pumpkin seeds, creamy hemp seeds and satisfying flaxseeds.
- Incredibly moist – that’s because we overload on the greek yoghurt which also adds extra tang.
Ingredients Needed
Bananas. You need medium bananas and they should be relatively ripe so you can mash them well. Black bananas are fine and will give more sweetness.
Rolled oats. I think of this banana bread as my ‘breakfast banana bread’ as it is packed with rolled oats which gives great texture and they are also nutrient-dense whole grains which are rich in fibre. But oats are not suitable for all gluten-free diets. You need to be wary of oats and choose certified gluten-free brands because they are often cross-contaminated with gluten during growing, harvesting, or processing. Additionally, some people with coeliac disease or gluten intolerance react to avenin, a protein in oats, even if they are certified gluten-free. Due to these concerns, some countries, like Australia, do not classify oats as a safe gluten-free food.
Almond flour. You are looking for blanched ground almonds. There is a bit of labelling confusion over almond flour which is sold as ‘ground almonds’ in most major UK supermarkets and found in the baking aisle. If you want to know what exactly you are looking for then check out this post >>> Is Almond Flour The Same As Ground Almonds. This cake can be made with finely ground almond meal too. The almonds add stability and moistness to the recipe. Nut allergy? If you are allergic then use my Homemade Flour Blend for the whole amount of the almond flour + the flour – but not any other gluten-free flour, my mix is specifically developed as a stable blend which doesn’t need xanthan gum.
Pumpkin seeds. They are really good for you, rich in magnesium, zinc, and healthy fats. But they are also great for their crunchy texture and earthily nutty flavour.
Ground flaxseed. I like to use ground flaxseed in my gluten-free baking as grinding them means they are accessible for absorption and more effective in baking. I love the nutty flavour but it also helps to bind ingredients together, and its ability to retain moisture improves the texture of baked goods, keeping them soft and tender.
Hemp seeds. These are little nutritional powerhouses packed with protein, healthy fats, and essential amino acids. I love using them in this Banana Oat Bread as it boosts the nutritional profile but also adds a lovely crunch and nutty flavour.
Yoghurt. This recipe was made with a full fat Greek Style Yoghurt. The yoghurt adds moisture, tenderness, and a subtle tangy flavour while contributing to the overall richness of the batter.
Eggs. This recipe uses medium size, about 60g each with shell (50g each without shell). These are often classified as large eggs in the US. I recommend weighing your eggs to ensure the correct amount.
Honey. I will tend to opt for honey as it's more economical than maple syrup and I do like the flavour here. But you could add either.
Ground cinnamon. A lovely warming spice to add to this recipe.
Bicarbonate of soda. Also known as baking soda, this is a white crystalline powder that is commonly used as a leavening agent in baking.
Baking powder. Make sure it's gluten-free.
Salt. I like to use kosher salt in my baking as it has a round gentle flavour. Using salt in your baked goods lifts and sharpens all the other flavours.
How To Make Banana Oat Bread
For full recipe instructions go to the recipe card at the end of this post.
Whisk together almond flour, oats, flaxseed, pumpkin seeds, hemp seeds, bicarbonate of soda, baking powder, cinnamon and salt in a large mixing bowl.
Pour the yoghurt, eggs, maple syrup and bananas into another large mixing bowl and mix well.
Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and beat together until fully combined.
Pour the mixture into the prepared 2lb loaf tin, placing the extra sliced banana on top.
Bake for 1 hour then remove from the oven and carefully insert the banana bread onto a rack to cool.
Expert Tips
Use very ripe bananas as they incorporate into the batter better than firmer fruit and they add perfect sweetness to the bread. You should be able to easily mash them with the back of a fork or a potato masher.
Store Banana Oat Bread in an airtight tin or wrapped in kitchen foil. This is a very moist recipe and wouldn’t fare well stored in a plastic container or cling film.
Banana Oat Bread freezes very well in slices or whole.
FAQs
You need this 2lb loaf tin or one of the same dimensions for this recipe.
Yes, I have developed a dairy-free and vegan version of this Banana Oat Bread (which is actually a chocolate chip banana bread) which you can find on the Robert Welch website.
Yes, this delicious Banana Bread keeps well for up to 5 days when you follow the storage instructions below.
You can store this Oatmeal Banana Bread in an airtight container (but preferably tin rather than plastic as it plastic will keep the cake too moist). Then store the cake in a cool dark place. It also stores very well in the fridge for up to a week but allow it to come to room temperature before serving.
Absolutely. You can freeze the cake successfully for up to 3 months. First wrap it tightly in plastic wrap and double wrap in aluminium foil. Then either place in a resealable freezer bag or airtight container. Don’t forget to label including the date. To enjoy, thaw at room temperature overnight, unwrap once thawed.
Flavour Variations
You can customise this Banana Oat Bread for whatever you have in your larder.
- Swap out any of the seeds for crumbled walnuts or hazelnuts, sunflower seeds, chia seeds. The choice is yours.
- Add chocolate chips! I feel like I say this in most of my recipes but chocolate chips here would be amazing!
- Chopped dried fruit – think diced dried apricots, goji berries, cranberries or dates. These additions will add extra natural sweetness if that’s how you like your Banana Oat Bread.
- Don’t have ground cinnamon? Don’t worry – just leave it out. Or you can add pumpkin spice mix, a pinch of nutmeg or ground mixed spice in its place.
- Can’t find rolled oats? No problem, I’ve used porridge oats when I've run out of rolled outs which are a little finer so the result isn’t as chewy, but I loved it just the same.
More Gluten-Free Banana Recipes You'll Love
Salted Date Caramel Banana Flapjack – this recipe is also refined sugar-free
Banana Rum Caramel Cake
Vegan Chocolate Coconut Banana Loaf
Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins
Vegan Banana Peanut Butter Streusel Muffins
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Banana Oat Bread
Ingredients
- 120 g gluten-free rolled oats
- 120 g almond flour - ground almonds in the UK
- 30 g pumpkin seeds
- 25 g ground flaxseed
- 20 g hemp seeds
- 1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 160 g greek yoghurt - plain
- 3 eggs - medium
- 100 g honey - or maple syrup
- 200 g bananas - (about 3) mashed
- 1 banana - for decoration
Instructions
- Pre-heat the oven to 180°C / 160°C fan assisted /gas mark 4 / 350°F.
- Line and grease a 2lb loaf tin (8.5” x 4.5”).
- Whisk together the almond flour, oats, flaxseed, pumpkin seeds, hemp seeds, bicarbonate of soda, baking powder, cinnamon and salt in a large mixing bowl and set aside for a moment.
- Whisk together the yoghurt, eggs, maple syrup and bananas in another large mixing bowl.
- Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and beat together until fully combined.
- Pour the mixture into the prepared loaf tin, placing the extra banana on top.
- Place in the oven and bake for 1 hour.
- Remove from the oven and carefully insert the banana bread onto a rack to cool.
Thank you for this delicious recipe.
I used chia seeds to replace the hemp, date syrup for the sweetener, and plain greek-style almond dairy-free yogurt, and 2 jumbo eggs.
I'm enjoying a piece with my morning coffee and it's guilt-free. Love the crunch of all the seeds, and the bananas on the top are visually beautiful and oh so tasty.
That's a pleasure - I'm so happy you liked it!!
I’ve made this several times now. Delicious. Freezes well. Have taken it as my travel friendly snack when flying. Good on its own. Extra special when served with ricotta and drizzled honey.
Ricotta and honey sounds like a wonderful topping!!
Delicious and so easy to make. I substituted sultanas and walnuts for the seeds which has given it a lovely soft crunch and sweetness. It holds together beautifully. I baked it successfully in an 8" round cake tin, adjusting the cooking time and temperature very slightly at the end to be 150 instead of 160 and a few minutes longer to ensure it cooked completely in the middle. Perfect.
So yum and so healthy. Looking forward to trying some more of your recipes! I'm nursing at the moment and this was just what I was looking for. And it IS healthy enough to offer to my 2 year old too!
Hi Krysta - I love that! I developed this recipe when I was nursing my twins last year so I totally understand where you are coming from. I am so happy you like the recipe! Thank you for your feedback and for rating the recipe!
I have baked this banana oat bread.
The result is a very tasty loaf of bread. Moist and fluffy and just the right amount of sugar.
I used cranberry syrup in stead of maple syrup.
But my 25 by 11 cm loaf pan was too small .
The dough was rising and spilling over the rim.
Thank you for your recipe!
Hi Johanna - that's great to hear you enjoyed this recipe!!
are the hemp seeds essential to this recipe? what substitutes can I use if they are?
What are the measurements of the flaxseed oats and yoghurt in spoons or cups? it's hard for me to measure in grams
The hemps seeds are not essential, just a nice extra. I'm afraid the weights in this recipe do not easily convert to cups. Since I work with gluten-free flours using weight measurements is essential for me to guarantee an accurate recipe. I apologise I can't help you further with this one.
Hello Georgina,
Thanks for answering & yes !!! I did it and it was absolutely delicious!!
I wonder if you have any ratios when you are going to make a cake?? Your cakes and desserts inspire me a lot to create different flavors but I kind of get confused with how much flour, butter, sugar & liquids... Any advice please? 🙂
The other question is: ¿What do you think about all purpose GF flours? can they be mixed 50-50 with almonds? or by itself works too?
Thank you so much 🙂
It really varies how I go about developing a recipe. I don't usually start from scratch but they sort of come about as I'm playing with different recipes or I build off recipes I've already developed but tweak flours and flavours. I like all-purpose flours but either they have xanthan gum which I avoid or they can be a little dry and gritty. I would usually mix 50-50 with almonds which produces a lovely bake.
Hello Georgina,
I have a couple of questions: the first ¿is possible to replace greek yogurt for any nut milk? and the second one is ¿can I substitute brown sugar with coconut sugar (the same ration from the original recipe 1:1) ?
Thousands of thanks!
I absolutely love your page.
🙂
Hi Juliana, I wouldn't recommend replacing the greek yoghurt with nut milk. Instead replace it with coconut yoghurt - I've tried it this way and it's delicious. Yes you can swap out the brown sugar for coconut sugar - the same ratio. I'd love to know if you do give the recipe a try!
Hello Georgina,
Thanks for answering & yes !!! I did it and it was absolutely delicious!!
I wonder if you have any ratios when you are going to make a cake?? Your cakes and desserts inspire me a lot to create different flavors but I kind of get confused with how much flour, butter, sugar & liquids... Any advice please? 🙂
The other question is: ¿What do you think about all purpose GF flours? can they be mixed 50-50 with almonds? or by itself works too?
Thank you so much 🙂
Hi! I’d like to make this. Would it work with 0% fat Greek yoghurt or is the fat integral to a successful outcome? Thanks
Hi Claire, actually I've never tried it with a fat free yoghurt. I should think it would be fine though.
Hi Georgina,
I made this recipe earlier this week and my family have devoured it, I kept it to myself about all the ingredients...as they would never have eaten it otherwise.
Thank you for such a fabulous recipe!!
Sorry I forgot to do the rating!!
Hi Pippa - that's great to hear! I made it again this morning too - it must be the recipe I make the most out of all of them on the website!!
Oh my gosh...delicious!!! Thank you so much for sharing, my whole family loves it. Best wishes for your expanded family. xoxoxo
You are ever so welcome! Thank you for you lovely comments!
This recipe is amazing! I substituted the eggs with a can of chickpea water (as I needed it to be egg-free as well as gluten free). It came out as a very light, very moist spongy cake, very dark in colour and tasted like a cross between gingerbread and the sponge base in sticky toffee pudding... The grains weren't at all visible and no-one would know that it was a "healthy" cake if you don't tell them. I froze slices of it and it defrosts really quickly in the microwave and is great served slightly warm, just as if it had just come out of the over like that. We will be eating a lot of this! Thank you!
Hi Nina - that's brilliant - I make this recipe over and over and it's great for adapting how you want it so I'm happy you found success with an egg free version. Good to know!!
This is SO very delicious!
I made it this morning and found it quick, easy and quite adaptable in that I used a Soya style Greek yoghurt rather than dairy as I'm GF .
One slice with cheese was quite a substantial lunch, though I imagine it will work very well with other accompaniments too.
I'm so pleased I discovered your website. I only did so when searching Google for recipes WITHOUT Xantham Gum - dreadful stuff!
Hi Julie, I'm so pleased you found our community here. Yes, I avoid xanthan gum in all my recipes so hopefully you'll find lots of things to make here that take your fancy! This banana bread is good isn't it - I've also tried it dairy free with coconut yoghurt and it still bakes up a charm!
Absolutely delish!
Thank you for your lovely comment. Yes, I love this recipe!!
Hello Georgina, I made your banana bread this morning! I didn't have any greek yoghurt so just used full fat yoghurt. I am sure that the Greek yoghurt makes them extra moist and delicious, but they are certainly nice with just plain too! I also had to sub out hemp seeds, used some chia and some hazelnuts that needed to be used up instead. The bread is has a great chewy yet somehow light texture, and the flavor of the bananas is just right. I thought maybe all those nuts might overpower the banana but no. I used maple syrup to sweeten, and the sweetness is totally on point. Thank you for a lovely recipe, really don't know how you manage to keep up with new recipes, take pictures, publish on the blog, all whilst taking care of your newborn twins and toddlers!
Hi Elizabeth - your substitutions sounds great - we have to work with what we have!!
Hi Georgina, I recently tried your Banana Bread recipe it is really good. Much better than the super sweet insubstantial ‘cake’ which is the usual fare which purports to be BB. It is wonderful with a variety of spreads such as nut butters, jams and mashed bananas. However may I suggest this Bread is really tasty with a variety cheeses. I’ve tried it with Brie, Ricotta, Cheddar, Swiss and oh but sheer heaven heaven is with Gorgonzola. Reckon most mildly creamy blues would be good. Add some fruit and you have a light meal which begs for a glass of wine. Bliss. Cheers Moira
Sounds lovely! Thank you for your feedback.
Just made this, looks great, I am genetically programmed to not ever follow a recipe exactly or a knitting pattern, so it has 3 large eggs, walnuts, extra oats and almond flour to make up for lack of flax etc, and the larger eggs, so for good measure flung in some ground chia seeds
Just pumpkin seeds on top
Wish it would cool down enough for me to eat a slice, (or two, you know how it works okay ! )
So it’s on to your choc chip cookies next
No idea how to send you a photo
All the best, stay safe x
I am programmed the same way! Always good to mix it up.
Another delicious recipe. It's not too sweet and very moreish. I used two large eggs as I didn't have medium ones and it worked perfectly. Thank you!
ow!Congratulations on your new arrivals and glad you are all ok
I'm definitely going to try this....provided the bananas last long enough in our house to ripen. We are relying on weekly delivery at the moment and bananas seem to go first.Do you have a rough idea of how many carbs this would be at all? My husband is Type 1 diabetic so we have to try and work out everything
Hi Helen, sorry my nutrition calculator wasn't plugged in for this one for some reason. All fixed now and it's calculated at 28g per slice.
I am so glad to hear you are ok -- I was worried when I did not see any posts recently! Congrats and good luck! I am not sure how you got this post together with new born twins and 2 toddlers -- pretty amazing. I just bought several bananas and can't wait to try the recipe!
Hi Sharene, writing the post was easy in the end since one of the twins insists on being held all night long. Writing the recipe helped me stay awake whilst doing so!! Let me know if you try the banana bread!