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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 an easy to put together, satisfying and deliciously tasty Banana Bread then may I suggest (nay, demand!) that you bake this one.
I make this Banana Oat Bread regularly for the whole family and having it on hand in the kitchen pays dividends throughout the week. I snack on it whilst nursing during the night, I feel no guilt serving it up to the children for quick breakfasts and we all enjoy it accompanying vanilla yoghurt for a no-hassle dessert.
Why is Banana Oat Bread so amazingly good?
- 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 (you can sub with ground almonds)
- 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.
Do you want a more traditional Banana Bread recipe? Then why not try The Easiest Gluten-Free Banana Bread.
How do you make Banana Oat Bread?
- Whisk together almond flour, oats, flaxseed, pumpkin seeds, hemp seeds, bicarbonate of soda, 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.
What do you need to make Banana Oat Bread?
- 2lb loaf tin.
- The almond flour that you need is ultra finely processed. You can use ground almonds if it’s difficult to get hold of though.
- Good quality glass mixing bowls.
Banana Oat Bread – Essential Tips
- Use very ripe bananas as they incorporate into the batter better than firmer fruit and they add perfect sweetness to the bread.
- 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.
Adapting Banana Oat Bread
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.
Love bananas? Then have a look at these other gluten-free recipes
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
If you make Banana Oat Bread then please leave a comment below and/or give the recipe a rating. If you then go on to use this recipe as a launch pad for your own baking creation then I’d also love it if you’d share it and tag me on Instagram. It is so lovely for me to see your versions and variations of my recipes.
Banana Oat Bread (no sugar, gluten-free)
Ingredients
- 120 g gluten-free rolled oats
- 120 g almond flour
- 30 g pumpkin seeds
- 25 g ground flaxseed
- 20 g hemp seeds
- 2 teaspoons bicarbonate of soda
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 160 g greek yoghurt - plain
- 3 eggs - medium
- 100 ml 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/gas mark 4.
- 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, 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.
Beth says
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.
Georgina Hartley says
That's a pleasure - I'm so happy you liked it!!
Maureen says
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.
Georgina Hartley says
Ricotta and honey sounds like a wonderful topping!!
Barbara Lindsay (@vintagebarbara) says
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.
Krysta says
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!
Georgina Hartley says
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!
Zellweger JOHANNA says
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!
Georgina Hartley says
Hi Johanna - that's great to hear you enjoyed this recipe!!
chan says
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
Georgina Hartley says
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.
Juliana says
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 🙂
Georgina Hartley says
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.
Juliana says
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.
🙂
Georgina Hartley says
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!
Juliana says
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 🙂
Claire says
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
Georgina Hartley says
Hi Claire, actually I've never tried it with a fat free yoghurt. I should think it would be fine though.
Pippa Howells says
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!!
Pippa Howells says
Sorry I forgot to do the rating!!
Georgina Hartley says
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!!
Rachele says
Oh my gosh...delicious!!! Thank you so much for sharing, my whole family loves it. Best wishes for your expanded family. xoxoxo
Georgina Hartley says
You are ever so welcome! Thank you for you lovely comments!
Nina says
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!
Georgina Hartley says
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!!
julie says
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!
Georgina Hartley says
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!
Elizabeth W says
Absolutely delish!
Georgina Hartley says
Thank you for your lovely comment. Yes, I love this recipe!!
Elizabeth Harris says
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!
Georgina Hartley says
Hi Elizabeth - your substitutions sounds great - we have to work with what we have!!
Moira says
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
Georgina Hartley says
Sounds lovely! Thank you for your feedback.
Helen says
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
Georgina Hartley says
I am programmed the same way! Always good to mix it up.
Bethan says
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!
Helen Marshall says
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
Georgina Hartley says
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.
Sharene Jones says
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!
Georgina Hartley says
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!