This post contains affiliate links. Please read my disclosures.
This Gluten-Free Banana Bread with Ground Almonds is an incredibly easy bake which only takes about 10 minutes to get into the oven. It delivers the most deliciously simple moist and flavourful cake which can become your go-to banana bread fit for any occasion.
This Easy Gluten-Free Banana Bread is an absolute cinch. This kind of recipe is a baking staple. You need a banana bread like this in your back pocket for breakfasts, slathered in butter, an afternoon tea with a lovely cuppa and something to offer an unexpected guest or a base for a delicious dessert topped with ice cream.
Table of contents
- Why you’ll love this Easy Gluten-Free Banana Bread
- Gluten-free flours required
- Full list of ingredients needed
- Step by step instructions
- How to store
- How to freeze
- How to make dairy-free Banana Loaf Cake
- What to serve with 10 Minute Banana Bread
- Variations to try
- Other gluten-free loaf cake recipes you'll love!
Why you’ll love this Easy Gluten-Free Banana Bread
- It's easy as anything. A baking staple which you need to have up your sleeve for any occasion.
- 10 minutes of prep in the stand mixer. Or you could mix by hand in one bowl (for an extra 5 minutes).
- Real banana flavour, not sullied by any extra spice or vanilla.
- The ground almonds help add moisture without tasting too nutty.
- You can adapt this recipe in so many ways - it will be the base of every gluten-free banana bread you make from now on.
Gluten-free flours required
1. Gluten-free plain flour
This is a lovely simple gluten-free banana bread which only uses 1 type of gluten-free flour. Choose a branded gluten-free flour like Doves Farm Plain White Gluten-Free Flour. Self raising isn't necessary and neither is a brand with xanthan gum - it is not needed in this recipe. However if your brand already contains it then it won't affect the bake too much.
Substitution. You could also substitute for white or brown rice flour.
2. Ground almonds
Nut flours are wonderful for adding excellent structure and a moist texture to cakes thanks to their high protein content. Ground almonds are a good choice as they are delicate in flavour which allows the banana to shine fully.
READ MORE >>> Ultimate Guide to Nut Flours
Substitutions: You can switch for almond flour but the cake will be a little denser. Or you could substitute with sunflower seed flour but it will impart a different flavour.
Full list of ingredients needed
- Bananas. The riper the bananas the easier they will be to mix into the other ingredients. The cake will also be a little sweeter.
- Caster sugar. For sweetness and structure.
- Soft light brown sugar. We use for flavour.
- Eggs. Medium sized free range eggs (about 60g each). I love to use Burford Browns.
- Melted butter. Use unsalted butter. Allow the butter to cool a little before adding to the other ingredients.
- Ground almonds. You can use almond flour but I like the texture of the ground almonds.
- Gluten-free plain flour. You can use any brand of gluten-free flour. I recommend Doves Farm Plain White Gluten-Free Flour as it doesn't contain xanthan gum which is my preference.
- Bicarbonate of soda. For lift and a tender crumb.
- Salt. It amps up all the other flavours. I like to use kosher salt as it is lovely and mild.
Step by step instructions
For full recipe instructions go to the recipe card at the end of this post.
- Mash the bananas then mix with the sugar, eggs and melted butter.
- Combine the ground almonds, gluten-free flour, bicarbonate of soda and salt then add them into the wet ingredients and mix.
- Pour the banana batter in the loaf tin and bake.
- Allow to cool then slice and serve.
How to store
This Gluten-Free Banana Bread keeps well for up to 5 days if kept in an airtight container in a cool dark place.
How to freeze
Allow the cake to cool completely before double wrapping well in cling film and then aluminium foil and placing in the freezer. It will keep well for up to 2 months.
To defrost
Remove from the freezer and allow to defrost at room temperature thoroughly before unwrapping and serving.
How to make dairy-free Banana Loaf Cake
This Easy Gluten-Free Banana Bread used melted butter in the ingredients which you can easily switch for olive oil (mild and light so the flavour doesn't dominate) or coconut oil.
What to serve with 10 Minute Banana Bread
This is a lovely simple banana bread to have plain with a cup of tea or coffee. Or you can serve..
- slathered with salted butter
- drizzled with peanut butter or almond butter
- with a scoop of ice cream and a drizzle of caramel
Variations to try
- Chocolate Chip Banana Bread. Stir in a handful of chocolate chips to the cake mixture just before pouring into the cake tin.
- Rum Banana Bread. Add 2 tablespoons of spiced dark rum to the cake mixture.
- Ginger Banana Bread. Stir in a handful of diced stem ginger or crystallised ginger into the cake mixture just before pouring into the cake tin.
Other gluten-free loaf cake recipes you'll love!
I urge you to give this Gluten-Free Banana Bread with Ground Almonds recipe a try. If you do then please leave a comment below and give the recipe a rating which helps others find the recipe on Google. If you then go on to use this recipe as a launch pad for your own culinary 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.
Gluten-Free Banana Bread with Ground Almonds
Ingredients
- 4 large bananas - about 500g without skins
- 200 g caster sugar
- 150 g soft light brown sugar
- 2 eggs - medium
- 120 g melted butter - unsalted
- 200 g ground almonds
- 200 g gluten-free plain flour
- 2 teaspoons bicarbonate of soda
- 1 teaspoon salt
Instructions
- Pre-heat the oven to 180°C/ 160°C fan assisted oven/ gas mark 4 and line a grease a 9 inch loaf tin.
- Mash the bananas then pour them into a large bowl or food mixer along with the sugar, eggs and melted butter. Mix the ingredients well.
- In another bowl combine the ground almonds, gluten-free flour, bicarbonate of soda and salt then add them into the wet ingredients and mix together.
- Pour the banana batter in the loaf tin and bake for 70-80 minutes or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean.
- Remove from the loaf tin and allow to cool on a wire rack.
Mariana says
This was simply delicious! I'm very thankful to have found gluten free recipes that taste GOOD!! Many thanks to you Georgina!
Georgina Hartley says
You are welcome! I'm so happy you enjoyed the Banana Bread.
Lynette Brewin says
I have today made your banana loaf recipe, unfortunately with disastrous results. I followed the recipe ingredients and method exactly. I did think there was a lot of mixture considering the size of the loaf tin required, but I still continued with the instructions. As the recipe asked for plain flour I thought that the loaf would not rise too much. After a short while I looked through the glass door of my oven and noticed that all the mixture was overflowing all over my oven. I had to take it out of the oven and try to divide the mixture into 2 loaf tins, which I thought would have been more appropriate anyway given the amount of mixture. Regrettably the whole mix had to be binned. I am very upset about this considering the cost of the ingredients and also the time spent completely cleaning the inside of my oven, shelves and all. I have been baking for many years and have never had this problem before. I would like to say how disappointed I am with the results of this loaf. I have read the other comments and I have to say I am a little surprised at their results with this recipe. Your view on what might have happened would be appreciated.
Georgina Hartley says
Hi Lynette, how disappointing for you. The only thing I can think of is that the tin was too small for the bake. This recipe calls for a 9 inch loaf tin (often called a 2lb loaf tin). What size tin did you use?
Dory says
It tastes lovely, glad it's not overly sweet and the texture was beautiful too. Thank you!
Georgina Hartley says
I'm so happy you like the recipe!!
Barbara Lindsay (@vintagebarbara) says
My word this is delicious! Mine is more cakey and light than I thought it would be. I know understand what "tender crumb" is! Never really understood before as I don't bake much, especially since I've had to remove wheat and lactose from my diet. I had to adjust the receipe slightly according to what I had to hand (an impulse bake). So 400g ripe bananas, with dry quantities and butter reduced to match roughly. Then, as I didn't have any brown sugar, I used a half quantity, 70ish g, of clear runny honey - a super local one which is gorgeous. I baked it in a round 8" tin for 1 hour 15 minutes exactly, until the skewer came out clean in the middle of the cake. I'm also looking into a low FODMAP diet to manage the rest of my symptoms (so far removing wheat and lactose has been amazing!). So honey might not be on the menu so much in future but small quantities might be okay. I'll try maple syrup too. I'm going to research low FODMAP foods more too (rice flour is low! Yay!), and work on some adaptations to recipies. Have you looked into FODMAP at all? Just wondering.
Georgina Hartley says
Hi Barbara, I'm so happy you enjoyed this Banana Bread!! Yes, I am aware of FODMAP - it's not something I follow at the moment but the foods I have trouble with change all the time so you never know!!
Janet says
This was really excellent -a great success. I have struggled with texture and ‘doneness’ in previous GF baking but I had splendid crumb texture and done all the way through. No horrid heavy layer at the bottom. . Trouble is we are eating it way too fast!
Georgina Hartley says
I'm so happy you enjoyed the recipe Janet - thank you!
Juliana says
Hello Georgina !!!
I just did this one, very delicious!!!... I got some kind of bubbles in between the cake, it doesn´t look as uniform as yours in the picture when I sliced it... ¿Do you know the reason?
I made Lemon coconut recently & I wanna keep trying different exotic cakes, ¿Any you can recommend me to try this weeeek (exotic, different, unique) please? 🙂
Thank you so much 🙂
Georgina Hartley says
Hi Juliana, I'm not sure what you mean by bubbles - this isn't something I've experienced. Did you swap any of the ingredients? As for the cake recommendations - have you tried this Pineapple Upside Down Cake - it's very lovely that it includes coconut. Or if you are looking for unique then this Blueberry Basil Lemon Drizzle is lovely, as is this Carrot and Golden Beetroot Cake.
Toni Micklem says
I’ve made this banana bread a couple of times now - and this is the closest to the one my mother used to make when I was a child. My husband and daughter are both gluten-sensitive and they adore this! Definitely a family favourite
Georgina says
That's lovely to hear Toni! I really love this cake too, it's so easy to whip up of a weekend and have stashed away for cake emergencies during the week. Thank you for your feedback!