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This is the best Coconut Flour Banana Bread you’ll ever try. It’s easy to make, not overly sweet, and reminds me of the real thing– without using gluten or dairy.
What You Need to Know About Coconut Flour
I’ve said it before, but I’ll say it again: Coconut flour is SO tricky to work with. You’d think by now, after developing recipes like my Coconut Flour Zucchini Bread, Coconut Flour Carrot Cake, and Coconut Flour Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins, I would have a pretty good idea of how to make practically any baked good with coconut flour.
However, it still took me 6 different attempts to get this recipe right. My picky toddler has deemed this coconut flour banana bread to be the “best ever,” so I suppose my effort was worth it!
How to Sweeten It Naturally
The resulting Coconut Flour Banana Bread is moist, without being gooey in the middle, and is also not overly sweet. It could still pass as “normal” banana bread, which is why I added just a touch of natural sweetener, but you could definitely omit the coconut sugar entirely if you don’t mind having a less-sweet bread for your family.
(See the notes below the recipe if you are interested in using maple syrup instead. I tested that, too, but the results are more moist.)
Keep in mind that the riper your bananas are, the sweeter the banana bread will be, so be sure to use bananas with LOTS of black spots on their skin for best results.
How to Measure Coconut Flour
When making this recipe, be sure to use the “scoop and swipe” method for measuring. I dip the measuring cup into the bag of coconut flour to get a heaping scoop, then use the back of a knife to swipe the excess off the top.
This should leave you with a measuring cup of coconut flour that has a perfectly flat and leveled top.
I’ve also included the weight of the ingredients in grams in the recipe below, if you prefer to measure using a food scale.
This Coconut Flour Banana Bread recipe is:
- Gluten-free and grain-free
- Naturally sweetened, with the option of using NO added sugar if you prefer
- Oil-free
- Nut-free (technically coconut is classified as a fruit)
- Fast to prepare! The batter can be ready in just 10 minutes before baking it.
- Higher in protein
- Super-moist and delicious!
Why You Need So Many Eggs with Coconut Flour
Like most coconut flour recipes, this one does require more eggs than a recipe using any other type of flour. Coconut flour is freakishly absorbent, and because of that it requires eggs for both structure and moisture.
Trust me when I say that I used as few eggs as necessary to produce a good result. On the bright side, the eggs do give this bread more protein in each slice.
If you need a vegan recipe, check out my Vegan Almond Flour Banana Bread recipe, or the Vegan Buckwheat Banana Bread (which is nut-free) found in my first cookbook.
Tip for Stick-Prevention
Coconut flour tends to stick to pans more than other varieties of flour, so I like to line my loaf pan with parchment paper to guarantee the banana bread will easily release from the pan later.
To make your life easier, spray the pan with a little bit of oil, then press the parchment paper into the bottom of the pan. The light coating of oil will hold the parchment paper in place, so it doesn’t wiggle around while you pour the batter in!
Ingredients
- 3 very ripe bananas (344 grams; not including peels)
- 3/4 cup coconut flour (87 grams)
- 5 large eggs (250 grams)
- 1/3 cup coconut sugar (50 grams)
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon (1 gram)
- 1 teaspoon baking soda (6 grams)
- 1 teaspoon baking powder (5 grams)
- 1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt (2 grams)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract (4 grams)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350ºF and line a 9-inch by 5-inch loaf pan with parchment paper.
- In a large bowl, mash the bananas with a fork. Add in the coconut flour, eggs, coconut sugar, cinnamon, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and vanilla. Use a whisk to stir the batter well, breaking up any lumps so a smooth batter is formed. (You can also use an electric hand mixer to do this.)
- Pour the batter into the lined loaf pan and bake until the center of the loaf has risen and started to crack, feeling firm to the touch, about 45 to 55 minutes. Cool completely before slicing and serving.
- Because this loaf is moist, be sure to store it in an airtight container in the fridge for best shelf life. It should last at least a week when stored in the fridge, though you might eat it all before then!
Video
Notes
- There is no substitution for coconut flour, so if you’d like to use another flour please see my two suggestions that I mentioned earlier in this post.
- I did test this recipe using 1/4 cup of maple syrup, and the result was slightly sweeter and much more moist. I thought it was “too moist,” but the results were just fine if you’re only serving this to your family. You can also omit the sweetener entirely if you don’t mind it tasting less sweet.
- I don’t think flax or chia eggs would work in this recipe, because they would result in a gooey center. Feel free to experiment, if you like, but I also mentioned my two vegan banana bread recipes earlier in this post if you’d prefer to start with those.
Nutrition
More Recipes to Try
If you try this recipe, please leave a comment below letting me know what how you like it.
is this recipe keto friendly? Sounds delish!
It has a good flavor but why is mine so grainy?
I have now made this recipe several times, and it is so good. I’m even now using it to cure a sweet tooth after moving into a keto sugarfree lifestyle. I changed coconut sugar to monkfruit and use about a third of the sugar. I divide a 9 inch loaf into 11 pieces for a .8 inch slice and eat half of the piece. It’s a perfect amount for me with a cup of tea. These loaves have been made with monkfruit with erythritol, but I’ve now purchased monkfruit extract powder, and we’ll see how that works next time. I get a little gastro effect from the erythrital- I think. I’m hoping the pure monk fruit extract powder will be better. Each whole piece I’ve calculated is close to 10 carbs, and half a piece would be 5. I’m loving it!
I absolutely love this recipe! I make it weekly – over 100 bakings – to have with our coffee. It’s been a total godsend! It’s gluten-free and blood sugar friendly (fat/fibre/protein). I use 1/4 cup of coconut sugar and add 1/2 cup of sprouted, chopped up walnuts (extra fibre). I cook for 43 minutes in a pre-heated oven and let it sit in its pan, on a rack, for 1/2 hour prior to slicing and storing in fridge.
THANK YOU SO MUCH!!! 🤗
Has anyone tried adding ground walnuts? I am making it for an elderly woman with strict dietary restrictions, but I am, also, trying to increase her protein intake. Might even sprinkle in a little protein powder.
I haven’t tried that yet, but feel free to experiment with it! I love the idea of adding a little protein powder. Check out my Protein Banana Bread if that might be helpful, too.
Would this work with just regular granulated sugar?
Yes, definitely!
Update to my last post…banana bread came out great, tasty and not overly sweet , I added organic grass fed butter….yum! Will make again.
What a great recipe to find! I too, wanted to use up 3 ripe bananas, and I only had coconut flour, when I would usually use spelt flour.
The only thing I substituted was stevia for the sweetener, and my eggs were extra large, so weighed them on kitchen scales- they came to 238grams, the batter came out really well, it’s in the oven baking now. Will let you know how it turns out. Thank you.