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Paleo Banana Bread (sweetener-free)

by 49 Comments

There are a LOT of paleo banana bread recipes out there. I probably didn’t need to create a new one. But you know me! I can’t help myself.

This paleo, dairy-free, sweetener-free banana bread is bare bones, plain Jane. But don’t let that stop you from adding nuts, chocolate chips, coconut, or all of the above.

paleo banana bread

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Paleo Banana Bread (sweetener-free)

  • Author: zenbelly
  • Prep Time: 10 minutes
  • Cook Time: 55-60 minutes
  • Total Time: 27 minute
  • Yield: 1 loaf 1x
  • Category: breads
  • Method: bake
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Ingredients

Scale
  • 1 1/2 cups mashed ripe bananas * (about 3 large bananas)
  • 1/4 cup palm shortening or room temperature butter (plus more for greasing the pan)
  • 3 eggs
  • 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
  • 1 1/4 cups almond flour
  • 1/2 cup arrowroot starch
  • 2 tablespoons coconut flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt

Instructions

  1. Preheat the oven to 350°F and grease a 7″x3″ bread pan
  2. Combine bananas, shortening, eggs and vanilla in the bowl of a food processor and kick it on for 30 seconds or so, until combined.
  3. In a small bowl, mix the almond flour, arrowroot starch, coconut flour and salt, and then add to the food processor. Pulse 6-8 times to combine. Scraping the sides with a rubber spatula, and pulse again a few times.
  4. Pour into prepared pan and bake for 55-60 minutes, or until cooked through.
  5. Allow to cool in the pan for at least 30 minutes, and then on a wire rack until completely cool, before you cut it. If you can stand it.

Notes

* please measure your mashed banana, instead of counting whole bananas, if you want the measurements to be accurate. Bananas are like snowflakes. Sort of.

Keywords: banana bread

 


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Comments

    • I can’t promise the texture would be exactly the same, but I’m willing to bet that softened butter would work really well in this recipe. Let me know what you think if you try it!

      Reply

    • Yup! It will just change the height of the loaf. Maybe check it after 45 minutes, in case it bakes a bit quicker.

      Reply

      • I’m coming back months later to tell you that this recipe has become a regular in my house. I make them as mini-muffins whenever I host the neighborhood kids for a playgroup. I add unsweetened carob chips to the mix, too. The kids all love them, one even asked to bring some home with him today. Lucky for everyone, there are no nut allergies in the group. Thank you for the recipe, it’s awesome to be able to keep my family Paleo while still providing snacks that dozens of kids have enjoyed.

  3. I just made these as muffins and they are great! I subbed butter for palm oil as I can’t find it in my area. It made 12 large muffins. Baked them for 22 minutes at 350. Thanks for the recipe!

    Reply

    • Awesome! And thanks for the muffin baking time… I was having a tough time deciding between muffins and bread, and am glad to hear that this recipe worked well as muffins too.

      Reply

  4. My daughter can’t process anything with coconut or made from coconut. Do you have an idea on a sub for the coconut flour? A little more almond flour maybe?

    Reply

    • I would try 1.5 cups almond flour, and omit the coconut flour. The almond / arrowroot / coconut flout blend is one I’ve been liking for the texture, but is definitely not necessary if someone doesn’t tolerate one of the ingredients. Let me know how it turns out if you try it!

      Reply

  8. So delish!!! I added a little maple syrup and Enjoy Life chocolate chips. Other paleo banana bread recipes I’ve tried use only coconut flour and I found them too “eggy”. This recipe is amazing!
    Thanks!

    Reply

    • I’m so glad you like it! And I agree- I’m not a fan of the eggy textured grain-free breads either. Thanks Janet!

      Reply

  11. Made these this morning and both my kids liked them. I subbed ground up sunflower seeds for the almond flour and added some mini chocolate chips. I also made them as muffins.

    Reply

  12. I used softened butter, added unsweetened coconut, pecans and tiny chocolate chips. HO-BOY! This is a winner! Also my first grain-free baking experience, and I’m so glad I picked this recipe to start! Thank you. Paleo treats…here I come!

    Reply

  13. Made these bad boys last night in a muffin tin– the recipe made 12 full muffins, but the tops didn’t rise. I used coconut oil instead of palm shortening, added a quarter cup of agave syrup, used defrosted frozen bananas for fresh ones, and subbed a mixer for my nonexistent food processor. They turned out awesome! Weirdly enough, when I tried one as soon as it came out it wasn’t that good, but after letting them sit out over night, they were awesome the next morning. Super moist! Thanks for the recipe. Loving this site!

    Reply

    • Oh thanks I’m so glad you love it! I’m guessing maybe they didn’t rise because they were too moist, which would also explain them being better the next day. I find that thawed bananas are a much more liquid-y, and the agave surely added to the liquid ratio; I’ll work on experimenting with adaptations for frozen & thawed bananas when I have some time!

      Reply

  14. Wow. This is a great recipe. I oven roasted my bananas for 30 mins before mixing this up, they were so yummy. I also added a tablespoon of raw honey and a cup of mini chocolate chips. Best banana bread I’ve ever made. Thank you!

    Reply

  15. I am not paleo, or even gluten free so I’m a tough critic when it comes to baked goods. This came out amazing! I added toasted walnuts and some choc chips. I sub’d butter for the shortening. Finally, a healthy quick read recipe! Thanks!

    Reply

  16. These are now my go to banana bread recipe. The texture is amazing. You always nail the texture!! I added 1 T. of honey as one other reader suggested. It was wonderful as always. All of your recipes are amazing. You have THE best baked good recipes. I would never know that they were not “regular” baked goods if I wasn’t the one making them. Thank you!

    Reply

  17. I want to make a big batch of mini muffins, do you know how long I should cook them for? Also, I don’t have a food processor, will that effect the overall recipe too much?

    Reply

    • I think regular muffins are 18-20, so I’m guessing you’d want to check the mini muffins after 10… You can use beaters or a whisk, as long as the banana is well mashed, and the butter or shortening is very soft so it mixes in well. Enjoy!

      Reply

  18. The first Paleo muffin I made that did not collapse and resembled the traditional muffin. Thanks for sharing this recipe!

    Reply

  19. Best-textured paleo quick bread I’ve made! Thank you for this!!! I love the combo of almond, arrowroot and coconut flours. And I really love that this has no sweeteners! Oh, and I really love that it doesn’t have any nut butters in it! The nut butter always gives other breads a weird taste that I don’t like. Yes, this is our new banana bread! I’m going to pass it along to my parents who have recently switched to GF. And I want to see if I could make this into zucchini bread!

    Reply

    • Love it Renee, thanks! I’m so glad you love it 🙂 I’m willing to bet that this could surely be adapted to a zucchini bread recipe. Let me know if you try it! 🙂

      Reply

  20. Another lovely recipe! I really like lower sugar recipes for snacks to feed my son (and me!) and appreciate these are lower carb as a result, too. I was short a banana so subbed some applesauce and it worked great. I can see this being great to mix up in multiple ways. Thank you!

    Reply

    • Thanks, Ali! I’m glad you and your son loved it! This recipe is indeed a great one to mix up… I actually adapted it for my book to be loaded banana bread, with added nuts, cacao nibs and more fun stuff. You can definitely make it your own 🙂 Enjoy!

      Reply

  22. Any suggestions for a paleo-friendly egg replacer for this recipe? Sounds amazing but my son and i are both allergic to eggs, unfortunately 🙁

    Reply

  23. I haven’t made this recipe yet but I’ve been so disappointed with other paleo banana and pumpkin breads—I find they’re either eggy/coconutty, too wet/squishy, or taste off in some way. I have lost count how many different recipes I have tried and still haven’t been happy with any of them. I’ve almost just given up since they all end up in the trash.I have found 1 mini muffin recipe that I like but doesn’t work as a loaf unfortunately. I guess the problem is that I have a favorite banana and pumpkin gluten filled one that I keep comparing them all too and none measure up. I really hope this recipe is just like a regular flour recipe. It’s really stressful trying to get a good bread before the holidays get here.

    Reply

  24. Ok I made it but way too moist. But I have a question about the amount of bananas. When I mash mine, I usually mash them so much it is practically like a puree and not super chunky and then I measure that out. It took me about 4 bananas to get the cup and a half. When you mash your bananas, how much do you mash them before you measure? I wonder if maybe I just overmashed and then had way too many bananas for the recipe.

    Reply

    • I mash them pretty much to a puree… It shouldn’t make that much of a difference. I’ve used bananas of all degrees of ripeness, too, and it’s always worked fine. I’m not sure what texture you’re looking for exactly; I’ve never had banana bread or any quick bread like it that’s not moist! You could always try using less bananas if you like it drier.

      Reply

  25. Just made this- WOW so delicious. I just finished a loaf from a popular paleo banana bread recipe made with coconut flour and this one absolutely blows that away. I don’t think people would notice this was any different from non-gluten free breads. A keeper for sure!! Thank you!

    Reply

  26. I came across your recipe while looking for some ‘healthy’ snack recipes. This looks awesome, and I am going to try and make it today (thank you for sharing it). I am going to use 1/8 cup coconut oil in place of your 1/4 cup palm oil shortening. I saw that another reader was going to use butter, but I want to keep the recipe dairy free. Palm oil is such a destructive crop to our global ecosystems, with millions of hectares of natural forests (including rainforests) being cleared to make room for palm oil plantations, and I think a more ethical alternative ingredient for your recipe would make it perfect. It would be great if you could change your recipe too.

    Reply

    • Hi Peter,
      Thanks for the feedback. There are sustainable sources of palm oil, and literally no ingredient is without some damage, so it’s great that we all get to make our own decisions about what we consume.

      Reply

  28. The BEST banana bread I’ve ever made. So delicious! My sons keep asking for more. 🙂 Thank you!!

    Reply

  29. Ok, I measured out my bananas instead of just tossing them in so I know that isn’t the issue. But I just put mine in the oven in a 7.5″x4″ pan and the pan is completely overflowing. How much does this rise? We shall see…

    Reply

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