Well, we’ve seen gluten free pumpkin bars and red velvet cupcakes so far this month. I’m wrapping up January comfort food month with what else? Banana bread! There’s nothing warm banana bread that melts in your mouth on a cold winter day…or any day.
Let’s do this – a bowl, overripe bananas, gluten-free flour, coconut oil, and some other good stuff!
What makes banana bread nice and moist? Here are a few tips.
- Prep your oven and pan ahead of time. Especially in vegan baking, baking soda acts as a leavening agent helping the bread to rise. You’ll want to pour it into the pan and immediately into the oven to make sure the leavening agent works. Also, make sure your baking soda is not old or expired.
- Don’t overmix. That’s probably number one. It’s fine if the batter is a little lumpy.
- Use applesauce. I’ve tried this recipe with just the coconut oil. It’s different…and not in a good way. The applesauce really helps make this bread moist.
- Don’t over or under bake.
Any other good flavor tips?
Using the best ingredients will give you the best flavor. Do I always have the best ingredients on hand? No, not always, but the ones that make a difference are linked below with recommended brands:
- High quality gluten-free flour (I love King Arthur GF flour)
- Pure vanilla extract (Thrive Market makes a great one but there are so many)
- Good quality vegan chocolate chips (Enjoy Life makes a great dark chocolate. I used semi-sweet in today’s recipe by Chatfield’s)
Let’s get started making this so we can eat it!
P.S. Don’t miss next week’s post where we wrap comfort food month up by exploring our brain on comfort food.
Jump to RecipeThe Best Easy & Delicious Gluten-Free Banana Bread
This mouth-watering gluten-free banana bread moist and easy to make. You'd never know it's healthy and you can mix it in one-bowl in 10 minutes or less!
Ingredients
- 4 overripe bananas 1 1/2 to 2 cups
- ¼ cup almond milk
- 2 tsp apple cider vinegar
- ½ cup applesauce
- 1 tsp pure vanilla
- ⅓ cup coconut oil (melted)
Dry Ingredients
- 1 ¾ cup gluten-free flour
- ⅓ cup organic cane sugar + (1-2 T for sprinkling on top)
- 2 tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp baking soda
- ⅛ tsp pink himilayan sea salt
Optional Add-In Ingredients
- ½ cup chocolate chips (vegan if desired)
Instructions
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Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and lightly spray a bread pan with coconut oil or line with parchment paper. I typically like to do the coconut oil spray.
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Add the apple cider vinegar to the almond milk in a separate container and set aside 5-10 minutes.
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Mash the banana in the bottom of a large bowl with a fork.
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Add the oil, applesauce, and vanilla extract. Then gently mix in the almond milk/apple cider vinegar mixture.
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Either mix the dry ingredients separately in a bowl or if you prefer the "one-bowl" version, add the dry ingredients to the wet just until combined. Batter may be a bit lumpy.
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Mix in chocolate chips (if using), saving some to sprinkle on the top.
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Pour batter into the pan and sprinkle remaining chocolate chips on the top and 1-2 T of organic sugar Bake at 50 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Remove from oven and let rest for 15-20 minutes before slicing.
