A delicious and healthier twist on an old favorite – this chocolate banana bread is gluten free and refined sugar free! A homemade dessert that everyone loves.
classic vegan and gluten free banana bread recipe
Banana bread is one of our favorite things to bake at our house. It’s simple to make, most people love it, and it’s easy to make it gluten free or vegan. If we’re travelling, I’ll often bake banana muffins or banana bread to take along with us – it makes a great breakfast or snack for the road!
This is a fun variation on the normal recipe, because it combines two delicious flavors – bananas and chocolate. You maybe surprised at how easy this chocolate banana bread is to make. Yes, even if you have multiple food allergies, you can still enjoy fresh baked banana bread that holds together well, looks good, and most importantly, tastes good.
One of the secrets to this gluten free chocolate banana bread is to use very ripe bananas – I’m talking over ripe bananas that have been stashed in the freezer and are now extra sweet. They’ll give this bread great flavor and keep it tender and moist. <– Not a fan of that word, but it’s true.
Another thing that helps this loaf turn out well is using a glass loaf pan lined with parchment paper. You won’t have trouble with this bread sticking if you use parchment paper. This type of loaf pan works really well (affiliate link).
Variations on this chocolate banana bread:
- you can make muffins if you prefer, just shorten the baking time – 16-20 minutes should do it
- you can add chocolate chips or chocolate chunks if you want a little more sweetness
- you can add coconut flakes or seeds or nuts to the batter if you wish – be creative!
The other great thing about this recipe is that it’s a little bit healthier than your normal banana bread…it’s refined sugar free!
Of course, if you don’t love coconut sugar, you can go ahead and use regular sugar or a blend of regular sugar and brown sugar. You could also add chocolate chips if you wish. If you aren’t gluten free, this recipe should work just fine with regular flour or spelt flour. This recipe will not work with coconut flour.
Just mix this batter in a bowl with a spoon – no electric mixer required!
Spoon the chocolate batter into your prepared loaf pan, and bake. Less than an hour later, you’ll have a delicious loaf of chocolate banana bread!
This gluten free chocolate banana bread is great for breakfast, a snack, or a healthier dessert. If for some reason you have a lot of leftovers, I think that it would freeze very well.
 Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links.
Chocolate Banana Bread (Gluten Free, Vegan, Refined Sugar Free).
Ingredients
- 1 1/4 cups gluten free flour blend*
- 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
- 1 cup coconut sugar
- â…“ cup organic coconut oil measure when solid, then melt it in the microwave
- 2 very ripe bananas
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
- ⅜ cup water
Instructions
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Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a loaf pan with parchment paper so that there is an overhang on both sides.
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Place the dry ingredients in a bowl and whisk together.
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Place the bananas in a separate bowl and mash with a fork. Add the melted coconut oil, vanilla extract, apple cider vinegar, and water. Stir well.
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Pour the wet ingredients over the dry ingredients and stir until combined.
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Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 40-45 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.
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Let cool completely in the pan before using the parchment paper to remove the loaf for slicing.
Recipe Notes
*King Arthur Multi Purpose Flour works well, as do blends by Bob's Red Mill or NOW Foods.
There, now you’ve got an easy recipe for the next time you’re overrun with brown bananas. Or am I the only one that has that problem?
Hey there! Could I sub the flour for pat flour???? Looks delish
I’m not sure if you mean oat flour? If so, that may work, but I haven’t tried it!
loooove this recipe !!! I’m a student and this is totally doable for my baking every week, I use normal sugar, but these turn out delish every time
So glad it works for you! Thanks for letting me know!
Hi there! I tried this recipe using whole wheat flour and brown sugar because that was what I had, and turned out beautifully. Thanks for the recipe!
Yay! So glad you liked it! Thanks for letting me know!
Can’t wait to make this delicious looking banana bread! Since bananas vary widely in size, could you give me an idea of the amount (cupwise) of mashed bananas you used. Thanks.
I really haven’t measured it! I just use medium large size bananas. If your mixture seems too wet or dry, just add a little more flour or liquid.
Hello! Your recipe sounds great. I just wanted to make a note about coconut sugar – it actually contains a lot of fructose therefore it might not be so wise to use a lot of it. http://www.drperlmutter.com/coconut-palm-sugar-whats-skinny/
Thanks for your input!
made this and it taste amazing and looks sooo good. I added peppermint to mine tho but it is still amazing!!
So glad to hear it! :)
Can I substitute coconut flour for the gluten free blend? If so, would it be a different amount?
You would probably need to add more liquid. I’m not sure how it would turn out.
What is coconut sugar, and where can I buy it in the uk please.
Coconut sugar is a sugar that is from coconuts. I would check Amazon. If you can’t get it, you could use any sugar in its place.
I just made this today and I have to say it was one of the best g.free breads I’ve ever made, it is very moist and fudgy. I baked it in a 4.5 x 8.5 loaf pan instead of the larger size, it fit perfectly and baked beautifully. Next time I will add some chopped walnuts for added crunch and nutrition. Great recipe.
Wonderful! So glad you liked it, thanks for letting me know~
I only had half the gluten free flour so used coconut flour to make up the rest. Otherwise, followed the recipe and it turned out great. Absolutely delicious!
So glad you liked it, thanks for letting me know!
Thanks for the recipe! Everyone loved it. I used all-purpose flour instead of gluten-free and a teaspoon of lemon juice because I didn’t have apple cider vinegar but it was still perfect!
So happy everyone loved it! Thanks for letting me know!
Brilliant I baked this for work today with a few adjustment and it was gone within the hour really tasty
Dear Kelly,
Thank you so much for sharing this perfect recipe! I was up last night and couldn’t go to sleep, so I decided to try out this recipe. I didn’t have coconut sugar so I used date sugar which worked perfectly. I used Bob’s Red Mill 1 to 1 gluten-free flour. It turned out so perfect!!! I still can’t believe it! And keep in mind I’m not an experienced baker at all!! Love this!!!
I’ve just baked your recipe. The batter was too thick and I think the recipe needs more liquid. Melted coconut oil, water and vinegar were not enough to moist the flour and coconut. I actually baked them in little silicone muffin cups to give my kids as snack at school. Because the batter was not runny enough, mini cake muffins baked in weird shapes. Taste is wonderful though. Even though I used half the coconut sugar, they taste divine. Next time I’ll try adding coconut milk.
It could depend oh how ripe the bananas were – mine were really really ripe. Glad your substitutions worked out! :)
Allergic to coconut also,can I use regular sugar and oil?
Yes, you sure can!
Ugh I need that loaf in my face asap! I love that you use coconut oil and coconut sugar – I have everything I need to bake it already! I can taste the chocolatey banana flavor through the screen and I’d definitely eat slice after slice!
It’s hard to stop!
This looks AMAZING! Definitely need to save this recipe to make next time we have brown bananas… which we always do as my Dad ALWAYS buys a heap of bananas because he “needs” them and he rarely eats more than one :P
Not that I’m complaining. Banana baked goods are a-okay with me!
I know, we always have tons of brown bananas! I hope you love this!
Yes Please! The only thing better than banana bread is when you add chocolate to it!
Agreed! :)
You are not the only one! I think I’m the only one who never has bananas in the house! We just don’t buy them and then I never get to make banana bread! Haha! It’s a problem :P
You’d better get some bananas, girl! :)