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
- ⅓ 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?
SO GOOD! Added chopped walnuts and dark chocolate chips. I may cut back on the coconut sugar next time.
Made this with bob’s red mill gluten free baking mix, and everything else as written. Very delicious! I would probably use less sugar if I made it again but we all loved it!
By far the tastiest V, GF chocolate bread I’ve had yet! Tastes AMAZING! However the middle sinks in a little bit. It cooks perfectly, even in the middle, so the taste is unaffected. It’s more of an aesthetic issue. I’m using an 8×4 in pan. I subbed the 1 cup coconut sugar for 3/4 c cane sugar. I used 1/3 cup oil, but I did a 3:1 blend of avocado oil: coconut oil to lessen some of the coconut flavor. Any suggestions?
I tried making this delicious banana bread. It was fantastic! I have an allergy reaction to sugar. Also autoimmune disease. So I can’t take lots of stuffs. This recipe is great! Thank you so much for sharing.
Hi Kelly! I am hoping to try this recipe tomorrow and am super excited! How long will the bread keep and how should I store it? I’m hoping to bake it tomorrow to eat the day after, will that be ok?
It will be fine for a few days! At least 3-4. Just store in an airtight container or wrap it in plastic wrap.
I just made these into muffins. Used 3/4 cups of oat flour. Used 3 bananas, added chopped walnuts, dark chocolate chips and 2 tbsp chia. Was moist and delicious! Will definitely make these again. Thank you!
I am in the process of making this and I don’t see a loaf pan size?????? Guess I will have to wing it!
Most DELISH Banana bread….even preferred over cake by non vegan and non GF friends (AND KIDS) 🙌🏾 Followed directions to a T and it turned out perfectly. I did refrigerate it over night before eating, which could’ve helped to set the middle. But I believe any banana bread tastes better the next day anyways 😉 All around super yummy. Have to make second batch bc it was gone so quickly! Lol
Yay! I’m so happy to hear that! THank you for letting me know!
I made this recipe with the exact ingredients but I made it into muffins and cooked them for 30 min. They came out perfect! I used Bob’s Red Mill flour 1 to 1. I have had such a hard time making gluten free baked goods that everyone likes for my daughter. Thank you for this recipe! Next time I will probably try adding chocolate chips because they make everything better of course.
My kid cannot have coconut. Do you have suggestions for substitute for coconut oil?
Try melted vegan buttery spread or organic canola oil!
Hi,
The recipe looks great!
Is it possible for you to give the metric measurements so that it is in grams and milliliters? The reason I ask is that when I try to covert the ingredients into the metric system by following numerous conversion charts but no one chart seems to cover all the different food types so it all gets mis mashed and the bake never comes out quite right!
I would be very appreciative of the help.
Thanks
Safi
There is a button in the recipe post that you can click for metric!
Hello, I just made this recipe but with a few adjustments. I used quinoa and rice milk instead of water, and a mix of 1 cup of almond flour and 1/3 cup gluten free oat flour. The taste is very nice but the Bread totally flattened during the cooking and was not enough cooked after 45 min. Do you know why it had flattened? Thanks a lot for your help
i like how these turned out for me. i made the recipe with 2/3 truvia, 1/3 brown sugar, bob’s 1:1 (gluten free), added walnuts, and did them as muffins (21 mins bake time). they taste delicious and my house smells amazing. thank you!
oh my god. simply DELICIOUS!!! i made mine a bit differently than the recipe and it still came out incredible. used half oat/half wheat flour, substituted half of the oil for apple sauce, and used half of the recommended sugar (i don’t particularly like too sweet of a banana bread). i also used 3 small bananas (probably around 2 1/2 large) and replaced the water for almond milk. also added in some vegan chocolate chips! i decided to make cupcakes instead of a loaf, and they took about 25 minutes to bake. they came out PERFECTLY. fluffy, moist, and so tasty. thanks so much for this recipe! i will definitely be adding it to my faves.
Exactly what i needed to read haha im looking for a recipe i can use with my organic sprouted brown rice flour!! Perfect!!
I would like to try this recipe but would it work using a slow cooker to bake it in, and how long do you think it would take on low temperature?
How long can I store this cake?
It should stay fresh for 3-4 days if you wrap it well.
I’ve made this for the second time and each time my bread as collapsed down the middle. The first time wasn’t terrible, but this time it was awful. I’m sure it still tastes great (it did last time), but what am I doing wrong?
Sounds like it needed more baking time! What size pan did you use?
Thanks for sharing! Does it keep long?
Should stay fresh for up to 4 days.
I made this last night and it was delicious! Only problem was that it took a lot longer to bake than 45 mins. I baked it over an hour…it could have gone longer since it still dropped in the middle…but, I’ll be making this again. I give it 10 stars!
Hi there,
My dough was very dry, despite sticking to the recipe.
Probably my bananas might have been a bit too small.
Which is why I added an extra one and a dash of water. I pray it still raises nicely and turns out great!
I have made this recipe several times, and I absolutely love it. Thank you so much.
Made this and it turned out awesome. I substituted apple sauce for the oil and used 3 bananas as I wanted to use them up. Because of that it was a bit moist so I added more flour and to make it extra good I put in walnuts and chocolate chips. We all loved it. Excellent recipe thank you!
Thank you for letting me know you liked it! :)
This recipe looks delicious! Is it possible to make the batter at night and bake the bread in the morning?
I don’t know, I haven’t tried that!
Are those the calories for one slice of bread?
Yes, for 1/8 of a loaf.
I love this recipe. Even though I wasn’t sure what 3/8 of a cup was and added too much, it still turned out great. I just put the oven at 375 and baked it a bit longer. I should have googled it but I thought I knew what I was doing lol. The taste would have been more chocolatey or taste more like bananasif I wouldn’t have made this mistake. But still awesome. Also I used xylitol and coconut milk. Thank you for this recipe.
Could I use honey or agave in place of the coconut sugar? what would the measurement be?
What is the purpose of the apple cider vinegar?
It makes the bread a little lighter – helps it rise. You could use lemon juice instead!
Do you think I could add some frozen raspberries to this recipe? I have made this recipe before and it was wonderful.
Yes, I think that sounds like a nice addition!
Can you use Olive , vegetable or another type of oil ? I’m m not crazy about the taste of coconut
Sure, any neutral tasting oil will work!
I’ve made this a couple of times for my vegan friends and EVERYONE has loved it. However, is there an alternative to using coconut oil? A friend really wants to have some but she is allergic to all things coconut. I don’t use the coconut sugar but am not certain it would taste right with another type of oil. Maybe applesauce? But with the chocolate? I’m not sure. (It is incredibly hard to find vegan recipes without coconut in them!)
Could oat flour work?
This was so good! Used three very ripe bananas (medium sized), 1 cup gluten free blend + 1/4 cup coconut flour plus I added some cheeky chocolate chips (just couldn’t resist) and baked it for a bit longer. Tastes amazing! Had half of it tonight haha…
This bread looks absolutely delicious! Since bananas vary greatly in size, could you estimate the cup-measure of bananas that were used? Thanks.
I’d guess about 3/4 cup!
Thank you for the recipe, I love it!
I made it twice and tried to replace the bananas by 1 1/3 cup of apple sauce the second time, it was delicious!
So glad you like it!
I was wondering. Could I substitute cassava flour in this recipe? Often it can be substituted as 1:1. Was wondering if you think it would work.
I have never tried that, so I’m not sure! If you try it, let me know!
I’m excited to try this, I have been making my Almost World Famous Banana Pecan Chocolate chip Bread for YEARS!! I’m 62. My daughter and her family are vegan and my hubby and I don’t mind eating vegan with them. I’m always trying to adapt recipes for them. G kids are 4, 6, 8, and 9. Thank you for the recipe and your notes.
I hope you love it! :)
We always have extra bananas and I love making this recipe! It’s outstanding. My family loves it as well and they’re not even Gluten intolerant!
Keep up the great recipes; Kelly!
Just finished making this Chocolate Banana Bread and it is the best I’ve ever had to date. It is absolutely amazing.
So moist and chocolatey (I also added allergy free chocolate chips to it). I have tried numerous recipes but none compares to this one. You would never know it is Gluten Free!
So happy you loved it!
I really am enjoying your recipes. One thing that would make it even better is to have the temperatures in celsius as well! Your Australian counterparts would appreciate it too. All the best with what you have chosen too do to make the world a happier place.
Thank you
Kind regards
Dianne
I made this and am allergic to coconut anything. I substituted the coconut oil for butter (I know, not vegan but also not death), used regular sugar, and lemon juice instead of apple cider vinegar. It smells amazing. It was also incredibly powdery when I was mixing so I added a little almond milk. I seperated the mix into two separate pans. I have never made banana bread until now, so hopefully it’s pretty edible. :’)
So yummy (even though I put too many bananas, still turned out good!)! I love that it’s not full of sugar and unhealthy crap. It’s better than anything I could buy in the store! I will definitely be making this again!
So glad you love it, thanks for letting me know!
I’ve commented before, but I wanted to again for the sake of others who are new! We LOVE this recipe. We use it constantly. I have made it with many modifications due to what I had on hand, etc. Today I used avocado oil instead of coconut, and only had about 3/4 Cup coconut sugar, and used 4 very ripe bananas. I made them as mini muffins instead of a bread and they worked great! It takes about 8-10 minutes give or take (I didn’t time them precisely) at 350 in mini muffin pans and made about 36. I stuck a pecan on the top of each and that tastes delicious too. I hope that helps for anyone wanting to modify!
I’m so glad to hear that! Thank you for your substitutions!
I made this recipe today and it had a wonderful flavor. I did however, like a few people stated above, need to add more liquid to my batter. This could have been due to my banana size or because I added a tad bit more cocoa power to my mix (about two tbs). So I added about 1/4 more coconut oil to get everything moist and threw it in the oven for 35 minutes. It came out great and I will make again. Thanks for sharing.
Glad you liked it! Yes, sometimes the banana size or the flour you used could make a difference.