Happy Friday, everyone! I felt like we all needed a comforting dessert recipe to start off the weekend. Therefore, I present to you all this super moist and nourishing gluten-free banana almond bread, sweetened only with bananas and just a dash of honey! Trust me, this is some totally delicious bread. It’s homey, cozy, and perfectly cinnamon-y.

Ready to get started?

Why make this gluten-free banana almond bread?

I know I talked about my grandmother, Shuggie, in my previous post, but I have to mention her again here. Banana bread was one of her signature desserts, and she would make it for me ALL THE TIME! And, the worst (read: best) part was that I wanted it ALL THE TIME.

Shuggie’s banana bread was a cut above delicious but, of course, it contained almost an entire stick of butter and tons of sugar. This is a huge problem when you crave it all the time. Hers also wasn’t gluten-free, which became a necessity for me about five years ago.

So, the goal for my version was to recreate Shuggie’s cornerstone recipe, but make it gluten-free, and use only natural sweeteners. By doing this, I can enjoy a slice more often, and actually get some good nutrients while I’m at it. And, I’m pretty proud of the results.

First, we used almond flour instead of all-purpose or other GF flour blends. Almond flour is grain-free, gluten-free, and lower in carbs than traditional flours. I also absolutely love its texture. It’s denser and higher in fat than all-purpose flour, so it imparts a moist, velvety butteriness into your baked goods that is really pleasant. I prefer to use Bob’s Red Mill.

Next, the reason why everyone tells you to use overripe bananas in banana bread is because they’re sweeter. As bananas age, their starches break down into sugars, making them ideal to put into a bread recipe where you need that sweet little extra punch to shine through the other ingredients. I also decided to add just a teaspoon of honey for a teeny bit of pure sweetness, particularly because this bread is fairly dense.

Finally, you can use this bread as a base for all kinds of fun variations. For this particular photographic instance, I chose to add extra dark chocolate chips (because why not?) and a cinnamon-walnut streusel topping that I will include the recipe to below, even though it’s totally optional.

How to make this cozy, gluten-free banana almond bread

First thing’s first! Mash your bananas in a large mixing bowl!

Your mashed bananas should look very smooth.

Now you’re going to add your eggs, honey, vanilla, and some almond milk (gotta keep things moist, people) to the bananas!

Next, add your almond flour, flaxseed meal, oatmeal, cinnamon, nutmeg and baking soda to the egg and banana mixture.

Then, combine all of that together until you have a smooth dough. The dough should be pliant and moist.

Then, you’ll want to gently fold in the walnuts and chocolate chips if you’re adding them. When those are well-combined into the dough, you can add it to your loaf pan. You’ll want to either grease it with some cooking spray, butter, or neutral oil or use parchment paper. Normally, I would advocate for parchment, but I unfortunately ran out right before photographing this recipe, so please don’t judge ;). When the dough is in the pan, make sure that you smooth out the top so that it bakes evenly.

Then, pop it in your oven at 350° for 45-50 minutes or until golden brown and a cake tester comes out clean! Don’t worry if the bread doesn’t rise super-high in the loaf pan. While almond flour does have a delicious flavor and texture, it doesn’t make for super fluffy baked goods. However, I promise that it’s worth it for the utterly amazing butteriness!

If you want to leave your bread as it is, remove it from the oven and place it on a cooling rack until it’s ready to turn out onto a plate or cake storer.

Optional Walnut and Oat Streusel Topping

However, if you want to jazz your bread up a bit instead, here’s a quick way to whip up a lovely streusel topping that will completely transform this banana bread from a comforting dessert bread to a truly show-stopping main event!

You should wait to make this until the bread is about twenty-five minutes from coming out of the oven. Melt a pat of butter in a small skillet, and bring it to the point where it’s just bubbling. Don’t let it burn!

Then, add your oats, walnuts, and cinnamon, and let those hang out in the bubbling butter for a minute or two until they just start to toast. Then, add a couple tablespoons of brown sugar.

Cook until the brown sugar becomes liquid and begins to coat the walnuts and oats. By the time you’re finished making the streusel, the banana bread should be about ten minutes from coming out of the oven.

Remove the banana bread from the oven, sprinkle the streusel evenly on top, and place back in the oven for the bread’s remaining cooking time.

Finishing up!

Boom! You’ve just made a lovely loaf of banana bread that has less sugar and carbs, is completely gluten-free, and will still make your mouth water! I can get behind that!

We’d love to know if you made this recipe and what you think of it! Stay healthy and find comfort in the little things!

Karl wants some banana bread. Do you?