A delicious Chocolate Chip Almond Flour Banana Bread that’s gluten free, paleo friendly, dairy free and has no added sugar! A healthy and easy one bowl banana bread that will be your new go-to breakfast recipe!
Jump to RecipeDoesn’t this loaf look spectacular?
All photo credits here go to Heather Gwerder Studio! Perfect shots for the perfect banana bread.
But why is this is the ultimate gluten free banana bread? Sweetness from the banana, nuttiness from from the almond flour, warmth from the cinnamon, and decadence from the chocolate chips.
And I’m not the only one to say that. In Heather’s words – and I’m quoting here – “it was so freaking yummy”, “really moist”, “sweetness was perfect”! Even here – apparently picky – husband approved.
Not convinced yet? I even baked a loaf of this for my roommate as part of my recipe testing – my first attempt failed miserably – and she loved it so much she ended up making another one as soon as that was gone!
Chocolate Chip Almond Flour Banana Bread Ingredients:
This healthy banana bread is made with clean ingredients like almond flour and tapioca flour that you probably already have in your pantry if you’re a gluten-free baker.
- Banana: Use the ripe extremely spotty ones so they’re sweet enough that you don’t need to add any sweetener
- Almond Flour: They key ingredient that makes this banana bread gluten free – it might also be called almond meal
- Tapioca Flour: Keeps the loaf gluten free, while also serving as a binder like normal gluten flours would
- 1:1 Sugar-free Brown Sugar Substitute: Like Swerve or Lakanto for essentially a no sugar almond flour banana bread. Feel free to use coconut sugar if you wish – the banana bread will still be Paleo friendly!
- Eggs
- Coconut Oil: For a bit of moisture
- Vanilla Extract: Pure is the way to go!
- Cinnamon for that warmth
- Baking Powder and Baking Soda
- All the Chocolate Chips! I recommend sugar-free or stevia-sweetened ones like those from Lily’s.
How to make Gluten Free Banana Bread with Almond Flour and Chocolate Chips
This recipe is so easy, it’s a one bowl banana bread with 2 bananas!
- Preheat your oven to 350°F and line a loaf pan – I’d recommend an 8” x 4” with parchment paper.
- In a large bowl, mash the bananas with the back of a fork – get them completely mashed!
- Add in the remaining ingredients (except the chocolate chips): almond flour, tapioca flour, sugar substitute, eggs, oil, vanilla, cinnamon, baking powder and baking soda, and stir with a large spoon until combined.
I’d recommend using a hand mixer for about 10 seconds if you have one so it turns into a chunky puree. - Fold in Chocolate Chips, but reserve some for the top to make it pretty.
- Pour the mixture into the lined loaf pan, and top with extra chocolate chips.
- Bake the breakfast loaf for about 45 minutes, but start checking it at 30 minutes. A tester should come out completely clean.
LET IT COOL!
This banana loaf will smell absolutely amazing with all the cinnamon goodness, but you need to let it cool in the pan for a bit, then transfer it to a cooling rack and let it cool completely.
And then slice it up and INDULGE!
Tips for this Paleo Banana Bread with Almond Flour
This gluten free banana quick bread recipe with tapioca flour is super easy, but there are a few things you need to keep in mind:
- Use extremely overripe bananas to make this bread so that it’s sweet enough that you don’t have much added sugar.
- Make sure the banana is completely mashed before you add everything else into the bowl. This is a one bowl recipe, so you want everything mixed in well.
- Check the bread at 30 minutes. The baking time might vary depending on the brand of your almond flour and how fine it is.
- Let the soft baked banana bread cool before you cut into it. It will be too soft and tender otherwise.
Can you store Chocolate Chip Almond Banana Bread?
Yes!
This mashed banana bread recipe is a great meal prep option for an on the go breakfast, snack or dessert.
Room temperature: The breakfast bread should keep in an airtight container for about 2-3 days left out.
Fridge: You can keep these soft banana cookies in the refrigerator for even a week – airtight container again.
Freezer: Yes, this almond flour banana bread is freezer friendly, so you can definitely freeze it. Let the bread cool completely, and then slice it. Wrap each slice in pastic wrap or place a piece of parchment paper in between, and place them in a freezer-safe zipper bag.
You can also store the loaf as a whole. It should keep about 3 months.
Thaw the bread overnight in the fridge or out at room temperature before eating.
What makes this a Healthy Gluten Free Banana Bread?
You’re going to love this breakfast bread because it has have the perfect balance of all the flavors out there with no added sugar!
Low calories: With simple ingredients, this banana oat breakfast cookies are a lot lighter than the usual.
Sugar-free : This banana bread is naturally sweetened with the overripe bananas and a tiny bit of sugar substitute, so they don’t need any added sugar.
Healthy fats: from the natural oils in the almond flour.
Gluten-free: They’re made with almond flour and tapioca flour instead of the conventional white flour – so kind of a fake flourless banana bread?
Dairy-free: No milk or butter here, so these make a good dairy free banana bread – so long as you use the right chocolate chips!
Vegan: To make this almond flour banana bread Vegan and eggless, you could try replacing the eggs with flax eggs – 2 tablespoon of flaxseed meal + 5 tablespoons of water allowed to rest for 5 minutes – but I haven’t tested this out myself.
Some other alternatives for this Paleo Chocolate Chip Banana Bread
Make Paleo Banana Bread Muffins! Just pour the mix into a lined muffin tin – about 9-10 cups and bake for about 18 minutes.
Use some chopped dark chocolate instead of chocolate chips and make a chocolate chunk banana bread
Switch out some of the mashed banana and bake this banana bread with applesauce for lower carbs.
You could try to switch out the tapioca flour for about 5 tablespoons of Coconut Flour – it will will be a gluten free and paleo friendly banana bread recipe . I haven’t tried this myself though.
Some more Gluten Free Banana Desserts to try:
- Soft Gluten Free Banana Bread Cookies
- Banana Bread Freezer Protein Balls
- Dark & Fudgy Flourless Blender Banana Brownies
- Peanut Butter Powder and Oatmeal Banana Bread
Chocolate Chip Almond Flour Banana Bread
Ingredients
- 3 small Overripe Bananas, 300g, 1¼ cups Mashed
- 1¾ cup Almond Flour
- ½ cup Tapioca Flour
- 2 Tbsp 1:1 Sugar-free Brown Sugar Substitute, or coconut sugar
- 2 Eggs
- 2 Tbsp Coconut Oil, Melted
- 1 tsp Vanilla Extract
- 1 tsp Cinnamon
- 1½ tsp Baking Powder
- ½ tsp Baking Soda
- ⅓ cup Chocolate Chips, Sugar free, 75g
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F and line a (8” x 4″) loaf pan with parchment paper.
- In a large bowl, roughly mash banana with a fork.
- Add in remaining ingredients: almond flour, tapioca flour, sugar substitute, eggs, oil, vanilla, cinnamon, baking powder and baking soda, and stir with a large spoon until combined. Blend with a hand mixer on low till pureed, about 10 seconds.
- Fold in chocolate chips, reserving a few for the top.
- Pour batter into prepared loaf pan, and top with additional chocolate chips.
- Bake for about 45 minutes (start checking at 30 minutes) or until a tester inserted into center comes out dry.
- Cool for 10 minutes, then lift out of pan and transfer to a wire rack to cool completely, about 20 minutes. Slice and serve!
Notes
- Make sure bananas are overripe and browning, or the bread won’t be sweet enough.
- Start checking the bread at 30 minutes, a tester should come out clean.
- Let the bread cool completely before storing so it remains fresh.
- Room temperature: 2-3 days, tightly wrapped in plastic wrap or airtight container.
- Fridge: 5 days in an airtight container.
- Freezer: 3 months, wrapped in plastic wrap and then placed in freezer bags. Loaf can be stored whole or as individual slices.
- Lily’s Milk Chocolate Baking Chips
- Servings: 12 slices, ⅔” thick | Serving size: 1 slice
- Calories: 168kcal
- Fat: 10.4g | Saturated fat: 3.4g
- Carbohydrates: 18.9g | Fiber: 4.1g | Sugar: 3.8g
- Protein: 4.1g
Hey! I'm Haylee
Google Software Engineer
I use my passion for baking (and eating) to create healthy, high-protein, good-for-you and diet-friendly desserts and sweet treats that are actually delicious.
Come join me in Hayl's Kitchen and let's eat high protein, sweet and guilt free!