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You won’t believe how easy it is to make this flourless banana bread! This simple recipe uses no flour (at all!) and is held together with old-fashioned oats. I add all the ingredients to a blender and process until smooth, which takes less than a minute. Then, I just pour the batter into a loaf pan and bake! There’s no need to sift ingredients or cream butter and sugar together. This naturally gluten-free treat is super moist and has the perfect balance of sweetness.
Flourless Banana Bread Recipe
If there’s one thing we love here at Mama Knows Gluten Free, it’s banana bread! We have many recipes to choose from: gluten-free flour banana bread, almond flour banana bread, and even gluten-free banana bread cookies.
My flourless banana bread recipe is slightly different from the rest because it uses absolutely no flour at all. The main ingredient, other than bananas, of course, is old-fashioned oats. The oats soak up the banana, butter, vanilla, and cinnamon flavors, making this bread moist and delicious. And because it’s made with oats rather than flour, it has the best dense and chewy texture that I can’t get enough of!
Ingredients
- Ripe Bananas: Look for brown, overripe bananas for this recipe. The more ripe the bananas are, the sweeter your bread will be. Avoid non-ripe bananas as they won’t blend smoothly into this batter.
- Granulated Sugar: Adds the perfect level of sweetness.
- Unsalted Butter: Adds moisture and a delicious buttery flavor. Use your favorite brand of dairy-free butter to make this recipe dairy-free.
- Eggs: Binds all the ingredients together.
- Pure Vanilla Extract: Enhances the flavor of the bread.
- Baking Soda and Baking Powder: Helps the bread rise a bit. This is a dense bread, so there won’t be a lot of rising like in recipes with flour as an ingredient.
- Ground Cinnamon: A nice added touch of flavor.
- Salt: Just a dash of salt helps to bring out the best in all the flavors.
- Old-Fashioned Oats: The main structure of the bread. The oats are taking the place of flour in this recipe. If you’re gluten-free please make sure the brand of oats you use are gluten-free.
Tips and Suggestions
- Don’t overmix the batter. You want a few flakes of chewy oats in the batter. Over mixing will lead to an overly dense banana bread.
- If the top of the loaf is browning too much before it’s done baking, add tin foil over the loaf pan for the remaining baking time.
- This recipe is much more dense than a traditional loaf of banana bread. Since it is so dense and moist, it’s important that you let it cool completely before removing it from the loaf pan and cutting it into slices.
- To test for doneness, insert a toothpick in the middle. If it comes out very slightly wet but without raw batter on it, it should be done baking.
Why Won’t My Bread Set?
This could be due to either the wrong quantities of ingredients used or the loaf is under baked. Too many bananas can cause the bread not to set properly. The exact weight of the bananas (peeled weight) I use in this recipe is 1¾ cups or 400 grams.
Why Isn’t My Flourless Banana Bread Rising?
This recipe won’t rise like a traditional banana bread recipe made with flour. This is a dense, moist bread made with oats. It’ll rise a very small amount while baking, but will settle down flat again after cooling.
What Mix-Ins Can I Add?
You can add mix-ins like chocolate chips or nuts to this recipe. Don’t add more than 1 cup total of mix-ins. Stir these into the batter after you’re done with the blender. Do not use the blender for the mix-ins.
Can I Use Oat Flour Instead of Rolled Oats?
No, this recipe is written for the use of old-fashioned rolled oats. You won’t get the same results if you’re using oat flour. If you prefer to use oat flour for your banana bread, see our recipe for oat flour banana bread.
Storing Instructions
Store leftovers in an air-tight container at room temperature for up to 3 days or in the fridge for up to a week. Let the bread cool completely before placing it in a container for storage.
This flourless banana bread is also easy to freeze. Cut it into individual slices and tightly wrap them in plastic wrap. They’ll be good in the freezer for up to 3 months.
More Gluten-Free Quick Bread Recipes to Try!
- Coconut Flour Banana Bread
- Almond Flour Pumpkin Bread
- Gluten-Free Zucchini Bread
- Gluten-Free Pumpkin Bread
Flourless Banana Bread
Ingredients
- 4 medium ripe bananas, or 3 large
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- ⅓ cup unsalted butter, melted but not too hot
- 2 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 2½ cups old-fashioned rolled oats, If you are gluten-free please make sure the brand of oats you use are gluten-free.
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F.
- Spray a 9×5-inch loaf pan well with non-stick baking spray. Set aside for now.
- Add all ingredients (starting with bananas in first and oats in last) into a large blender.
- Blend on high speed for 30 to 60 seconds until blended well and no large chunks of banana remain in the batter.
- Pour the batter evenly into the prepared loaf pan.
- Place in oven and bake 40 to 45 minutes or until toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. This is a very moist bread so the toothpick will be a little wet but it will no longer have raw batter stuck to it.
- Let bread cool completely before removing from loaf pan and slicing. If sliced too early, the bread will fall apart.
Notes
- Don’t blend the ingredients for too long. We still want some chewy oats in the batter; otherwise, the bread will be too dense.
- Place tin foil over the loaf pan if the loaf browns too much before it’s done baking.
- To store: Store leftovers in an air-tight container at room temperature for up to 3 days or in the fridge for up to a week. Let the bread cool completely before placing it in a container for storage.
- To freeze: Freeze individual slices tightly wrapped in plastic wrap for up to 3 months.
- Mama says, “Make sure to always check your labels!”
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
How to Make Flourless Banana Bread Step-by-Step
Preheat oven to 350°F. Spray a 9×5-inch loaf pan well with non-stick baking spray. Set aside for now. Starting with bananas in first and oats last, add 4 medium bananas, ½ cup sugar, ⅓ cup melted unsalted butter, 2 large eggs, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, 1 teaspoon baking soda, ½ teaspoon baking powder, ½ teaspoon cinnamon, ¼ teaspoon salt, and 2 ½ cups old-fashioned oats into a large blender.
Blend on high speed for 30 to 60 seconds until blended well and no large chunks of banana remain in the batter.
Pour the batter evenly into the prepared loaf pan.
Place in oven and bake 40 to 45 minutes or until toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. This is a very moist bread so the toothpick will be a little wet but it will no longer have raw batter stuck to it. Let bread cool completely before removing from loaf pan and slicing. If sliced too early, the bread will fall apart.
I just tried the Flourless Gluten-free Banana Bread recipe from this blog, and it did not disappoint! As someone who can’t have gluten, I was really excited to find a banana bread recipe that didn’t use any flour.
I followed the recipe closely, and it was so easy to make. The instructions were super straightforward, and before I knew it, I had a delicious loaf of banana bread cooling on the counter.
The texture is really nice – it has a pleasant chew to it thanks to the oats, but it’s still super moist and tender. I like how you can control the texture a bit by adjusting how much you pulse the oats in the food processor, but caareful not to over-process as the recipe indicated. I pulsed mine just until I could still see some whole oats in it, and I ended up with the perfect texture.
This is definitely going to be a new staple in my house. It makes a fantastic breakfast or midday treat with coffee or tea. The flavor is spot-on – not too sweet but banana-y. I’m so glad I found this recipe. It’s a total game-changer for gluten-free baking!
This was my first recipe to try, but it won’t be my last. Such an easy recipe and a fantastic bread to enjoy. You are really missing out if you don’t try this. Awesome! Thank you so much for your research!