If you're looking for a slight twist on banana bread, look no further! Thick slices of this decadent loaf of gluten free chocolate chip banana bread will have everyone grabbing for seconds. It’s gluten free, grain free and dairy free too!
The recipe uses ⅔ cup of chocolate chips, which is just enough to give it a nice punch of chocolate, but not overwhelm the banana flavor. Put those ripe bananas to good use with this sweet banana bread!
If you haven’t tried chocolate chips in your banana bread, you NEED to try this bread. It’s like banana bread extreme. The classic taste of traditional banana bread, but with a kick of chocolate. And since they’re mini chocolate chips, they’re small enough to distribute throughout the entire loaf, spreading that delicious chocolate taste everywhere!
Why you'll love this recipe
Besides being a taste explosion and perfect for anything from a special occasion to an ordinary Tuesday night, this recipe is also:
Uncomplicated. No tough-to-find ingredients or complicated prep. And using a stand mixer to mix the ingredients makes it even easier.
Grain free - excellent option for anyone avoiding grains.
Dairy free - or use dairy milk if you can tolerate it.
Stores well - I've kept this loaf wrapped in plastic wrap at room temperature for up to 4 days before!
Ingredients tips and tools we use
Making quick breads is typically pretty 'quick' and uses minimal tools. These are the brands and tools we love and used in this recipe:
- Nuts.com flours and starches - this brand's flours and starches are high quality and always make consistently good baked goods.
- Enjoy Life brand chocolate chips - dairy free, gluten free, and free of most other allergens too - but they melt incredibly well like normal chocolate.
- Digital kitchen scale - this is as essential in GF baking as your bowls are. Flours and starches in particular, must be measured by weight for the best results.
- Norpro baking pans - the dimpled edges help the batter 'climb' up the sides and rise better. Plus they are more heavy duty than most.
- Plastic spatula - a good, essential kitchen tool!
- Kitchen Aid Stand Mixer - these mixers aren't cheap but they are an excellent investment and will last for years (decades, most likely!)
Step by Step to Gluten Free Chocolate Chip Banana Bread
Room temperature ingredients
The ingredients list for this banana bread is super short and easy. But don’t be tempted to just pull those eggs out of the refrigerator and get to work… give them time to come to room temperature. Remember, coconut flour is an absorbing flour. Cold doesn’t absorb as well as warm.
Mash bananas
Wondering what level of ‘ripeness’ is best for banana bread? The perfect bananas are spotty and tender. The insides shouldn’t be dark, but they should be really easy to mash. If you’ve had the bananas sitting on your counter for a few days, they should be perfect.
Measure and mix dry ingredients
Because this recipe uses coconut flour, a digital scale is extremely helpful in making sure measurements are precise. Flours and starches actually vary quite a bit, even from brand to brand. So ½ cup of Bob’s Red Mill coconut flour could actually be ⅓ cup plus a tablespoon of Nuts.com coconut flour. That is a big difference when it comes to baking. So weigh and measure your dry ingredients precisely!
Use the right sized baking pan
These 8” x 4.5” baking pans by Norpro are my favorite pans for baking breads. The ridges on the sides help the batter ‘climb’ up the sides so you get a nice tall loaf of bread every time. And the size is just right for this gluten free chocolate chip banana bread. I highly recommend adding these pans to your baking toolbox!
Bake and enjoy
If you’ve never given a quick bread as a gift, these are the perfect breads for gifting! Whether gluten free or not, anyone would love to receive this bread. It’s tender but perfectly textured so it actually lasts more than a couple days, which is a big deal since most GF yeast breads can’t make that claim!
FAQ's
Absolutely! The oil in this recipe is so versatile – don’t have vegetable oil on hand? Use canola or even some melted coconut oil. It’s important to use oil in the recipe, but the kind of oil can easily be interchanged.
One of my favorite egg substitutes is chia seed. And making a chia egg involves just measuring and mixing. Since the recipe calls for 3 large eggs, according to this egg substitutes post, you’ll need about 3 Tbsp. of chia seed to roughly ¾ of warm water. Let it sit for a few minutes to form a jell-like consistency and then add to the mixer with the sugar and oil.
I wouldn't recommend substituting the coconut flour in this recipe. Coconut flour is a one-of-a-kind flour that absorbs liquids unlike any other flour. The flour and starch measurements were created with the absorbent properties of the flour in mind.
Good news - the tapioca starch can easily be substituted with another starch like cornstarch.
One of the many great things about quick breads like this one is that they store so well. Like this pumpkin bread, this chocolate chip banana bread can be wrapped and kept on the counter for up to 3 days. The key is to wrap it well. If you won’t enjoy it all right away, stick it in the freezer for up to two months.
Check out these delicious gluten free recipes:
- Gluten Free Chocolate Cake Mix Cookies
- The Very Best Gluten Free Blueberry Pancakes
- Gluten Free Apple Bread (Egg Free)
- Low Carb Gluten Free Graham Crackers
Don't miss these helpful tips on gluten free baking:
- 10 Gluten Free Thickening Agents
- 17 Tips for Using White Rice Flour
- How to Make a Gluten Free Flour Blend
Gluten Free Chocolate Chip Banana Bread
chip banana bread will have everyone grabbing for seconds. It’s gluten free, grain
free and can easily be made dairy free too!
Ingredients
- 274 grams peeled bananas about 3 or 1 ½ cups mashed
- ½ tsp. salt
- ½ cup sugar
- ¼ cup vegetable oil
- 3 large eggs
- ¼ cup almond milk
- 56 g coconut flour ½ cup
- 65 g tapioca starch ½ cup
- 1 tsp. ground cinnamon
- 1 tsp. baking powder
- ½ tsp. baking soda
- 1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
- ⅔ cup mini chocolate chips
Instructions
- In a small bowl, mash the bananas with the salt.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine the sugar, oil and eggs. Beat for 2 minutes. Add the mashed banana, milk an vanilla. Mix for 30 seconds.
- In a medium bowl, combine the coconut flour, tapioca starch and cinnamon. Gradually add to the liquid ingredients in the stand mixer. Beat for 2 minutes, scraping down the sides occasionally.
- Add the baking powder and baking soda, mix for 30 seconds.
- Fold in the mini chips with a rubber spatula.
- Set bowl of batter aside for 30 minutes to rest.
- Preheat your oven to 350°F.
- Prepare a 8” x 4 ½” baking pan with parchment paper, or grease generously.
- Spoon batter into the pan, bake for 60 - 65 minutes, or until toothpick tests done.
- Let bread cool in the pan for 15 minutes on a wire rack.
- Remove from pan and let cool completely.
Notes
- All ingredients should be at room temperature and flours measured by weight.
- Allow batter to rest for 30 minutes before baking.
- Use an 8" x 4.5" pan for best results.
- Bread is done when a toothpick tests done.
Rhonda Woodsmall
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here is the nutrition information on the gluten free coconut flour low carb bread? I need to now the carb count please. Thanks
Christine
Hi Rhonda,
Yes, I will add the nutrition content for the recipe.
Thanks for asking.
~Christine
Gabriela Hurtado
This is one of the best banana bread that I have tried!! Totally recommended; high moisture, sweet balanced and full of banana flavor. This time I made as cupcakes and they were perfect. In my test, because they were cupcakes, baking time took half of what the recipe indicates, 25 min 🙂 Thanks for this amazing recipe!!
Christine
Hi Gabriela,
Oh sounds delicious! Glad you enjoyed the recipe and thank you for the feedback!
~Christine
Jade
Hi Christine! I pinned the old version of the recipe and have been using it for years (included flax etc). Is there somewhere I can find the old version before you updated it here?
Christine
Hi Jade,
I had to do some digging, but here it is!
3 ripe, peeled bananas (about 1 1/2 cups mashed)
4 large eggs
3 tablespoons maple syrup or honey
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tsp. cinnamon
2 Tbsp. Ground flax seed
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons coconut flour
½ cup chopped walnuts
Directions:
1. Preheat your oven to 350°F.
2. Prepare a 9 x 5 or 8 x 4 baking pan with parchment paper, or grease generously.
3. In a large bowl, mash the bananas using a mixer or by hand. Mix until completely mashed and smooth.
4. Add in the eggs, maple syrup or honey, and vanilla to the mashed bananas and blend well.
5. In the same bowl, add the baking soda, salt, cinnamon, flax seed and coconut flour to the wet batter and blend well.
6. Gently fold in the chopped walnuts.
7. Let the batter sit for 5 minutes or so to give the coconut flour time to absorb the liquids.
8. Pour the batter into the baking pan and bake for 50 minutes or until the top begins to brown and a toothpick inserted in the center of the bread comes out clean.
9. Remove from the oven and cool on a wire rack.
10. This bread will store covered for a few days at room temperature or in the refrigerator for a few weeks, or you may even seal and freeze it for a few months.
Enjoy!
~Christine
hmh
Is it OK to use your homemade GF flour recipe instead of coconut flour for this?thnks!
Christine
Hi,
So it's not a one for one substitute for coconut flour in this recipe, BUT these muffins use the flour mix! https://zestforbaking.com/irresistible-gluten-free-banana-muffins
Hope that helps!
Christine
hmh
Thank u Christine !
The batter was indeed too wet -as I imagine coconut flour absorbs a lot of moisture-and with an extra 1/4-3/8 c. Of your GF flour It turned out surprisingly well!
This was the first Recipe I have tried with the GF flour recipe of yours as a substitution for all purpose(And in this case, coconut and tapioca)...the texture is different than wheat flour but was so SO much better than other GF floURS I have tried !
thank you again