This banana bread is super easy to make and shockingly simple. Perfectly moist with a delicious banana flavor. A perfect way to use up overripe bananas. This recipe is paleo, vegan and AIP compliant but nobody will notice. So don't tell them!
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A few days ago I published my Coconut Banana Bread (AIP, vegan, paleo) recipe. Though it already was an AIP compliant recipe, some people told me they couldn't eat it because they are intolerant to coconut. So it just broke my heart to hear they couldn't try my recipe. The decision was made: I had to create a coconut free AIP banana bread!
But I also wanted to keep it cassava free because I know that many people are also intolerant to cassava. Especially during those hard times with this crazy virus all around the world, I just thought I had to do my best at trying to provide a recipe that could possibly give people on an AIP diet some comfort.
So here is a new version of my banana bread recipe that is at the same time gluten free, grain free, paleo, vegan, AIP compliant, coconut free and cassava free. But it's still absolutely delicious!
If you don't have all the ingredients for this recipe, but urgently need to use up some overripe bananas, you can make flambeed bananas.
⭐ Why you'll love this recipe
- Toddlers, kids and adults will love it.
- Only 6 ingredients!
- Just a few extremely simple steps.
- Slice it and toast it, it's even more delicious!
- This banana bread is gluten-free, grain-free, vegan, AIP compliant but also coconut free and cassava free to be the most allergy friendly as possible. But nobody will notice so just don't tell those who don't need to know.
📖 Ingredient notes
- Bananas. Banana bread is famous for using up overripe bananas. But technically, in this recipe, you can use bananas at any stage of ripeness. I mostly use ripe bananas with many black spots but I've also made this bread with bananas that were just begining to get spotty. Keep in mind that the more ripe the banana, the sweeter it is and the stronger taste it has. You can also use frozen bananas, fully thaw them first before using them.
- Arrowroot. It is a starch. See below for substitutions.
- Tigernut flour (or almond flour for those who are not on AIP nor nut free). If you don't know what tigernut flour is and want to learn all about it, you can read my post What is tigernut flour.
If you are on AIP and still in the elimination phase, you have to use tigernut flour (because almond flour is not AIP compliant). Those who are not on AIP nor allergic to nuts can use almond flour instead of tigernut flour.
💭 Substitutions and variations
- Arrowroot substitutions. If you are not cassava intolerant, you can substitute it with tapioca starch (also called tapioca flour). If you are not on AIP nor Paleo diets: you can use potato starch or corn starch instead of arrowroot.
- Spices. I love this banana bread without any spice. But it's also delicious with some. So feel free to add either vanilla, ground cinnamon, ginger or cloves or a mix of all these if you want.
🔪Step by step instructions
- Peel the bananas, break them into pieces and place them in a bowl (or on a plate) and mash them with a fork. If, for some reason mashing them with a fork is not possible for you, you can place the banana pieces in a small blender. Add the maple syrup and lemon juice (or ACV) and mix until well combined. You can also use a blender to make sure you get a very homogenous mix.
- In a separate bowl, combine all the dry ingredients (flour, arrow root and baking soda). Stir.
- Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix with a spoon until well combined.
- Line or lightly oil a rectangular 4 x 8 inches (10 x 20 cm) baking tin and transfer the batter into the tin. Or choose a muffin pan if you want to make muffins instead of a loaf.
- Bake for about 35 minutes for the loaf (or for about 25 minutes for the muffins). To make sure that it is cooked, insert a thin bladed knife into the centre of the banana bread, the knife should come out clean. Wait for the banana bread to cool down before removing from the tin. And voilà!
👩🏻🍳Top tip
Do NOT open the oven door before the end of the baking time (unless, of course, in case of a danger or problem with your oven). If you open the oven door during the baking time, just to "check how it looks", it will fall down or won't rise.
💬 Recipe FAQs
Unfortunately there are no possible substitution for the tigernut flour if you are on AIP and still in the elimination phase. Why? Because all the other AIP compliant flours have very different texture and they all need their own amount of liquid. So it is not possible to replace the tigernut flour with another flour without altering the entire recipe.
Good news if you have a nut allergy and need a nut-free version, you can make this recipe with tigernut flour. Because tigernut is not a nut!
If you want to reduce the maple syrup quantity in this recipe, I suggest replacing it with the same quantity of oil of your choice or coconut milk. For example: ⅓ cup (80 ml) maple syrup + 3 tablespoon oil instead of ½ cup maple syrup.
Yes, it freezes very well. Once this banana bread is cooked, allow it to cool completely at room temperature on a plate or wire rack. Once cool, you can freeze it. My favorite way of freezing it is by slicing it and transfer the banana bread slices to a freezer bag before storing it in the freezer. This way, I can easily take one slice out of the freezer,
🍪Other banana recipes you might also like
Did you like this recipe? Please leave a 5-star rating 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 on the recipe card and leave a nice review below! Tag @gohealthywithbea on Instagram and hashtag #gohealthywithbea! Also, let's stay connected on social media and continue to cook together! You can find me on Instagram, Facebook and Pinterest.
📋 Recipe / Recette
Coconut free Banana bread (AIP, paleo, vegan)
Equipment
Ingredients
- 240 g (1 cup) mashed ripe banana (weight after being peeled which makes about 2 large bananas)
- 150 g (1 cup + ⅓ cup) tigernut flour (if you are not on AIP nor nut free, you can use almond flour instead of tigernut flour)
- 50 g (¼ cup + 1 Tbsp) arrowroot (see notes about substitutions)
- 125 ml (½ cup) maple syrup (see notes to reduce quantity)
- 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar (or lemon juice)
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 360° F (180° C)
- Peel the bananas, put them in a large bowl and mash them with a fork. Add the maple syrup and lemon juice (or ACV) and mix until well combined. You can also use a blender to make sure you get a very homogenous mix.
- In a separate bowl, combine all the dry ingredients (flour, arrow root and baking soda). Stir.
- Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix with a spoon until well combined.
- Line or lightly oil a rectangular 4 x 8 inches (10 x 20 cm) baking tin and transfer the batter into the tin. Or choose a muffin pan if you want to make muffins instead of a loaf.
- Bake for about 35 minutes for the loaf (or for about 25 minutes for the muffins). To make sure that it is cooked, insert a thin bladed knife into the centre of the banana bread, the knife should come out clean. Wait for the banana bread to cool down before removing from the tin. And voilà!Bon appétit !
Notes
- Although I spend quite a lot of time converting all my recipes to cups (yes, manually, in my kitchen!) I highly recommend using a scale and measuring for weight rather than using cups. The reason for this is, apart from the whole debate on accuracy, the density of certain gluten free flours and starches differ a lot from one brand to another. Also keep in mind that all cups are not the same size all around the world which makes another good reason to use a scale so you won't get this issue.
- If you are not cassava intolerant you can use tapioca starch instead of arrowroot. Other possible substitutions, only if you are not on AIP nor Paleo diets: you can use potato starch or corn starch instead of arrowroot.
- If you want to reduce the maple syrup quantity, I suggest replacing it by same quantity of oil of your choice or coconut milk (for example: ⅓ cup (80 ml) maple syrup + 3 tablespoon oil instead of ½ cup maple syrup).
- Feel free to add some vanilla, ground cinnamon, ginger and cloves if you want.
- Please keep in mind that the nutritional information is calculated using a nutrition facts calculator. It is a rough estimate and can vary greatly based on products used.
Olga
The base recipe is great, however too dry for me. I added coconut yoghurt and it is delicious!
Stephanie
You may think this is blasphemy, but we didn't like the texture of the bread, but decided to try using it in the waffle maker and it makes the best waffles ever!
Jeremy T
So good! My girlfriend and I aren’t AIP but we’re health conscious and love us some healthier, gluten free desserts.
For substitutions and add ins, I did 5Tbsp of homemade cashew milk in place of maple syrup since I didn’t have any, as well as 1/4 cup organic light brown sugar. Added in cinnamon, nutmeg and 1/3 cup Enjoy Life mini chocolate chips. I also used Tapioca instead of Arrowroot. Lastly, I lightly blended the wet ingredients in my Vitamix.
Results: I will say, with my substitutions, the texture came out more like a banana blondie - very moist and didn’t rise much at all. Nonetheless, it’s delicious and would make again!
Gina
Hello, I am new to the AIP diet. I tried a banana bread recipe a week ago and it was awful.
I baked some today using your recipe with no modifications except a 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla. I let it cool completely, it is amazing so delicious and the texture was very close to regular non AIP banana bread. Thanks so much for the recipe.
Rebecca
Delicious!!! I followed the recipe but made 2 substitutions, per the notes: I have to be on a low sugar diet, I substituted monk fruit sweetener for the maple syrup and added 5T. Coconut oil to make up for the liquid, and it was AMAZING!! I also added 1/2 tsp vanilla and 1 tsp cinnamon, and it was exquisite. The best AIP banana bread I’ve ever had. So fluffy, moist and perfect amount of sweetness. Thank you for a phenomenal recipe! Will for sure make again 🙂
Kimberly Viesta
Unbelievably good!! I’m a good cook and decent baker but the learning curve with AIP elimination phase baking has been challenging! Despite multiple subpar attempts, I thought banana bread is important enough to try again! It’s a great breakfast option and can also be dressed up as a dessert! This recipe is fantastic, great job!
Due to a temporary kitchen situation I didn’t have all of my normal equipment so I used an 8.5”x8.5”x2” Pyrex baking dish lined with lightly oiled (avocado oil) parchment paper and baked it in a convection oven set to 360° (automatically adjusts temperature down to non-convection equivalent) for 25 minutes. I blended the wet ingredients in the blendtec as suggested and feel this is an important method, I whisked dry ingredients together in a bowl before folding in the wet ingredients. I think brands vary so I’ll share exactly what I used; “Pamela’s” brand tigernut flour and “Bob’s Red Mill” Arrowroot starch/flour.
The changes I made to suit our taste were the addition of
1/4 t Himalayan salt
1/2 t non alcohol vanilla.
And also sprinkled “Missy J’s” carob chips on top before baking!
To take it up a notch I added sliced fresh bananas and coconut whipped cream and a few carob chips to each slice as serving!
To make the coconut whipped cream first I made compliant confectionery sugar by blending “Rx sugar” + maple sugar + coconut sugar in a dry nutribullet and set aside.
Next in a nutribullet cup I added all of the solid coconut cream from a large can of “Let’s Do Organic” heavy coconut cream (*important to JUST scoop the solid cream out of the can you must refrigerate your can overnight. Open the cold can and poke a knife in the edge of the cream to make a path to drain the liquid part (coconut milk) out of the can and set the liquid aside for another recipe.) I added 1/2 t non alcohol vanilla and 1 rounded T of the powdered sugar mix to the nutribullet. The friction will loosen the consistency of your whipped cream a bit so scrape it into a small container and pop it in the freezer for a few minutes to firm it back up!!
Thank you again for a phenomenal recipe Bea!! Good enough to frame!! 💛
Bea C.
Bonjour Kimberly! Thank you so very much for taking the time to write this phenomenal comment! It surely is good enough to frame!! I'm thrilled to hear that you love this banana bread!!! ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️ Love your additions to my recipe. I'm sure other readers will love to try them.
June
We made this and it was very chewy and gummy in spots. We cooked it very thin and it helped some. What could we have done wrong?
June
I did want to add the flavor itself was delicious.
Bea C.
What flour did you use? Because almond flour and tigernut flour the only two possible flour options for this recipe are all but chewy or gummy. Did you follow the recipe?
Jenny Hooper
Hi, I'm 2 months into my AIP journey. And I feel like, even though I follow the recipes to a Tee, my baked goods turn out wrong. I made this today and while it was very tasty, it was very gummy in the center. Is that how it's supposed to be? I baked it for 45+minutes trying to get the gumminus out. What happened?
Nils Haugseth
Same here. Rubber every time 😞
I switched from arrow to tapioka, and from tigernutt to cassava. Maybe thats the problem?
Bea C.
The problem is that you absolutely can't use cassava flour instead of tigernut flour. Like I've said in the recipe post, the only possible substitution is almond flour. Please read all the recipe notes before making any changes.
Carissa
Great recipe! My daughter loves having a normal baked good when on AIP! Thanks! I usually add some cinnamon and vanilla too:-)
Martin
I know I mentioned this before but really...bless you and the gluten-,yeast-,egg-, and (mostly) grainlessness of your recipes (and ofcourse the grams!) 😀
So I made it twice now without the maple syrup, replacing it completely with just water and it worked (just multiply the amount of maple by 0.25)
Bea C.
Feel free to mention it as many times as you want, I never get tired of reading wonderful comments!🥰🥰🥰 Thank you so much for both the compliment and the feedback about your subs. I'm sure some readers will benefit from them.
Brigitte
Bonjour Bea!
Thank you for this recipe!! I'm 6 months into AIP and struggle everyday with it but this turned out BEAutifully! 🙂 I didn't stick to the script 100% as I only had 1/6 cup of maple syrup at hand which I combined with 1/6 cup of pure date molasses to make up the full 1/3 cup of sticky sweet stuff, and used 3 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil. Wasn't too sure how that would go but it was absolutely delicious, moist and perfect all round. I did add 1/2 tsp of ginger powder, 1/4tsp of ground cloves, 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla bean powder and 1 tsp of ground cinnamon, and since I did not use the full 1/2 cup of maple syrup and went the oil route instead, I decided to add some salt to elevate the sweetness and it worked a treat! Will be repeating this one for sure.. Merci encore!
Bea C.
Bonjour Brigitte. Thank you so much for your very kind comment!!! Especially the "BEAutifully" part ❤️❤️❤️ Great subs, thank you so much for your feedback, as I know that many people are interested to hear about it.
Amy
Can eggs substitute for arrowroot? If so, how many?
Bea C.
Hi Amy. I haven't tried this recipe with eggs as I have stopped eating them. Though I can tell you that replacing a dry ingredient (arrowroot) with a liquid ingredient (eggs) won't work because you need to keep the dry vs liquid ingredients ratio. Sorry I can't help you more on this.
Martin
A bit late but....
Divine!
Basically you have ruined me. I was content with a simple ground oatmeal banana bread, but after this I just cant go back!
First time I did the coconut milk swap. I used creamed coconut(santen) mixed with water as I didnt have coconut milk. Second time (just now)I swapped the maple syrup with just water (maple syrup is 25% water), I have yet to try it out.
Thanks again!
Bea C.
Bonjour Martin. Thank you so much for your amazing comment!!🥰 Though I'm really sorry to have ruined you 😂. And great subs, thanks for your feedback!
Amy
Delicious! I am on the AIP diet and I was looking for a good banana bread recipe. So I made this tonight using the less maple syrup option that you had suggested along with the ground vanilla, ginger, cloves, and ceylon cinnamon. It turned out flavorful and moist with a nice, crusty top. Even my dairy and gluten-loving husband could not stop eating it. This recipe is a keeper! Thanks!
Bea C.
Bonjour Amy. Thank you so much for your lovely comment! I'm glad to hear that you and your husband love this recipe ❤️❤️