Coconut Flour Banana Bread

Not Bread Yet

I’ve been on the look out for a good coconut flour banana bread or banana muffin recipe for a long time.  I’ve tried at least a dozen recipes with mixed results.  Coconut flour breads tend to be dense, eggy affairs that may or may not cook all the way through.  Most recipes have been tasty, but the texture was often too gooey or dense and some tasted more like coconut flour than bananas.  Last week, however, I found a recipe that’s not just “good enough” to share–it’s down-right yummy!  This banana bread wasn’t eggy at all.  It tasted like bananas, not coconut, and  it had a pleasant, moist texture.  Score!  Most important it passed my boys’ harsh “coconut flour” test.  It’s one of the first coconut flour treats I’ve gotten them to eat!  In fact, they gobbled it down and wanted to immediately make more.

This recipe for grain-free banana bread comes from Leanne Vogel @ Healthful Pursuits.  I invite you to check out her fabulous whole foods blog – it’s gorgeous!  Leanne understands food photography in a way that will make you drool.  She’s also a creative cook with plenty of great gluten-free recipes — most of which are medium to high oxalate but could be easily modified with a simple substitution or a left-out ingredient.  After you’ve drooled over Leanne’s stunning pictures of coconut flour banana bread, take a peek at her recipe.  You’ll see I’ve only made two low oxalate modifications.  I used coconut milk instead of almond milk and cinnamon extract or oil instead of cinnamon (or leave the cinnamon flavor out entirely – it’s good both ways) .  Simple right?

Coconut Flour Banana Bread
Modified by Heidi Stallman from a recipe by Leanne Vogel.

4 eggs
3/4 cup mashed banana (2-3 fresh or frozen bananas)
1/4 cup coconut oil, melted
1/4 cup low oxalate coconut milk (I use Natural Value coconut milk)
2 tbsp unpasteurized honey (or a dropper full of liquid Stevia)
1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
1/4 tsp cinnamon extract or cinnamon oil* (optional – please see low oxalate info below)
1/2 cup coconut flour
1/2 tsp gluten-free baking soda

Coconut Flour Banana Bread

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line an 8 x 4-inch loaf pan with parchment paper across both sides for easy lifting OR  grease pan well (I use coconut oil spray). Set aside. Combine eggs, bananas, coconut milk, oil, honey, vanilla extract and cinnamon extract in a large bowl with an electric mixer (using a mixer gives this bread an airier texture than mixing by hand). Whisk coconut flour and baking soda in a small bowl. Once mixed, slowly add the dry ingredients to the wet mixture and mix until smooth (Warning: if you add it all at once you might get “coconut flour cement!”) Pour batter into prepared loaf pan and bake in preheated oven for 40-45 minutes or until toothpick inserted comes out clean. Remove from the oven and allow to cool for 5 minutes. Remove from pan and allow to cool on a cooling rack for 20 -4o minutes before slicing and serving.  My family likes to eat this bread warm with butter, but you might also like it plain or topped with coconut oil or sunflower seed butter.

Makes 10 – 12 slices.

Other Diets: Coconut flour banana bread may also be appropriate for gluten-free, dairy-free, vegetarian, Paleo, Primal, GFCF, GAPS and SCD diets.  If you follow the SCD or GAPS diets, please be sure to choose natural coconut products.  You may also leave out the vanilla and the cinnamon extracts without changing the texture of the finished bread.

Photo credit goes to jasleen_kaur for Not Bread Yet.

Tagged as: banana, coconut flour, dairy-free, GAPs, GFCF, gluten-free, low oxalate, Paleo, Primal, SCD, sweet bread, vegetarian