You know that moment when your bananas have gone a little too far? That was me last week — three very ripe bananas sitting on the counter, and I wasn’t in the mood for our classic banana bread.

Close-up of golden crust and center crack of gluten free almond flour banana bread — That deep golden crust and natural crack down the center — the sign of a perfectly baked banana bread with almond flour.

So I grabbed my bag of almond flour and just went for it. One bowl, no mixer, no fuss. This almond flour banana bread came out of the oven golden, soft, and smelling like cinnamon and warm mornings.

My kids ate two slices before I could even take a photo.

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Why You’ll Love This Recipe

Naturally gluten free. Made entirely with blanched almond flour — no all-purpose flour, no blends, no compromise on texture.
One bowl, no mixer. Everything comes together with a fork and a good mash. Done in 10 minutes of prep.
Sweetened with maple syrup and ripe bananas. No refined sugar. The riper your bananas, the sweeter and more comforting every slice.
Moist and tender — not dense. Blanched almond flour gives this loaf a soft, almost buttery crumb that slices cleanly every time.
Wholesome enough for breakfast, cozy enough for a snack. My kids eat it warm on school mornings. I eat it with coffee on slow weekends.

Ingredients & Notes

Flat lay of almond flour banana bread ingredients including ripe bananas eggs maple syrup and cinnamon on white marble — Just 8 wholesome ingredients — ripe bananas, blanched almond flour, eggs, maple syrup, cinnamon, salt, baking powder, and a touch of oil.

Ripe bananas. You need 3 large bananas — very ripe, with brown spots all over. The riper, the better: they mash easier and bring natural sweetness so you don’t need extra sugar. Aim for about 1½ cups of mashed banana.

Blanched almond flour. This is the key ingredient — and the one detail that matters most. Use blanched almond flour (made from peeled almonds), not almond meal. Almond meal is coarser and will make your bread dense and gummy. I use Bob’s Red Mill Super-Fine. If you love working with alternative flours, you might also enjoy this oat flour version for a different texture.

Eggs. 3 large eggs bind everything together and help the loaf rise. This recipe hasn’t been tested as vegan — eggs are really needed here for structure.

Pure maple syrup. ⅓ cup adds gentle sweetness without overpowering the banana. Honey works as a 1:1 substitute. For a lower-sugar version, you can reduce to ¼ cup if your bananas are very ripe and sweet.

Baking powder. 2 teaspoons give the lift this loaf needs — almond flour doesn’t rise the same way as wheat flour, so don’t skip or reduce this.

Cinnamon. 1 teaspoon of ground cinnamon brings that warm, cozy depth. Feel free to add a pinch of nutmeg if you love spiced bread.

Fine sea salt. ½ teaspoon balances the sweetness and brings out the banana flavor.

Oil. Just 1 tablespoon of olive oil or melted coconut oil. This small amount makes a real difference — it helps the loaf slice cleanly without crumbling. Our gluten free banana pancakes use a similar trick for the same reason.

How to Make Banana Bread with Almond Flour

Mashing ripe spotted bananas with fork on white ceramic plate for banana bread recipe — The riper your bananas, the better. Brown spots mean more natural sugar — no extra sweetener needed.

1. Preheat your oven to 350°F (175°C). Lightly spray a 9×5-inch (23×13 cm) loaf pan with oil, then line it with parchment paper. Spraying first keeps the paper from sliding when you pour in the batter.

2. Mash your bananas directly on a plate or in your mixing bowl using a fork. Work until you get a fairly smooth purée — a few small lumps are fine. You’re aiming for about 1½ cups.

White bowl with banana puree almond flour cinnamon and maple syrup before mixing — Everything goes into one bowl — banana purée, almond flour, maple syrup, cinnamon. Stir and you’re done.

Bananas mashed directly in the mixing bowl — one less dish to wash.

3. Combine all ingredients in the bowl with the mashed banana: almond flour, eggs, maple syrup, baking powder, cinnamon, salt, and oil. Stir well with a spatula or whisk until you have a smooth, thick batter with no dry pockets of flour.

4. Pour the batter into your prepared pan and smooth the top with a spatula. The batter will be thick — that’s normal.

Almond flour banana bread batter poured into parchment lined loaf pan ready to bake — Smooth, thick, golden batter — pour it in, level the top, and into the oven it goes.

The batter is thick and golden — it smells amazing even before it goes in the oven.

5. Bake for 50 to 55 minutes, until the top is deep golden and cracked down the center. Check at the 45-minute mark — if the top is browning too quickly, tent loosely with foil for the final stretch.

Freshly baked gluten free banana bread in loaf pan on wire rack with golden brown crust — Fresh out of the oven — deep golden crust, center crack, and your whole kitchen smelling like warm cinnamon.

That crack down the center is exactly what you want — it means the inside has set beautifully.

6. Cool completely in the pan before removing and slicing. I know it’s hard to wait — but this is the step that makes or breaks the texture. Almond flour bread finishes setting as it cools.

Lily’s Tips

Close up of moist tender crumb inside sliced healthy almond flour banana bread — Look at that crumb — soft, moist, and perfectly tender. This is what blanched almond flour does for banana bread.

Use blanched, not almond meal. I can’t say this enough — the type of almond flour is everything. Blanched = fine, pale, smooth texture. Almond meal = dense, wet, gummy loaf. Check the bag before you start.

The banana ripeness is your sweetener. Brown-spotted bananas contain up to 80% more natural sugar than yellow ones. The darker, the sweeter — which means you can reduce the maple syrup slightly if your bananas are very ripe.

Don’t skip the cooling time. “The banana bread is not done baking when it comes out of the oven — it finishes as it cools.” This is especially true with almond flour. Slice too early and it’ll feel underdone. Give it at least 30 minutes in the pan.

The oil is not optional. That single tablespoon might seem insignificant — but it’s what lets you cut clean, neat slices. Without it, almond flour bread tends to crumble at the knife.

Golden top = it’s done. Almond flour browns faster than regular flour. Don’t pull it out early just because the top looks dark — the crack down the center is your signal that the inside has set.

Variations

Chocolate chip. Fold ⅓ cup of dark chocolate chips into the batter just before pouring. This is my kids’ favorite version — they ask for it every weekend.

Walnut & cinnamon. Add ¼ cup of roughly chopped walnuts for crunch and a deeper, nuttier warmth. Pecans work beautifully too.

Blueberry almond. Gently fold in ½ cup of fresh or frozen blueberries. Don’t stir too hard or they’ll bleed into the batter.

Want a full muffin version? Divide this same batter into a greased muffin tin and bake at 350°F (175°C) for 22 to 25 minutes. Our banana bread muffins follow a very similar approach and are perfect for meal prep.

Grain free + dairy free? This recipe is already both — no grains, no dairy, naturally. If you want to explore other flour-free options, this oat flour banana bread is a great wholesome alternative.

How to Store

Full loaf of banana bread with almond flour sliced and fanned out on oak board for meal prep — Slice the whole loaf on Sunday and you have the best grab-and-go breakfast all week long.

Counter: Up to 2 days — almond flour retains moisture well, but at room temperature the loaf softens quickly. Best covered loosely with a clean cloth or stored in a loosely sealed container.

Fridge: Up to 5 days in an airtight container. Almond flour bread actually slices better cold — the texture firms up nicely. Warm individual slices in the toaster or microwave for 20–30 seconds before eating.

Freezer: Up to 3 months. Slice the loaf completely, place a small piece of parchment paper between each slice, and freeze in a zip-lock bag. To thaw: leave one slice on the counter for 30 minutes or microwave straight from frozen for 45 seconds.

Meal prep tip: I bake this on Sunday and refrigerate the whole loaf. It makes the best grab-and-go breakfast all week — just pull out a slice in the morning, warm it up, and add almond butter on top.

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I made this recipe on a quiet Tuesday morning before school drop-off. That’s how simple it is — and how good it is. If you’ve been nervous about baking with almond flour, this is the place to start. One bowl, one loaf, zero stress.

Tag me on Instagram @eatwithmellow or leave a star rating below — it really means the world.

If you love this, try these gluten free banana oat cookies or our banana bread muffins next!

Love, Lily 🍌

Almond Flour Banana Bread

Lily Mellow

A soft, golden, naturally gluten free banana bread made with blanched almond flour, ripe bananas, maple syrup, and warm cinnamon. One bowl, no mixer, ready in just over an hour.

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1 2

218 kcal

Equipment

9×5 inch loaf pan
Large mixing bowl
Fork or potato masher
Silicone spatula
Wire cooling rack

Ingredients

WET INGREDIENTS

3 large very ripe bananas mashed (approximately 340g / 1½ cups purée)
3 large eggs
⅓ cup 105g pure maple syrup
1 tablespoon 14g olive oil or melted coconut oil

DRY INGREDIENTS

2 cups 192g blanched almond flour (super-fine, not almond meal)
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon fine sea salt

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C). Lightly spray a 9×5-inch (23×13 cm) loaf pan with oil and line with parchment paper.
Mash the bananas with a fork on a plate or directly in your mixing bowl until mostly smooth. You need about 1½ cups.
Add all remaining ingredients to the bowl: almond flour, eggs, maple syrup, oil, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt.
Stir with a spatula until the batter is smooth and fully combined with no dry pockets.
Pour the batter into the prepared loaf pan and smooth the top.
Bake for 50 to 55 minutes, until the top is deep golden and cracked in the center. Tent loosely with aluminum foil after 45 minutes if browning too quickly.
Cool completely in the pan for at least 30 minutes before slicing.

Notes

Note 1 — Storage: Store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days, or freeze individual slices for up to 3 months. Place parchment between slices before freezing.

Note 2 — Almond flour vs. almond meal: You must use blanched almond flour (fine, pale, made from peeled almonds). Almond meal will make this bread dense and gummy. Bob’s Red Mill Super-Fine is a reliable choice.

Note 3 — Maple syrup substitute: Honey works 1:1. For a lower-sugar loaf, reduce to ¼ cup if your bananas are very ripe and spotted.

Lily Mellow

Hi, I’m Lily — the home baker and recipe creator behind Eat With Mellow.

Mom of three, design lover, and completely obsessed with turning overripe bananas into something golden and cozy. I started this blog one Sunday morning when I had three brown bananas on the counter and three hungry kids at the table. What came out of the oven that day became the recipe that started everything.

Every recipe here is tested in my real kitchen, written for real mornings, and made with simple ingredients you already have. No fancy equipment, no complicated techniques — just honest, naturally sweet baking that actually works.