This oat flour banana bread is a perfect breakfast, snack or dessert for everyone in the family. It is incredibly moist, loaded with toasted walnut pieces, and lightly sweetened with coconut sugar. The banana bread is gluten free and can be made dairy free and vegan, too!
This banana bread is going to win you over, ten fold. It is made with real food ingredients and makes for a perfect treat, breakfast inclusion or snack.
I absolutely love topping it off with grass-fed butter and lightly toasting it in the oven.
It makes for a fabulous treat for the kiddos, too.
I'll grab my daughter, a few slices, and we'll head outside onto the porch because boy, does she make a mess.
You can get really indulgent with it and even top it off with some vanilla ice cream and caramel sauce. Oh my gosh, like a bananas foster situation- yum!
The best dairy free banana bread
To make this oat flour banana bread completely vegan:
- Use melted coconut oil instead of melted butter.
- Use ½ cup unsweetened applesauce instead of two eggs.
The ingredient list isn't long, and you can add everything into one bowl which makes for a quick and easy cleanup!
I recommend dipping the sliced bananas into coconut sugar and shaking off the excess before placing them on top of the batter. It'll give them that caramelization factor! 🙂
How to make oat flour banana bread
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit, and adjust the oven rack to the middle position. Lightly spray a 9x5" loaf pan with oil and line with parchment paper. Set aside.
Mash bananas: In a large mixing bowl, mash bananas very well with a fork or potato masher. You want them to be as smooth as possible.
Wet ingredients: Add in the wet ingredients:
- Eggs
- Coconut sugar
- Vanilla extract
- Melted butter or coconut oil
Stir everything together until no large clumps remain.
Dry ingredients: Add the dry ingredients into the bowl:
- Oat flour
- Baking powder
- Baking soda
- Kosher salt
Give everything a nice stir with a spatula. Continue stirring and folding until smooth and no clumps remain, but do not over mix! Fold in the chopped walnuts and stir again.
Bake: Pour into the prepared loaf pan and tap firmly on the counter several times to release air bubbles. Smooth over the top with an offset spatula. Top off with sliced banana, rolled oats or turbinado sugar.
Bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 55-65 minutes until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Remove from the oven and let it cool in the pan for 30 minutes before carefully transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
Serve: Serve warm with a slab of butter or have plain. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3-4 days.
Substitutions & Questions
- You can use either melted coconut oil or melted butter as your fat.
- Feel free to use unsweetened applesauce in place of the eggs. You will need ½ cup.
- Instead of walnuts, feel free to use pecans. They are delicious in this bread.
Do I need to toast the walnuts in a pan?
I highly recommend it. It leaves them with a lot more depth and flavor.
How long can this banana bread be stored?
If it's an airtight container in the refrigerator, it will keep well for 3-4 days.
Expert Tips & Tricks
- Be sure to measured out the mashed bananas as bananas come in a wide range of sizes. The darker your bananas, the better.
- If you do not have very ripe bananas on hand, quickly ripen and soften them by placing them on a parchment-lined baking sheet in a 350 degree oven. Bake for 20 minutes and let them cool before carefully peeling them.
- To toast walnuts, add them into a dry sauté pan over medium low heat. Cook for 3-4 minutes stirring occasionally until they begin to turn a slightly darker brown color.
More healthy bread recipes you'll love:
Paleo Double Chocolate Zucchini Bread
Keto and Lemon Poppy Seed Bread
Paleo Carrot Bread with Walnuts
Healthy Buckwheat Banana Bread
Oat Flour Banana Bread
Ingredients
Banana Bread
- 4 bananas (1 ½ cups) see notes
- 2 eggs at room temperature, see notes
- ½ cup coconut sugar
- 7 tablespoons melted butter or coconut oil
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 2 cups oat flour
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ¾ cup walnuts, finely chopped lightly toasted, see notes
Toppings
- 1 banana sliced vertically
- 2 tablespoons coconut sugar
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit, and adjust the oven rack to the middle position. Lightly spray a 9x5" loaf pan with oil and line with parchment paper. Set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl, mash bananas very well with a fork or potato masher. You want them to be as smooth as possible. Add in the wet ingredients and stir well until no large clumps remain. Add the dry ingredients into the bowl, and give everything a nice stir with a spatula. Continue stirring and folding until smooth and no clumps remain, but do not over mix! Fold in the chopped walnuts and stir again.
- Pour into the prepared loaf pan, and tap firmly on the counter several times to release air bubbles. Smooth over the top with an offset spatula. Top off with sliced banana, rolled oats or turbinado sugar.To make the sliced bananas, cut banana in half vertically and sprinkle with coconut sugar. Shake off the excess and place (insides, face up) on top of the loaf, lightly pressing down.
- Bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 55-65 minutes until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Remove from the oven and let it cool in the pan for 30 minutes before carefully transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
- Serve warm with a slab of butter or have plain. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3-4 days.
Notes
- Be sure to measured out the mashed bananas as bananas come in a wide range of sizes. The darker your bananas, the better.
- If you do not have very ripe bananas on hand, quickly ripen and soften them by placing them on a parchment-lined baking sheet in a 350 degree oven. Bake for 20 minutes and let them cool before carefully peeling them.
- You can use ½ cup of unsweetened applesauce in place of the eggs if you would like to make the recipe vegan.
- To toast walnuts, add them into a dry sauté pan over medium low heat. Cook for 3-4 minutes stirring occasionally until they begin to turn a slightly darker brown color.
Katie Anderson says
This banana bread is AMAZING! I've searched so long for a vegan, not white flour, banana bread recipe! This bread is simply divine! I love the addition of using coconut sugar with the bananas on top! Thank you Monica for a wonderful recipe! This bread was the best thing today...fresh out of the oven with coffee! Yum!
Amber says
This is Delish! My son cannot have any gluten and I cannot have processed sugar so this was perfect for everyone in our home. It tastes fantastic and holds together well. I let it cool on my stove so it didn't fall and let it cool most of the way before slicing and it stayed together beautifully and didn't crumble apart and was Cooked, instead of being gooey in the center. Great job and thank you for sharing! 🙂 I am a happy momma.
Alyssa says
Okay, I was super excited to try this. I've made muffins with oat flour before and LOVE them, but they also had some AP flour, so I wasn't sure how the texture would compare with this bread. Result? I AM BLOWN AWAY. Between the texture and flavor and simplicity of this recipe, I may not go back to my regular banana bread!!
Omg that is so awesome to hear... YAY you have to try the chocolate one next.
Janeal says
Can I use dark brown sugar or granulated sugar if I don’t have coconut sugar?
YES! Use brown sugar! 🙂
Sam says
This was DELICIOUS!! Quick Q - is it 340 cals per slice or for the entire loaf? 🙊
It is per slice, the serving size was a bit off. I usually cut into (12) slices.
Natasha says
Best recepie ever! Started making banana bread over a year now and tried millions of recipes and they all tured gooey in the center. The banana bread is still in the oven but made some cupcakes and they are spectacular.
Substituted eggs with applesauce and added chocolate chips😋🤍
Jillian Blogna says
This banana bread is AMAZING! It only lasted 2 days in my house between just my husband and I. You would never know it’s made with oat flour and coconut sugar! I will definitely be making it again.
YAY!!! That makes me so happy to hear... you've gotta try my chocolate zucchini bread and double chocolate banana bread next (made with oats, too!) 🙂
Malka says
Easy, super moist and definitely delicious!
Aw yay!!!! I'm a fan, too. Love oat flour in baked goods!
Theresa says
My first time baking banana bread and I'm pleased with this recipe. I did skip the nuts and vanilla as I didn't have them and I substituted regular sugar for the brown. The result is a lovely fluffy texture and less sweet than a store bought one, so I feel less guilty. I also halved the recipe since I'm one, and the bake time came in perfect at 40 minutes. Directions were easy to follow. Loved the look of the sliced banana and oats on top.
I'm so happy that it still turned out with all of these substitutions... yay!!!! Yes, love the fresh banana and oats on top too 😉 You'll have to try my double chocolate banana bread next!
Lois Grewe says
My brother-in-law was recently diagnosed with cancer. He was looking up foods to eat and not eat. He saw that he should stay away from white flour.
I was looking up recipes with oat flour and tried yours. He loved them. I used brown sugar for the sweetener. Gonna try stevia today.
Margie says
I tried this oat flour recipe and it is DELICIOUS! It isn’t very sweet and I love that. I also added a few dark chocolate chips. AWESOME!
Oh my gosh YUM, I love that you added dark chocolate chips!!
Christina says
My family and I love this recipe. It is flavorful, lightly sweet and has a similar texture to a standard banana bread recipe, dense yet fluffy.
To this recipe I like to add bittersweet chocolate chips, or a coarse chopped bittersweet chocolate bar. I also add 1/4 tsp. each of ground cloves, nutmeg and cinnamon. I top the bread with tubinado sugar for a slightly crunchy top and 1Tbs. of coarse ground flax meal for good measure.
A warm slice of this bread with a cup of coffee in the morning makes for a delightful breakfast.
This is genius. That all sounds absolutely lovely!!!!! 🙂
Heather says
yum! this is easy and delicious! I toasted my slices and slathered with butter or peanut butter! So good!
Oh my gosh, toasted banana bread with butter is my FAVORITE! Good call!
Rachel says
I don’t have oat flour on hand — can substitutions be made with almond or all purpose flour?
Hi! Do you have rolled oats or rice flour?
Angelica says
We have people with gluten and sugar restrictions in our home, and it can be very hard to find recipes that don’t feel like you’re comprising too much. This one was absolutely delicious!
I would definitely make sure your bananas are good and ripe, and I would definitely use 4. And I would chop the nuts pretty fine too! I did a REALLY rough chop and it made it hard to cut a clean slice. This is delish toasted and with some salted butter on top!!!