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A delicious, Simple winter-warming gluten free pumpkin spice banana bread recipe using almond flour. An easy gluten free dessert option for all!
You’re probably used to seeing my various vegan tarts and no-bake treats, but I have to admit that one of my absolute favourite desserts of all is a delicious but humble easy banana bread recipe. This gluten free banana bread recipe uses almond flour and includes pumpkin spice (optional), for a fall twist (Plus, it’s low sugar too).
As with most banana bread recipes, this works best with ripe and overripe bananas (think darker yellow skins with plenty of dark spots), so a great way to use up any leftover bruised bananas you haven’t eaten during the week.
During 2019, you probably noticed that I’m trying to be a lot more mindful of my household waste. After some, somewhat terrifying, reading- I discovered that around 1/3 of all food globally is wasted. I don’t have the exact statistics for UK household waste in my mind right now but, it’s NOT good.
With a planet that is struggling to provide for everyone, I want to try and do my part to be more mindful of what I purchase, consume and waste. And, believe me, that can be a challenging task as a food blogger- But every little counts, I think.
This banana bread recipe is good for waste reduction in a variety of ways:
not only will it help save bananas from the bin, but you can also use leftover almond pulp from making almond milk as your almond flour.
I tend to make a lot of homemade nut milks and then dry out the leftover nut meal to use for other purposes, so any new use is excellent. However, you can also use store-bought almond flour too, of course.
I prefer the use of almond flour to your standard gluten free flours, as I found it really adds that ‘something special’ to this easy banana bread recipe. It also keeps it wonderfully moist- which is something I love in any decent banana bread.
Note * If you have any nut allergies, I can’t personally guarantee good results with any other gluten-free flour. Unfortunately, I’ve found that almond flour banana bread really is the best option for a moist cake that I’ve tried so far. Feel free to experiment with other flours though and let me know how it goes.
How to make the Gluten-Free Pumpkin Spice Banana Bread
The first step to making the banana bread is to mix the dry ingredients. This includes incorporating the almond meal with the pumpkin pie spice mix, baking soda and brown sugar.
Note* As I mentioned above, I often use leftover almond meal from making almond milk as ‘flour’. You can also use store-bought or use an alternative gluten-free flour if you have nut allergies. Unfortunately, I haven’t tried all the variations to know how they affect the texture of the bread.
Mash or blend the ripe bananas into a purée, using a fork. This usually is reasonably easy with soft, overripe bananas. However, if you’re having any difficulties for any reason, then you can use a hand-held mixer or food processor/blender.
Once the bananas have formed a smooth ‘paste’ like consistency, then add the softened butter and eggs to the mashed bananas and mix well, till thoroughly incorporated.
Next, add the wet ingredients to the dry ones and mix thoroughly, making sure there are no clumps of flour in the almond flour banana mix.
Pour the mixture into a prepared loaf tin, lined with baking paper and, as an optional step, you can sprinkle some raw pumpkin seeds on top.
Note* I have some loaf tin shaped ‘papers’, which I find handy for these types of recipes.
The banana cake is then ready to go in the oven. Bake it in a preheated oven at 170ºC (fan assisted) for 50-60 minutes.
Cover the top of the tin with foil after 30 minutes. This will stop the top from burning while the middle still cooks. Be careful not to let it touch the batter though, as it will stick.
To check that the cake is cooked through, this can be tested by a toothpick inserted into the center. If it comes out wet/messy with batter, then the cake needs slightly longer.
Enjoy the pumpkin spice banana bread with some Pumpkin Seed butter, peanut butter or any of these delicious homemade nut butter recipes. I like to serve mine warm by popping it in the toaster- this will taste and smell amazing!
How to Store the Almond flour banana bread
This banana bread can be kept on the counter in an air-tight container for 3-4 days or kept in the fridge for up to a week.
Alternatively, you can freeze the banana bread for up to three months. It’s worth noting that it’s best not to slice it before freezing as this will affect it’s moisture levels. Although, I have been known to slice a loaf in half on occasion and haven’t been disappointed with the frozen and thawed results.
Other Gluten Free Desserts you may like
I have to admit, I’m still teaching myself about what exactly is and isn’t gluten-free so there may be quite a few recipes on the blog that aren’t labelled as such. I’ve made a note to update this in 2020 though. There are a few recipes I DO know are 100% gluten-free though and can share with you now.
For example, these little almond & pistachio thumbprint cookies. I also have this recipe for a gluten-free brownie mix in a jar– however, on the post I also include the full method to make the brownies. Lastly, for an on-the-go snack, you may like these healthy cacao & almond protein balls.
If you give this gluten free pumpkin spice banana bread recipe a try, then let me know your thoughts in the comments below. I also love seeing your recreations, so feel free to tag me @AlphaFoodie.
Pumpkin Spice Banana Bread (GF)
Ingredients
- 5 cups almond flour
- 2 bananas
- 2 eggs
- 1 tsp pumpkin pie spice
- 1/2 cups butter softened
- 2.5 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 cups brown sugar
- raw pumpkin seeds for topping - optional
Instructions
- The first step to making the banana bread is to mix the almond meal/ flour * with the pumpkin pie spice mix, baking powder, and brown sugar.
- Mash the ripe bananas into a purée, using a fork. This usually is fairly easy with soft, overripe bananas. However, if you're having any difficulties for any reason, then you can use a hand-held mixer or food processor/blender.
- Once the bananas have formed a smooth 'paste' like consistency, then add the softened butter and eggs to the mashed bananas and mix well, till thoroughly incorporated.
- Next, add the wet ingredients to the dry ones and mix thoroughly, making sure there are no clumps of flour in the almond flour banana mix.
- Pour the mixture into a prepared loaf tin, lined with baking paper ** and, as an optional step, you can sprinkle some raw pumpkin seeds on top.
- The banana cake is then ready to go in the oven. Bake it in a preheated oven at 170ºC (fan assisted) for 50-60 minutes.
- Cover the top of the tin with foil after 30 minutes - this will stop the top from burning while the middle still cooks. Be careful not to let it touch the batter though, as it will stick.
- To check that the cake is cooked through, this can be tested by a toothpick inserted into the centre. If it comes out wet/messy with batter, then the cake needs slightly longer.
- Enjoy the pumpkin spice banana bread with some Pumpkin Seed butter, peanut butter or any of these delicious homemade nut butter recipes.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
First time we used the recommended amount of baking powder (2.5TBSP), and it was very bitter. The second time, we used 1.5TSP baking powder and it was amazing, but did not rise much (expected with almond flour), and now the third time, used 1.5TBSP, let’s see what happens.
Is it really 2.5 TBSP of baking powder, just confirming
Hi, so sorry this is a typo, it’s meant to be 2.5 teaspoons, I will update the recipe right now. Please note that since this is gluten free and I used almond flour, it’s by default dense and won’t rise much, it’s delicious and I suggest leaving it to cool down completely before eating. I tested this recipe so many times and it’s very yummy! but please keep these notes in mind :). Hope you’re going to like it!
First time we used the recommended amount of baking powder (2.5TBSP), and it was very bitter. The second time, we used 1.5TSP baking powder and it was amazing, but did not rise much (expected with almond flour), and now the third time, used 1.5TBSP, let’s see what happens.
You should make more gluten-free breads. This one looks delicious.
thank you for your kinds words 🙂 I’m working on adding a lot more GF goodies to the site, so keep your eyes peeled 🙂