Almond Flour Banana Bread with Chocolate Chips

The BEST Almond Flour Paleo Banana Bread with chocolate chips – SO freaking good and simple. Naturally sweetened with just bananas! 

Happy Valentine’s Day, friends! Anything fun planned? It’s weird when holidays (if one can call it that) fall in the middle of the week… Do you celebrate with big plans the weekend prior or the weekend after? AND the day of? All three? I’m clearly confused… But let’s just go with all three. The more excuses we have to enjoy chocolate, the better.

I’m not typically one to realllyy celebrate Valentine’s Day but I’ve come around to the idea in my old age (approaching 30 here). In my teenage years I was too good for Valentine’s Day. Read: no boyfriend.

In my early twenties I had a boyfriend (my now lovely husband, Mr. FMK) but I was still all, ” Ugh a holiday that forces us to get flowers/chocolates/gifts… how annoying.” Read: doesn’t like being told what to do.

NOW I am a little more open-minded to the idea and realize Valentine’s Day can kind of be whatever you want it to be. Sure, it’s mostly a Hallmark holiday and retailers try to get you to spend money unnecessarily so… But if we go back to keeping it nice and simple, take the time out of our day to show our loved ones we truly care about them… I don’t see anything wrong with that.

I often show love in the form of baking. And if we’re talking my love language, we’re most definitely talking banana bread…

Paleo Banana Bread with chocolate chips

Ever since I made my Paleo Lemon Blueberry Bread (quickly becoming a new reader favorite!) I had to make another grain-free loaf for you guys… Okay and maybe for myself, too.

There is just something about the texture of almond flour quick bread that I cannot get over. It’s basically like cake, but dare I say… better?

What you need

• almond flour (not meal) – make sure you’re using almond flour from blanched almonds.
• tapioca flour – this helps act as a binder with the flour.
• baking soda & salt – leavening agent and salt balances flavor.
• extra ripe bananas – the more ripe, the better! If you use super spotty black ones, you won’t even miss the added sugar in normal banana bread recipes.
• eggs – help provide structure
• oil – to smooth out the batter and help with moisture
• dairy-free chocolate chips – duh!

How to make almond flour banana bread

You’ll mix together the dry ingredients separately to ensure the tapioca flour and baking soda gets evenly combined with the almond flour.

I used my immersion blender to get the bananas really smooth, then incorporated the eggs, oil and vanilla.

Then it’s just mixing everything together at the end and it’s time to bake!

This paleo banana bread is ready in about 45 minutes – just a little less time than your normal quick bread recipe.

Some Notes for this almond flour bread

FLOUR I did not test this exact bread recipe with other flours. I did test it with *almond meal* (ground raw almonds) and it didn’t hold together as nicely as the version with almond flour (ground blanched almonds).

• If looking for coconut flour, I’ve got this recipe.
• If looking for a whole grain flour recipe, try this (you should be able to sub 1:1 gluten-free flour)
• If you’re looking for a tapioca flour sub – try using 2.5 tablespoons of coconut flour in its place.

SWEETENER

• I first tested this with 1/4 cup coconut sugar but then made again without adding any sugar. I couldn’t tell *too much* of a difference but if you have a sweet tooth, I would go for adding in at least a few tablespoons of your favorite dry granulated sweetener.
• Leave out granulated sugar if you’re more accustomed to less sweet baked goods.
• Using extra ripe bananas also means the banana bread will be naturally sweet.

But I’m about to go bake another batch of this and see how the recipe turns out in a donut pan. I’ve had some mad cravings for donuts lately…

If you make this recipe, be sure to leave a comment and review on the blog! I love hearing from you and it helps others with the recipe too! Xx Ashley

★★★★★

4.8 from 27 reviews

How to Make…

Almond Flour Paleo Banana Bread with Chocolate Chips

The BEST Almond Flour Paleo Banana Bread with chocolate chips – it’s simple, quick and perfect for the banana lovers in your life. Naturally gluten-free, no added sugar needed if you use extra extra ripe bananas!

• Prep Time: 10 minutes
• Cook Time: 35 minutes
• Total Time: 45 minutes

• Yield: 10 slices 1x
• Scale: 1x2x3x

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Ingredients

• 2 cups almond flour (made from blanched almonds, not almond meal)
• 1/4 cup tapioca flour
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 3 small extra ripe bananas, equal to 1 cup mashed/pureed
• 3 TBS coconut sugar (or sub other dry sweetener; optional –see notes)
• 2 large eggs
• 2 TBS avocado oil (or olive)
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1/3 cup mini chocolate chips, plus more for topping
• 1/4 cup chocolate chunks for topping

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350ºF and line a 8×4 medium loaf pan with parchment paper; set aside.
2. In medium bowl add almond flour, tapioca flour, baking soda and salt.
3. In large bowl whisk together mashed banana and sugar (if using). Then whisk in eggs, oil and vanilla extract until smooth.
4. Pour dry ingredients into large bowl of wet ingredients, using spatula to stir. Then fold in chocolate chips.
5. Pour batter into prepared loaf pan, topping with more chocolate chips and chocolate chunks.
6. Bake banana bread for 20 minutes uncovered, then add foil for the last 15-20 minutes of baking to prevent the top from browning too quickly. My bread took roughly 40 minutes but check the middle for done-ness with toothpick after 35 minutes just to be sure.
7. Allow bread to cool in pan for 15 minutes before lifting from the parchment paper to remove bread. Slice into 10 slices and ENJOY!

 

Recipes Notes:

*Option to omit sugar for less sweet bread. I suggest using super ripe bananas if leaving out granulated sweetener. Use coconut sugar for paleo or dry granulated sweetener of choice I did not test this recipe with other flours, see links in post for suggestions.

Tapioca Flour – if you don’t have tapioca flour, use 2.5 tablespoons coconut flour in its place. You can also use 1/4 cup arrowroot powder or 1:1 gluten free baking flour if not strictly grain-free.

^{Recipe adapted from my Paleo Lemon Blueberry Bread and Simple Almond Flour Banana Muffins}

Nutrition Information:

• Serving Size: 1/10
• Calories: 135
• Sugar: 10
• Sodium: 198mg
• Fat: 7g
• Saturated Fat: 1g
• Unsaturated Fat: 3g
• Trans Fat: 0
• Carbohydrates: 18g
• Fiber: 1g
• Protein: 3g
• Cholesterol: 37mg

Category: dessert Method: bake Cuisine: American
Keywords: paleo banana bread, baking with almond flour, healthy banana bread
Author: Ashley @ Fit Mitten Kitchen

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