Friday, February 8, 2013

BEST PALEO BANANA BREAD EVER

The worst compliment you can get as a chef is "Ooo that tastes so healthy!" That usually means "That tastes bland and I hate it. You suck."

You won't get that awful response here. This looks, smells and tastes like the real banana bread you grew up eating. It would make a wonderful Valentine's day treat, whether with whipped cream for dessert or smeared with butter for breakfast. I plan on making mini loaves for Christmas gifts next year.

All the sweetness in this bread comes from the bananas. There is no honey, no maple syrup, nothing.

I added flax meal for Omega-3's, pecans because they're delicious and cinnamon because it is soul-warming. I use butter because it's awesome, but if you'd rather sub coconut oil, you can. You could exchange walnuts, chocolate or whatever you like in banana bread, but I highly recommend this exact combination.

This combination of arrowroot starch (flour), almond flour and coconut flour creates the best bread texture I've ever used while keeping it gluten free. It would fool a breadmaker. It is moist and held together perfectly (not crumbly and dry as many paleo breads are).

I am very proud of the way this turned out. I sincerely hope you enjoy this recipe as I did. 

The Perfect Paleo Banana Bread
3 ripe bananas
4 Tablespoons (1/2 stick) butter, melted
3 large eggs
1 Tablespoon vanilla extract
1 1/4 cups almond flour
1/4 cup coconut flour
1/4 cup arrowroot starch
2 Tablespoons flax meal
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup pecans, chopped

Preheat the oven to 350ยบ. Line a loaf pan with parchment paper or grease with butter. In a large bowl, mash the bananas with a potato masher or a large whisk. Mash them up really well. Whisk in the butter, eggs and vanilla, combining very well. In a medium bowl, whisk together the remaining dry ingredients, except the pecans. Make sure you break up all the flours (coconut flour tends to be especially clumpy). Stir the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients with a rubber spatula to combine. Stir in the pecans. Pour the batter into the pan and bake for 55 minutes, until golden brown and an inserted toothpick comes out clean.  



Because I was curious, I calculated the facts on this:
1 slice has
250 Calories
17 g carbs
4.5 g fiber
5.5 g protein
Posted by at 12:45 PM
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43 comments:

  1. I made this last night, minus the baking soda (didn't have any) and it is wonderful! Best paleo banana bread I have made. This one is a keeper!

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  2. Yeah! I'm glad you liked it. It is so nice to find a go-to recipe everyone enjoys.

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  3. I see you calculated the nutrition per slice, but how many slices do you get per loaf? Thanks

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  4. Cant wait to make this....What can I use in place of arrowroot starch?

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    1. Coconut flour, almond flour, pecan flour. I think this recipe is forgiving enough that you can sub the flour pretty easily.

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  5. Made this today as muffins, subd the arrow root for more coconut flour plus another egg & did 1 Tblsp cinnamon (we really like cinnamon) The muffins are delicious! My 3yr old had 2 right away & my 6yr old had one when he got off the bus. I usually add butterscotch chips to my banana breads so I'll have to see if my hubby will eat the muffins without the chips. Thank you for the recipe

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    1. Nice! thanks for sharing! Yeah.. this is my favorite thing now! You can fool anyone into eating paleo now!!

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  6. What a great recipe! I substituted tapioca starch for arrowroot powder and it worked just fine. Wonderful sweet flavor and especially love that there are no additional sweeteners. Thank you for sharing :)

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    1. Thank you for trying it! I hope you keep this in your recipe arsenal from now on!

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  7. Have tried several Paleo banana bread recipes and so far this is the best! I did add a little maple syrup. I also have to bake at high altitude and this recipe worked well!

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    1. I dare you to try it without the syrup! It's just as tasty :)

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  8. This was AWESOME!!! Loved the way it turned out. The only thing I did differently is I used Tapioca starch because I didn't have arrowroot starch. I am making it again this morning:)

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  9. Yeah! It's so forgiving. Thanks for the comment!

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  10. I mean, I know it's been said, but really and truly this recipe is amazing!! I just started getting serious/strict about Paleo and have been feeling so "egg"ed out at breakfast, so I went searching for a Paleo banana bread and stumbled upon this recipe. I may have had to walk to four grocery stores in the snow tonight, but it was well worth it!! Also, just in case anyone was wondering, if you don't have coconut flour or just can't find it, you can substitute unsweetened shredded coconut and it will come out just like the photo Brittanie posted - and it tastes just as moist and substantial as you'd imagine the bread in that photo tastes too! Anyway, thank you so much, Brittanie!! You've saved my breakfast!

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  11. I am so excited to make this. It is baking as muffins as we speak. I changed the chopped pecans to walnuts. Our house smells yummy!

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  12. My family loved this recipe! I used coconut oil, walnuts and chocolate chips and made as muffins. My son is even taking a muffin in place of birthday cake for his friend's party tomorrow...that says a lot!

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  13. I loved this banana bread! I have a question about storing it; since there is no sugar or tons of oil and the main ingredients are eggs and bananas, is it better to store it in the fridge, or can it be kept in room temperature? How do you store it at your home? Thanks.

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  14. I'm new to Paleo... Is butter a Paleo "approved" ingredient?

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    1. Butter made of the milk from grass fed cows; KerryGold to name one, available at Whole Foods, and I have found it at Albertson's.
      (Goes on sale periodically at both places)

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  15. Made this last night. Used vegan marg (Earth Balance), corn starch and sugar not honey. Omitted flax and nuts (due to recent oral surgury) but added a few dark chocolate chips. Delicious!!! Even my son and hubby loved it and couldnt tell it was wheat free. I know my version isnt 100% paleo but i am dairy free, grain free with the exception of corn.

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  16. This was delicious. Followed the recipe exactly, and was shocked at how good it was. I found all of the ingredients at Whole Foods

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  17. This was absolutely amazing and up there with one of the BEST paleo baked goods recipes I've ever made - Thank you!

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    1. Oh wanted to add I made into muffins (12 of them) and baked for ~25 minutes at 350 (oven runs a little cool)

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  18. I am making this right now - thanks for sharing the recipe!!

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  19. Am going to be making it this morning but wondering if I can omit the baking powder/soda, I do not have any. I do have the arrowroot powder though, will that suffice? I guess its worth a try, I have enough bananas LOL

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  20. I'm two weeks in to Paleo and have tried a number of recipes. This is by far my favorite. It kept for about five days on the counter, wrapped in aluminum foil. Just wondering, did you happen to calculate the fat? I'm trying to eat more fat this week. Thanks!!

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  21. wow, I can't wait to make this after reading all the comments. I'm waiting on my arrowroot starch. Amazon has everything.

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  22. this really is an amazing recipe. i use grass fed butter and himalayan sea salt. i also add 1/2 cup of raisins and sub walnuts for the pecans. AMAZING. thank you for this!!

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  23. I too have tried numerous other banana bread recipes and this recipe beats them all hands down! Nice texture, and I like that there are not a half dozen eggs or more in the recipe. (I used 1/2 butter, 1/2 coconut oil and added an extra banana as I happened to have 4 bananas on hand that needed to be used)

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  24. I have been searching the net for a recipe for Paleo Banana Bread and I'm going to give this a try tonight. Ripe bananas are sitting on the counter waiting to be used. Thanks for this recipe it sound great. I'm going to use chickpea flour as that is what I have on hand to substitute for the arrowroot flour. Can't wait

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  25. Can you omit the arrowroot flour and add more of the coconut and almond, trying to reduce the carbs. What about adding coconut oil? I don't bake much if you can't tell.

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  26. In the oven right now. Didn't melt the butter, just added as it was very soft. Also used chia seeds and hemp (out of flax). Batter looks amazing. Can't wait to see it in an hour. :)

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    1. Also used half pecan & half walnut

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  27. From my research on Paleo - Arrowroot is not a Paleo approved ingredient as it is Starch. Check out Paleo alternatives here: http://paleowheatflouralternatives.blogspot.com/

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    1. There are differing opinions on arrowroot. Here's another: http://thepaleolist.com/2013/01/25/is-arrowroot-powder-paleo/

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  28. Just made this tonight and it was great! My husband just said, "that is gluten free?!" Couldn't wait for it to cool to put kerry gold all over the slices. I am sooooo pleased! Used tapioca flour instead of arrowroot and added 2T of organic coconut sugar. Fabulous!

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  29. I have made a similar bread; however it does not have any starch and instead of butter I use coconut oil. There is no baking powder or vanilla in mine.
    I found the recipe at this link: http://www.elanaspantry.com/paleo-bread/ I have added one mashed banana and some berries to mine.. I have also added cocoa powder in another time.
    It is so delicious.

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  30. All I can say is, Wow!!

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  31. Can I do all coconut flour? We are allergic to almonds.

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    1. hi- I don't think so. Coconut flour is super dry, thus the reasoning for only 1/4 cup.

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  32. So glad I found this! All the other banana breads I've tried have been too moist (soggy) so I only used two bananas in this one and it was still very good. My personal opinion is that one cup of nuts is too much. I will cut that in half next time. And if I only use two bananas I might add a little maple syrup for sweetness. But all of that being said, I'm pleased and going back for a second piece!

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  33. Yummy delicious bread. Thank you and to think no added sweetner! I cooked it maybe 10 minutes to 8 minutes less as the top was getting a little crusty and was afraid it would be too hard. I think the arrowroot starch helped to make it fuller and more consistent. I also used walnuts instead of pecans.
    I really believe it did not need the added sweetness. I think a little homemade whipped creme on top sweetened with maple syrup only would be an extra treat. Thank you Bo. Love your name.

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