Coconut Flour banana bread with chocolate chips {paleo}

This amazing Coconut Flour Banana Bread Recipe is gluten-free, dairy-free and sweetened with bananas (no added sugar). This banana loaf can also be nut free if required.

Shortly after meeting my husband I was introduced to his Baba Margaret who was an incredibly talented cook. One of her specialties, and family favourite, was her banana bread. After trying it for the first time I understood everyones fascination with it. It was perfection!

In fact, when Baba Margaret would make banana bread for my husband she would always bring more than one loaf. I thought to myself, “surely he can’t eat two loaves in a week?” The truth is he probably could, but I learned that the extra loaf was for him to take to work where Baba Margaret’s banana bread was equally loved by the people in his office.

Now, with that kind of reputation, this banana bread recipe is surely the most delicious recipe of them all. I was happy to let Baba continue making her special recipe for my husband and his co-workers, less for me to worry about! But after she passed away it was up to me to continue making it for my husband and father-in-law. And let me tell you, what I had taken for granted quickly became big shoes to fill.

Can Banana Bread Be Healthy?

As much as I love traditional recipes, I wouldn’t be true to myself or my convictions if I didn’t try and make a few tweaks to the original recipe (sorry, Baba). I’m certain everyone would have preferred I leave the recipe alone but I always strive to make the food we eat as nutritious as possible. And that includes finding some healthy substitutes.

Over time I have tried many versions of this bread. One among many others that are very close to my heart is Coconut Flour Banana Bread. Moist inside and crispy and golden on the outside. Oh, I am craving this bread right now!

Before I get into how I made this healthier version of the original recipe, let me first discuss some common challenges when making banana bread. After all, baking is a science and you can’t go swapping out ingredients without realizing the possible consequences to the balance in the recipe.

7 Mistakes That Can Ruin Your Banana Bread

1. Using underripe bananas: It’s no coincidence that I make banana bread every time I realize by bananas are spotty and about to go bad. Green bananas are not ripe enough for banana bread and will lack the sweetness and change the texture of the bread. Do not worry, f you have a bunch of green bananas you can read all about how to quickly ripen bananas here.
   
2. Using too much banana: Many recipes call for 2 ripe bananas and it’s tempting when there are 3 sitting on your counter to just throw the last one in for good measure. Doing this can unfortunately through off the banana to flour ratio and cause your banana bread to appear undercooked and even sink in the middle.
   
3. Not measuring flour correctly: Believe it or not, there is a technique to measuring flour, and spoiler alert, it’s not shoving your measuring cup in the bag and pushing the side of the bag to level off the top, not that I have ever done that (ALL THE TIME). Turns out that method packs the flour down and can result in dry banana bread. Nobody wants that! The proper way to measure flour is to spoon it into the measuring cup (not pack it down) and level it off with a knife. Don’t worry, I’m thinking it too. Lord grant me the patience to properly measure flour as I should from here on out. Amen.
   
4. Substituting flour 1:1: While MOST flours can be substituted at a 1:1 ratio, coconut flour is NOT one of those flours. Coconut flour absorbs much more than other types of flour and when used as substitute recipes require much less coconut flour.
   
5. Overmixing the batter: Overmixing the batter strengthens the gluten bonds resulting in tough and rubbery banana bread. I prefer to fold the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and gently continuing folding until I no longer see and dry flour. Save your muscles for your workouts and be gentle with your batter.
   
6. You don’t check to make sure it’s done: I know it seems obvious but all our ovens are different and the easiest way to double-check the bread is actually done is to insert a skewer. If it is clean when removed then the banana bread is done, if there is batter on the skewer it needs a few more minutes. Also, don’t confuse melted chocolate chips with batter.
   
7. You don’t allow it to cool: My husband hates this part and wants to dive in right after it comes out of the oven. I get it. But as I have learned after baking dozens of loaves of sourdough bread, the crumb develops outside the oven while the bread is cooling. For sourdough, this takes over two hours for healthy coconut flour banana bread letting it set in the pan for 20 minutes. After that time, remove from pan to a cooling rack to cook completely. This is your best bet to avoid soggy banana bread.

Healthy Substitutions

I swapped out some of my least favourite ingredients for healthier options starting with the flour. I traded white flour for coconut flour. Coconut flour is naturally gluten-free and easier on the digestive system. I read somewhere that Tony Robbins has coconut flour bread every morning for breakfast! If it’s good enough to keep him going in the mornings, it’s good enough for me too!

I have replaced regular chocolate chips for the Enjoy Life chocolate chips or Dark chocolate morsels. I love their ingredients and they are non GMO plus they don’t have any dairy in them. They are a much healthier ingredient swap to my baking and pantry! If you haven’t tried my no-bake healthy oatmeal bars, those are another reader favourite!