Oat flour banana bread is a gorgeously buttery, banana-y loaf topped with a crackly crust of cinnamon sugar. An easy one-bowl recipe that needs just one gluten-free flour to make.
Does the world need more (gluten-free) banana bread recipes? In my book, the answer is always and emphatically "yes." Especially when they require just one bowl and one gluten-free flour to whisk into tender, banana-flecked perfection.
This oat flour banana bread is dense, dark with brown sugar, and its crowning glory is a generous sprinkling of cinnamon and sugar that forms a lovely crunchy crust (for a muffin version see my oat flour banana muffins recipe). It keeps well and freezes beautifully, and did I mention you need just one bowl to make the batter?
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Why You'll Love This Recipe
From the crunchy cap of cinnamon sugar scattered over the top of this loaf to the ease of using just one gluten-free flour, there's lots to love about banana bread with oat flour!
- Easily gluten free - Just one (one!) single-origin gluten-free flour is all you need to make this banana bread. If you don't eat oats, you can easily substitute the oat flour for sorghum or brown rice flour, a gluten-free flour blend, or any gluten-free flour you prefer.
- Nice and sweet - No skimping on the sugar here - I wanted to really play up the natural sweetness of the bananas, so there's plenty of them plus brown sugar to add a deeper caramel note of sweetness.
- Loaded with bananas - You'll need about 4 bananas to make this bread so you'll actually be able to taste them!
- Adapt away - I love making a loaf of plain oat flour banana bread and I equally love adding in chocolate or nuts See some ideas lower down for how you can adapt this quick bread.
Ingredient Notes
- Butter - I always use unsalted butter, but if you want to use salted butter, or to play up the salt factor as a contrast to the sweetness of the bread, reduce the added salt to ½ teaspoon.
- Brown sugar - Light or dark brown sugar is fine (I used dark brown sugar)
- Bananas - You'll need about 4 very ripe bananas.
- Eggs - Large eggs are best to use in all of my recipes!
- Salt - Either fine sea salt or table salt works.
- Cinnamon - You can use more or less cinnamon to taste or swap ground ginger.
- Rising agents - A combo of baking soda and baking powder helps the bread to rise beautifully.
- Oat flour - Learn how to make oat flour or grab a package of pre-made flour at the store. You can substitute brown rice flour or sorghum flour for the oat flour.
Scroll down to my recipe card at the end of this post for the full ingredient amounts and instruction details.
Variations
Add chocolate, nuts, and more to make this oat flour banana bread your own!
- Nuts - Walnuts or chopped almonds are the best in oat flour banana bread! Do 1-1 ½ cups of nuts for crunch.
- Chocolate - Your favorite chopped chocolate bar or semisweet or milk chocolate chips would be wonderful here (or just make my oat flour chocolate banana bread).
- Coconut - Big flakes of coconut distributed throughout the batter would be fantastic (a la my recipe for gluten free banana bread with chocolate and coconut) or you could try sweetened or unsweetened shredded coconut. I'd do about 1 cup.
Instructions
- Combine wet ingredients: Butter a 9×5-inch loaf pan, then in a bowl whisk together the melted butter, brown sugar, mashed bananas, and eggs.
- Add dry ingredients: Stir in the remaining ingredients.
- Add to pan: Transfer the batter to the loaf pan and sprinkle it with 1 teaspoon of cinnamon and 2 teaspoons of sugar.
- Bake: Cook the loaf in the oven for about 1 hour at 350℉
Baking Tip
Use ripe bananas: You know that bunch of bananas you never got around to eating and now they're browning on the counter? They're perfect in oat flour banana bread. The browner the better, actually.
You can also freeze ripe bananas so that you can make banana bread anytime you want (you can leave the skins on or take them off and place the bananas in a freezer-safe bag). Just make sure to defrost and drain the bananas before you add them to the batter.
Substitution Suggestions & Tips
If you want to use a gluten free flour blend here instead of the oat flour, go ahead. I do recommend using the weight measurement if you do this so that the ratio of dry to wet ingredients is the same (you can also try my homemade gluten free flour blend in place of the oat flour, though note that the original recipe does contain oat flour). A few more ideas for the perfect banana bread include:
- Resting the batter. Don't turn the oven on until you have assembled the batter. While the oven is preheating, the oat flour will have time to hydrate (soak up the moisture in the batter), making for a softer, better crumb after the loaf is baked.
- Try other spices. Instead of cinnamon, use ground ginger, or try a combo of ginger and cinnamon or cinnamon and cardamom. Add a pinch of nutmeg for a slightly different flavor note.
- Make the loaf refined sugar-free. Substitute coconut sugar or maple syrup for the brown sugar.
- Vegan. I haven't tried this recipe without the eggs, but I think any banana-based recipe is a good candidate for making without eggs because bananas are such a nice binder. You could also try 2 flax eggs to make this loaf vegan. And don't forget to use melted coconut oil or non-dairy butter in place of the butter.
- Add berries. Throw in a handful of fresh or frozen blueberries, raspberries, or cranberries!
- To serve: I love slices of this loaf spread with a little softened, salted butter, dairy-free butter, margarine, or cream cheese! Peanut butter or almond butter are also some of my favorite accompaniments.
Serving Suggestions
A cup of tea, coffee, iced tea, an espresso drink - pretty much everything goes with a slice of oat flour banana bread. You could even top it with a scoop of one-ingredient banana ice cream and a drizzle of homemade salted caramel sauce.
Storage
- Counter – Wrap the bread in plastic or foil, or place it in a sealable bag, and keep it on the counter for up to 2 days.
- Fridge – Place the wrapped bread in the fridge or transfer it to an airtight container and store it for up to 5 days in the refrigerator. I like to eat the bread straight from the fridge, or I'll let it come to room temperature. Either way is delicious!
- Freezer – Wrap individual slices of bread in plastic wrap, place them in a freezer-safe, sealable bag, and store them in the freezer for up to 3 months. Or, wrap the whole loaf in plastic wrap then foil and freeze for up to 3 months. Defrost in the fridge before serving.
More Gluten Free Banana Recipes
If you tried this Oat Flour Banana Bread or any other recipe on my website, please let me know how it went in the comments below! And I always appreciate a star rating if you loved it ❤️
Oat Flour Banana Bread
Ingredients
- ½ cup unsalted butter
- 1 cup brown sugar, light or dark brown sugar
- 2 cups mashed bananas, 4 large ripe bananas (about 18 ounces/510 grams)
- 2 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 2 ¼ cups oat flour (260 grams)
Instructions
- Butter a 9×5-inch loaf pan and add a parchment paper sling.
- In a large bowl, melt the butter, then whisk in the brown sugar until smooth, then whisk in the mashed bananas and eggs. Stir in the remaining ingredients, giving them a stir and a whisk a few times to make sure they are all incorporated into the batter and no dry pockets remain. Transfer the batter to the loaf pan and smooth the top. Sprinkle the top of the loaf with about 1 teaspoon of cinnamon and 2 teaspoons of sugar if you wish.
- Preheat the oven to 350℉. Let the batter rest while the oven heats. Place the bread in the oven and bake for about 50-60 minutes, until a tester comes out clean. Cool in the pan, then turn out to cool completely on a rack before cutting.
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