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Everyone’s Favorite Banana Bread {grain-free, dairy-free, nut-free}

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I can’t even begin to tell you how spoiled I am, but I’ll try anyway. I grew up in Florida, 27 years there. It’s hot, humid. Summer is the main season, the other 3 are just a fleeting thought. But that’s all I knew for 27 years. Then my husband ripped me from my hot, humid bubble and we settled for a time in Minnesota. Florida to Minnesota. Yeah.

Everyone's Favorite Banana Muffins {grain-free, dairy-free, nut-free} by Our Paleo Life

Our first winter in Minnesota it was -40°F. Did you happen to notice the minus sign?! And the following summer it was 120°F. I had no idea what was going on. How could anywhere on the planet have a 160°F temperature swing in a matter of months. But I honestly loved Minnesota. The seasons, the colors, the snow, the people. So great.

Then we moved to Colorado. Been here almost 4 years now and the thought of going back to either Florida or Minnesota gives me anxiety. I simply couldn’t take the humidity or the drastic temps on either end of the gauge. Colorado is where it’s at.

Everyone's Favorite Banana Muffins {grain-free, dairy-free, nut-free} by Our Paleo Life

To the point of me being spoiled. February this year was amazing! We got 2 feet of snow early on and then temps in the 60’s. This past weekend, it was in the 70’s and we have some snow in the forecast later this week. I love the bipolar weather here, that we’re not locked into cold weather for 6 months straight, or summer for 8 months of the year.

And since our weather has been so great, we’ve been spending a lot more time outside. Hiking with the kids, lots of neighborhood walks with the dog, sitting out on the deck while we work. This weekend, I finally got around to doing our bi-annual chicken coop cleaning, which was the perfect time to get our brooder box set up for a new batch of baby chicks that we’ll be picking up this week. 8 more little cuties to add to our flock of 7. Guaranteed pictures to come (over on Instagram, make sure you’re following me to see all the fluffy cuteness).

Everyone's Favorite Banana Muffins {grain-free, dairy-free, nut-free} by Our Paleo Life

And I’m thinking that there must be some correlation between extra time outside and the fact that all our bananas have been neglected the last 2 weeks. I wound up with a dozen overly ripe bananas (which is actually perfectly ripe for this recipe). While there are definitely a lot of paleo banana bread recipes floating around (heck, I even have this one and this one on my own site), I’ve never been 100% satisfied with them.

Everyone's Favorite Banana Muffins {grain-free, dairy-free, nut-free} by Our Paleo Life

You see, back in our pre-paleo days, I had about 2 dozen go-to recipes that our family loved. My banana bread recipe was one of them. But given the vast amounts of flour and sugar, I just gave it up and tried quite a few replacements. None were just right, you know?

I have recently given up almond and coconut flours (for the most part) in lieu of cassava flour. That is what I needed to make this recipe work. Now we get to eat our old family favorite with absolutely no grains, no dairy, and no nuts (that is unless I get the itch to add walnuts, which I often do).

Everyone's Favorite Banana Muffins {grain-free, dairy-free, nut-free} by Our Paleo Life

And lucky for me, a dozen mushy ripe bananas was just enough for a triple batch of bananas muffins. I usually get about 20 muffins out of it (so long as sneaky fingers don’t find their way into the batter, which they usually do) so with 60 muffins (give or take) so I had plenty to bring to the neighbors as well. And the best part is that they’re good for anyone and everyone, even if you don’t know if they have food allergies/sensitivities or not.

They’re the perfect little out-of-nowhere treat, so make a batch (or 3) and put a smile on someone’s face this week.

Everyone's Favorite Banana Muffins {grain-free, dairy-free, nut-free} by Our Paleo Life

Everyone’s Favorite Banana Bread {grain-free, nut-free, dairy-free}

Yield: 18
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 25 minutes
Total Time: 30 minutes

This banana bread/muffin recipe was adapted from our family's favorite pre-paleo recipe, and now we're sharing it with your family. Grain-free, dairy-free, and nut-free, anyone and everyone will be able to enjoy this classic quick bread.

Ingredients

  • 3-4 Ripe Bananas, 4 is optimal, but you can get away with 3 if that's all you have
  • 1 cup Coconut Sugar, use Maple Sugar for coconut allergies
  • 1/2 cup Vegetable Shortening, we use Spectrum
  • 2 Large Eggs
  • 1 1/2 cups (210g) Cassava Flour, Otto's
  • 1 tsp Baking Soda, increase to 1-1/4 tsp if omitting baking powder
  • 1 tsp Baking Powder, omit for corn allergies
  • 1/2 tsp Cream of Tartar, if omitting baking powder
  • 1 tsp Sea Salt
  • 1 cup Walnuts, optional, but really good if no nut allergies, chopped
  • Enjoy Life Chocolate Chips, optional, but who could pass up chocolate

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 325°F. Line a 9x5 loaf pan with parchment paper, overhanging the edges, or liner 18 muffin cups with muffin liners (grease-proof is my favorite).
  2. Mash the bananas with a fork until very few chunks remain and it's liquefied. Add the coconut sugar and stir until combined. Set aside.
  3. In a separate bowl, cream together the eggs and shortening. A stand/hand mixer is best, but a fork gets the job done well enough too. Add the egg and banana mixtures together and stir to combine.
  4. Add in the cassava flour, baking soda, baking powder, cream of tartar (if using), and salt. Stir until evenly combined and consistency is a thick batter (not pourable but doesn't hold it's shape). If using, add in walnuts now and stir to combine.
  5. Pour into prepared loaf pan or muffin cups (I use a large cookie scoop to get uniform muffins).
  6. Bake loaf for 1 hour, or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean (if banana bits stick to toothpick, that's okay). Bake muffins for 24 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.
  7. Remove to a wire rack to cool completely (or as long as you can wait) before slicing the loaf.

Notes

Cassava flour is best measured by weight since it's about 20g heavier per cup than regular wheat flour. If you don't have a kitchen scale, gently stir the flour to break it up, and lightly spoon the flour into the measuring cup. Level it off with the edge of a butter knife. This should give you an pretty accurate measurement of 210g.

Nutrition Information
Yield 18 Serving Size 1 muffin
Amount Per Serving Calories 216Total Fat 11gSaturated Fat 2gUnsaturated Fat 0gCholesterol 18mgSodium 225mgCarbohydrates 29gFiber 1gSugar 9gProtein 2g

Nutrition is calculated by a third party and may not be 100% accurate

Please share:

Holly

Thursday 30th of July 2020

I’ve made what seems like a million different Paleo banana muffin/ bread recipes and this is by far in the top two of all time. I usually use coconut sugar but I decided to go with maple sugar and I think it really took it over the top with the maple/banana/chocolate chip combo. So so so good! Don’t leave out the chocolate chips if you’re thinking about making this. I used half a cup of organic coconut sugar sweetened chips. Thanks so much for another great recipe Kendra.

Petra Harris

Friday 13th of April 2018

These were awesome as muffins! I made them with grass-fed butter because it's what I had on hand, but everything else was the same. Thank you!

Kendra Benson

Monday 16th of April 2018

Thank you! We make them as muffins most of the time and use butter on occasion too.

Laura Nelson

Saturday 7th of April 2018

Do you think it would work to substitute gelatin eggs?

Kendra Benson

Monday 16th of April 2018

I haven't tried it, and I have never actually used a gelatin egg substitute, so I'm not sure how it would react here. I'm assuming it should work, but can't guarantee it.

Joanne

Saturday 20th of January 2018

Just made a batch and my daughter loves them! I added cinnamon, nutmeg and vanilla to give a spice kick. I also successfully used coconut oil. Am going to try freezing these for school lunches.

Susan

Tuesday 12th of September 2017

It's gorgeous! Waiting for it to cool....

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