Gluten-Free Zucchini Banana Bread (Paleo)

This Gluten-Free Zucchini Banana Bread is a healthy, wholesome snack. It’s a fluffy, moist loaf full of banana but not too sweet. And it’s a great way to use up zucchini but you can’t really taste it!

Plus it’s also grain-free, dairy-free, nut-free, refined sugar-free and Paleo.

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Why this recipe works

Banana bread is great. Zucchini bread is great. But why choose between them? You can combine them for the best of both worlds.

But most recipes contain flour, butter, white sugar and other ingredients that some of us can’t tolerate or prefer to avoid. So I wanted to create a gluten-free, grain-free and dairy-free version that’s just as good as the regular version.

So instead of regular flour, this recipe uses coconut flour and arrowroot. Combining these two ingredients creates a light, fluffy texture that’s not too dry or too moist. Most Paleo recipes use almond flour, but by using coconut flour, this recipe is nut-free (and more affordable). And you don’t taste the coconut!

And this recipe doesn’t need any kind of butter or oil. The eggs provide enough moisture and richness. Plus a bit of honey and the mashed bananas provide enough sweetness without having to add a ton of sugar.

So this gluten-free zucchini banana bread (or is a gluten-free banana zucchini bread?) is great for those with allergies or intolerances but good enough that everyone can enjoy it.

What you need

Ingredients:

• 2-3 large zucchini
• 1 cup coconut flour – Provides great texture without making the bread taste like coconut.
• 1 cup arrowroot flour/starch – Combining this with the coconut flour creates a fluffy texture.
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon – This might sound like a lot but the flavor isn’t too strong.
• 1 teaspoon baking soda – This reacts with the lemon juice to give the bread some lift.
• 1 teaspoon fine sea salt – Seems like a lot but it’s a big loaf!
• 3/4 teaspoon ground cardamom – This goes great with bananas, zucchini and cinnamon but you can leave it out if necessary.
• 2-3 large bananas, mostly/all black – If your bananas aren’t very ripe, you can put them (still in the peel) on a foil or parchment-lined baking sheet and bake at 300° F for 10-20 minutes, then let cool completely.
• 6 eggs, room temperature – This seems like a lot but coconut flour is VERY absorbent. And don’t worry – the bread doesn’t taste eggy.
• ½ cup honey
• 2 teaspoons lemon juice – This reacts with the baking soda to give the bread some lift.
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• avocado oil spray or olive oil spray
• Optional add-ins:
  • ½ cup chopped nuts such as pecans, walnuts or pistachios
  • ½ cup dried fruit such as raisins, golden raisins, dried cherries or dried cranberries
  • ½ cup chocolate chips
  • ¼ cup cacao nibs
  • 1 tablespoon fresh minced ginger or 1 teaspoons ground ginger
  • zest of a lemon
  • zest of ½ an orange

Equipment:

• a cutting board
• a chef’s knife
• a box grater
• cheesecloth, a thin kitchen towel or paper towels
• a medium mixing bowl
• a large mixing bowl
• measuring spoons
• measuring cups
• a whisk
• a spatula (the kind for stirring, not flipping)
• a 2 lb./9×5″ loaf pan
• parchment paper
• a cooling rack (optional)

How to make Gluten-Free Zucchini Banana Bread

Heat the oven to 350° F.

Line the loaf pan with parchment paper along the long sides, leaving some left hanging over the edge of the pan to easily remove the bread later. Spray the short sides of the pan with avocado or olive oil spray.

Trim off the ends of the zucchini. Grate the zucchini using the small holes of a box grater. Place the grated zucchini in the middle of a couple pieces of cheesecloth, a thin kitchen towel or 3-4 layers of paper towels. Wrap up the zucchini into a bundle and squeeze it really hard over the sink. When you think you’ve gotten most of the water out, keep squeezing to really make sure. Measure out 1 cup of packed grated zucchini and set aside (save any unused zucchini for another use).

In a large bowl, whisk the coconut flour, arrowroot, cinnamon, baking soda, salt and cardamom.

In a medium bowl, mash the bananas. Measure out 1¼ cups (save any extra for another use). To the 1¼ cups of banana, add the eggs, honey, lemon juice and vanilla. Whisk until thoroughly combined (it will be lumpy from the banana).

Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and stir until thoroughly combined. Stir in the zucchini, breaking it up with the spatula and making sure it gets evenly distributed throughout the batter. The batter will be thick but pourable.

Pour and scrape the batter into the prepared loaf pan. Bake for 75-80 minutes, until the top is a dark golden brown and a toothpick comes out clean or only with crumbs attached, no raw batter.

Let cool completely (preferably on a cooling rack), then slice and serve.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Other recipes you might like:

1. Double Chocolate Zucchini Bread (Paleo, gluten-free)
2. Coconut Flour Banana Muffins (Paleo, gluten-free)
3. Almond Flour Banana Bread (Paleo, gluten-free)
4. Paleo Gingerbread Loaf (gluten-free)
5. Chocolate Chip Zucchini Muffins (Paleo, gluten-free)
6. Coconut Flour Pumpkin Bread (Paleo, gluten-free)

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