Gluten-Free Banana Chocolate Chip Bread

Sweet and chocolatey gluten-free banana bread

You know that feeling of when you taste something and it makes you feel like a little kid again? Banana bread is that thing for me. The smell of slightly over ripe bananas on the counter, then mashed in a glass bowl, waiting patiently to be doctored up with sugar and spices. Just thinking about that smell makes my mouth water.

Freshly baked gluten-free banana bread

When I was younger, my dad would always make banana bread. The smell of freshly baked bread would waft through our house and I would scamper into the kitchen to see what he was whipping up. Even though I knew it was his trusty banana bread, each time I was just as excited as the last. I would sit in front of our stove, watching it rise in the oven. I would peek as my dad checked if it was done. I would sit on the counter, staring longingly as the bread cooled.

The perfect loaf of gluten-free deliciousness, just waiting to be sliced into

Finally, it was time to eat.

He would serve me a warm piece of banana bread topped with butter and my heart would melt. How could something taste this good? I always thought that it was just because my dad made it.

Still to this day, I will never forget the smiles we shared over his delectable banana bread. Licking my fingers after each bite, savoring the amazing taste. The memories are overwhelming.

This time it was my turn. I had two over ripe bananas sitting in our freezer. I had two options: 1) make a smoothie or 2) make banana bread. What would you choose? That's what I thought. Banana bread it is!

My spin on my dad's classic recipe.

What could be better in the morning that gluten-free banana bread? Yum.

Gluten-Free Banana Chocolate Chip Bread

This sweet and healthy fruit bread is the newest addition to my gluten-free recipe box. It is incredibly easy to make and doesn't require many ingredients. I used Gluten-Free Goddess's recipe for Banana Nut Bread as my base, but made some tweaks to suit my taste buds.

There are no eggs or milk, just bananas, flour and a bit of sugar. The result was a soft, slightly chewy, but totally delicious banana bread worthy of any sweet bread lover. We added chocolate chips to ours for just a touch more sweetness. Substitute the chocolate chips for nuts if you want to make it even more healthy.

Vegan chocolate chips are the perfect additional to this yummy gluten-free treat

Now your over ripe bananas will never go to waste

Gluten-Free Banana Chocolate Chip Bread

ingredients:

• 2 over ripe bananas, mashed
• 1/8 cup coconut oil, melted
• 1/2 cup organic coconut palm sugar
• 1 tablespoon raw honey
• 1/2 cup brown rice flour
• 1/4 cup tapioca starch
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/3 teaspoon xanthan gum
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
• 1 teaspoon bourbon vanilla
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/3 cup vegan chocolate chips

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line a small loaf pan with parchment paper and set aside. 

In a medium bowl, combine the mashed banana, coconut oil, sugar and honey. Beat until they are well combined. Add your dry ingredients: brown rice flour, tapioca starch, baking powder and soda, xanthan gum, salt, vanilla and cinnamon. Beat the dry ingredients into your banana mixture until you have a well formed, soft and sticky dough. Add your chocolate chips and mix to combine.

Spoon your banana bread dough into the loaf pan. Bake in the center of the warmed oven for 45 minutes. Test the doneness with a cake tester. When you place it in the middle of the loaf, the tester should come out clean when you remove it. 

Let the loaf cool in the pan for about 5 minutes. Once the pan is safe to touch, transfer the loaf onto a cooling rack and let the bread completely cool. I know it will be tempting to slice into it, but I promise the wait is well worth it. 

Enjoy a slice warm with melted vegan butter or a dash more of cinnamon. 

Makes one small loaf