Here it is! Paleo banana pumpkin bread that is nut-free and pretty darn delicious! I find that using the combo of arrowroot or tapioca starch and coconut flour lends the best texture to paleo baked goods. If you are like most people I know who are not big fans of super egg-y baked goods, give this a try. I find it to be a nicer texture than the recipes using only coconut flour. Paleo baking is a tricky thing to master and I am enjoying on my journey of exploration with it. I am far from an expert but occasionally come up with some delicious wins worth sharing-like this paleo banana pumpkin bread!
I like my bread to hold together without being too spongy. When making banana bread I find that it can sometimes be too wet or too dry. I find this recipe to be in perfect balance and is great warm or cold! I had to make sure and weasel a few unsuspecting non-paleo foodies into trying it (as I usually do with my recipes) before making it blog-worthy. A big shout-out and thank you to my family and coworkers who helped with giving your opinions and suggestions with this recipe! If you want to make a sweeter version then either add 2 tbsp-1/4 cup of sweetener (in addition to the ingredients listed) or omit the pumpkin completely and use only banana (1 1/2 cups)! Instead you could make this a pumpkin bread by omitting banana and using only pumpkin (1 1/2 cups). You could either use it this way as more of a sandwich bread or a treat by giving it some sweetness with the additional sweetener recommendation.
This banana pumpkin bread recipe will suit the needs of those avoiding gluten, grains, dairy, soy and nuts. It is not vegan as it uses eggs but please feel free to try your own vegan egg substitutes if you would like and let us know how it turns out! We used coconut oil as the fat in this recipe and have also made it with grassfed butter. We use refined coconut oil around here-many people aren’t fans of overwhelming coconut flavor-we are among those people! Since our daughter is hit or miss with coconut flavor, we started to avoid extra virgin/virgin coconut oil and opted for a brand that uses a natural refinement process to remove flavor without damaging the fat and using chemicals. Since making the switch we have found that using unrefined/virgin coconut oil has no place in our kitchen. We quite enjoy using an oil that doesn’t oxidize when heated or consume the dish with it’s flavor. We feel comfortable knowing that we are still getting the benefits of this healthy fat! I like to use this coconut oil because it uses the natural refining process (no bleach or harsh chemicals!) and has essentially no smell. In my opinion, finding a good quality naturally refined brand is a must if you are planning to use refined coconut oil!
Gluten and grain free baking ingredients can be expensive when comparing to refined white flour and sugar. If you are not used to this expense (and even if you are) I highly recommend finding a nice food co-op or bulk section at a local supermarket that carries grain-free flours like tapioca, arrowroot and potato starch as well as coconut flour (and almond or other nut flours if that is your jam). Play around with them and decide what your preferred flours are. Check back here in the post section of Real Food To Heal and follow us on Instagram and Facebook as I plan to post more grain and nut free baking recipes in the future. I do not use nut flours typically so you likely won’t see many recipes using them. I recommend trying out this brand for your flours if you are unable to find a bulk section-they are found on most online markets like Amazon, Vitacost, Thrive, etc and I find them to be very consistent with quality. Read more about the company here. They do offer many gluten free and grain free flours as well as nuts, muesli, cereals and other baking products at reasonable prices. Many stores in the Greater Portland Area carry their products in packages and their bulk sections at lower prices, particularly Winco! They are also a local company to us in the Pacific Northwest area!
- 1 cup mashed banana
- ½ cup pumpkin puree
- ½ cup coconut oil
- 4 medium eggs
- ½ tsp vanilla
- ½ tsp sea salt
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
- 2 tsp + 1tsp cinnamon
- ⅓ cup arrowroot starch
- ⅓ cup coconut flour
- ¼ cup chia seeds
- Blend all wet ingredients aside from coconut oil in blender, stand mixer or hand mixer and bowl
- Melt coconut oil and add to mix while blending or blend quickly after adding
- Add all dry ingredients aside from chia seeds
- Blend well
- Add chia seeds and mix in on low
- Bake uncovered in greased 4"x8" loaf pan at 350 for 25 minutes, check and bake additional 10 minute intervals if needed until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.
