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Buckwheat banana bread is made with whole-grain buckwheat flour and tastes just as delicious as the traditional version! This one-bowl recipe is naturally gluten-free & dairy-free.
Despite its name, buckwheat isn’t related to wheat. It’s a pseudocereal, meaning it’s a seed that is eaten like a grain but doesn’t grow on grasses the way grains do. This grain-like seed bakes very similarly to wheat flour, making it easier to bake with than other gluten-free flour.
Buckwheat flour can sometimes taste more bitter than white flour, so this recipe calls for less flour than expected.
When you pair it with plenty of ripe bananas, coconut sugar, and a touch of cinnamon, it tastes like a slice of banana bread you’d buy from a coffee shop.
Buckwheat flour Tip
If buckwheat flour isn’t easy to find at the store, you can make your own by grinding raw buckwheat groats in a dry blender. It will become finely ground in just seconds!
Ingredients You’ll Need
Buckwheat flour can vary from brand to brand, depending on whether it is ground with the hull or not.
If the flour looks gray or light blue, it will taste more bitter, so try to look for one that is lighter in color, as shown in the ingredient photo. I used Anthony’s buckwheat flour (affiliate link) when testing this recipe.
If you’d like to add in nuts, or a splash of vanilla extract, you can do that, too.
How to Make Buckwheat Banana Bread
1. Mash the bananas.
For this recipe, you’ll need roughly 4 large bananas, and make sure they have lots of brown spots on their skin for the best flavor. I find it’s easiest to mash bananas with a fork on a plate, but you can also use an electric hand mixer to break them down quickly in a bowl.
You should get about 1 3/4 cups of mashed banana from 4 large bananas. If you get slightly more or less, that should be okay, too.
If you are working with smaller bananas, you may want to use an extra one to reach at least 1 1/2 cups of mashed banana for this recipe. (You can find the measurement in grams in the recipe below if you like to be extra precise.)
2. Mix well.
Transfer the mashed banana to a bowl and add the wet ingredients, like olive oil and eggs. Mix well.
Then, add the dry ingredients, like buckwheat flour, coconut sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt. Stir with a spatula or whisk until the batter looks smooth and no lumps remain.
3. Bake.
Prepare a 9-by-5-inch loaf pan by spraying it lightly with oil, then press a piece of parchment paper into the bottom of the pan. The oil will hold the parchment in place, so it won’t move while you pour the batter into the loaf tin.
If you’d like to add a topping, now is the time to sprinkle on a few chocolate chips or chopped pecans. You can also fold in any other chopped nuts if you’d like texture throughout the loaf.
Bake at 350ºF for 50 minutes or until the loaf rises and cracks in the center. A toothpick should come out clean when inserted into the center of the cooked quick bread.
Remove the banana bread from the oven, and let it cool in the pan for at least 30 minutes. Then use the parchment paper to lift the bread out of the pan and let it cool completely on a wire rack.
When the bread is cool, it is ready to slice and serve.
storage Tip
Leftover banana bread can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days. Or you can freeze it for up to 3 months. I recommend slicing and freezing it with parchment paper between each slice so you can easily thaw it later.
Looking for more buckwheat recipes? Try Buckwheat Pancakes or Buckwheat Chocolate Chip Cookies for more ideas. (They are vegan-friendly, too!)
Ingredients
- 4 large ripe bananas (2 cups mashed)
- ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
- 3 large eggs
- 1 cup buckwheat flour (light color, if possible)
- 1 cup coconut sugar
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon fine sea salt
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Remove the peel from the bananas and use a fork to mash them well on a plate (for a flat surface), or directly in the mixing bowl. You should get about 2 cups of mashed banana for this recipe, but a little less than that is okay, too.
- Add in the olive oil and eggs, and mix well. Then add in the flour, sugar, cinnamon, baking powder, and salt, and mix again. The batter should look relatively smooth.
- Prepare a 9-by-5-inch loaf pan by lightly spraying it with oil and press a piece of parchment paper into the bottom of the pan. The oil will help hold the parchment paper in place, and the paper will help you remove the loaf easily later. Pour the batter into the pan, then bake at 350ºF for about 1 hour. The loaf should rise and crack in the center when it's done baking.
- Remove the loaf from the oven, and let it cool completely in the pan before slicing and serving. It takes at least 2 hours to cool, so be patient! Leftover banana bread can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 1 week. You can also freeze the slices, with parchment paper in between to prevent sticking, in a container in the freezer for up to 3 months.
Notes
Nutrition
If you try this healthy buckwheat banana bread recipe, please leave a comment and star rating below letting me know how you like it!
Made this for my little guy who had epilepsy. My old recipe has sugar, choc chips and white flour. And I have been trying to clean up his diet with healthier, fat and protein packed ingredients. I ran out of olive oil. So I used coconut oil instead. also used 1/2 cup of honey instead of sugar. He loved it. And did not mind that it didn’t have choc chips. Thank you.
Another amazing recipe-thanks for all your hard work.
I made this and my husband loved it. I added the following: 1 tsp vanilla extract, 1 tsp instant coffee.
I subbed in ghee for the olive oil and brown sugar for the coconut sugar.
This is the best “healthy” banana bread recipe I’ve tried! And I’ve tried a lot! It’s perfect moist and had a great texture and when it’s fresh from the oven, has a perfect slightly crisp crust on the outside. The flavor is amazing and it’s the closest to regular, unhealthy banana bread of all the recipes I’ve tried. My daughter doesn’t normally like healthy baked goods but she loves banana bread and is a tough critic. I gave her one slice and she immediately went back and got two more! This will be my go-to banana bread recipe from now on and I don’t feel bad about feeding it to my family since it’s gluten free and sugar free.
I used coconut oil instead of olive oil and reduced the sugar to 3/4 cup. I made them in to muffins! My kids love them!
I rarely review, but this recipe is so good! I used cane sugar and left some out per the notes.. Still sweet and delicious. I added mini chocolate chips and they sank, but still amazing.
Just following up to my last question: I left it in the oven for an additional 30 min (90 total) and it came out great. Thanks for sharing!
I’m so glad to hear it turned out! Thanks for letting me know. 🙂
Hi! Is the center supposed to be gooey? No one has mentioned the bake time being off so I’m troubleshooting a gooey center. I made this recipe as written, with the modification of using only 1/2 the sugar. After baking for 60 min at 350 the loaf has risen and cracked on top (it’s very pretty!) but the center is still gooey. A toothpick came out coated. The bananas I used were from the fridge so I’m hoping it just needs a little extra time for that reason, but since the recipe doesn’t say anything about how to tell when it’s done besides the cracked top, I’m not sure if it’s supposed to be gooey. Thanks.