I had 7 very brown bananas and made two banana breads without flour in less than 10 minutes of hands-on time. There are no mixing bowls and no mixing which saves time making it and cleaning up. Your blender or food processor does the work. Put all the ingredients in a food processor, blend, and pour into the baking pan.
I’m trying to bake with healthier ingredients, including no white sugar or brown sugar. The sweetness comes from using pure maple syrup. You can also use honey if you choose. I also love that this recipe doesn’t use flour.
I made mine with 5 ingredients but you can also add in cinnamon, raisins, other dried fruit, nuts, seeds, and/or palm oil free chocolate chips.
Banana Bread without Flour
This no-bowl banana bread recipe truly takes only 3 – 5 minutes (or less) to prep. So many baking recipes I see online often say something takes 5 minutes to prep but it always takes me longer. This is not the case making this!
The recipe requires 5 ingredients, many of which you may have. It’s fast and easy because you put everything in the blender and pour it into the pan… no bowls needed!
I made each of these banana breads separately. I didn’t wash out the food processor in between times. The next time I have a lot of brown bananas, I will combine the ingredients for the two loaves together, and pour half the batter in each pan. Either way, it’s super fast to make. It has a nice crumb after it’s cooled.
What You Need to Make Banana Bread without Flour
Ingredients:
- 3 ripe bananas
- 2 large eggs
- ¼ cup pure maple syrup (or honey)
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 2 cups old-fashioned rolled oats
Use avocado oil, coconut oil, or vegetable oil to grease the pan.
Optional ingredients:
- 1 extra banana to slice and put on top
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- ¼ cup raisins, nuts, seeds, chocolate chips or any combo
Banana bread without flour ingredients ~ Image credit: Dawn Head
Equipment and tools:
- Food processor or blender
- Measuring spoon and cups
- Spatula
- Spoon
- Metal or glass loaf pan, 9 inch diameter circle pan, or 9×9 square pan
Notes about Ingredients
Use ripe bananas; it’s okay if they are brown or even black as long as they aren’t moldy.
If it fits your budget, use organic eggs. In the summertime, you may be able to find someone in your neighborhood selling eggs from their chickens. They often sell them for a very reasonable price in the summer when their hens are laying a lot. The other times of year, I buy organic eggs from Costco which makes them a lot more cost effective instead of buying them from my grocery store.
Be sure to use pure maple syrup, not pancake syrup. Read ingredient labels. Maple syrup should only contain “maple syrup” while “pancake syrup” contains high fructose corn syrup along with several other ingredients.
I use Bob’s Red Mill Baking Soda. The bag lasts a long time so to me, it’s worth the price difference instead of using a typical boxed baking soda.
Add-In Ideas
- Unsweetened coconut chips; sweetened coconut contains palm oil derivatives (Propylene Glycol)
- Walnuts or other nuts
- Chocolate chips without palm oil
- Raisins
- Dried cranberries
- Diced fresh apple
- Cinnamon
- Nutmeg
How to Make Flourless Banana Bread
- Preheat oven to 350ºF (175ºC).
- Grease baking pan.
- In food processor, in this order, put peeled bananas, eggs, maple syrup, baking soda, and oats.
- Blend until oats are ground up. I keep it on medium-low.
- Pour into prepared baking pan.
- Optional: Slice banana and place on top before baking.
- Set in preheated oven for 35 – 45 minutes. Check for doneness after 30 – 35 minutes with a toothpick inserted into the center. All ovens bake differently.
- Remove from oven and set on cooling rack.
A food processor makes making banana bread without flour very easy ~ Image credit: Dawn Head
Storing
Be sure the banana bread cools completely before covering and storing. Put in airtight container on the counter, out of the sunlight for up to three days. You can keep it in the pan or remove it to store.
Batter for flourless banana bread… the oats should be ground up ~ Image credit: Dawn Head
Tip to Make this More Bread-Like
I love making this flourless banana bread in the food processor because it’s so easy. (I have a Vitamix.) To me and my family, it tastes great. However, if you want it to have more of a bread-like texture, you can mash bananas separately, whisk eggs separately, and blend oats in food processor separately.
Then combine the ingredients in a bowl in this order: mashed bananas, whisked eggs, maple syrup, baking soda, and finely chopped oats. Mix gently until everything is combined but don’t overmix. Pour batter into prepared pan, and bake.
Doing it this way means you will be using more bowls. It will also add about 5 minutes to your prep time. Again, I don’t do this.
FAQs
Can I substitute cooked rice in place of oats to make banana bread without flour?
Substituting cooked rice for oats in a flourless banana bread recipe is possible, but it will change the texture and moisture of the loaf. Oats help the ingredients bind together and provide bulk and a degree of chewiness.
Rice will give the bread a more moist consistency and won’t help bind the ingredients. Using rice instead of oats may make it more crumbly. I have not tried using cooked rice to replace raw oats in this recipe.
Can I substitute cooked quinoa in place of oats to make banana bread without flour?
Cooked quinoa can change the texture of the bread and will also add more moisture to it. So if you want to try it with quinoa instead of oats, you can experiment by reducing some of the maple syrup. Also, unlike oats, quinoa won’t bind the ingredients together like oats will. This can make the loaf more crumbly.
To use quinoa, you can try combining it with chia seeds or ground flaxseed.
What can I use to replace the eggs in this recipe?
To make this flourless banana bread recipe without eggs, keep in mind the eggs help the ingredients bind together. They also help add structure. Please note, I have only make this with eggs.
The egg yolk contains fats, aiding in binding ingredients, whereas the egg white contributes both lift and moisture. Typically, in recipes utilizing whole eggs, they function as binders, leaveners, and moisture providers.
To replace the two eggs in this recipe, you can try a DIY egg replacement by mixing 2 tablespoons of ground flaxseed or chia seeds with 5 tablespoons of water. Let it sit for 10 minutes or until it forms a gel. Another option is to use ½ cup applesauce to replace the two eggs. Another option is to add an additional mashed banana to replace each egg. You may want to try one additional banana and using just one egg.
Whichever egg replacer you try, you may consider adding an additional ½ teaspoon baking soda to help it rise.
Buying What You Need
Some essentials to make this recipe:
- Vitamix or high performance food processor
- Bob’s Red Mill Oats or oats
- Pure maple syrup
- Loaf pan or 9 inch baking pan
Flourless Banana Bread is Easy to Make
I like making this recipe because I always have oats, baking soda, eggs, and maple syrup on hand. I buy bananas all the time and freeze them for smoothies and snacks.
I love buying fresh fruits but sometimes they get away from me. I do compost but still hate wasting food. Using bananas when they are brown and almost black means they don’t go to waste. This is the perfect recipe to use up ripe bananas.
Sometimes I let them over ripen on purpose and make this flourless banana bread or banana bread with flour. I also use gluten free flour to make gluten free banana bread. Sometimes I make banana muffins. Bananas are awesome for baking!
Thanks for being interested in baking at home and avoiding palm oil in processed desserts. There are so many things you can make. This banana bread without flour is dairy free, gluten free, and palm oil free. Learn how to freeze bananas so you will always have some on hand.
Keep learning about more recipes and reasons to bake from scratch.
Featured image credit of two loaves of banana bread w/o flour: Dawn Head
Banana Bread without Flour
Equipment
- Food processor or blender
- Measuring spoon and cups
- Spatula
- Spoon
- Loaf pan, 9 inch diameter circle pan, or 9x9 square pan
Ingredients
- 3 very ripe bananas
- 2 large eggs
- ¼ cup pure maple syrup or honey
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 2 cups old-fashioned rolled oats
- Oil to grease the pan Can use avocado oil, coconut oil, or vegetable oil
Optional
- 1 ripe banana sliced to place on top before baking
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ¼ cup add-ins such as dried fruit, nuts, seeds, chocolate chips, etc.
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350ºF (175ºC).
- Grease baking pan.
- In food processor or blender, put in peeled bananas, eggs, maple syrup, baking soda, and oats (in this order).
- Blend until oats are ground up. I keep it on medium-low. Don't overmix.
- Pour into prepared baking pan.
- Optional: Slice banana and place on top before baking.
- Set in preheated oven for 35 - 45 minutes. Check for doneness after 30 - 35 minutes with a toothpick inserted into the center. All ovens bake differently.
- Remove from oven and set on cooling rack.