Browned butter, sweet bananas, maple glaze and toasted pecans come together to make the best gluten free banana bread you've ever tasted.
I've always loved banana bread, but I have to be honest with you, this one really levels up the classic version!
This gluten free banana bread is beautifully moist and absolutely bursting with flavors that complement each other perfectly.
Whether you love banana bread or not, I really think you'll enjoy this version. As a bonus, it works well with pretty much any gluten-free flour you have on hand. We love that.
Admittedly, this isn't the quickest or easiest recipe you could make. But if you want a gluten free banana bread that you can feel excited about serving to guests or for a weekend brunch, this one is it.
It tastes beautifully indulgent and fun and I hope you'll give it a go.
PRO TIP: a friend who came to visit made this recipe into muffins and they turned out perfect, so that's a fun alternative you could try!
If you are excited to try this recipe, I think you'll also love my gluten free coffee cake! It's SUPER moist and stays soft for literal days.
Tips for Browning Butter
The trick to browning butter is to watch it very closely. As it's heating, the butter will bubble and pop, and then all at once it will settle down and give off a nutty aroma. This is when you remove it from the heat and let it cool to room temperature before using it in your recipe.
It's very important that you use real butter (not margarine), and allow it to cool to room temperature before using in a recipe.
I have a handy infographic included in my gluten free chewy pumpkin cookies recipe (which is another favorite of mine).
Gluten Free Banana Bread with Browned Butter and Maple Glaze
Ingredients
Equipment
Method
- In a small saucepan, brown butter by heating over medium heat for 5-7 minutes. Swirl the pan occasionally but do not stir. Watch it closely, it will bubble quite a bit for the first few minutes and when it bubbles less and you smell a nutty scent and the bottom looks golden brown, it's done. Remove from heat and set aside to cool.
- You can brown the 1 tablespoon for the glaze at the same time, then measure it out and set aside for the glaze.
- Once the butter is cooled to room temperature, combine it with the brown and white sugars in the bowl of a stand mixer, or a large mixing bowl if using a hand mixer. Mix together thoroughly.
- Add eggs and mix until smooth.
- Mash the bananas until smooth and add them along with the vanilla and sour cream. Mix until smooth.
- Add remaining ingredients and mix on low until combined.
- Bake in an oven preheated to 350 degrees for 40-45 minutes, just until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
- Cool in the pan for 5 minutes before removing to a rack to cool.
- While the bread is cooling, brown another 1 tablespoon butter for the glaze unless you browned it with the previous batch. Melt it if it has solidified.
- Make the maple glaze by whisking together the browned butter, powdered sugar, water, maple, and salt to taste. Add additional powdered sugar or water if needed to reach the right consistency.
- Spread the maple glaze over the banana bread and top with some extra toasted, chopped, pecans if you want. Slice and enjoy! Store any leftovers in an airtight container.
Leah @ Grain Changer says
I LOVE the idea of a maple glaze on banana bread! Can't wait to try this 🙂 GORGEOUS photos, BTW
thereislifeafterwheat@gmail.com says
Thanks Leah! The maple glaze is the perfect touch!
Emily @ Recipes to Nourish says
This sounds amazing! I've never thought to use browned butter in banana bread before, I bet it tastes amazing. Love that beautiful maple glaze on the top too!
thereislifeafterwheat@gmail.com says
Thanks Emily, browned butter takes everything up a level 😉
jules shepard says
I've been drooling over your pics of this bread for a week now ... time to make it!
thereislifeafterwheat@gmail.com says
Jules, you inspired me to get a little more adventurous with my banana bread when I tasted your banana lime bread - so good! Hope you love this one, too 🙂
Rebecca @ Strength and Sunshine says
That maple glaze! Banana bread will always be a favorite!
thereislifeafterwheat@gmail.com says
It is one of those classics that never grows old!
Sharon @ What The Fork says
I need to try this, it looks fantastic!
thereislifeafterwheat@gmail.com says
I hope you enjoy it Sharon!
Susan Bushey says
I have tried many banana bread recipes over the years since my husband and all my boys were diagnosed with celiac disease but I have to say your recipe is the best by far! My hubby said he could tell the difference with the first bite and for him to notice is unusual, let's say. I've not tried it with the maple glaze yet because it was SO good without it but I'm curious and just might. Thanks for all your great bread recipes too. You're my go-to website now.
thereislifeafterwheat@gmail.com says
Susan thank you so much for sharing! I love that your family is enjoying the banana bread and my other recipes. -Celeste
Kelsey Ngo says
Made this just now; turned out great! Although I made some adjustments for what I had on hand...
Unless I'm totally missing it, I don't see anywhere that indicates what size pan or even what type of pan to use... Now the obvious thing would be a typical bread pan. Well, I always bummed my mom's pan off of her, and I didn't have access to it, so I used a cast iron dutch oven! And it worked great! The texture of the end product is more like cake than bread; is that what the "bread" is like when cooked in the proper bread pan, or is it more dense? Regardless, if someone doesn't have a bread pan, using a dutch oven (with no lid) makes a nice banana cake. 🙂
I used King Arthur GF All Purpose Flour. For the glaze, I used real maple syrup instead of flavoring, and milk instead of water.
Otherwise, I did everything as written, and it made a nice dessert. I may add cinnamon next time... Thank you for the recipe!
thereislifeafterwheat@gmail.com says
Sorry about the confusion of a pan, a standard 8x4 loaf pan works great, but love your ingenuity! I think you'll find the texture more like banana bread if you use a loaf pan. Thanks for sharing what you did!
Patricia Reynolds says
I just found your website for the first time and have printed out a few recipes to try this week. I have a granddaughter who is highly allergic to wheat, eggs, and all dairy. I've found some recipes for gluten free or dairy free but none for dairy, egg, and wheat/gluten free. Do you also have recipes that cover all those categories? My trials at some have not yielded many positive results. Thanks in advance for any information.
thereislifeafterwheat@gmail.com says
Hi Patricia! I haven't done a lot of egg-free recipe testing, but I have know of a couple other blogs that are SO helpful in that area, I've personally tried many of their recipes. Try out https://allergyawesomeness.com/ and https://allergylicious.com/
Alene says
Which other flour do you think would work, cup 4 cup, better batter, ka measure for measure. Those are the ones I have right now and am trying to avoid the stores these days. Thanks!