Gluten-Free Vegan Blueberry Banana Bread
Gluten-Free vegan blueberry banana bread is an easy quickbread that is full of fruity flavor! Slice it up and serve with some dairy-free butter with your morning coffee, or even eat it for dessert! Blueberry lovers, you’ll love this fun twist on a classic banana bread. If you have ripe bananas, you definitely need to try this tender, fluffy, and moist gluten-free banana bread!
Is there anything better than a slice of banana bread with your morning coffee? Well… maybe a slice of this gluten-free vegan blueberry banana bread! Blueberries are a fun addition to a classic banana bread recipe that is bursting with blueberry and banana flavor!
Plus, it’s so easy to make, too! No fancy egg replacers here! If you’re vegan or you just have run out of eggs, don’t let that stop you from making banana bread!
I love how moist this banana bread is. It’s sweet and flavorful. If you like blueberries, you’ll love this easy blueberry banana bread!
Here’s what you’ll need to make this recipe
Ingredients: gluten-free flour blend, xanthan gum (if your blend doesn’t already contain it), baking powder, baking soda, ground cinnamon, salt, vegetable oil, granulated sugar, apple cider vinegar, pure vanilla extract, blueberries and turbinado sugar
Equipment:
- Loaf Pan
- Mixing Bowls
- Spatula
- Measuring Cup
What Makes this Blueberry Banana Bread Gluten-Free and Vegan?
To make this blueberry banana bread gluten-free, I simply used a gluten-free flour blend. My favorite is Bob’s Red Mill 1-to-1 Gluten-Free Baking Flour. There is already xanthan gum in the blend, so you don’t have to add it yourself.
To make this bread vegan, I use apple cider vinegar which is an excellent egg replacement in muffins and quickbreads. It really cannot be substituted in this recipe. Bananas are also a great egg replacer and do a lot of the work in this recipe, too.
A word about the bananas in banana bread
You want to make sure you use ripe bananas when you’re making banana bread. Ripe bananas are sweeter and less starchy than unripe bananas.
The best bananas for banana bread have no green on the peel and at a minimum have plenty of black and brown spots.
If your bananas are not yet ripe, but you still want to make banana bread, don’t worry! You can help speed up the process a number of ways:
- Place the bananas in a paper bag overnight. This will help speed up the ripening process.
- Place the bananas on a baking sheet and bake at 250F for 20-30 minutes, until the banana peels are black. It will make the bananas, sweet and pudding-like – perfect for mashing!
- Poke holes through the bananas skin with a knife or fork. Microwave the banana in 30 second increments until it is soft. Note: this is not my preferred method of ripening bananas, but do what you gotta do for banana bread.
Whenever I have bananas that are too ripe to eat, I remove the peel and place them in a freezer safe bag or container for banana bread! It’s the best way to make sure I can eat banana bread anytime! Just let them thaw a bit before mashing and you’re good to go!
How to Make Blueberry Banana Bread
It’s so simple to make this gluten-free vegan blueberry banana bread with a few simple steps!
- Mix together the dry ingredients.
Combine the gluten-free flour blend, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and salt in a large bowl.
- Mash the bananas.
In a separate bowl, mash your ripe bananas until they are liquidy. Some lumps are okay!
- Mix together the wet ingredients.
Combine the mashed bananas with the granulated sugar, vegetable oil, apple cider vinegar, and vanilla extract and stir until smooth.
- Combine the wet ingredients and dry ingredients.
Pour the banana mixture into the flour mixture and stir until just combined.
- Coat the blueberries in flour.
Toss the blueberries in 1/2 tablespoon of gluten-free flour so that they are coated. This will help ensure that they do no sink to the bottom of the banana bread.
- Add the blueberries to the batter.
Carefully fold the blueberries into the bread batter, being careful not to break any of the blueberries.
- Pour into loaf pan and bake!
Pour the batter into your prepared loaf pan and top with turbinado or sanding sugar if you’d like. This will give the bread a crunch after baking! Bake at 375F for 60-70 minutes, until browned and a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Let cool before serving!
FAQs and Tips for Making Gluten-Free Blueberry Banana Bread
You can you frozen blueberries for banana bread! Keep in mind that frozen blueberries may streak the bread so be extra careful when folding them into the batter.
My banana bread normally lasts about 2-3 days covered at room temperature before I notice big texture changes. For longer storage, I like to freeze it!
Let the banana bread cool completely. Wrap it in aluminum foil and place it in a freezer safe container or bag, removing as much air as possible from the container. It will keep for 3-4 months in the freezer.
You sure can! You can use canola oil, coconut oil, or even melted vegan butter in this recipe!
Go nuts! Chopped or sliced walnuts, almonds or pecans would all be wonderful in this recipe. I suggest adding about 1/2 cup before you stir in the blueberries.
If blueberries aren’t your thing you can omit them from this recipe and instead just have a classic gluten-free vegan banana bread. You can substitute with another berry like blackberries or raspberries. You can also swap the blueberries for chocolate chips, too!
More Gluten-Free Vegan Baked Goods You’ll Love
- Gluten-Free Vegan Strawberry Cobbler
- Gluten-Free Vegan Giant Brown Sugar Cinnamon Pop Tart
- Gluten-Free Vegan Baked Strawberry Donuts
- Gluten-Free Vegan Lemon Scones
- Gluten-Free Vegan Apple Hand Pies
More ripe banana to use up? Try these gluten-free banana recipes!
- Strawberry Banana Nice Cream
- Gluten-Free Chocolate Peanut Butter Banana Muffins
- Gluten-Free Chocolate Strawberry Banana Baked Oatmeal
- Gluten-Free Vegan Double Chocolate Banana Muffins
- Vegan Banana Chocolate Chunk Ice Cream
Gluten-Free Blueberry Banana Bread
Ingredients
- 2 cups gluten-free flour blend (I used Bob's Red Mill 1-to-1 Gluten-Free Baking Flour (280g))
- 1/2 teaspoon xanthan gum (if your flour blend doesn’t already contain it)
- 2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 4 very ripe bananas
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar (150g)
- 1/3 cup vegetable oil (75g)
- 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
- 2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1 cup blueberries
- 1/2 tablespoon gluten-free flour blend
- 1 teaspoon turbinado sugar (optional for topping)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375F. Grease a 9 x 5-inch bread pan with cooking spray or vegan butter.
- In a large bowl, whisk together gluten-free flour blend, xanthan gum (if using), salt, baking soda, and baking powder.
- In a separate bowl, mash the bananas.
- Then, mix the bananas with the granulated sugar, vegetable oil, apple cider vinegar, and pure vanilla extract.
- Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and mix until just combined.
- Toss the blueberries with 1/2 tablespoon of gluten-free flour until they are coated.
- Carefully fold in the blueberries to the batter.
- Then, pour the bread batter into the prepared pan. Sprinkle with turbinado sugar if you’d like.
- Bake at 375F for 60-70 minutes, until the bread is lightly browned and a toothpick inserted in the center of the bread comes out clean. If the bread is browning too much, cover the loaf pan with aluminum foil and continue baking.
- Cool in the pan for 15 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to finish cooling.
Notes
- I used Bob’s Red Mill 1-to-1 Gluten-Free Baking Flour in this recipe which already contains xanthan gum. You will not need to add xanthan gum to this recipe if you are using this same flour.
- I cannot guarantee that all gluten-free flour blends will work out in this recipe, as each blend is so different.
- If you are vegan, use a vegan granulated sugar. Some granulated sugar is processed with bone char, and therefore not vegan.
Nutrition
This recipe was originally posted on August 15, 2012 and was updated on April 9, 2020 with new photos, instructions, tips and tricks to help you make this recipe perfectly every time!
I’m Megan
A gluten-free food blogger from Chicago and lover of all things food, showing you gluten-free can be easy and delicious, too. Let’s make gluten-free stress free together! Read more…
