Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my privacy policy.
This Gluten free cherry banana bread is a delicious grain-free, Paleo, dairy-free banana bread loaded with fresh cherries and chocolate chips, and topped in a chia-seed and chocolate chip crust.
This gluten-free banana is a wonderful summer recipe full of fresh chopped cherries and chocolate chips. It is a great way to use up any extra bananas and cherries you have in your home. It is made with healthy ingredients and it always disappears in my house in two days.
If you love the combo of cherries and chocolate together, try my Gluten-Free Chocolate Chip Cherry Cookie Bars, my Cherry Chocolate Waffles, or my Chocolate Cherry Banana Smoothie
Table of Contents
Why this recipe works
- It is allergy friendly. This recipe is dairy-free, gluten-free, soy-free, and peanut-free.
- It fits a wide variety of diets. This recipe is Paleo and gluten-free.
- It is full of summer flavor. Nothing screams summer more than fresh cherries.
- It is healthy. This recipe is made with clean healthy ingredients such as almond flour, olive oil, and honey.
Recipe ingredients
- Almond flour– blanched almond flour is better for baking.
- Tapioca flour– this helps give a good texture to the banana bread.
- Coconut flour– this flour is very absorbent so only use the amount in the recipe.
- Baking soda– this helps the banana bread rise.
- Cinnamon– I like using Ceylon cinnamon because it has great flavor.
- Eggs– this binds the bread together.
- Honey– this adds a nice sweetness to the banana bread.
- Apple sauce– this is used to replace some of the fat in the recipe.
- Olive oil– this is used to replace the butter in traditional banana breads.
- Bananas– make sure the bananas are ripe.
- Cherries– I used fresh recipes here so I could cut them up.
- Dairy-free chocolate chips– use whatever brand or kind fits your dietary needs.
See recipe card below for a full list of ingredients and measurements.
Additions/ Substitutions
- Instead of tapioca flour, you can use arrowroot powder.
- Instead of honey, you can use maple syrup.
- Instead of olive oil, you can use avocado oil.
Step by step instructions
Step 1: Make the banana bread batter. In one bowl, mix the dry ingredients together. In another bowl, mix the wet ones. Then combine both bowls. Fold in the cherries and chocolate.
Step 2: Pour the batter into a loaf tin, top with chia seed topping and bake. Remove from oven, let cool, then slice.
Recipe FAQs
You can keep this banana bread on the counter, lightly covered in aluminum foil for up to 3 days.
No, this recipe is for fresh cherries. They need to be cut. Frozen cherries also would change the texture of this banana bread.
I like baking with HU chocolate. It is made with coconut sugar and is also dairy-free and gluten-free.
Other healthy banana bread recipes you’ll love:
Healthy Carrot Banana Bread (Paleo, Gluten-Free)
Cinnamon Swirl Paleo Pumpkin Banana Bread (Gluten free, Dairy free)
Espresso Banana Bread with Chocolate Chips (Gluten free, Dairy free, Paleo)
Did you try this recipe? Please leave me a ⭐ review below!
Gluten free Cherry Banana Bread (Paleo, Dairy-free)
Ingredients
Bread
- 1 cup almond flour
- 1 cup tapioca flour
- 1/3 cup coconut flour, ( I like Nutiva Organic for quality and price)
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
- ¼ tsp salt
- ½ tsp cinnamon
- 3 eggs
- 1/3 cup honey
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 1/3 cup apple sauce
- ¼ cup olive oil
- ½ cup mashed banana, ( this was 1 large banana for me)
- 1 cup pitted and quartered cherries, ,this was 17 cherries for me
- 1/3 cup enjoy life chocolate chips, (I use the Enjoy Life brand because it’s dairy-free, nut-free, soy-free and gluten-free)
Crust
- 1 Tbs chia seeds
- 1 Tbs enjoy life chocolate chips
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a tin loaf pan with parchment paper. (I used a 10 1/2″ x 5 1/4″ x 3″ metal loaf pan)
- In a large bowl, mix the almond flour, tapioca flour, coconut flour, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon with a fork. Set the bowl aside.
- In another large bowl, mix the eggs, honey, vanilla, apple sauce and olive oil with an electric hand-held mixer until well mixed. Add the mashed banana to the bowl and mix with the electric mixer until well blended.
- Pour the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients and mix with the electric hand-held mixer until thickened and well mixed.
- Fold ½ cup of chocolate chips and 1 cup of quartered cherries into the batter.
- Pour the batter into the lined loaf pan and then pat the top of the batter with a spoon to make sure it is flat. Sprinkle 1 Tbs of chia seeds and 1 Tbs of chocolate chips on top of the batter and push down lightly with a spoon.
- Bake for 40-45 minutes, until the loaf is golden brown and the top has hardened.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
I was out of applesauce, swapped for yogurt. So so good whether you’re paleo or not!
Great to know yogurt works as a swap!