Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my privacy policy.
This lemon banana bread is a delicious grain-free, dairy-free, gluten-free, and Paleo banana bread seasoned with lemon juice, lemon zest, and poppyseeds and slathered in a lemon glaze. It is made with almond flour, coconut flour, and tapioca flour.
The flavor of lemon poppy seed is so fresh. I love it in cake form, pancake form, and now in banana bread form. This lemon poppyseed banana bread tastes like a classic banana bread, but with a refreshing hint of lemon juice and zest AND with a burst of lemon flavor in the glaze.
It is a delicious twist on banana bread and I am here for it!
Table of Contents
Why this recipe works
- It is made with healthy ingredients like almond flour, olive oil, and coconut sugar.
- It works for those following a Paleo, Dairy-free, Gluten-free diet.
- It is allergy friendly. It is soy-free, peanut-free, dairy-free, and grain-free.
- It is a fun way to bake with lemon poppyseed flavors.
Recipe ingredients
- Olive oil– any kind of olive oil works in this recipe.
- Coconut sugar– this type of sugar has a lower glycemic index than other sugars.
- Eggs– these help bind the bread together.
- Lemon juice and lemon zest– this gives a great flavor.
- Bananas– make sure your bananas are ripe.
- Almond flour– use blanched almond flour because it is more refined in texture.
- Tapioca flour– this helps give the bread a good texture.
- Coconut flour– this also gives good texture to the bread.
- Baking soda– this helps the banana bread rise.
- Poppy seeds– buy good quality organic poppy seeds for the best flavor.
- Powdered maple sugar or organic powdered sugar– these are used to make the glaze. If you want to keep this recipe strictly Paleo, use maple sugar instead of powdered sugar.
See recipe card below for a full list of ingredients and measurements.
Additions/ Substitutions
- Instead of olive oil, you can use avocado oil.
- Instead of coconut sugar, you can use maple sugar. You can also use brown sugar, just know that the recipe will no longer be Paleo.
- Instead of tapioca flour, you can use arrowroot powder.
Step by step instructions
Step 1: Make the banana bread batter.
Mix the olive oil, coconut sugar, eggs, vanilla, mashed bananas, lemon juice and lemon zest together.
In another bowl, mix the almond flour, tapioca flour, coconut flour, baking soda, salt, and poppyseeds together.
Then, pour the bowl of dry ingredients into the bowl of wet ingredients and mix again.
Step 2: Pour the banana bread batter into a pan.
Step 3: Bake!
Step 4: Make the glaze and pour it in top of your banana bread.
To make the glaze, simply mix the powdered sugar, lemon juice and lemon zest together. Then pour it ALL over your banana bread.
Expert tips
- Use light olive oil.
- Make sure that you use a light flavored olive oil. I like using light colored extra virgin olive oil in my baking.
- Use a lemon zester.
- Make sure to use a zester to really get ALL of the lemon zest from your lemon. I have made the mistake of not doing this and it results in less lemon flavor. I use a Deiss lemon zester and love it!
- Use ripe Bananas.
- For the best banana flavor, make sure your bananas are ripe. As in lots of spots on the banana, ready to be made into banana bread ripe.
- Don’t use too many poppyseeds
- Otherwise your banana bread will be crunchy
- Let the banana bread batter sit.
- Before putting the banana bread batter into the pan, make sure to let the batter sit for a few minutes. 2-3 minutes is enough. This lets the coconut flour absorb some of the extra liquid.
- Keep an eye on your banana bread.
- Start to watch it around the 40 minute mark. My oven tends to be hot and the banana bread was done in 45 minutes, but it can take up to 55 minutes. Your banana bread will be golden and will feel hard when you touch the top of it.
Other banana bread recipes you’ll love:
Gluten-free Zucchini Banana Bread – This recipe by Thyme and Joy is a great way to sneak green veggies into your diet.
Espresso Chocolate Chip Banana Bread (Paleo, Dairy-free, Gluten-free)– This is my clean version of a mocha banana bread. So good!
Pumpkin Cinnamon Swirl Banana Bread (Paleo, Gluten-free, Dairy-free)– Part pumpkin bread, part coffee cake, this is one of my favorite banana bread recipes.
Paleo Coffee Cake Banana Bread (Gluten-free)– Banana bread with amazing cinnamon flavor!
Sunflower Seed Butter and Chocolate Chip Banana Bread (Paleo, GF)– The combination of sunflower seed butter and chocolate here is bomb!
Paleo Carrot Cake Banana Bread (Gluten-Free, Dairy-free)– This is a classic banana bread but with a carrot cake twist!
Oh and if you love lemon poppyseed, try Paleo Lemon Poppy Seed Banana Pancakes!
Did you try this recipe? Please leave me a ⭐ review below!
Gluten-free Lemon Banana Bread with Poppy Seeds (Paleo, Dairy-free)
Ingredients
Banana bread ingredients:
- 1/3 cup olive oil
- 1/2 cup coconut sugar or maple sugar
- 2 eggs
- 1/2 tsp vanilla
- 5 Tbs lemon juice
- Zest from 2 lemons, 2.5-3 tsp
- 3 bananas, mashed
- 1 1/2 cup almond flour
- 1/2 cup tapioca flour
- 1/4 cup coconut flour
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 Tbs poppyseeds
Lemon glaze ingredients:
- 1/3 cup powdered maple sugar or organic powdered sugar
- 1 Tbs fresh lemon juice
- Sprinkle of zest
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease an 9 in x 5 in loaf pan and line with parchment paper.
- In a large bowl, mix the olive oil and coconut sugar with a fork or whisk. Add the eggs, vanilla, mashed bananas, lemon juice and lemon zest and whisk again until well mixed.
- In another bowl, combine the almond flour, tapioca flour, coconut flour, baking soda, salt, and poppyseeds. Mix with a fork until blended.
- Pour the bowl of dry ingredients into the bowl of wet ingredients and mix until just combined. Let the mixture sit for a few minutes.
- Pour the banana bread batter into the loaf pan. Bake for 45-55 minutes, until golden brown and a toothpick comes out mostly clean.
- While the banana bread is cooling, make the lemon glaze. Mix the powdered sugar or powdered maple sugar with lemon juice and lemon zest. You can do this in a food processor or with a handheld mixer.
- Once the banana bread has cooled completely, pour or sprinkle the glaze on top.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
