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This pumpkin banana bread might be my favorite mashup yet! Your favorite loaf of banana bread meets pumpkin season, and the result is a healthier quick bread that ticks all the boxes.
All you need is one bowl, 5 minutes of stirring, and an oven to do the rest. It’ll make your whole house smell amazing, and it’s really fine to eat it for breakfast, snack, or dessert (I won’t judge!).
Why You’ll Love This Pumpkin Banana Bread Recipe
All my pumpkin lovers – this is THE banana bread for you! I’m personally a huge fan of both banana bread and pumpkin-flavored desserts. This is why I created the best of both worlds with this easy paleo banana bread recipe, and I think it’s my new favorite baked good.
If you are gluten free and dairy free like me, this might be the best pumpkin banana bread recipe for you. It uses a combination of mashed bananas and pumpkin puree, along with pumpkin pie spice, to bring you a moist and fluffy Fall-flavored bread that’s wonderful for both breakfast and dessert. You’ll never guess that it’s allergen free!
Easy peasy, one bowl, one fork. If you like this style of baking, my blender pumpkin bread is even faster since the blender does all the work, and my paleo chocolate banana bread is what I make when I want something closer to cake.
Ingredient Notes
- bananas: The riper the better! Look for heavily speckled, almost too far gone bananas, soft enough that the fork does all the work for you. Underripe bananas won’t give you enough sweetness or the moisture.
- pumpkin puree: NOT pumpkin pie filling. The only ingredient on the label should be pumpkin and nothing else.
- almond butter: Any other nut or seed butter will work in a pinch. I wouldn’t recommend peanut butter though (unless you really love it), because the flavor will steamroll the pumpkin and banana.
- almond flour: The only other flour I can recommend is cashew flour. This isn’t the place to try a gluten free all-purpose blend – I built this recipe around almond flour and that’s what it wants.
- coconut flour: Coconut flour soaks up a shocking amount of liquid, and with two purees going into this batter this helps hold up the structure.
- pumpkin pie spice: I go back and forth between Trader Joe’s and Primal Palate’s for organic. Four teaspoons sounds like a lot and it isn’t. If you’re out, cinnamon plus a little ginger, nutmeg, and cloves is a great substitute.
Recipe Variations
- Chocolate chip pumpkin banana bread: Fold up to 1/2 cup of chocolate chips into the batter, or go all-in and top the loaf with more before it bakes.
- Nutty version: Fold in pecans or walnuts to add extra crunch.
- Banana on top: Split a banana in half lengthwise and lay it cut side up on the batter before baking. It takes ten seconds and makes it look like you tried much harder than you did!
- Muffins: I’ve never actually tested this batter as muffins, so I can’t promise anything, but I’d keep the oven at the same temperature and start checking around 20 minutes. If muffins are what you’re really after, my pumpkin cream cheese muffins are a reader favorite.
- Mini loaves or individual portions: A reader made hers in individual portions with a shorter bake time and topped them with dark chocolate chips and walnuts. I haven’t tested it myself, but if you do, let me know in the comments.
- Nut free: This one can’t be made nut free, it’s almond flour and almond butter all the way through. My nut free paleo lemon banana bread is a great option instead.
Feeling more chocolate than pumpkin spice? My marbled chocolate pumpkin bread swirls the two together in one loaf.
How to Make Pumpkin Banana Bread
Step 1: Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F and line a 9×5 loaf pan with parchment paper, leaving some overhang on the long sides. Grease the sides that aren’t covered. Let the parchment overhang, and you can use it to lift the bread out of the pan later.
Step 2: Peel the bananas into a large mixing bowl and mash well with a fork until all the big lumps are gone. Any lump you leave now stays a lump in the finished loaf.
Step 3: Add the pumpkin puree, almond butter, and eggs. Whisk with a hand mixer or stand mixer until completely smooth. Add the almond flour, coconut flour, baking soda, pumpkin pie spice, sea salt, and coconut sugar. Mix until just combined and then stop. This is the step where this loaf goes wrong.
Step 4: Pour the batter into the lined loaf pan and smooth the top. Bake on the center rack for 40-45 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean and the top springs back when you press it lightly.
Step 5: Cool in the pan for 15-20 minutes, then lift it out using the parchment and let it cool completely on a rack before slicing. I know. Cutting into it warm is how you get a gummy slice and a sad face.
Step 6: Slice, and enjoy! If you want to go further, a pumpkin spice matcha latte alongside it is not a bad idea.
Recipe Tips
- Stop mixing the second the flour disappears. Overmixing is the most common thing that goes wrong with this loaf, and with grain free batters will become a dense, wet, almost custardy center rather than a tough crumb.
- Weigh or measure the coconut flour properly. Three tablespoons is a small amount doing a big job for the structure of this bread. Don’t adjust quantities unless you’re an experienced baker!
- Trust the center, not the edges. The edges of a grain free loaf set long before the middle does, so check the toothpick right in the center of the loaf. A few moist crumbs are fine. Wet batter is not.
- Let it cool completely before slicing. This is the tip everyone ignores, including me because it’s SO hard!. The crumb finishes setting as it cools, and slicing warm before it sets will make it really gummy and gross.
Storage Tips
Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days. Then, put it in the fridge for up to 5 days. Let a slice come to room temperature or warm it for 30 seconds before eating.
It also freezes very well! Slice it (or freeze it whole), wrap each slice in plastic wrap or foil, and put them in a freezer-safe resealable bag for up to 4 months. Let a wrapped slice come to room temperature on the counter, or warm it straight from frozen in a low oven or toaster oven.
Recipe FAQs
Two large ripe bananas mash down to roughly a cup, which is the same volume as the cup of pumpkin puree this recipe calls for. That said, I’ve only ever made this loaf with both – I haven’t tested swapping pumpkin in for the banana, so I can’t tell you it’ll work.
Overmixing, and it’s worse in a grain free loaf than a regular one. Once the flour is in, mix until it just comes together. The other one is slicing it while it’s still warm, which makes a perfectly good loaf seem gummy in the middle.
This version is, at least by my standards. There’s no grain flour, no gluten, and no dairy in it, and the entire loaf is sweetened with 2 tablespoons of coconut sugar plus whatever’s naturally in the bananas.
You can use any nut or seed butter you have on hand. I wouldn’t recommend peanut butter (unless you really love it), because the flavor will overpower the pumpkin and banana bread.
The only other flour I can recommend is cashew flour. You can grind up cashews in a food processor until they reach a flour texture. Just make sure not to grind too long, because it’ll turn into nut butter.
More Pumpkin Recipes
If you make this recipe, please leave me a star rating and comment below! I love to hear your thoughts and feedback. Follow me on social media Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest for even more delicious recipes!
Almond Flour Pumpkin Banana Bread (Gluten Free)
Video
Ingredients
- 2 large ripe bananas
- 1 cup pumpkin puree
- 1/2 cup almond butter
- 3 eggs
- 1/2 cup almond flour
- 3 tbsp coconut flour
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 4 tsp pumpkin pie spice
- 1/4 tsp sea salt
- 2 tbsp coconut sugar, or 4 tbsp for sweeter
Optional Add-Ins
- 1/2 cup chocolate chips, pecans, and/or walnuts
- 1 ripe banana, sliced lengthwise, to top
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Line a 9×5 loaf pan with parchment paper and grease the sides that aren't covered.
- Peel the bananas and add to a large mixing bowl. Use a fork to mash well.
- Add pumpkin puree, almond butter, and eggs. Use a hand mixer or a stand mixer to whisk together until smooth.
- Add almond flour, coconut flour, baking soda, pumpkin pie spice, sea salt, and coconut sugar. Mix until just combined.
- OPTIONAL: Fold in chocolate chips and/or nuts.
- Pour the batter into the prepared loaf pan.
- OPTIONAL: Halve a banana lengthwise and place on top of the batter cut side up. Gently press down. You can also top with more chocolate chip and/or nuts if you like.
- Bake in the center rack of the oven for 40-45 minutes until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
- Cool for 15-20 minutes, then remove from the pan to cool completely.
- Slice, and enjoy!
Notes
- Don’t overmix. Stop the second the flour disappears into the batter. Overmixing shows up in a grain free loaf as a dense, wet center rather than a tough crumb.
- Measure the coconut flour properly. Three tablespoons is a small amount doing a big job, and shorting it leaves you with a batter that never sets in the middle.
- Use the parchment sling. The overhang lets you lift the loaf out cleanly while it’s still tender.
- Check the center, not the edges. The edges set well before the middle does in a grain free loaf.
- Cool completely before slicing. The crumb finishes setting as it cools.
- Flour substitutions: The only other flour I can recommend is cashew flour. Any nut or seed butter can stand in for the almond butter, though I’d skip peanut butter – it overpowers the pumpkin and banana.
- Storage: Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 days, or in the fridge for up to 5. To freeze, slice or leave whole, wrap in plastic wrap or foil, and store in a freezer-safe resealable bag for up to 4 months.
- Make ahead: I haven’t tested mixing the batter the night before and I think it may affect the rise, so I’d mix and bake the same day.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
I made this for the first time. Th taste was good but I would add a bit more sweetener. I also thought it was too moist and could have used 1 cup of almond flour. I also added pure vanilla extract to the bread.
Great recipe. I make individual portions so my baking time was shorter. I topped mine with dark chocolate chips and walnuts and served it with a dollop of whipped cream.
Yum, sounds wonderful!
can’t wait to try this. can you prep the batter the night before? do u think it would be okay with butternut instead of pumpkin puree?
I’ve never actually tried preparing the batter ahead of time but it might work! I think it may affect the rise a bit.
Hi! This looks so delicious. Have you ever tried them as muffins? I want to, but I assume the cooking time would be less, and possible the temperature would change, too. Let me know if you have pro tips!
I’ve never tried but I’m sure it’ll work! I would keep the same temperature and start checking around 20 minutes.
The taste is great but the texture is off- it came out kind of eggy or custard like on the inside and is very wet but got very brown on the outside. It’s almost like a pumpkin pie texture in the inside and I’m not sure it’s edible like that. I’m not sure what I did as I followed the recipe exactly.
Hi Olivia — I’m not sure what happened, I’ve never heard this about this recipe. Could it be that you left out the eggs or overmixed the batter? I’ll test out the recipe again if I hear a similar issue from someone else!