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This post and recipe has been updated for a better user experience. (The original recipe is also included below).
There is a short window for good spring time baking. The perfect time for when spring produce is available, I’m looking at you rhubarb, berries, and peaches, but while the weather is still cool enough to want to turn on your oven for an entire hour. At least in my sauna kitchen.
Except for spring of 2019 lol! With the exception of a few hot days peppered in we have had an unusually cool spring here in Iowa.
Updating my banana rhubarb recipe mid June can happen this year!
Yay for more spring time banana bread!!!
I created this banana rhubarb recipe several spring times ago when I was looking for a way to use up the endless amount of rhubarb growing in my garden in such a way that my husband would also eat it. Paul is not a fan of super tart things, and we all know that rhubarb is pretty bold and sassy with that tartness! Throw some rhubarb into banana bread.
And bake it up!
It’s a pretty genius idea, if I don’t say so myself.
The banana bread is sweet and tender, and moist (get over that word people! We do not want dry banana bread!!!), just as banana bread should be with little pockets of tender tart pieces of rhubarb baked right in.
Surprisingly so delicious!
And Paul LOVES it! YESSS!!!
Goal accomplished!
Funny story about this banana rhubarb bread:
I was testing it and the bread rose and baked right into the oven rack above it. yup, it happened. I had to pull the oven rack out of the still raw bread creating a huge mess in my oven and making my banana bread look like it was decapitated.
At least it was still tasty!
Moral of the story: move your top oven rack up higher when baking! Learn from me, just do it!
Ya know, unless you just happen to enjoy the smell of burning bread baking right onto your oven.
And eating a decapitated bread.
One more thing to note: I did change this recipe quite a bit. I tested the original recipe which used oat flour and found that it had too much of a gummy texture to it. So, I decided to adapt my banana blueberry banana bread for this banana rhubarb recipe, which uses almond flour. The excess moisture from the fruit baked in alters the recipe from your typical banana bread. The result was a more evenly baked, yet still tender banana bread.
Don’t worry this banana rhubarb bread is still gluten free. Now it’s also grain free!
Want more rhubarb recipes to make this spring? Check these out:
I hope you enjoy this fun little spring time banana bread as much as we do. Sweet and slightly tart and a good way to use up overripe bananas and rhubarb.
I officially unleash you to your kitchens to begin baking in 3….2….1!!!!
Know anyone else who has a plethora of rhubarb growing in their garden? Do them a favor and share this banana rhubarb recipe with them. You will be their hero!!!
Update 11/7/2019: Per a reader’s request I have also included the original version of this recipe (the second recipe below). The main difference between the two recipes is that the original version uses oat flour, whereas the new recipe uses almond flour. Feel free to make either version, or both. ;). Let me know which one you like best in the comments below. Thanks friends!
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Banana Rhubarb Bread (Gluten Free)
- Prep Time: 10 mins
- Cook Time: 60 mins
- Total Time: 1 hour 10 mins
- Yield: 1 loaf (8 to 10 slices) 1x
- Category: Dessert, Snack, breakfast, baking
- Cuisine: Gluten Free, vegetarian
Description
Banana Rhubarb Bread is studded with tart rhubarb that gets all gooey in the baking process. This bread is a great way to use up any rhubarb you have without the bread being too tart.
Ingredients
- 2 1/2 cups blanched almond flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
- 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
- 2 teaspoons cinnamon
- 1 1/2 teaspoons xanthan gum
- 3 very ripe bananas
- 3 eggs
- 1/4 cup plain, fat free Greek yogurt (could use full fat for a richer texture)
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup coconut sugar
- 1 1/4 cup chopped rhubarb, divided
Instructions
- Prepare: Preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Grease a bread baking dish and line the bottom with parchment paper, set aside.
- Mix dry ingredients To medium mixing bowl add all the dry ingredients: almond flour, baking soda, salt, cloves, nutmeg, cinnamon, and xantham gum – whisk together until well combined.
- Mix together the wet ingredients: In a separate large mixing bowl mash the ripe bananas using a fork or a potato masher, until the bananas are mostly smooth. Add the eggs, Greek yogurt, vanilla, and coconut sugar. Whisk until everything is well combined. Add the dry ingredients to the wet and use a spatula to mix until well combined.
- Add the rhubarbL Fold 1 cup of the rhubarb in.
- Transfer to bread pan: Transfer the batter to the prepared bread pan. Sprinkle the remaining 1/4 cup of rhubarb on top and gently press the rhubarb into the bread.
- Bake: Bake for 60 to 70 minutes, or until a toothpick runs clean. I found a more accurate way to tell if this bread was done was to use a meat thermometer for an internal reading of 206 degrees Fahrenheit. Sounds weird, but sometimes the toothpick method can be deceiving with banana bread. If the top becomes too brown or begins to burn then tent it with foil for the last 5 to 10 minutes of baking time.
- Cool: Allow the bread to cool for at least 4 minutes. Use a butter knife to gently loosen the bread from the pan and remove the bread. Allow it to completely before slicing. Store the bread in a ziplock bag in the fridge for up to 5 days.
Banana Rhubarb Bread (Original Recipe)
- Prep Time: 15 mins
- Cook Time: 60 mins
- Total Time: 1 hour 15 minutes
- Yield: 1 loaf of bread 1x
- Category: baking, breakfast
- Method: baking
- Cuisine: gluten free
Description
The original banana rhubarb bread made with oat flour. Tender banana bread studded with juicy rhubarb.
Ingredients
- 3 ripe bananas
- 1 egg, whisked
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 2 tablespoons coconut oil, melted
- 1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons honey
- 1 1/2 cups gluten free oat flour (blend gluten free oats in food processor or high powered blender until you reach a flour consistency. Make sure to measure after you blend)
- 2 teaspoons cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 1 1/2 cups rhubarb, chopped into 1 inch pieces
- Optional: 1/4 cup extra rhubarb for top of bread
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Grease a standard-sized bread pan; set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl mash the bananas using a fork or potato masher. Some lumps are okay. Add the egg, vanilla, coconut oil and honey. Mix until well combined.
- Add the dry ingredients: oat flour, cinnamon, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Stir until well incorporated. Fold in the 1 ½ cups rhubarb.
- Transfer the batter to the greased loaf pan. Evenly spread the batter into the pan. Top with the ¼ cup extra rhubarb by pressing each rhubarb piece gently into the batter (optional).
- Bake for 55 to 60 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out mostly clean and the edges have begun to pull away from the sides.
- Allow the bread to cool completely before removing. To remove use a butter knife to loosen the edges. Turn the loaf upside down and allow it to fall into your other hand.
- Store the loaf wrapped in plastic wrap and inside a resealable bag. Store for 3 days on the counter and a few days longer in the fridge. However, the bread is best when eaten within 1 to 2 days of baking, because the rhubarb flavor seems to mellow out after awhile for some reason.
Hi Emily,
So I made this bread. I used an egg substitute as we can’t eat eggs in our home (1 tbsp flax mixed with 1 tbsp boiling water). I do that with many recipes no problem. I also substituted almond flour for the oat flower and I used frozen bananas that were defrosted. The bread is more than moist, it’s mushy. I kept putting it back in but the bananas never seemed to bake fully. Do you think it’s because I used frozen/defrosted ones? I’ll try again with normal bananas because it’s DELICIOUS! Thanks for the info.
I obviously meant Oat Flour…not flower. Thanks
Hi Kim,
Yes, I do think it could be mushy from using frozen, defrosted bananas. In most banana bread recipes this might be okay but with the gluten free I think the bananas being thicker (not as runny from being frozen) also helps to keep the bread at a firmer consistency. Also, it could actually be runny because you used almond flour instead of the oat flour – these two flours act very different. Almond flour does tend to be more moist so maybe try cutting back on the liquid somewhere or adding more almond flour. however I haven’t tested this recipe with almond flour so I really can’t guarantee the results if any substitutions are made. I hope that helps. I am glad to hear that you enjoyed the taste of the bread. Let me know how your next batch goes. 🙂
Thanks, Emily! I think it was definitely the frozen bananas. I’ve made banana bread with almond flour before and it’s been fine but I always use ripe bananas that aren’t frozen. I just only had frozen ones so I thought I would try it. I will try again. Thank you again for your response.
Kim
You’re welcome, Kim. I also thought it might be helpful to refer you to my blueberry banana bread recipe which uses almond flour – you could simply swap the blueberries with the rhubarb. It does use 3 eggs (I haven’t tested it with any vegan eggs) and Greek yogurt which help with binding it. Also, another tip is to add 1 to 2 tablespoons of corn starch or arrowroot powder to the dry ingredients – I have found this helps with binding in gluten free baking/egg free baking. Let me know how it goes. 🙂
Thanks for making my recipes! 🙂
https://robustrecipes.com/blueberry-banana-bread-gluten-free/
Very good. I made a couple changes to make it vegan. Instead of an egg I made a flax egg, 1 TB. Ground flax seed mixed with 2.5 TB water. I also substituted maple syrup for the honey. It turned out great.
Awesome, I’m glad to hear that it turned out! Thanks for sharing, Sherry! 🙂
Hello. I was wondering if this could be made into muffins?
yes! You would just want to reduce the cooking time by a lot. I would start with 20 minutes and keep a close eye on it. Also, you may have more than 12 muffins depending on how much batter you add to each muffin tin. Let me know how it turns out. 🙂
Thank you very much! I forgot to ask if it’s alright to use frozen rhubarb that has been defrosted? I did read about not using frozen bananas but I wouldn’t think the rhubarb would have the same effect, do you?
I think the frozen and defrosted rhubarb should work okay. Let me know how it turns out. 🙂
Hi!
Could you please also post the original version of the recipe with the oat flour. I used this with a lot of success and prefer it to the almond version.
Thanks ?
Hi Marie, thank you for reaching out to let me know that you prefer the original version of this recipe. I have updated the post to also include the original version. I am sorry to hear that the almond flour wasn’t a success for you, but also happy to hear that you have enjoyed the oat flour version. Happy baking! 🙂
Thanks Emily!
About to whip one up now!
You’re welcome. That’s awesome! Enjoy! 🙂
Can you substitute coconut sugar with brown sugar?
Hi, yes, brown sugar will work as well. Let me know how it turns out.
I made this bread with almond flour and it was very very wet. I’m thinking I should have used 2 bananas instead of 3 and possibly add in a little bit of coconut flour which would absorb the wetness better. Tasted great though!! It’s definitely a keeper, just have to fiddle around with it so it’s more like bread and not a dread pudding 😂👍
*** that should read bread pudding
Hi Ruth, sorry to hear that the recipe was too wet. You could also try the original version of the recipe (the second recipe card), that uses oat flour instead of almond flour. The oat flour will absorb more of the liquid. A lot of readers have enjoyed that version over the years. Hope this helps. 🙂