Flourless Gluten-Free Banana Bread

One of my favorite things about picking up cooking as a hobby has been gaining the knowledge to be able to wing a recipe and see what I come up with. (The better part is it coming out delicious!) This is exactly what happened when I saw three overly-ripe bananas on my countertop this past weekend. Now, I can add this recipe to my repertoire and something about it being made up on a whim makes it even more special.

What’s so great about a recipe like this one is that you can wing it, too! This is how I started recipe testing — by making minor changes to recipes I found online. For example, use different mix-ins or swap oats for flours you already have on-hand (although it won’t be a “flourless” loaf anymore). Slowly, you’ll find yourself barely glancing at a recipe because you know you can throw something together (literally), put it in the oven, and have it come out tasting yummy.

Ingredients:

2 cups gluten-free rolled oats

3 very ripe bananas

2 eggs

1/4 cup maple syrup, honey, or agave

1 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

optional: cinnamon to taste

dash vanilla extract

1/3-1/2 cup mix-ins of your choice (my favorite is walnuts & chocolate chips) & more for the topping

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350F & grease a loaf pan.

2. Blend oats into a flour.

3. In a large mixing bowl, mash bananas, then stir in all other ingredients except mix-ins.

4. Fold in mix-ins.

5. Pour batter into loaf pan & add toppings of choice.

6. Bake for 35-38 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.

7. Allow to cool before slicing & enjoying!

I enjoyed mine alongside coconut yogurt for breakfast!