It always feels exceptional to wake up and notice banana bread sitting on the counter waiting to be devoured. You know it’s going to be even better than it was the first day, if that’s even possible.
This incredible, gluten-free chickpea flour banana bread is one of those loaves you’ll be thrilled to wake up to. Chickpea flour provides extra protein and fiber that you can feel good about, and what’s a thick slice of banana bread without yummy toppings like peanut butter and berries?
Add chocolate chips and some heart-healthy walnuts if you’d like, and enjoy the perfect morning or afternoon snack.
What is chickpea flour?
Today’s banana bread comes to you with a wonderful flour I discovered a few years back: chickpea flour! It’s also known as garbanzo bean flour, gram flour, and besan, and it’s used in a lot of Middle Eastern & Indian cooking and baking. Trust me when I say this flour is amazing!
- It’s inexpensive. Compared to a flour like almond flour, you save some money.
- It’s nutritious. This protein goddess is packed with 6g of protein and 5g of fiber per serving. SAY WHAT?
- It’s gluten-free & nut-free. The perfect alternative if you’re looking for a baked good that’s both!
- It’s slightly sweet. The flour itself is naturally a bit sweet (like almond & coconut flour), which means that it was easy to cut back on the sweeteners in the recipe.
Where can you buy chickpea flour?
You can typically find chickpea flour at Whole Foods or even online. Bonus: grab a bag and make my Chickpea Flour Chocolate Chip Cookies, too!
The good news is that chickpea flour isn’t difficult to make yourself; it’s just ground up dried chickpeas that are pulsed into a fine powder with the hard pieces sifted out. I’ve haven’t tried the DIY version yet, but want to. Basically, you’ll just need to make sure you can get it into a fine enough flour with your blender.
The perfect banana bread for kids
This chickpea flour banana bread is kid-approved! When Sidney was just a year old, he gobbled it up, and my other boys love it just as much. It’s such a great snack to keep on hand because it freezes well. Feel free to skip the chocolate chips for littles if you’d like!
Everything you’ll need to make chickpea flour banana bread
This delicious & easy chickpea flour banana bread uses plenty of pantry staples to make baking a breeze. Plus, the ingredients give the bread a great amount of protein and fiber! Here’s what you’ll need:
- Bananas: be sure to use super ripe bananas to give the bread a natural sweetness.
- Sweetener: you’ll also add in a touch of pure maple syrup.
- Eggs: you’ll need two eggs in this banana bread recipe. I have not tested it with flax eggs, but let me know if you do!
- Butter or oil: feel free to use salted butter, olive oil, coconut oil, or vegan butter to give the banana bread moisture. I love the salted butter version the best!
- Chickpea flour: the star of the show! The bread will bake up beautifully thanks to chickpea flour.
- Baking staples: you’ll also need vanilla extract, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon.
- Optional mix-ins: feel free to add chocolate chips and chopped walnuts or pecans for an extra treat.
What does chickpea flour banana bread taste like?
It tastes just like…banana bread! Years ago, when I first made this bread, I brought it to one of my favorite personal trainers but didn’t tell him it was made with chickpea flour. He said the bread was amazing. Tony also ate several slices with peanut butter on top for dessert. He LOVED it and confirmed that it tasted exactly like regular banana bread. Having a friend, partner, or family member who will try anything you make is seriously a blessing.
Can I use regular flour?
I wouldn’t recommend swapping the flour in this recipe, as it’s specifically tested to use chickpea flour. If you’re looking for a bread using different flours, try one of these:
- Best Ever Healthy Banana Bread Recipe using all-purpose or whole wheat pastry flour
- Nourishing Almond Flour Banana Bread using almond flour
- Paleo Chocolate Chip Coconut Flour Banana Bread using coconut flour
How to make banana bread with chickpea flour
- Prep your pan. Line a loaf pan with parchment paper and spray it with nonstick cooking spray to prevent sticking.
- Whisk the dry. Mix together the chickpea flour, baking soda, cinnamon & salt in a bowl.
- Mix the wet. In a separate bowl, combine the mashed bananas, honey, vanilla, eggs, and oil until smooth.
- Make your batter & bake! Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix until just combined. Stir in any mix-ins you’d like, bake, and enjoy!
Make chickpea flour banana muffins
Yes, you can easily turn this recipe into muffins!
- Follow the recipe instructions and divide the batter evenly into a muffin pan with liners.
- Bake the muffins for 18-23 minutes or until a tester comes out clean.
Storing & freezing tips
- To store: this bread should be kept well-covered in foil or plastic wrap at room temperature for up to 3 days, then I recommend transferring to the fridge or freezer.
- To freeze: wrap in plastic, then tightly in foil, and finally place in a reusable bag or freezer-friendly bag for up to 3 months. Thaw at room temperature once you are ready to eat. You can also feel free to freeze individual slices for a quick on-the-go treat!
Tools you’ll need
Get all of my kitchen tools here!
More bread recipes you’ll love
- Healthy Lemon Poppy Seed Bread
- Healthy Chocolate Brownie Banana Bread
- Pistachio Poppy Seed Orange Yogurt Bread
- Nourishing Almond Flour Banana Bread
- Healthy Birthday Cake Bread
Get all of my bread recipes here!
I hope you love this chickpea flour banana bread! If you make it, be sure to leave a comment and a rating so I know how you liked it. Enjoy, xo!
Ambitious Kitchen
Cookbook
125 Ridiculously Good For You, Sometimes Indulgent, and Absolutely Never Boring Recipes for Every Meal of the Day
Chickpea Flour Banana Bread (gluten-free!)
Ingredients
- Wet ingredients
- 3 medium (330 grams) overripe bananas, mashed (about 1 ⅓ cup mashed banana)
- ¼ cup (78 grams) pure maple syrup
- 2 large eggs, at room temperature
- 6 tablespoons melted salted butter, olive oil or melted and cooled coconut oil
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- Dry Ingredients
- 1 ¼ cups (150 grams) chickpea flour (garbanzo bean flour)
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- Optional mix-ins
- ½ cup (90 grams) chocolate chips (dairy-free if desired)
- ⅓ cup (37 grams) chopped walnuts or pecans
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line an 8x4 inch loaf pan with parchment paper and spray with nonstick cooking spray.
- Mix the dry ingredients: In a medium bowl, whisk together chickpea flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt; set aside.
- Mix the wet ingredients: In a large bowl, combine bananas, honey/pure maple syrup, eggs, olive oil, and vanilla extract; mix until well combined and creamy.
- Combine the batter: Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients and mix until just combined. Fold in any of the optional add-ins to create your own version of this delicious bread. I highly recommend chocolate chips and/or nuts!
- Bake: Pour batter into prepared pan and smooth top. Bake for 40-55 minutes or until tester inserted into center comes out clean.
- Remove from oven and place on wire rack to cool for 10-15 minutes, then carefully invert, remove bread from pan and place back on wire rack to cool completely. Cut into 12 slices.
Recipe Notes
Nutrition
Post originally published April 2016, republished January 24, 2021, and republished April 23rd, 2026.
Recipe by: Monique Volz // Ambitious Kitchen | Photography by: Eat Love Eats
Excellent. I used coconut oil, two flax eggs, and choc chips. Thank you!
I rarely leave comments, this is actually the best banana bread I’ve eaten (not even the best “healthy” banana bread”). The chickpea definitely did something that AP flour didn’t all this while, it’s funny! Such a keeper recipe, Never making regular banana bread again.
Amazing! So glad you loved this one!
This was yummy! I used salted butter, and actually brown sugar instead of the maple syrup. Added mini chocolate chips and nuts. Thank you for the volume of bananas (1 1/3 cup)as it can be hard to guestimate with so many banana sizes. I will definitely make again! Thanks for the recipe!
Perfect! Glad you enjoyed!
The bread was delicious. Moist. Next time I will add raisins.
Thanks
Perfect! Glad you enjoyed!
Love this recipe! I am trying to up my protein so this was perfect. I used honey and olive oil, which worked well. I used dates as an add in, this added an extra, natural sweetness meaning I could reduce the honey slightly. It is delicious toasted with butter 😊
Perfect! So glad you love this one!
I just want to say thank you. I’m nursing a child with allergies. Gluten-free dairy, free and egg free. It’s been a huge learning curve and I have not found baked goods recipes I’ve liked. Texture is always off to me with gluten free flour being too dense and egg substitutes always maker things too fluffy. Well I tried this recipe with Bobs red mill egg replacer and Melt dairy free butter and OMG these are delicious. I finally found a recipe that actually tastes good. Thank you!
So happy you found this one! Such a great snack or breakfast while you’re nursing!
Yum, this was delicious, just ate it warm from the oven! Kid-approved as well ☺️ I used honey instead of maple syrup, and olive oil. Very satisfying!
Delicious! Glad it was a hit with your kiddo 🙂
This is fantastic! I would highly recommend weighing your bananas because what I had I would consider medium size it took almost 4 to get the right weight. My chickpea flour had some lumps so I may try to sift that next time. The chocolate chips also sunk so next time I will fold in half and sprinkle the remaining on top. Also, any idea why all of my banana breads sink in the middle? I test with a toothpick before taking them out and the baking soda was brand new.
For this one it is gluten free, so it might sink in the middle slightly. However, it usually means that your bread has too much moisture (could be from extra ripe bananas, large bananas, etc!)
I really liked this recipe – thank you for posting it. I found you on a YouTube short about using bananas and found the link to all your terrific recipes. A few notes on my process: 1) I only had a cup of chickpea flour left and used 1/2 cup all purpose flour 2) I had no maple syrup, so I used silan (date honey) 3) I used the coconut oil option. 4) I added 1/2 c. chocolate chips and 1/2 cup chopped walnuts. 5) I used an electric mixer to beat the wet ingredients and I ended up with a very light, soft textured loaf. I am glad I used the electric mixture on the wet ingredients. I made banana muffins yesterday (I had a lot of ripe bananas to use!!!) and they were picture perfect, but had a heavy, almost gummy texture. I hand mixed everything on that recipe.
I’m glad you enjoyed! If the muffins turned out gummy, it sounds like they were potentially overmixed by hand (if you also used all purpose flour, which can turn baked goods dense when overmixed).
i do not have chickpea flour can i just used canned chikpea ? how much
Hi! Unfortunately, chickpeas won’t work as they have a much different consistency than chickpea flour.
I’m so glad that I found this recipe because I have tried so many gluten-free recipes with almond flour and other flours. And honestly, all of them had a very weird texture and with almond flour, I always felt that it was high in fats. This is amazing. I like to have one slice with my tea or coffee every day and I don’t feel guilty about it.
Such a great breakfast or snack! Glad you love it 🙂
I was not having high expectations when the mixture was so runny. Watched another video from someone else’s recipe while this was baking, because this one didn’t have a video to show me what the consistency should be, but by then, they’re already in the oven… F-word.
Grumble grumble, something about lowering the review on this.
I used farm fresh eggs, olive oil, unpasteurized honey sent from my home province, and my GOOD pure vanilla extract. I also used a whole TBSP of quality Ceylon cinnamon cause I don’t care what other people want… we need more cinnamon in our lives, and I live alone, so by “we”, I mean me.
When I took this out, it was starting to smell weird in here and the mini cake-loaf thingies looked really dark, so I expected it to taste burnt, but I’m on my 3rd slice and need someone to take this away from me! Since I live alone, that won’t be happening, but I digress.
I topped the warm pumpernickel-looking end slices with soft butter and sprinkled it with a pinch of sugar (cause they taste healthy and I want some sugar) and now feel I’m going to explode cause I can’t stop eating this. Ugh
This was my first “loafs” I’ve ever made in my life, of anything, ever. I bake once or twice per year (either spring and/or fall, once), and when I do, it’s a batch or 2 of cookies then I’m done and over it. Did not expect this to turn out.
Please! For the love of all that is good and mighty on this planet, someone take my plate away!!!!! (…after just one more bite though.)
5 STARS ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
What a journey! I’m glad you stuck with it and that it turned out beautifully 🙂 I’m sure the high-quality vanilla and cinnamon made all the difference!
Welp, I’m back! Going to make this again. Can’t believe how long this baking streak is lasting this season, but I’m blaming you and your banana bread. THANK YOU!!! 🙌
Maybe I’ll just say feck it and become a normal once-in-a-while baker. Ha! Imagine?
Anyhoozie, love from Canada 🍁 oooh.. maybe I’ll try maple syrup in it this time.
Love that!! Enjoy this baking kick 🙂
This banana bread was absolutely delicious. Perfect taste and texture. I used coconut oil and it turned out wonderfully. You’d never know this was gluten and dairy free and made with better-for-you ingredients. I’ll be adding this to my repertoire. Thanks for another amazing recipe 😀
Amazing! Glad you enjoyed!
Hi! It doesn’t say what temp to cook at!
Hi! In Step 1 it says 350 degrees F 🙂
I have made this several times. I was looking for a white flour alternative and this hit the mark 100%. I follow the recipe exactly and the bread turns out perfect every time! Make sure you use 3 really ripe bananas. I only had 2 the last time and it definitely made a difference. Nothing wrong with the with the recipe, I just didn’t have enough. I have also made made muffins with the recipe, also perfect and delicious!
Hi,
Soooooo YUM!!!!!!!!! But i prefer more it more sweeter, how much honey or maple syrup can I increase without compromising the texture?
So glad you loved it! Make sure you use SUPER ripe bananas, and then feel free to add 2-3 more tablespoons of maple syrup. Let me know how that goes!
I tried GF banana bread recipes before, but they were so dry This was surprisingly moist. I didn’t have walnuts 😞, so after much thought and searching I added pistachios and chocolate chips. 😀😋 I couldn’t be more delighted in how well it turned out. Thank you so much for sharing your recipe.
Sounds delicious! So glad you gave this one a try!
I’m just looking at this recipe because I’m just about to make it. The only thing is that in step 3 it mentions apple cider vinegar. I can’t see this on the ingredient list. If so, how much vinegar please?
Thank you for the catch! I recently updated this recipe to be even better, and removed the apple cider vinegar. No need to add!
I am GF and was delighted to find this recipe for baked goods without expensive flour blends. With bonus protein, no less!!
My mods: 4 T cocoa powder, 2 heaping T plain yogurt, canola oil and orange blossom extract because I’m out of vanilla.
I went all out with both the chocolate chips and coconut. Very yum
Perfect! So glad you enjoyed!
am I crazy of is this missing the measurement for the ACV?
Hi! Thank you for the catch – I recently updated this recipe to be even better, and just forgot to take the ACV out of the instructions. It’s now updated!
I’m just about ready to put this in the oven, but I realized the instructions say to add apple cider vinegar but I cannot find vinegar listed in the ingredients list! I’m wondering how much to use? Or if it is a typo maybe in the instructions? Thank you for all the yummy recipes!!
Thank you for the catch! It was a typo – sorry about that! No ACV necessary.
You mentioned in the instructions to add in apple cider vinegar with wet ingredients but it’s not mentioned with the ingredients list. How much ac vinegar?
Hi! I recently updated the recipe, so the ACV in the instructions was a mistake. It has been updated now (no ACV needed!)
The positive reviews are likely bots because this was one of the most heinous tasting banana bread recipes I’ve ever made or tasted.
Sorry to hear that you didn’t love this one! I’m not sure what could’ve gone wrong as I (and many others – not bots!) have made this bread many times. Did you use SUPER ripe bananas?
Works great with 1/2 cup warm water with 2 tablespoons of chia seeds; add as-is or combine and let gel for a few minutes first. And it bakes up perfectly in my solar oven. Nothing against flour, but it’s a lot of fun to see how many things I can do with chickpea flour.
Perfect! Try these chickpea flour cookies next 🙂
I had too many bananas, so found this recipe which I chose because of the chickpea flour, which is very high in protein! I made 12 beautiful muffins, adding some raisins and very little honey. They were wonderful! This will be a regular for me. I live near Foodtown, an international supermarket with fascinating GF choices in the Indian aisle, including Besan (garbanzo flour). I use it a lot, and this recipe makes me (and my hubby) very happy!
Amazing! So glad you found this recipe! I have chickpea flour cookies here, too, that I think you’ll love 🙂
What is the cider vinegar for?. Don’t have any, can you sub lemon juice or other vinegar?.
Haven’t made it yet – but have all.ingredients ecvept cider vinegar.
White vinegar or lemon juice will work!
Has anyone tried subbing the oil for applesauce?
I subbed applesauce for the oil and flax egg for the eggs and made mini muffins. I think they turned out great, but I can’t compare to the original recipe. Thank you for the recipe.
I’m glad that worked out well!
This turned out delicious! I’ve been trying to get rid of some chickpea flour, and this bread was so moist and delightful. I subbed one of the bananas for applesauce, and swapped the eggs for flax eggs. I’ll definitely use this recipe again for the next time I want to make banana bread!
I made the bannana breat it was lovely going to mixed it now to do muffins this time.I was really pleased with it I put less suger in felt it didn’t need a lot for me personally.
Thank you Josephine
So happy to hear that!
I have made this recipe a few times already, exactly as written (sometimes skimping on the vanilla). It is surprisingly tasety, no one would suspect it’s good for them… I wish there were more recipes like this that use chickpea four but manage to avoid that throat scratchy effect.
Amazing! Glad it’s a hit!
So light and delicious. I had to substitute some chopped medjool dates when I realised my maple syrup was unusable. I was worried it would be too dry because of that but it turned out perfectly! I added in some 75% chocolate chips too. My husband had no idea it has chickpea flour as he is not a fan of anything chickpea! My bananas were very ripe. I also sieved the flour mix into the wet ingredients as it looked a little lumpy. I will be making this again, Thank you.
I’m glad that swap worked out well! Such a great snack!
Just made these (they are cooling as I type), and they are very yummy! I added walnuts, but all else is the same. Maybe chocolate chips next time. Yum! Thank you!
Love that! Such a great treat!
Any chance you could set up comments to have most recent on top?
Hi Heidi! We’re actually working on this as we speak – hope to have this swapped soon 🙂
Honestly, kinda bland. It’s definitely bread. The lack of sweetness, and suppression of the banana flavor by the flour leaves a lot to be desired.
Sorry to hear that you didn’t love this one! Make sure you use SUPER ripe bananas to get the right sweetness.
This was a great success! Always looking for GF alternatives to wheat and this fits the bill.
Added: coconut shred, walnuts, cacao nibs.
Subbed: Amazake (a sweet fermented rice drink, home made) for the honey/maple syrup.
Question: I don’t like the smell of bicarb in a dish – is it possible to use baking powder instead?
Many thanks!
So glad that worked out well! I haven’t tested this with baking powder, so I’m not sure how the texture would change.
I followed the recipe and overall I would rate it 3 out of 5, almost a 4 though. Without the added sugar and regular flour, I didn’t expect it to be as sweet but I will definitely be finishing the pan!
Did something go wrong with the flavor or texture here? Would love to help troubleshoot!
Delighted to find this recipe! I made it this evening and the batter seemed very wet so I added an extra 1/8th cup or so of chickpea flour and 1/4 cup of ground flax. It tastes good but is a bit on the dry side. What consistency should the batter be before it goes in the oven?
Check out the photos and the instruction video to get a sense of what the batter should look like! It should be correct as written, so try baking it up without adding any additional flour.
I made this today, following the recipe exactly as written (with the addition of dark chocolate chips), and it is the best banana bread!
One of my favs, too!!
Did everything the recipe asked. Still not baked inside and burning on top.
Sorry to hear that! I’d love to help troubleshoot – it sounds like there was too much liquid. Did you measure out your mashed banana?
I made it and it was delicious! Will definitely make it again next time my bananas are on the way out. My whole family loved it.
So happy to hear that!
This is awesome. Nicest thing I’ve made in some time. Even without the cinamon. Realised while making this I was somehow out of cinamon. I put in sultanas instead of choc chip.
Will definitely make again.
Simply leaving out the eggs makes this vegan. I didn’t add an egg substitute and it was delicious and moist