Gluten-Free Lightened Up Banana Nut Bread

Low-fat, gluten-free banana nut bread made two-ways! My family went bananas for this!!

My aunt recently started following a gluten-free diet, and my close friend has Celiac, so lately I've been dabbling more with gluten-free baking. I had a large bunch of over-ripe bananas sitting on my counter and decided to experiment taking my favorite Low-fat Banana Nut Bread Recipe and making it gluten-free. Since the recipe makes two loafs (yes you can halve it if you wish) I thought why not use two different gluten-free flours to see which yields the best results. Not having a ton of experience baking gluten-free, and seeing how much fat is usually used in gluten-free baked goods, I wasn't sure how this would turn out, but the results were EXCELLENT!

This was easier than I thought it would be, I was fully prepared to test this a few times but it worked on the first shot, and they were both equally delicious. The bread on the above left photo was made with brown rice flour instead of wheat flour; the bread on the above right photo I swapped the wheat flour for Bob's Red Mill Gluten-Free All Purpose Flour.

I then had my aunt, friends, daughter and husband help me taste test them to see which was better and the results were mixed. My favorite was the Bob's Red Mill, to me it tasted closest to my original recipe. But some of my friends liked the brown rice one better because they liked that it had a cakier texture, something that is difficult to achieve with gluten-free baking. My 4-year old daughter loved them both! So I'll let you decide which way you want to make it, and if you want the original wheat version, here's the link. I gave you the nutritional info for both, with and without the nuts!

Gluten-Free Banana Nut Bread (Bob's Red Mill GF All-Purpose Flour)
Skinnytaste.com
Servings: 26 (2 loaves) • Serving Size: 1 slice • Old Pts: 3 • Weight Watchers Points : 4
Calories: 130 • Fat: 5 g • Carb: 24 g • Fiber: 2 g • Protein: 3 g • Sugar: 12 g
Cholesterol: 5 mg • Sodium: 106 mg

Without the Nuts - Old Points: 2 • Weight Watchers Points : 3
Calories: 109 • Fat: 2 g • Carb: 24 g • Fiber: 2 g • Protein: 2 g • Sugar: 12 g
Cholesterol: 5 mg • Sodium: 106 mg

Gluten-Free Banana Nut Bread (Bob's Red Mill Brown Rice Flour)
Skinnytaste.com
Servings: 26 (2 loaves) • Serving Size: 1 slice • Old Pts: 3 • Weight Watchers Points : 4
Calories: 145 • Fat: 5 g • Carb: 28 g • Fiber: 2 g • Protein: 2 g • Sugar: 12 g
Cholesterol: 5 mg • Sodium: 108 mg

Without the Nuts – Old Points: 2 • Weight Watchers Points : 3
Calories: 124 • Fat: 2 g • Carb: 27 g • Fiber: 2 g • Protein: 2 g • Sugar: 12 g
Cholesterol: 5 mg • Sodium: 108 mg

Ingredients:

• 7 ripe medium bananas, mashed
• 1/2 cup unsweetened apple sauce
• 2-1/2 cups Bob's Red Mill gluten free flour (all purpose or brown rice)
• 1-1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 4 tbsp butter, softened
• 1 cup light brown sugar (unpacked)
• 4 large egg whites
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 3 oz (3/4 cup) chopped walnuts
• baking spray


Directions:

Preheat oven to 350°F. Spray two 8x5 inch nonstick loaf pans with baking spray.

In a medium bowl, combine the flour, baking soda and salt with a wire whisk. Set aside.

In a large bowl cream butter and sugar with an electric mixer. Add egg whites, bananas, apple sauce and vanilla, and beat at medium speed until thick. Scrape down sides of the bowl.

Add flour mixture and walnuts (if using), then blend at low speed until combined. Do not over mix.

Pour batter into loaf pans and bake on the center rack for 45 to 50 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Let the pan cool at least 20 minutes to bring it to room temperature before slicing.