Banana Bread Frittata (Gluten-Free)

Name: Banana Bread Frittata (Gluten-Free)
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 25 min
Total time: 35 min
Ingredients: 12 eggs (large); 2/3 cup coconut milk (canned is better because it's less watery ); 5 bananas (medium, roughly chopped, if you don't want to put banana slices on top you only need 4 bananas); 1/2 cup pitted dates (roughly chopped); 4 tsp ground cinnamon; 2 pinch salt; 1 tsp vanilla extract (optional); 1/2 cup walnuts (roughly chopped)

Banana Bread Frittata is an absolutely delicious breakfast packed with protein and healthy fats to keep you satisfied for hours. It has all the flavors of banana bread that you love, but it’s not super sweet. And it’s also gluten-free.

If you’re looking for my other favorite frittata, check out my Hearty Spinach Beef Frittata.

The Ingredients in This Banana Bread Frittata

This Banana Bread Frittata is pretty simple in terms of ingredients. But you need to know: there’s not actually any banana bread in the frittata. Rather, the flavors will remind you of banana bread.

Of course, since this is a frittata, there are going to be eggs. For a frittata big enough for 4 to 6 people, that means a dozen eggs. No comments that this banana bread frittata tastes eggy, okay? 😉 (The most common complaint about my famous tortilla recipe is that it tastes “eggy” when eggs are the base. Gotta have reasonable expectations!)

Next, this recipe uses fresh bananas. I used medium-ripe bananas. They had no green parts on them, but they also weren’t turning dark yellow with black spots. Here’s a simple tip for you: the greener the banana, the more starch it has compared to sugar. That means a greener banana will be less sweet. Bananas and other fruit aren’t bad because they have sugar. But just know that how ripe the banana is can change the final sweetness balance in this dish.

Also, to lend some sweetness, this recipe uses pitted dates. There are walnuts for crunch and to lend that banana bread flavor. Finally, there’s coconut milk for texture and cinnamon for that warm flavor everyone loves. If you need substitutions, check that out below.

What’s a Frittata?

The easiest way to describe a frittata is that it’s a baked egg dish with the fillings mixed in. Compare that to an omelet which cooks the eggs separately and lays the fillings on top before it’s folded. Frittatas come in endless flavor combinations. They’re an excellent portable breakfast because they tend to be less messy than other egg dishes.

Can You Make a Frittata in a Cast Iron Skillet?

Totally. In fact, cast iron is the only way I make my frittatas anymore. Nothing will stick in a well-seasoned cast iron skillet, not even eggs. I know it sounds too good to believe, but it’s true. The key to having a well-seasoned cast iron skillet is not using harsh soaps to clean it out. Also, giving it a light coat of oil after washing will help it maintain its non-stick surface. Go here for more details about how to clean cast iron.

There are other things you can bake this Banana Bread Frittata in. A glass baking dish like this one would be my second choice. You could also use silicone muffin liners (or a silicone muffin tray) and bake these in a muffin tray. However, in my experience, there will be some sticking even though you’re using silicone.

How to Make Banana Bread Frittata

Making this Banana Bread Frittata is pretty simple. Here’s how to do it:

Preheat the oven.
Grease your baking dish or get your cast iron skillet ready.
Blend the eggs and coconut milk until smooth. Add the bananas and dates.
Pulse the blender a few times until there are still some chunks of banana.
Pour into your baking dish or skillet. Top with walnuts and optional sliced banana.
Bake until the eggs are set, 20 to 30 minutes.

You can make this frittata in advance and reheat. I recommend reheating in the oven for best results. Also, you can freeze this Banana Bread Frittata, well-wrapped, for up to a month.

How to Modify This Recipe

There are so many ways to modify this recipe. Here are the most common ways:

If you don’t like dates, try adding a bit of maple syrup or honey.
Swap out the walnuts for your favorite nuts. Pecans might be nice.
Not a fan of coconut milk or would rather use dairy? Pretty much any milk substitute or milk itself will sub in. Cashew milk or heavy cream would be yummy.
And you can definitely leave the cinnamon out if you’re not a fan.
Or, try adding a dash of vanilla – about a teaspoon – to give that little extra something.

Other Breakfasts You Might Like

Looking for other popular breakfast ideas? Here’s some to try out:

And if you’re looking for other tasty recipes, grab a copy of The Core 4!

Try Prepared with Purpose

This recipe came to you courtesy of my friends at Prepared with Purpose. Prepared with Purpose is a fresh meal service that delivers yummy real food, ready-to-eat meals right to your door. Prepared with Purpose’s meals are gluten-, dairy-, grain-, soy-, and added sugar-free. They also have vegan options and deliver to the vast majority of San Diego County.

Z and I met Prepared with Purposes’s founder and head chef Joann Stabile last summer while attending BeeFest in Northern California. Turns out, she’s based here in San Diego like us!

When Z changed jobs, we decided to sign up for weekly Prepared with Purpose meals. It’s been a life-saver for us. We choose our meals for the following week, put out our glass-lock containers, and prepped meals show up for the work week. That’s right: one of my favorite features is that all the meals come in glass containers. When we’re done, we wash them and send them back.

The portions are generous and you can customize the number of meals you get every week. We usually get 10. Plus, there’s always a tasty selection of rotating options to choose from. If you’re in San Diego, give Prepared with Purpose a try!