This easy-to-make recipe for the Best Paleo Bread slices well and has great texture and flavor. Use it to make sandwiches or toast it for breakfast!
I know the title of this bread sounds a bit presumptuous, but I promise I don’t mean it that way.
I have to be honest…
I’ve made a whole lot of paleo sandwich “bread” recipes in search of the perfect one. (Side Note: I’m not completely paleo and/or grain-free, but I’ve noticed I feel my best when I limit my wheat intake. Mike doesn’t share my sentiments though.)
There were some recipes I tried that were decent enough and definitely passable as bread-like concoctions, but nothing was stellar. Or even good enough to warrant making a second time (IMHO).
And there were also a few loaves that were actually pretty bad in different ways – either the flavor and/or the texture was just off – that ended up only being fit for the garbage (definitely a sad thing). But that’s how we learn, right?
After searching for the perfect paleo sandwich loaf and not coming up with something that I felt completely fit the bill, I got in the kitchen and started experimenting. Again, some loaves were ok, some were obnoxiously inedible.
It took a month or so, but I finally decided to start playing around with adding a few other paleo-friendly starches, like arrowroot and tapioca. That’s what it took for me to come up with what I consider to be the perfect loaf.
I had been holding out on adding other starches because I wanted to keep my ingredient list minimal, but these additions make all the difference in the end result of this bread.
What Makes the Best Paleo Bread Recipe?
What makes this paleo bread recipe the best? There are a few factors that do it for me.
For starters, this loaf is perfect for slicing. Its texture strikes a great balance between light and dense. It’s not to heavy, but it’s sturdy enough to stand up to basically whatever you want to use it for. And thanks to the use of arrowroot and tapioca, it’s quite pliable too.
It also has great flavor. Almonds are subtle and the flavors of the other flours blend in well. This bread has a certain richness coming from the eggs and ghee (or coconut oil), which makes it a little bit similar to brioche. In fact, although coconut oil will also work here, I much prefer the use of ghee for its buttery flavor.
It’s versatile. I love this bread toasted with a smear of butter and a spoonful of Sugar Free Strawberry Jam. And it’s equally delicious made into a sandwich.
If you’re like me and have been hunting around for a great paleo sandwich bread, I can’t recommend this loaf highly enough. (And if a sweet paleo breakfast-type of bread is more your thing, I think you’ll love my Paleo Cranberry Bread Recipe!)
Can You Eat Bread on Paleo?
In general, the paleo diet involves eating nutrient-rich real foods, such as meat, fish, nuts, eggs, vegetables, and fruits. It’s best to choose grass-fed and pasture-raised meats, and organic produce whenever possible. The paleo lifestyle removes refined sugars, grains, legumes, dairy, and unhealthy fats and oils from your diet, as well as highly processed foods. (Read more about the paleo diet on HealthLine and EatingWell.)
However, it’s possible to make paleo bread out of nourishing ingredients that are compliant with this way of eating. If whipping up a loaf of paleo bread helps you stay on track, stick to your goals, and avoid eating something that isn’t on your plan, then it’s well worth it!
This recipe for the best paleo bread has lovely texture and flavor. It’s not overly eggy or overly almond-y, and it doesn’t need to be toasted to taste great! Although, a slice toasted and topped with a pat of butter is perfection.
Paleo Sandwich Bread
I think there are two things that make a really great sandwich bread:
- The ability to slice the loaf without it crumbling into smithereens, and
- The fact that it’s delicious as-is, without the need to be toasted or grilled.
This bread is wonderful in both aspects; it slices neatly and tastes wonderful as it is.
Paleo Baking
Paleo baked goods are free of gluten, refined sugars, and dairy. If you’ve perfected regular baking and now you’ve gone paleo, you might be surprised at just how different this way of baking is.
I find that in order to get the closest simulation of regular bread (i.e., bread that has gluten), it’s often useful to use a combination of a few different paleo-friendly flours.
Paleo Baking Ingredients
What Flours Are Paleo and Gluten Free?
Here are the most common paleo flours I use, along with a little bit of information about each one:
Almond Flour and Almond Meal: Almond flour is made from blanched ground almonds. Blanched almonds are just almonds with the skins removed, so the resulting flour is a light creamy color. On the other hand, almond meal is made from unblanched ground almonds. As a result, almond meal is darker in color with brown flecks throughout.
Arrowroot Starch: You may also see arrowroot starch labeled as arrowroot flour or arrowroot powder. It’s made from tubers traditionally from a plant called Maranta arundinacea, but commercially it’s often found as a mixture of various starches, including starch from the cassava root. Similar to tapioca starch, arrowroot starch is used in paleo baking to improve the texture of baked goods, lightening them up a bit, and help with browning.
Coconut Flour: After coconut milk is removed from coconut meat, the coconut meat is baked at a low temperature to dry it out. Subsequently, the dried coconut meat is ground into coconut flour.
Flaxseed Meal: Flaxseed meal is available either in seed form or ground in meal form, and either in brown or golden color. For paleo baking, my preference is ground golden flaxseed meal, which I find yields the prettiest results and the best texture.
Tapioca Flour: Also called tapioca starch, tapioca flour is made from the root of the cassava plant. Tapioca flour is nearly flavorless, so it’s good for using in both sweet and savory recipes. In paleo baking, this flour helps lighten up and improve the texture of paleo baked goods and make them a bit springier, and also helps with browning. This is why I like using it along with other denser paleo flours, such as almond flour.
Paleo Baking with Almond Flour
Almond flour is often considered the “all purpose” flour of the paleo baking world. It’s used to make things like bread, cakes, and cookies with good results.
The only caveat I have is that using almond flour alone can result in a dense baked good, so I typically use almond flour (or almond meal) in conjunction with arrowroot starch, tapioca flour, and/or flaxseed meal to lighten up the texture.
Almond meal and almond flour can be used similarly. However, unless a recipe says that they can be used interchangeably, know that the result might be different. Generally, I find that baking with almond four yields a more “white bread” look and baking with almond meal results in a more “whole wheat bread” appearance.
Paleo Baking with Coconut Flour
Coconut flour is a great alternative when you need to avoid almond flour because of a nut allergy, or for any other reason. With a couple easy tips, coconut flour can also yield delicious gluten free baked goods.
Coconut flour is very high in fiber and subsequently absorbs a lot of liquid. Therefore, as a general rule, it’s recommended to use coconut flour and liquid at the same ratio.
Coconut flour can also result in very dense and/or dry and crumbly baked goods, so it’s important not to use too much coconut flour, and to use other ingredients to lighten the texture. This is why a lot of recipes that call for coconut flour also call for a lot of eggs. However, then the issue is that the baked goods have an overly eggy taste. Because of this, I prefer to use coconut flour in conjunction with other paleo-friendly flours instead of using it on its own.
What Sweeteners Are Paleo?
Here are some of the most common paleo sweeteners I use:
What Oils and Fats are Paleo?
Here are a few healthy fats and oils that I frequently use in paleo baking:
- Avocado oil
- Coconut oil
- Olive oil (light olive oil works well in baking)
- Ghee (clarified butter)
- Cacao butter
Easy Paleo Bread Recipe
This recipe for paleo bread is easy to make and if you have a well-stocked paleo pantry, you probably have all or at least most of the ingredients already on hand.
Ingredients
- Almond flour
- Arrowroot starch
- Golden flaxseed meal
- Tapioca starch
- Fine salt
- Baking soda
- Ghee or coconut oil
- Eggs
- Plain, unsweetened almond “milk”
- Apple cider vinegar
Step-by-Step Instructions
This paleo bread is very easy to make! It’s similar to making a cake or quick bread, and there are really just three steps to make the bread dough (which is really more like batter):
- Whisk together the dry ingredients in a bowl.
- Whisk together the wet ingredients in another bowl.
- Stir the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients.
After that, just pour the batter into a loaf pan and bake it!
Paleo Bread Nutrition
I calculated the nutrition information for this loaf based on 14 slices (1 slice per serving). Each 1 slice has the following nutrition information:
- 174kcals
- 5g protein
- 14g total fat
- 8g total carbohydrates
- 2g fiber
- 6g net carbs
Is Paleo Bread Keto? What is Keto Bread?
This paleo bread is gluten free, grain free, and free of refined sugars. With just 6g net carbs per serving, this paleo bread may be easy to fit into a keto meal plan.
If you want more keto bread, you might enjoy the Keto Bread cookbook. It has 100 keto bread recipes!
More Paleo Baked Goods Recipe Inspiration
- Classic Chocolate Walnut Brownies from Healthy Sweet Eats
- Date and Walnut Paleo Crispbread from An Edible Mosaic
- Paleo Chocolate Chip Cookies from Texanerin
- Flourless Chocolate Cake with Caramel and Chocolate Ganache (Paleo Gluten Free Chocolate Turtle Cake Recipe) from Healthy Sweet Eats
- Paleo Strawberry Shortcake for One from An Edible Mosaic
Let’s Connect
I love hearing from you!
Did you make this recipe? Please rate it and leave a comment.
You can also tag @anediblemosaic on social media.
To stay up-to-date, follow me on Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, and Twitter!
xoxo, Faith
Best Paleo Bread Recipe (Perfect As-Is or For Making Sandwiches)
Ingredients
- 2 cups almond flour
- 6 tablespoons arrowroot starch
- 4 tablespoons golden flaxseed meal
- 2 tablespoons tapioca starch
- 3/4 teaspoon fine salt
- 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 4 tablespoons ghee or coconut oil melted and cooled slightly, plus more to grease the loaf pan
- 4 large eggs lightly beaten
- 1/2 cup plain, unsweetened almond “milk”
- 1 1/2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F; generously grease an 8½ by 4½-inch loaf pan with ghee or coconut oil.
- Whisk together the almond meal, arrowroot starch, flaxseed meal, tapioca starch, salt, and baking soda in a large bowl.
- Whisk together the slightly cooled butter or coconut oil, eggs, almond “milk”, and vinegar in a medium bowl.
- Add the wet ingredients to the dry all at once and stir until combined, being careful not to over-mix. The batter will be thick.
- Immediately pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, about 40 to 45 minutes in a glass pan.
- Cool on a wire rack before slicing and serving, and store any leftovers wrapped in the fridge for up to 5 days.
Video
Faith’s Tips
- Net Carbs: 6g per serving (1 slice)
- Correction in Video: At 0:21, the video says “baking powder”, but the correct ingredient is actually baking soda like the recipe says.
- Cooking Time: I use a glass loaf pan to make this bread. If you use a metal loaf pan, you may need to adjust the cooking time because although glass takes a bit longer than metal to heat up, once it’s hot, it retains heat better.
- Troubleshooting Why Your Loaf Didn’t Rise: Be sure to use the same size baking dish that the recipe specifies; make sure your oven is properly calibrated; preheat your oven before baking; use fresh baking soda; don’t skip the vinegar. Also please note that by nature paleo bread doesn’t rise as much as regular bread with gluten.
- Brands of Almond Flour I’ve Used: I’ve successfully made this recipe with Bob’s Red Mill, Honeyville, and Anthony’s almond flour. If you use almond meal instead of almond flour, your bread will be darker.
- Substitutions: I have tested the following substitutions with good results:
- Arrowroot Starch: Omit the arrowroot starch; add 1 large egg white and increase the tapioca starch to 4 tablespoons (30 g).
- Golden Flaxseed Meal: Brown flaxseed meal will also work, but you’ll have specks of brown in your loaf. You can make your own flaxseed meal by finely grinding flaxseeds, but do not use whole flaxseeds for this recipe.
- Ghee or Coconut Oil: Unsalted butter (melted and cooled slightly) will also work.
- Plain, Unsweetened Almond “Milk”: Cow’s milk will also work (I tested this recipe with both whole milk and 2% milk with good results). Other types of milk may also work, but I haven’t tested them (if you make this with another type of milk, please let us know how it goes in the comments!).
Nutrition
This post was first published on An Edible Mosaic on March 6, 2015. I updated it with more information on March 5, 2021.
Very delicious and easy to make!
Wow! This is fantastic. I had assumed all almond bread was crumbly. I used whole almond flour and olive oil. I had to use a 7 x 5.5 Corningware Casserole dish as I didn’t have the one you used. Thank you so much for persevering and coming up with this recipe!
Susan Who Hates Cooking
I wish you sold this. Maybe in the future????
Lisa, That is really kind of you. Yes, maybe in the future! :)
I’ve tried so many different recipes for paleo bread. This by far is the softest I’ve made. Good flavor easy to make. I give it a thumbs up.
I’ve made this twice. Good flavor but almost no rise. Thoughts on adding 1 Tbs psyllium powder?
Mike, I think that’s a good idea and might help this rise a bit more. Psyllium powder is tricky though, I would start small and work up. I’m thinking maybe 1/2 tablespoon might do the trick. If you decide to play with the recipe, please let me know how it goes!
I’ve made this bread probably 100 times. I’ve made it EXACTLY how the recipe states. I’ve used the standard loaf pan, but I usually put it into 2 small loaf pans because I like the smaller size (Perfect for slicing and placing one egg perfectly on the top). It comes out perfect every single time. I cut the time down just a tiny smidge. I’ve never been disappointed.
This is the paleo bread recipe I have ever tried.
This bread tastes great. Thank you for sharing this recipe. – It did not rise much, a common theme of my almond flour breads of late. Is that characteristic of the ingredient? Or is there something that I need to be made aware of when baking in Florida (in the summer)? Any guidance would be greatly appreciated. Thank you :)
Deirdre, Thank you very much, I’m glad you enjoyed the bread! I’m in Florida too, and I have the same issue with almond flour-based baked goods not rising as much, especially in the summer. The humidity is just so high! I’ve been trying to troubleshoot this and I discovered that slightly increasing the dry ingredients (usually by about 2 tablespoons) has helped with some recipes. Another thing that I’ve found has helped with some recipes is letting the batter rest for 10 minutes before baking. Also, I bought an oven thermometer and closely monitor my oven’s internal temperature, manually increasing the temperature to keep it as close to the bake temperature as possible (my oven temp tends to drop during baking, especially during the summer).
I hope this helps. If I discover any more tips/tricks I will share them! :)
I’ve made this bread 3 times… the first exactly as recipe given, once with ½ Tbsp Psyllium husk which I don’t think made much difference and this last time with 1 Tbsp Psyllium husk and ¼ c hemp seeds. It may have risen a touch higher but had an amazing flavor I didn’t expect. I also cooked the last loaf in my Caraway loaf pan and it slid right out.
did you use psyllium husk powder or flakes? thanks!
Great texture! Best for me toasted and will use ghee next loaf. Thank you for nutrition facts. I’m new to this and grateful.
Can I sub the almond milk for goat milk? Thank you!
Rae, I haven’t tried this recipe using goat milk but I have tried it with cow’s milk and it worked well, so I think it might work. Please let me know how it goes if you give it a try!
After trying many different bread recipes, this has become the one I bake weekly for sandwiches and plain old toast. Irecnt;y added 1 tBsp of chia seeds and its fabulous. Thanks an edible mosaic for this recipe.
My bread didn’t rise BUT I didn’t use fresh baking soda. I’ve had it for a while so that might be it. Nevertheless I’m still going to put butter and honey all over it and gobble it up 🤣
Yum, this is a great Paleo bread recipe. I made quite a few lil switches with it, I used coconut milk, and tapioca flour (instead of arrowroot and tapioca starch), as I’ve never really known the difference – also, I tend to add whatever seeds I have on hand in too. This time I used chia, sesame and sunflower in it for extra crunch. All this to say, it’s a forgiving, easy recipe with a delish result every time.
I was wondering if it can be made in a bread machine. My husband just bought me one for Christmas.
Jennifer, I haven’t tried this in a bread machine, so I’m not sure. If you try it, please let me know how it goes!
This recipe came out great! It rose and is very fluffy. It’s also easy to slice into thin slices, while most paleo or gluten free breads are not. My only issue is that there’s a slight aftertaste from the flaxseeds. Can anything be substituted?
Tom, I’m so happy you enjoyed this recipe, thanks so much for your comment! A quick question about the flaxseed – did you make sure to use golden flaxseed meal? I find that using golden (instead of brown) and meal (instead of seeds) gives the best results here. I haven’t tried this recipe with a substitute for the flaxseed, but I think ground chia seeds would work. If you want to try that, I would use 2 tablespoons of ground chia seeds instead of the flaxseed. If you make it this way, please let me know how it goes! :)
Hello! I used Bob’s Red Mill Paleo flour, and unsweetened “Milkadamia” milk; it produced a beautiful loaf, thank you for the recipe!
Rhona
Hi Faith! I’m eager to make this bread but i dont want to use baking soda. Would it work?
Hi Shinta, The baking soda is the leavening agent in this recipe. Without it, the bread would likely be dense and flat. However, I think if you make it this way, it might be good for crispbread! You could thinly slice and dry the slices in the oven (similar to this recipe: https://www.anediblemosaic.com/date-and-walnut-paleo-crispbread-and-3-brie-topping-ideas/). Let me know how it goes if you give it a try!
My whole family LOVES this recipe! I just made it for the first time as we are transitioning from gluten free to grain free, and we were all so pleased with this sandwich bread! I used MCT oil in it and it was fantastic. I am wondering if anyone has tried this recipe without the tapioca flour? It has a pretty high glycemic index, so I was hoping the recipe would still be successful with just increasing the arrowroot flour to 8 Tbsp and eliminating the tapioca flour completely. Any advice would be greatly appreciated!
Thanks very much!