This vegan banana bread was a long time coming, folks. Â Starting from a recipe that called for a cup of white sugar, a cup of vegetable oil, and 3 cups of white flour, I have to admit I swung a little far to the extreme of healthy on my first few tries to “healthify” it. My kids were nice as always…
“Um, Mama… maybe you could just make the regular one next time…”
This is my cue that I’ve gone too far.
After many, many failures, this, folks, THIS…Â is the answer to all our banana bread dreams! Â It’s healthy enough to serve for breakfast, and decadent enough to qualify as dessert. Â Adults love it, as attested in our Healthy Snacks cooking class yesterday. Â But I knew the ultimate test would be whether or not Tommy would approve. Â He’s my most graciously discerning taste tester. Â Admittedly, I had an advantage yesterday afternoon because he was famished when he arrived home from school. Â I handed him a slice, then watched as he took a big bite. Â His eyes widened. Â “Good!!” Â he managed through his full mouth. Â “It’s actually really good!!” Â I wasn’t a bit miffed at his surprise… I just took it as a victory. Â Ah, the joys of a dietitian Mama.
This vegan banana bread gets its sweetness & moisture from an extra half cup of mashed ripe banana as well as half a chopped apple. The extra fruit allowed me to reduce the overall sugar content to just 4 tablespoons of pure maple syrup, while still getting the sweet taste that we all love. Â I cut out most of the oil, and used only 2 tablespoons of extra-virgin coconut oil for flavor & smooth texture… no bread needs to drown in a cupful of oil. Â Flax meal replaces eggs and adds omega-3 fatty acids as well as fiber. Â I eliminated the white flour entirely and instead used a combination of oat flour & whole wheat pastry flour. Â This blend has a nice nutty flavour & texture that complements this hearty bread.
What really puts it over the top is the chocolate almond butter sauce… think about these flavour pairings: chocolate & bananas… almond butter & bananas… chocolate & apples… almond butter & apples…it all works, friends! Â The beautiful thing is, this sauce recipe can easily be doubled and is excellent on many other things besides the banana bread. Â Yes, this option has been tested.
This loaf is perfect for your weekend baking, and keeps well for snacking throughout the week. Â The sauce should be kept in the fridge, and it will firm up some, but you can either reheat it gently, or in our tropical climate, just leave it at room temp for a few minutes to let it soften.
Let me know how you like it! Â Happy weekend, friends!
Ingredients
For the banana bread:
- 1 ½ cup very ripe mashed banana (about 4 medium/large)
- ¼ cup pure maple syrup (can sub honey if not vegan)
- 2 T. flax meal + 4 T. water (mix & let stand 5 min)
- 2 T. extra virgin coconut oil, melted
- ¼ cup plant milk (almond, soy, etc)
- 1 t. vanilla
- 1 cup oat flour (grind whole oats in the blender)
- 1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
- 2 t. baking powder
- 1 t. baking soda
- ½ t. salt
- ½ large apple, chopped
For the chocolate almond butter sauce:
- ¼ cup natural almond butter (use sunbutter for nut-free option)
- ¼ cup dark chocolate chips
- ¼ cup light coconut milk
Instructions
For the banana bread:
- Heat oven to 180 C. Spray a large loaf pan with non-stick spray.
- Thoroughly mix banana, maple syrup, flax mixture, oil, milk, & vanilla in a small bowl. Set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk together flours, baking powder, baking soda, & salt. Add banana mixture and stir until combined. Fold in chopped apples. Do not over-mix. Batter will be quite thick.
- Spread into prepared pan and bake 40-45 minutes until tester comes out clean.
- Cool for 10 min then remove from pan.
- Let cool completely before slicing and serving with sauce.
For the sauce:
- Melt all ingredients together in a small saucepan over low heat, whisking constantly until smooth.
This sounds delicious. Can’t wait to make it. Glad the kids gave it their approval!
Thanks, Deb! This one is so easy… now I have an answer for all those brown bananas on my counter! 😉 xx
I prepared this for my out of town company last weekend. It was totally demolished! Yummy!
Next time I think I will add nuts to the batter and try it without the chocolate sauce. Can’t wait to give it a whirl.
Aunt Amy, nuts are a great idea… can never go wrong by adding them! 🙂 I’m so glad it was a hit! love you… xoxo
Hi, thanks for this recipe! I might not find flax meal and maybe just use eggs…how many eggs can substitute in this recipe?
Hi Mimi, yes you can certainly use eggs, no problem. Use 2 for this recipe & it will be great. 🙂 Enjoy!
Love this recipe! So far my favorite! And I am a big banana bread fan!!! Thanks for sharing!!
Sharka, I’m so happy you love it!! It’s one of our favourites too… always a good use for those brown bananas! 😉 xxoo