Delicious Vegan Banana Bread Recipe

Vegan baking may seem an oxymoron, as baking usually requires dairy and eggs. Dairy is a minor hurdle, thanks to the variety of plant-based milk, yogurt and butter options available. But eggs? Eggs are critical in baking due to their essential role as binders.

Fortunately, there are actually multiple whole foods plant-based alternatives that can be used as binders in vegan baking. Most common ones are:

• Flax egg: 1 tablespoon of milled flax seeds + 3 tablespoon water replace 1 large egg. Mix and let rest until it forms a denser paste, about 5 minutes. This is perhaps the most versatile substitute.
• Applesauce: preferable unsweetened. If using sweetened, scale down the additional sugar or sweeteners in the recipe.
• Mashed banana: great outlet for overripe bananas. 1 banana generally replaces one egg.
• Aquafaba: the liquid or brine from canned beans, usually chickpeas or white beans. As weird as sounds, but it works. 3 tablespoons of aquafaba replace 1 whole egg, 2 tablespoons replace 1 egg white.
• Oats: binder and thickener, thanks to the soluble fiber and absorption.
• Egg replacers: not my favorite since this is a processed product, but they work too. Typically a powder that you mix with water per the package instructions.

In this recipe, we will be using mashed banana. Vegan banana breads are no brainers!

Nutritional notes

Most of the options listed above are nutritional powerhouses that will increase the nutritional value of the recipe. That’s bonus points!

Even if there’s nothing wrong with wheat flour (as long as you eat gluten), I personally prefer mixing it with spelt flour, for a higher protein content and nutritional value. Spelt flour is quite dense an can make baking heavy if used alone, that’s why I usually use half wheat and half spelt flour.

Ingredients

Makes 1 loaf/12 servings (slices) if using a 5 x 9 inch (12 x 22 cm) pan

tbsp = tablespoon; ts = teaspoon

• 3 medium ripe bananas, split (2 mashed + 1 sliced)
• 125 g spelt flour
• 125 g wheat flour
• 1 ts baking powder
• 3 tbsp coconut sugar (or more to taste, up to 75g)
• 1/2 ts ground cinnamon
• 1 pinch salt (optional)
• 50 ml (1/5 cup) canola oil, or other light vegetable oil
• 60 ml (1/4 cup) of soy milk, or other plant based milk
• 75 g of dark chocolate chips (70% cocoa recommended), plus a few more for decoration

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 375 F.
2. Grease a rectangular loaf pan, 5 x 9 inch (12 x 22 cm) recommended
3. In a small bowl, mash 2 bananas.
4. In a large bowl, mix the flours, baking powder, coconut sugar, cinnamon and salt.
5. Add the mashed bananas to the large bowl, along with the oil and milk. Mix well until a wet dough forms, but do not overmix.
6. Fold in the 85g of chocolate chips.
7. Spoon the batter into the pan. Top with slices of the remaining banana, and some more chocolate chips. Sprinkle some more cinnamon.
8. Bake for about 35-40 minutes, until raised and golden. Check with a toothpick, which should come up relatively dry.
9. Let cool for up to 10 minutes in the pan, until safe to handle and slightly hardened.
10. Remove the mold and cool completely on a rack.
11. Eat alone or with your favorite toppings, like butter, jam or nut butters. Good for dunking too!
12. Store in an airtight container or foil for about 5 days. If weather is warm, refrigerate. You can also slice in portions and freeze – my favorite way to have handy, healthy snacks when I crave a pastry!