Vegan Gluten Free Banana Bread
gluten free, bananas
There’s nothing like a slice of warm banana bread on a chilly morning or whenever for that matter - Im never not craving some freshly baked banana bread. This vegan and Gluten-free Banana Bread is made with a combination of oat flour, buck wheat flour and Gluten Free all Purpose flour. This healthier banana bread is as wholesome as it is delicious! It tastes just like the one I grew up with: super moist with a very soft crumb texture, full of ripe bananas and a caramelized sweet flavor from the coconut sugar or brown sugar, and subtle notes of cinnamon and vanilla for extra warmth. This recipe comes from Hannah Sunderani of Two Spoons and its a great vegan and gluten free banana bread especially if you enjoy the complex flavours of flour blending. It’s quite easy to make and so moist and tender you will keep going in for more slices.
Hannah is a fellow Canadian blogger who spent years in France enjoying the food and culture and adapting to being plant based in a not so plant based forward place -It was there that she pursued her passion for plant based cooking and started her blogging journey. She saw a transformation for more plant based foods while she was there and in her book she includes many French inspired dishes that are naturally plant based or made plant based. She is now back in Canada and a new mom to a beautiful bundle of joy and to her lovely book full of tasty recipes that range from Breakfast & Brunch meals, Drinks including smoothies, Mains including wholesome bowls and of course some delicious Darling Desserts. The Photography is beauitful both the food and the lifestyle photos of her and her family in Paris and here in Canada. The book is well organized and the recipes are easy to read - its a joy to flip through it. Her recipes are simple to follow and are made to be read and made by any home cook. The vegan specialty ingredients or flours are ingredients you can find at most grocery stores especially in North America, which I love, making plant based cooking more approachable and easy. Make sure to visit Hannahs blog for a copy of her book or on Amazon, Indigo, Indies and Barnes & Noble.
Ingredients For This Vegan Gluten Free Banana Bread
- Ripe Bananas- You want them ripe so that they blend easily and offer up plenty of natural sweetness.
- Ground Flaxseed- combined with water it creates a flax egg
- Dairy-free Milk- any milk you prefer like almond milk, coconut milk or oat milk or even water
- Vanilla Extract- It adds delicious flavour to all baked goods, while it’s technically optional, I highly recommend including it.
- Vegan Butter- softened - use any brand you prefer
- Coconut Sugar- or you can substitute equal amounts organic cane sugar or brown sugar.
- Maple Syrup- it adds moisture, plus a little sweetness and also some delicious maple flavour
- Gluten Free Baking Flour blend- feel free to use any brand you like
- Buckwheat Flour- adds moistness to cakes and texture to the bread (I have not tested this recipe with almond flour or coconut flour so I wouldn’t substitute them for buckwheat flour)
- Gluten Free Old Fashioned Rolled Oats- the oats are blended into fine oat flour which I love to bake with it - gives baked goods a super tender crumb. You can also just use oat flour if you have it available
- Baking Powder and Soda- I use both to balance out the acid in the recipe, create a golden brown color and add extra lift.
- Cinnamon + Salt- for flavour - feel free to vary the spices you add like nutmeg or all spice or more variations below
- Chocolate Chips- I used dark chocolate chips but feel free to use any vegan chocolate chips you prefer
Possible Add-ins
- Chopped walnuts or other nuts- such as pecans, almonds, even peanuts! Coconut flakes Spices, such as pumpkin pie spice, chai spice blend, cardamom, etc. Lemon or orange zest, Dried fruit, such as cranberries or chopped apricots.
How to Make This Gluten Free Vegan Banana Bread Recipe:
- Make Flax egg. In a small bowl, whisk together ground flaxseed and water until combined. Let sit for 10 minutes.
- You’ll want to start with ripe spotty bananas – I store mine in the freezer. If yours are frozen, let them thaw first. Place thawed bananas in a bowl and mash with a fork.
- In a separate large mixing bowl mix butter and sugar, then beat in flax egg, mashed banana, maple syrup, and vanilla
- Whisk together dry ingredients: oat flour, GF flour, buckwheat flour, baking powder, baking soda salt and cinnamon
- Fold dry ingredient into wet until combined then fold in chocolate chips
- Pour the batter into a loaf pan that’s lined with parchment paper so it hangs over two sides of the pan. sprinkle batter with more chocolate chips
- Bake at 350°F for about 40-45 minutes, until the top is golden brown, and a toothpick inserted in the middle of the loaf comes out clean.
- Remove from the pan and place on a cooling rack. Allow to cool fully before slicing.
Do I Have to Blitz the Oats?
No you don’t have to do this if you already have oat flour stocked in your pantry. If you don’t I recomeend pulsing them in a mini chopper or food processor to get them to a floury consistency - oat flour adds a really nice texture to any baked goods.
Storing, Freezing and Thawing
- To Store: You have two options with storing the banana bread- room temperature or the fridge. Room temperature 1-2 days - refrigerated for 5 days. After making this vegan banana bread, allow it to fully cool, slice the banana bread and store any leftover slices in an airtight container or bag.
- To Freeze: This banana bread is freezer friendly and can be stored in the freezer to enjoy at a later time. Frozen vegan banana bread will keep for at least 1-3 months. Either wrap individual slices or the whole loaf once cool.
- To Thaw: Thaw banana bread at room temperature, or in the fridge overnight. If you prefer a warm slice of banana bread, I recommend either microwaving it (from room temperature) for around 45 seconds, or in a pre-heated oven for 10 minutes (180C/350F).
More Quick Breads You Will Love:
- No Fail Banana Bread
- Brown Butter Nutella Banana Bread
- Banana Hazelnut Cake With Nutella Frosting
- Carrot Cake Loaf (Quick Bread)
- Chestnut Bread With A Brown Butter Chocolate Whipped Ganache
More Vegan Desserts You Will Love:
Recipe
Ingredients
Wet Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons ground flaxseed
- ¼ cup water or non dairy milk
- ½ cup (4 ounces/115 g) vegan butter, softened
- ½ cup (70 g) coconut sugar
- 1½ cups mashed banana (about 3 large bananas)
- ¼ cup + 1 tablespoon pure maple syrup
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Dry Ingredients
- ½ cup (66 g) gluten-free old-fashioned rolled oats (or ½ cup oat flour)
- 1 cup (140 g) gluten-free flour blend
- ½ cup (75 g) buckwheat flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- ¾ teaspoon fine sea salt
- ⅓ cup (60 g) + 2 tablespoons dairy-free semisweet chocolate chips, divided
Directions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C). Lightly grease an 8½x 4½-inch loaf pan with the vegan butter or coconut oil. Line the greased pan with enough parchment paper to hang over the two long sides for easy removal.
- In a small bowl, whisk together the ground flaxseed and water until combined. Let sit for 10 minutes. This is your flax egg.
- In a large bowl, combine the vegan butter and coconut sugar. Using a hand mixer on medium speed, cream together until fluffy and combined. Add the flax egg, mashed banana, maple syrup, and vanilla and beat together on medium until well combined.
- In a food processor or high-speed blender, pulse the oats until they reach a flour-like consistency. Transfer the oat flour to a medium bowl and add the gluten-free baking flour, buckwheat flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt. Stir to combine.
- Gradually fold the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients, folding gently to combine. (Be sure not to over-mix the ingredients or the loaf will be too dense.) Toss in ½ cup of the chocolate chips and gently fold again.
- Scrape the batter into the prepared loaf pan and sprinkle evenly with the remaining 2 tablespoons chocolate chips. Bake until the top is golden and puffed and a toothpick inserted into the centre comes out clean, 45 to 50 minutes. Let the banana bread cool slightly in the pan, then turn out onto a wire rack to cool completely.
Recipe Notes
Storing, Freezing and Thawing
- To store: You have two options with storing the banana bread- room temperature or the fridge. Room temperature 1-2 days - refrigerated for 5 days. After making this vegan banana bread, allow it to fully cool, slice the banana bread and store any leftover slices in an airtight container or bag.
- To freeze: This banana bread is freezer friendly and can be stored in the freezer to enjoy at a later time. Frozen vegan banana bread will keep for at least 1-3 months. Either wrap individual slices or the whole loaf once cool.
- To thaw: Thaw banana bread at room temperature, or in the fridge overnight. If you prefer a warm slice of banana bread, I recommend either microwaving it (from room temperature) for around 45 seconds, or in a pre-heated oven for 10 minutes (180C/350°F).
