Banana Bread
This easy vegan banana bread is quick to mix up, has no refined sugar, can be gluten-free, and, if you like healthy-tasting desserts, it is delicious! The pecans on top get all toasty while they bake, and the taste of the bananas shines through.
Equipment
- bowl
- cookie sheet or 8x8 pan
- optional: potato masher
- measuring cups and spoons
- something to stir with
Ingredients
Wet Ingredients:
- 4 bananas -- ripe and freckly
- 6 tablespoons maple syrup -- use real maple syrup here; you can go up to 1/2 cup if you like sweeter banana bread
- 1/2 cup nut butter or tahini or allergy-safe substitute -- I've used all tahini, all almond butter, or a mixture, and all come out well
Dry Ingredients:
- 1 3/4 cups flour, or gluten-free flour mix -- I use 1 1/4 cups quinoa flour + 1/2 cup teff flour
- 1 teaspoon xanthan gum -- Only add xanthan gum if you are using a gluten-free flour mix that doesn't already have it.
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder -- or 1/2 teaspoon baking soda + 1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar
- 3/4 teaspoon baking soda -- in addition to any you used in the previous step
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 3/4 cup chopped pecans optional!
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
- Put all the wet ingredients in a mixing bowl. Mash with a potato masher (easiest!), or use a fork to mash up the bananas and mix everything together. The goal is to completely mash the bananas, but it's okay if there are still some pieces.
- Add the dry ingredients -- except for the pecans -- and stir well.
- You can use either an 8x8 inch square pan or a 11x17 inch cookie sheet. If yours is not nonstick, line it with baking paper.
- Pour the batter into the pan. Use a spatula to spread it out evenly.
- Scatter the pecans on top. Use a clean spatula to pat-pat-pat the pecans into the batter, so that they will stay on the banana bread through cooking.
- Bake in the preheated oven. For a cookie sheet, bake for 22 minutes. For an 8x8 square pan, bake for 35 minutes. You can check the internal temperature with a thermometer to test for doneness. It's done when the inside is at least 180 degrees.
- Let it cool for a few minutes. Cut into pieces and serve! Yum!
Notes
Nut-free option: Use tahini or another nut-free nut-butter, and leave out the optional pecans.