Banana Bread Recipe (“Healthier”, Dairy Free, Gluten Free & Optional Vegan version)
So this recipe is still being modified, adjusted, tweaked and updated. That doesn’t mean we should deprive this glorious healthy alternative banana bread from you. There are so many different variations for banana bread and this is only one of ours. Why not try out our Nutella banana bread recipe? It’s still jam packed with banana goodness.
So we’ve made our own oat flour here, it’s super easy to make and quick. Alternatively, you can also buy some online; Amazon, Ocado or Bulk Powders. It’s completely up to you if you want to spend extra time sifting the flour. When we recently made the recipe, we thought we’d test out sifting the flour to see if that helped the loaf from sinking and becoming a bit flat and dense. Honestly, we cannot confirm if this made a difference.
So you may find in the recipe that we have said to split out the egg whites from the yolks; this is just our personal preference! Because we are using oat flour, it can cause the cake to become quite dense. Folding in the egg whites allows more air into the mixture keeping the batter light.
Can I use any flour in my banana bread?
You definitely can use any flour you want! We’ve only used flour to get in some good carbs and extra fibre. We have tested and tried substituting with the following flours and can confirm these as alternatives, which will not hinder your banana bread results.
- Plain Flour
- Wholemeal Plain Flour
- Spelt Flour
When substituting for these flours, it is recommended that you do sift them. Additionally, an extra 50g give or take will need to be added in the batter.
Can I use an alternative sweetener in my banana bread?
Again, this is perfectly easy to do. You can substitute with the following:
Honey: Make sure if using honey, to add in an extra 40g.
Date Syrup/Agave Syrup/Brown Rice Syrup: As these syrups have a slightly thicker nature, you don’t need to use as much of these, we would say start with about 80g-100g and slowly add more if you need it sweeter.
Golden Syrup: If you aren’t too bothered about the healthy side of things, defo go ahead and replace equal parts of maple syrup with golden syrup.
Bananas: Last alternative, add some more bananas! That’s defo gonna sweeten this baby up.
What if my bananas aren’t ripe?
Fret not! Such an easy fix if you have unripe bananas. Simply pop them into an oven at 180 degrees and allow to brown for about 5-10 minutes. Keep an eye on them as they may start to burst out the skin!
Tips
Extra add ins If adding in nuts, we love to caramelise them with some maple syrup before topping or folding in.
Banana More caramelisation! We loveeee love love caramelising our bananas in the oven before adding into our batter, it sweetens them even further, leaving a yummy banana flavour depth.
Anyway, watch this space for updates on our healthy banana bread!
| Prep Time | 20 minutes |
| Cook Time | 1 hour |
| Servings |
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- 80 ml coconut oil
- 120 ml maple syrup *
- 2 eggs **
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 60 ml non dairy milk
- 2-3 large bananas or 4 medium bananas
- 170 g oat flour
- 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon
- 65 g fold-ins (raisins, nuts, chocolate, dried fruit etc.) optional
Ingredients
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- Preheat the oven to 175 degrees celsius.
- Melt the coconut oil in the microwave or on the hob. Please note that the oil measurement is after the coconut oil is melted and not as a solid form.
- Whisk in the maple syrup, it would be best if the maple syrup is at room temperature as the cold may start to solidify the coconut oil - no worries if it has, just place bowl over warm cooker to gently heat the mixture.
- Separate your egg yolks from the egg whites. Place egg whites in a bowl and reserve for later use.
- Add in the egg yolks, and vanilla extract and whisk well.
- Then add in the mashed bananas and milk. Continue to whisk.
- Start adding in all your dry ingredients; oat flour, bicarbonate of soda, salt, cinnamon and mix well.
- Whisk your egg whites until stiff.
- Slowly fold in the dry mixture with the banana mixture in three intervals, until the mixture is just combined.
- Once the flour mixture has been incorporated, fold in the egg whites, also in intervals. Doing this allows all of the two mixtures to be well combined without over mixing the batter.
- If adding in any extras, do so now and fold slowly.
- Pour into a bread pan that has been greased or lined with baking paper.
- Pop in the oven and let cook for about 50 minutes to an hour. Sometimes it may need longer. Once it has cooked for 55 minutes, pop a toothpick in the middle to see if it is cooked.***
*Can substitute with honey or golden syrup.
** To make vegan opt for a chia seed + water combo for an egg substitute. See how to make a flax egg here.
***When checking if loaf has cooked, do not get confused between wet batter and banana mush.
