I don’t often bake as precision and patience are not my strong suits (family and friends, no comments, please)! What I love about banana bread is it’s pretty forgiving. You can toss in some dark chocolate chips, walnuts, whatever you like, and it’s bound to work.
I usually try to make recipes as healthy as possible and sometimes it backfires. I pump up the fibre, choose a healthier fat and slash the sugar. The result? I usually end up getting a dry, tasteless hockey puck that is better suited for being a doorstop than a foodstuff.
So you can imagine my surprise when I attempted to make a banana bread by replacing most of the ingredients with healthier versions… and it came out absolutely wonderful! Moist on the inside, crunchy on the outside, overall = perfection!
I’m also sharing with you a couple of nifty little food hacks. I’m not a vegan myself, but I didn’t have any eggs on hand. I did have chia seeds, so I bring you, the chia “egg”!
Same thing with buttermilk. Don’t usually have this on hand, and I’m sure most of you don’t either. Making your own buttermilk is as simple as taking any milk or milk alternative and adding an acid (vinegar or lemon juice) so it “curdles”. Easy, huh? Time-saver and money-saver? Yep!
Before we get started, I have to share a comment from my taste tester who did not know this banana bread was a “healthy” version:
“Oooh, it’s sooo good. I like that you can really taste the banana“.
I credit these guys for being the perfect amount of ripeness.
My work here is done.
| Servings | Prep Time |
| 12 slices | 10 minutes |
| Cook Time |
| 55 minutes |
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Moist on the inside, crunchy on the outside, overall = perfection! At only $0.27 a slice, this vegan banana oat bread to bound to make you say YUM! Store in an airtight container or wrap well for quick breakfast or snacks. The slices will last 5 days (not that it’s ever lasted that long in my house)!
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- 1 1/4 cups Large flake rolled oats not instant
- 1 cup Whole grain flour i.e. spelt, barley or red fife
- 1/2 cup sweetener of choice such as stevia, monkfruit, honey or maple syrup
- 2 tsp cinnamon ground
- 1 1/2 tsp Baking powder
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 2 bananas ripe and spotty, mashed
- 2 Chia eggs Mix 2 Tablespoons of chia seeds with 6 Tablespoons of water in a medium bowl. Let it sit for 5 minutes.
- 1/3 cup Almond "buttermilk" Mix 1/3 cup almond milk with 1/2 teaspoon vinegar or lemon juice in a glass. Let it sit for 5 minutes.
- 1/4 cup Avocado oil or grapeseed oil
- 2 tsp Natural vanilla
- 1/3 cup Almond milk up to, as needed
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Spray an 8 x 4″ loaf pan with oil to prevent the loaf Oil Misterfrom sticking. I recommend getting yourself one of these oil misters. You can get one for under $10 and I use it to grease all my pots and pans while using minimal oil.
- Prepare your chia “eggs” and almond “buttermilk” following the instructions in the ingredient list. Let them sit while you follow the next couple of steps (about 5 minutes).
- Place dry ingredients in a large bowl and mix well.
- Put all wet ingredients except the last 1/3 cup of almond milk in a medium-sized bowl (use the same one the chia “eggs” are already in. Yay, less dishes). Mix well. You can mash the bananas with a fork into the mixture.
- Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and stir until combined. If you notice any dryness, now is when you can slowly start adding the extra 1/3 cup of almond milk 1 Tablespoon at a time. Go slowly, because you may not need it all. The reason I’ve given you some leeway here is the amount of moisture you need will vary depending on the type of flour you chose. If your batter is still dry and floury add another Tablespoon of almond milk and stir again. Repeat until the dry ingredients are moistened and you have a batter.
- Pour your batter into the loaf pan and bake for ~55 minutes. The banana bread is done when a toothpick or fork comes out clean.
- Cool the banana bread in the pan for 10 minutes. Slice into 12 pieces and enjoy!
There you have it. Breakfast. In loaf form. Top with some nut butter for some extra protein!
Nutrition Information (with stevia):
155 calories, 6.5 g total fat, 0.7 g saturated fat, 0 mg cholesterol, 142 mg sodium, 20.3 g carbohydrate (3 g dietary fibre, 2.9 g sugar), 4.5 g protein, 1.0 mg iron, 1.4 mg vitamin E, 158mg potassium, 15.6 DFE folate.
(Nutritional Analysis by EaTracker)
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