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I have a few recipes that I love to use overripe bananas for, but I think this one may just take the cake. I have grown up loving banana bread, but was always too scared to try to make it myself. Boy was I doing myself a disservice. And you are too! Especially because this bread is vegan and can easily be made gluten free – so it is perfect for just about anyone! And did I mention – it is AHHHmazingly delicious.
Gluten Free Please?
Shortly after I first made this banana bread I decided I wanted to try experimenting with a gluten free and dairy free diet. I will share on this later, but there are a bunch of reasons I decided to give it a try. Plus it is fun to experiment with your diet! There is no magical “one diet that fits all” that will work for everyone. We are all so unique, and so are our dietary needs! While your bff may thrive on a high fat, low carb diet, you might have more energy and a better mood on a vegan diet. But how would you know if you never try?? A little food for thought. But back to the point 😛
SUPER easy to make this gluten free. I’ve done it a couple different ways. Just swap out the spelt flour for one of these:
- 1 cup brown rice flour, and 1/2 cup coconut flour
- 1 to 1 swap with gluten free all purpose flour
- 1 to 1 swap with almond flour
They all taste great, so it just really matters what you like and what you have on hand!
Refined Sugar Free
You can also make this without adding any extra sugar! The second time I decided to make this I had actually ran out of my Whole Earth blend, so I was forced to. And you know what, it still turned out just as yummy! Bananas are so naturally sweet, especially ripe ones, and so is the apple sauce and milk. Plenty of ingredients to provide a sweet flavor. Plus I added some Enjoylife dark chocolate chips to this batch 🙂 And you can always taste your dough before you bake it to make sure it is sweet enough for you – no raw eggs to worry about here!
So whether you are vegan, gluten free, added sugar free, or just want some awesomely delicious banana bread, this is the recipe for you. Let’s get started!
The BEST Banana Bread
(gluten free option, vegan)
Ingredients:
1 and 1/3 cup mashed banana (I used three bananas)- 1/3 cup cashew milk
- 1/3 cup unsweetened apple sauce
- 2 tbsp Nutiva superseed blend or 2 tbsp ground flax seeds
- 2 tsp agave
- 1/2 cup gluten free rolled oats (I always buy these ones or get some from Trader Joe’s)
- 1 and 1/2 cup spelt flour
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp Himilayan salt
Instructions:
- Preheat oven to 350 F.
- Mash bananas, measure out 1 and 1/3 cup, pour into a mixing bowl.
- Add your wet ingredients (seed mix, milk, apple sauce, agave) and stir until well combined.
- Add all of your remaining ingredients (except flour), mix until combined.
- Lastly, add your flour slowly and stir until completely absorbed.
- Pour dough into a greased 9×5 glass bread pan, cook until lightly golden, firm, and the load springs back when touched.
- Let cool for 30 minutes before removing from pan and serving.
Fun topping ideas: after you pour your dough into the pan and before you put in the oven, feel free to add toppings. I used a banana that I cut lengthwise and place on top of the dough. Other options are nuts (walnuts or almonds would be great), chocolate chips, or cacao nibs! Most recently I covered mine with Purely Elizabeth pumpkin cinnamon granola and it was the bomb dot com. So the sky is the limit!
Gluten Free? – If you are sensitive to gluten you can switch the spelt flour out for almond flour or this gluten free all purpose flour! I’ve tried both of these and loved them!
Looking something to smear on top of your bread for an even greater experience?? My favorite spread to use is my new homemade apple butter – SO GOOD.
