Quick, crowd-pleasing, versatile and delicious. Who doesn’t love banana bread? Everyone seems to have a favorite recipe or technique for making a quick banana bread that is superior to the rest. Not only is banana bread a tasty treat the whole family will love, it’s easy enough to make that the whole family can be a part of the process.
Making banana bread your Sunday baking project sets you up for hearty breakfasts and sweet snacks all week (if it lasts that long). Some recipes call for adding chocolate chips, and if that’s your style, feel free to include them (about 1/2 to 3/4 cup). We wanted our bread to taste more like breakfast than dessert, so we kept it plain and simple and topped it with our Maple Roasted Sunflower Seed Butter instead.
We’ve learned from experience that attempting banana bread with starchy green bananas results in a dry, under-sweetened loaf that lacks the deep banana flavor we love. Instead, roasting green bananas in their peels develops the sugars and boosts the banana flavor. Alternatively, you could put them in a paper bag for a few days to ripen naturally, but honestly, who has time for that?
Ingredients
- 2 cups gluten free all-purpose flour
- 4 - 5 very ripe or roasted bananas (1 1/2 cups)
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1/2 cup vegan butter, softened
- 2 chia eggs
- 2 tablespoons milk of choice
- 4 tablespoons unsweetened applesauce
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
Directions
If you are dealing with green or under-ripe bananas, preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and line a baking sheet with foil. Roast bananas for about 25 minutes or until the peels are shiny and black. Find more information on this technique here. Meanwhile, line a 9x5 loaf pan with parchment paper, letting the excess hang over the sides. Once the bananas are roasted, let them cool while you mix the other ingredients together.
Mix flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt together in a large bowl. Set aside.
Prepare your chia eggs (or flax eggs) in a small bowl and set aside to absorb. In a medium bowl, cream the softened butter and sugar together until the mixture is pale white. Add in milk, applesauce, vanilla extract and chia eggs, then whisk to combine.
To the same bowl as the liquid ingredients, add in bananas and roughly mash them with the whisk until partially broken down. We love the rustic result of large banana chunks using this technique but if you prefer a smoother banana bread, simply mash the bananas with a large fork in a separate bowl until smooth, then combine with the other wet ingredients.
Add wet ingredients to dry and mix until just combined. Fill the prepared loaf pan with the mixture and top with a banana halved lengthwise (if desired). Bake for 55-65 minutes at 350 degrees or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean and the top is golden brown.
