While we were on the Elimination Diet, we were craving something sweet but it had to be gluten-free, vegan, wheat-free, and so on. This was a difficult task but it was the first time I ever did Banana Bread too. After improving this recipe weekly for several months, I can promise you it is easy, simple, and fast to do, and oh so delicious!
This gluten-free and vegan almond flour banana bread is great for when bananas get too soft and just kind of turn mushy – you still get to keep all the banana flavour, and the mushiness doesn’t matter once it is blended into a soft, mashed paste. Keep on reading below for how you can make this recipe to be also nut-free.
The recipe and the elimination diet
I developed this vegan and gluten-free banana bread recipe when we were doing the Elimination Diet. When we were starting out with the elimination diet, I looked up many recipes, however, it was difficult to find anything which was both good for the plan, good for us, and also with easily available and budget-friendlier ingredients.
The recipe made with ingredients that do not create inflammation in most people and are allowed by most elimination diets. Some individuals who have been put on a more restrictive elimination diet might be unable to use this recipe. This banana bread is great to serve by itself, or with almond butter and some fruit on top. We love it both for breakfast or as a snack.
Substitutions
Gluten-free flours are difficult to work with and I have only tried this recipe with almond flour, oat flour, and teff flour. So you can substitute those flours interchangeably but this will also affect the taste. Almond flour gives it the sweetest taste, oat is in the middle and the teff flour will make it tougher to the touch but still taste nice. If you are using only teff flour, you might wish to double the amount of plant milk used.
Vegan and Gluten-Free Banana Bread
Ingredients
- 5 ripe bananas (the riper, the better)
- 250 g almond flour
- 100 g oat flour
- 50 g coconut flour
- 50 g psylium husk
- 80 g chopped walnuts (50g for the mixture and 30g for decoration)
- 4 g baking soda
- 3 g sea salt
- 4 g vanilla extract
- 8 g ground cinnamon
- 15 g apple cider vinegar
- 50 ml plant-based milk (ex. almond, oat)
- 2 g ground nutmeg
Directions
- Preheat your oven to 180ºC and prepare your baking tray (I am using a 25.5cm by 11cm bread tray). Line the tray with baking paper, slighty dampen with olive oil under the baking paper to stop it from moving.
- You can either use a large bowl or your food processor: mash 4 of the bananas. Keep one to decorate on top on the banana bread (if you wish, this is optional).
- In the same bowl, add also the almond flour, oat flour, coconut flour, psylium husk, baking soda, sea salt, vanilla, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Stir (pulse) until the mixture has become smooth. When adding the above ingredients, measure them using a kitchen scale as the outcome will be better.
- Add the walnuts and mix the banana bread dough well.
- At this point see the denseness of the banana bread mixture. Add the 50 ml of plant based milk. I like to use gluten-free oat milk or almond milk to compliment the oat milk and almond milk flours accordingly.
- Lastly, add the apple cider vinegar. This will help the banana bread rise as it will react with the baking soda.
- Right away, transfer the banana bread mixture into the baking tray which you prepared earlier. It will be dense, so use a spoon to transfer this and smooth it out as you transfer it. You can use a spatula or the back of a spoon to stooth the top. You can then decorate the banana bread with the remaining banana and some more walnuts.
- Bake the banana bread in the oven at 180ºC for about 40-50 minutes on fan. The loaf would have began to rise and crack. Use a toothpick to check if ready. If the toothpick is dry, your bread is ready, if it is moist give it a couple of more minutes.
- Once your banana bread is ready, let the loaf sit until cool before you cut as this will help it firm up. Due to the banana bread being gluten-free and vegan (no egg), this step is very important.
Tips and Tricks
Should you feel that you need more sweetness, add organic agave syrup to your taste.
- If the mixture is a bit too dense, add some extra vegan milk, like oat milk or almond milk.
- This gluten-free banana bread could also be prepared with vegan chocolate chips inside, these will melt nicely with the mixture and give you additional sweetness.
- As mentioned above, if you wish to use only teff flour, add some more milk (a bit at a time) to make the bread less dense.
You can store the banana bread in the fridge for up to 7 days or on the counter for 3 days (in an airtight container). Due to the hot Maltese summers, I suggest you store this only in the fridge in summer.
