This healthier Vegan Chocolate Banana Bread is made with whole grain oat flour and tastes like decadent, rich cake! It's one of those great recipes that manages to be perfectly appropriate both breakfast and dessert. Enjoy in the morning with a cup of coffee and in the evening warmed up with a scoop of vanilla oat milk ice cream on top. Gluten-free with a nut-free option.
After receiving great feedback on this Oil-Free Oat Flour Banana Bread, I figured a chocolate version was in order.
The batter for today's recipe is almost identical to that one but with the addition of cocoa powder, rich chocolate chips, and a hint of ginger just for fun. Oh, there's also a splash of balsamic vinegar or coffee in this one because they're great at enhancing yummy chocolate vibes.
This double chocolate banana bread is moist and sort of like a cross between brownies and cake, and it tastes sooooo amazing warmed up the next day.
Ingredients
Here's a summary of the ingredients you'll need. Be sure to scroll down to the recipe card for complete instructions.
- 1 ¾ cups oat flour
- ¼ cup fine almond flour - or use more oat flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 ½ teaspoons baking soda
- ½ teaspoon fine sea salt
- ½ cup natural cocoa powder
- ¾ teaspoon ground cinnamon, optional
- ½ teaspoon ground ginger, optional
- 3 large overripe bananas
- ⅓ cup maple syrup
- ⅓ cup coconut sugar
- ¼ cup smooth almond butter - or sub seed butter such as tahini for nut-free option
- ¼ cup non-dairy milk
- 1 tablespoon good quality balsamic vinegar or strong brewed coffee
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- ½ to ¾ cup dairy-free chocolate chips - use semi-sweet for sweeter bread or 70% dark chocolate chips for less sweetness
How to Make Vegan Chocolate Banana Bread
Making this banana bread is easy as pie, I promise! The equipment you'll need is:
- 1 large mixing bowl
- 1 smaller bowl
- a fork, whisk, and large spoon or silicone spatula
- 9x5 loaf pan (or 8 ½ x 4 ½)
- parchment paper
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F, and line the loaf pan with a piece of parchment.
- Add the oat flour and almond flour to the mixing bowl. Sift in the cocoa, baking powder and soda, and spices, if using. Whisk to combine.
- In the smaller bowl mash the bananas with a fork. Add the remaining wet ingredients, and whisk or stir very well so that the nut butter is incorporated.
- Pour wet into dry, and stir. Fold in about ½ cups chocolate chips, and transfer the batter to the loaf pan.
- Arrange more chocolate chips on top (and banana slices, if desired), and bake for about 55 minutes.
- Let the banana bread cool in the pan for about 10 minutes, then lift out onto a cooling rack. Allow to cool for at least 20 minutes before slicing.
As you can see in the photo above, the batter will be somewhat thick, with a fluffy consistency. And if you're tempted to lick the bowl clean I completely understand.
Sometimes I like to add sliced banana on top, if I have an extra one lying around. And sometimes I roll with just chocolate chips. You can't go wrong either way.
In fact, if you also wanted to add chopped walnuts or pecans on top, I think that's a swell idea!
More vegan oat flour recipes:
Healthy Oat Flour Pancakes
Vegan Peanut Butter Cookies
Oil-Free Vegan Banana Brownies
Vegan Peanut Butter Brownies
Double Chocolate Chip Cookies
Spiced Tahini Oatmeal Cookies
Strawberry-Banana Oat Bars
I hope you enjoy this easy chocolate banana bread. If you try the recipe I would LOVE to hear from you in the comments below. Happy baking!
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Vegan Chocolate Banana Bread
Ingredients
Dry ingredients:
- 1 ¾ cups oat flour See Notes for tips.
- ¼ cup fine almond flour Or use an additional ¼ cup oat flour.
- ⅓ cup coconut sugar Can sub brown sugar.
- ½ teaspoon fine sea salt
- ½ cup natural cocoa powder
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 ½ teaspoons baking soda
- ¾ teaspoon ground cinnamon, optional
- ½ teaspoon ground ginger, optional
Wet ingredients:
- 3 large overripe bananas (plus 1 small one IF you want to decorate the top with banana) Should equal 1 ⅓ cups mashed.
- ¼ cup unsweetened non-dairy milk
- ⅓ cup maple syrup
- ¼ cup smooth almond butter Sub tahini or sunbutter for nut-free option.
- 1 tablespoon good quality balsamic vinegar or strong brewed coffee
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Addition:
- ½ to ¾ cup dairy-free chocolate chips Use semi-sweet for sweeter bread or dark chocolate chips (70% cacao) for less sweetness.
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (176 C), and line an 8.5 x 4.5 inch loaf pan with parchment paper (a 9x5 pan is fine, too). The paper doesn't have to cover the ends; just make sure there's enough overhang on the sides to easily remove the bread from the pan after baking.
- To a large mixing bowl add the oat flour, almond flour, coconut sugar, and salt. Sift in the cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and ginger. Whisk very well.
- In a smaller bowl mash the bananas (a few larger bits are okay). Measure to make sure you have 1 ⅓ cups pureed banana. Add the milk, maple syrup, almond butter, balsamic or coffee, and vanilla. Stir very well so the almond butter is fully incorporated.
- Pour wet ingredients into dry, and stir to combine. Fold in ⅓ to ½ cup chocolate chips, depending on how many you want to use. (I used ½ cup in the batter and about ¼ cup on top.) Transfer batter to the pan, and arrange remaining chocolate chips on top. If adding banana on top, arrange slices between chocolate chips, and very lightly press into the batter.
- Bake for 53 to 58 minutes or until the center feels firm and a tooth pick comes out clean. Allow the bread to cool in the pan for 10 to 15 minutes, then use the parchment to lift onto a cooling rack. Let cool for 20 minutes before slicing.
Notes
Measuring Oat Flour
For baking I always recommend using a kitchen scale if you have one (click on "Metric" above to see the gram weights of the flours and cocoa). If you don't have a scale, whisk the oat flour to fluff it up, then spoon it into a measuring cup, and level off the top.Storing and Freezing
Chocolate banana bread will keep in an airtight container at room temperature for a day or two or refrigerated for up to 5 days. It can also be frozen for up to 1 month. I like to warm up individual slices for 15 to 20 seconds in the microwave.Estimated Nutrition (per serving)
Nutrition information is an estimate and will vary depending on the exact amounts and specific products and ingredients used. We calculate this information using the online calculator cronometer.com. For the most accurate nutrition information we recommend calculating it yourself to reflect the specific ingredients used in your dish.
