This Healthy Chocolate Banana Bread tastes like rich and decadent cake, but don't let it fool you! It's dairy-free, egg-free, made with oat flour, and has NO butter or oil in the batter!
This is one of those fun recipes that manages to be perfectly appropriate both breakfast and dessert. Enjoy a slice the morning with a cup of coffee and in the evening warmed up with a scoop of vanilla oat milk ice cream on top. Vegan and gluten-free with a nut-free option.
This Oil-Free Oat Flour Banana Bread receives so much love from you all. So 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 either balsamic vinegar or coffee added to this one because both are great at enhancing chocolate flavor.
This vegan chocolate banana bread is moist and sort of like a cross between brownies and cake, and it tastes amazing warmed up the next day!
Ingredient Notes
Here's more great news... everything you need for this healthy chocolate banana bread should be easy to find at your local grocery store.
- fine oat flour - use store-bought or make your own by blending rolled oats until fine
- almond flour - this improves the texture of the oil-free batter; look for it near other gluten-free baking ingredients
- unsweetened cocoa or cacao powder
- ground cinnamon and ginger, optional
- 3 very ripe bananas
- maple syrup - for moisture and sweetness
- coconut sugar - or substitute light brown sugar
- smooth almond butter - or for nut-free, use a seed butter such as tahini or sunbutter
- unsweetened non-dairy milk
- balsamic vinegar or brewed coffee - just a touch enhances the chocolate flavor
- dairy-free chocolate chips - use semi-sweet for sweeter bread or 70% dark chocolate chips for less sweet, dark chocolate bread
See the recipe card below for amounts and full instructions.
How to Make Healthy Chocolate Banana Bread
Making vegan chocolate banana bread is easy as pie, I promise!
- 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. 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 move to a cooling rack. Let it cool for at least 20 minutes before slicing.
Tips
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 decorate the top of the loaf with sliced banana. Sometimes I go with just chocolate chips. You can't go wrong either way.
In fact, if you also want to add chopped walnuts or pecans on top, that's a wonderful idea!
Equipment Needed
- a mixing bowl and a smaller bowl
- 9 x 5 loaf pan (or 8 ½ x 4 ½)
- parchment paper
How to Store Chocolate Banana Bread
Once the bread has cooled completely I like to store it in the refrigerator so it stays fresh longer, up to 6 days. Wrap tightly or place in an airtight storage container.
The bread also freezes well. Make sure it's wrapped very well and/or in a freezer bag or storage container to protect from freezer burn.
More 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 deliciously healthy vegan chocolate banana bread. If you try the recipe I would LOVE to hear from you. Comment below to let us know how it turns out. Happy baking!
Recommended Recipes:
📖 Recipe
Healthy Chocolate Banana Bread (Vegan & Gluten Free)
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 - Or light brown sugar
- ½ teaspoon fine sea salt
- ½ cup natural cocoa powder
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ¾ teaspoon ground cinnamon, optional
- ½ teaspoon ground ginger, optional
Wet ingredients:
- 3 large very ripe bananas (plus 1 small one IF you want to decorate the top with banana) - Should equal 1 ⅓ cups mashed
- ⅓ cup maple syrup
- ¼ cup unsweetened non-dairy milk
- ¼ cup smooth almond butter - Or tahini or sunflower seed butter
- 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 lift the bread from the pan after baking.
- In a large mixing bowl combine the oat flour, almond flour, coconut sugar, and salt. Sift in the cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and spices, if using. 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 maple syrup, milk, 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 (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
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.
Susan Marshall
I made this today and love it. I will definitely make this again. I added pecans to mine because I love nuts.
Stella
Will the recipe work if I use defatted almond powder (PB2 but almond) to lower the fat content of the bread? Or does it need the fat to taste right?
Lori
I’m not sure since I haven’t tried it, but I would definitely expect it to affect the texture. If you experiment with it let us know!
Tessa
I forgot to add stars to my review, definitely 5 stars!
Tessa
This is delicious! We made it today for easter and it's a big hit. We are used to using very little sugar, so I choose to add a lot less. I used 1.5 Tbsp maple syrup and 1.5 Tbsp coconut sugar and it was definitely sweet enough for us.
Lisa
Just baked this and my entire family loves it! Delicious!!
Nila
Mine is disaster 🙁 crumbly. The changes I made only using oat flour, homemade peanut butter instead of almond butter, and honey instead of maple syrup. Please help me. Thank you.
Liz
Maybe try it without the substitutions?
Pam in Sacramento
Made it today and just tasted my first bite. Heavenly!
The loaf rose nicely and is light, very chocolatey, and has a lovely crumb. Definitely a keeper!
Lori
Such wonderful feedback! Thank you, Pam. I'm so glad you loved it.