Healthy oat flour banana bread that's lightly spiced and has an irresistibly tender and moist crumb. Vegan, gluten-free, and WFPB oil-free; Nut-free option.
Are you ready for vegan banana bread that's actually healthy enough for breakfast? It tastes so good you might want to eat it as a snack and dessert, too!
Made with my favorite baking flour, the texture of this oat flour bread manages to be both hearty and light, which I love. It's also surprisingly tender, not at all gummy or dense.
With room for customization in toppings, sweetness, and the nut/seed butter, I hope this will become your new go-to healthy banana bread recipe.
Basic Process of Making Banana Bread
Originally, I'd planned to make a caramelized banana bread, which definitely added a couple of steps. But after the first test batch I decided easier is almost always better.
And during the next test batch I realized easy did indeed outweigh any flavor benefit added by caramelization. So easy it is!
Making vegan banana bread is as simple as this:
- combine dry ingredients in one bowl
- mash the bananas and whisk wet ingredients in another bowl
- stir the two together, then pour the batter into a parchment-lined loaf pan
- sprinkle on the nuts or other topping, and bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for one hour, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean
That last part is pretty important. Underdone banana bread still tastes great, but texture-wise it's actually pretty sad. So don't be afraid to stick that tooth pick (or chop stick or butter knife) in there and really make sure it's done, okay?
Substitutions
Nut/seed butter:
The recipe uses a small amount of almond butter for added richness and moisture, but you can also use cashew, peanut, sunflower seed butter, or tahini. Just make sure the consistency is fairly runny.
Nut-free:
If you're making a nut-free banana bread, obviously skip the nuts on top. In their place you could use chocolate chips or slices of banana. I'm tempted to suggest pumpkin seeds, but since the bread bakes for a full hour, I'd like to test it first to make sure the seeds wouldn't burn.
Flour:
Oat flour is the only flour I've tested so far in this particular recipe, so I can't say with certainty whether others will work with straight swaps. Try at your own risk!
Serving Suggestions
Aside from enjoying a slice of oat flour banana bread for breakfast, you can easily transform this healthy banana bread into an amazing dessert. Imagine this...
Warm up individual slices of banana bread. Top with a scoop of Butter Pecan or Vanilla-Maple Oat Ice Cream, a drizzle of maple syrup, and a dash of cinnamon. Oooooh, that's my kind of dessert, friends!
You can also gift loaves of this vegan banana bread to friends, pack slices in your lunch box, or take it with you on a hike. Honestly, I can't think of an occasion or time of day where I wouldn't want to eat this banana bread.
More vegan oat flour recipes to try:
Oil-Free Vegan Banana Brownies
Vegan Peanut Butter Brownies
Oil-Free Peanut Butter Cookies
Golden Milk Muffins (also oil-free)
Oil-Free Chocolate Cake With Strawberries
Loaded Breakfast Muffins (oil-free)
Double Chocolate Chip Cookies
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Vegan Oat Flour Banana Bread (Oil-Free)
Ingredients
- 2 cups oat flour (180 g); see Notes about measuring Make your own by blending rolled oats.
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 3/4 teaspoon cinnamon
- dash of nutmeg, optional
- 1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 3 medium very ripe bananas, when mashed should equal 1 1/3 cups
- 1/4 cup maple syrup
- 1/4 cup coconut sugar Sub cane sugar or brown sugar, if desired.
- 1/4 cup smooth almond butter Or other nut or seed butter; will alter flavor.
- 1/4 cup non-dairy milk
- 2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1/3 cup walnut or pecan halves, optional For reduced fat or nut-free option, sub sliced banana.
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (176 C). Line an 8.5 x 4.5 inch loaf pan with parchment paper. The paper doesn't have to cover the ends; just make sure there's enough overhang to easily lift the loaf from the pan after baking.
- In a large mixing bowl whisk together the oat flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt.
- In a medium-size bowl, mash the bananas until mostly pureed (a few larger bits are okay). Measure to make sure you have 1 1/3 cups. If you have extra banana, either eat it, discard it, or set it aside to drizzle on top of the loaf just before baking.
- To the 1 1/3 cups mashed banana add maple syrup, coconut sugar, nut butter, milk, vinegar, and vanilla. Stir very well until nut butter is completely incorporated. Pour wet ingredients into dry, and stir to combine. Pour batter into pan. If you had extra banana puree, place dollops of it on top of the batter, if desired. Arrange nuts on top - feel free to chop the nuts or break them up with your hands. I like to leave a few whole for appearance.
- Bake for 55 to 65 minutes or until a tooth pick inserted in the center of the loaf comes out clean. Allow to cool in the pan for 15 to 20 minutes, then use the parchment to lift the loaf out onto a cooling rack. Allow to cool completely before slicing (about 1 hour).
Useful Equipment
Hi, I'm Lori. I share approachable vegan recipes, everything from gluten-free and oil-free recipes to decadent, veganized classics!