Have you tried baking fluffy grain-free vegan treats? It’s HARD, guys. Really hard.
When it works out, fireworks go off and you have to share your success with the world. Yesterday was that day.
I had just gotten home from an incredible honeymoon in Hawaii to the fall chill of Toronto and all-day rain and wind, craving total comfort food. I was dreaming of banana bread for two weeks because, in Hawaii, it’s a huge thing, but the combo of wheat flour, dairy and eggs meant it was a no-go for me.
They have the most delicious bananas in Hawaii, by the way. The two main types are called apple bananas (they are smooth, sweet, and have a hint of apple flavour) and ice cream bananas, which you could find at farmers markets and are insanely creamy and sweet and literally taste like ice cream. They’re both small and make perfect hiking snacks.
My favourite day of eating and shopping in Kauai: the Hanalei Farmer’s Market.
I used chickpea flour for this loaf. When I was eating a strictly paleo diet, which I did to manage my chronic allergy symptoms, I didn’t play around with it, but I’ve been doing my own testing lately and I can tolerate chickpeas. I’m thrilled because I’ve been dealing with an egg white sensitivity for awhile now, and chickpeas are great at both binding and fluffing, which is what egg whites do, too. Plus, it’s vegan-friendly!
In this particular recipe, I used an organic sprouted chickpea flour from Second Spring, which I had never seen before. When I came across this local Ontario company, I begged them to send me some to try. If you have issues digesting legumes (grains, nuts and seeds, too), sprouting may let you enjoy them again. These foods contain antinutrients like phytic acid, inhibiting our ability to properly break down and absorb the nutrients and causing digestive upset, such as bloating and pain. The sprouting process decreases these compounds significantly and increases the bioavailability of nutrients like protein, vitamins and minerals, so it’s a win-win. And it means you get a little extra protein with your banana bread. Yay!
I loved the flour so much, I got us all 10% OFF their full line of organic sprouted products. Just type CLEANKITCHEN when you check out on their website.*
If you have regular chickpea flour, that will work, too, so don’t sweat it.
This recipe is low in added sugars and both myself and my candy-eating husband found it plenty sweet, but I used very ripe bananas, so they were pretty sugary already. If it needs a little extra sweetness at dessert time (maybe not at breakfast), just drizzle a little honey or maple syrup on top. I would tell you to taste the batter, but chickpea flour has a weird taste when it’s raw. Don’t let it throw you off; once cooked, it tastes like a dream.
Chocolate chips are a classic here, but feel free to swap some or all of them for walnuts, blueberries, cranberries—whatever speaks to you.
Chocolate chip banana bread
Prep Time 20 mins
Cook Time 40 mins
Course: Breakfast, Dessert, Snack
Keyword: banana bread, chickpea flour, chocolate, dairy-free, egg-free, gluten-free, low-allergen, nut-free, vegan, vegetarian
Servings: 10
Ingredients
3 ripe bananas mashed
3/4 cup milk of choice I use coconut
1/4 cup coconut oil melted
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 cup coconut or maple sugar
1 tsp apple cider vinegar
1 1/2 cups chickpea flour
1/4 cup arrowroot starch
1/4 cup ground flax
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 Tb cinnamon
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup chocolate chips
Instructions
Preheat oven to 350ºF and line a loaf pan with parchment paper widthwise, so it drapes over the sides. This will make it easy to remove from the pan.
In a small mixing bowl, combine bananas, milk, coconut oil, vanilla, sugar and apple cider vinegar. If the milk is cold, you may need to heat it a bit so the coconut oil doesn’t solidify. Mix well.
In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together chickpea flour, arrowroot starch, ground flax, baking soda, cinnamon and salt until no lumps remain.
Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and mix until fully combined.
Let sit for 10 minutes to allow the liquid to absorb and the batter to fluff up.
Gently fold in the chocolate chips. I like the dark ones.
Pour batter into loaf pan and smooth the top.
Optional: top with banana slices coated in coconut oil and a few more chocolate chips.
Bake for 40 minutes, until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.
Allow pan to sit on a cooling rack for 10 minutes, then remove the loaf from the pan and allow it to cool the rest of the way on the rack.
Notes
This is particularly good served fresh, but can be kept in the fridge for a week. Don’t leave on the counter for more than a day, due to its perishable ingredients.
* Valid until December 31, 2019. For individual use only.
This post may contain affiliate links. If you click on a link and make a purchase, I will receive a small commission at no cost to you. I only recommend products that I personally use and trust. Thank you for supporting Clean Kitchen Diaries! Note that I am not receiving commission from Second Spring; just promoting a small local company I love.