Our Favourite Healthy Banana Bread
This healthy banana bread recipe is a keeper! It’s gluten, dairy and refined sugar free and oh so simple to make!
I’ve tried many banana bread recipes, some healthy and others not so much, and this one is our favourite. It’s a great one to make with kids as there are no mixers required and it’s quite forgiving.
As it’s a moist loaf, do allow it cool for a while before slicing so it maintains its structure.
ENJOY!
INGREDIENTS:
3 ripe bananas, mashed
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 free range egg
5 Tbs coconut oil, melted
1 cup almond milk
200g gluten free flour
140g almond meal
60g desiccated coconut
60g teff flakes
3 1/2 tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp ground cinnamon
Pinch of salt
Generous handful nuts, like pecans or walnuts
Extra Banana, sliced lengthways to use as topping (chop leftover and put through batter)
METHOD:
Preheat oven to 180 degrees and line a rectangular bread/loaf tin with baking paper.
Put all the wet ingredients (mashed bananas, vanilla, egg, coconut oil and almond milk) into a bowl and mix well.
Now put all the dry ingredients (flour, almond meal, desiccated coconut, teff flakes, baking powder, cinnamon, salt) into a bowl and mix through so it’s even and there are no lumps.
Add the wet mix to the dry and combine with a wooden spoon until it’s all even. Sprinkle in nuts and any leftover banana (chopped) and mix it in. The batter should be more on the “dough” side rather than a wet and runny cake mix.
Pop it into the bread tin and even out at the top with a spatula. Arrange a couple of bananas on the top lengthways.
Bake in the oven for about 1hr 15min or until golden - check if it’s really ready by inserting a skewer in the centre. If it comes out clean, it’s good to go. Sometime mine needs an extra 10 minutes to cook through. If the top is browning too much (and it may due to the sugar in the bananas) you can cover it with foil.
Allow to cool for about 30 minutes, then slice and enjoy with your favourite topping.
The result is a moist, dense, delicious bread. We love it with butter and honey. Keep it in the fridge and toast as you need it!
Notes:
What are Teff flakes? Teff is nutty tasting grain grown mainly in Ethopia. It’s similar to millet and is gluten free. I get mine from those bulk store places that sell pantry staples. If you can’t find it, you can replace with quinoa flakes. If gluten isn’t a problem then oats are a substitute too (though they do contain gluten so not suitable for coeliacs).
The only sweetener is bananas so taste the batter and if you like a sweeter loaf you can add honey to it, but I prefer to put it on top afterwards.