Vegan & Gluten-Free Banana Bread

From holistic health coach and chef Kelly Cohen, author of  My Organic Diary.

I understand why everyone is baking banana bread during the pandemic. It’s one of the best cakes ever. Especially when there are lots of nuts and chocolate!

My banana bread recipe is vegan and gluten-free, no oil added and low in sugar. I created this recipe to work with my restrictions (no gluten, no dairy) and I really do not feel like I am missing out on anything!

Even if I wasn’t gluten-dairy-free, I would devour it!

Serves: 12

Ingredients:

• 2 bananas, ripe (& 1 to place on top on the cake, optional)
• 2 ½ cups oats 
• 1 cup almond flour 
• ⅓ cup almond, cashew or sunflower seed butter
• ⅓ cup maple syrup 
• ¼ cup almond or cashew milk
• 2 tbsp flax meal + ¼ cup water, mixed and set aside
• 2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
• 1 tbsp chia seeds
• 1 tsp baking soda 
• 1 tsp salt 
• Add-on: 1/2 cup walnuts or pecans in pieces
• Add-on: 1/2 cup chocolate chips or chunks 

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
2. In a large bowl, add the oats, almond flour, chia seeds, baking soda, and salt. Mix until combined.
3. Add the nut butter, nut milk, maple syrup, 2 of the 3 bananas, apple cider vinegar and flax meal and mix well until you have a nice cake dough (for about 5 minutes on medium speed).
4. Add the add-ons and fold nicely. Do not over mix as it will over-break the chocolate chips. 
5. Line a loaf pan with parchment paper and grease the sides if necessary. 
6. Pour the batter and bake for 45 to 55 minutes. (Optional: slice the remaining banana and place on top of the cake.) 
7. When fully baked, set aside for 10 minutes and remove from the pan using the parchment paper to allow the banana bread to cool down.
8. Slice into roughly 10-12. Top with more salt if desired. 
9. Can be kept in an airtight container for about 1 week in the fridge and for 3 months in the freezer.

Notes

• If using a silicone mold, wait until the cake has completely cooled down before removing from the mold as it would most likely break otherwise.
• I always put a timer for 45 minutes and I monitor the baking after that. You really don’t want your banana bread to be burnt but it has to be well baked as well. I bake mine for 55 minutes but I do not have a great oven, to be honest.
• Use your favorite add-ons instead of the ones I suggested.
• I love salt with cakes especially when there is chocolate. Feel free to add more salt flakes when ready to serve. 
• The bread is delicious cold directly out of the fridge but also reheated in the oven for 2 minutes.