This Healthier Vegan Chocolate Banana Bread is made with whole-grain flour & contains no added butter or oil but it 100% tastes amazing! It's super-moist, slightly fudgy & really indulgent!
Spotty bananas at the ready.... And if you don't have spotty bananas then you're going to have to wait a few days before trying this very indulgent, but healthier, Vegan Chocolate Banana Bread.
It's well worth waiting for though! I should know. I've made it so many times over the past couple of weeks.
It's a hybrid adaptation of my Healthy Vegan Banana Bread and Best Vegan Banana Bread recipes and gets a hefty dose of chocolate added.
I didn't think either of those recipes could be improved upon, but well ... the moral of the story is that chocolate makes everything better. Even if it was pretty damn good to begin with.
And if you don't have a loaf tin, never fear, because you can make my Healthy Chocolate Banana Muffins version of this recipe instead.
How to make Vegan Chocolate Banana Bread
FOR INGREDIENTS & FULL INSTRUCTIONS PLEASE SEE THE RECIPE CARD AT THE END OF THIS POST
This bread/cake is really easy to make and it can be mixed up all in one bowl.
Here's how it's done:
STEP 1: Puree the bananas. I beat mine up in my Kitchen Aid with the flat beater but a fork will do just fine.
STEP 2: Add the rest of the wet ingredients and beat 'til smooth.
STEP 3: Add the dry ingredients and fold in gently. The worst thing you can do when making a cake/muffins is to over-beat the batter once the flour is added. It really affects the final result and not in a good way.
STEP 4: Add the chocolate chips, spoon into a pan and bake.
I can't say enough good things about USA Pan Loaf Pans. I bake all of my bread and quick breads in my USA Pan pans. They conduct heat brilliantly and nothing ever sticks.
You cannot imagine just how good this loaf of chocolatey goodness smells when it is baking. That chocolate and those bananas mingling in the air is perfection.
Success Tips
- Use a scale to weigh the ingredients. Precision is key to excellent results when baking and cup measurements are not accurate enough for optimum and consistent results. This kitchen scale is cheap and works brilliantly.
- Use really ripe spotty bananas
- Don't over-mix the batter.
- Be sure you don't over-bake this banana bread. It's beauty is the fudginess and we don't want to lose it! It's better to very slightly under-bake it.
- Add some extra chocolate chips to the top before baking to make it look extra pretty (or as an excuse to eat more chocolate).
This is why I am loving this Vegan Chocolate Banana Bread:
- um...it has chocolate in it.....
- it's soft, fudgy & delicious
- it contains NO added oil or butter
- it stays moist for days and days and days
- double up and stash one away for another day because it freezes perfectly
- it's a great way to get some healthy whole grains and fruit in your kiddos!
This Vegan Chocolate Banana Bread can be breakfast, snack or dessert. It's kind of healthy enough for breakfast and starting a day with chocolate is always a good idea.
It's also rich and fudgy enough to be dessert. try warming a slice gently and topping with a dollop of dairy-free vanilla ice cream!
I had thoughts of frosting this bread, but in all honesty it doesn't need it. It's perfectly moist, slight fudgy and sweet enough as it is. Why mess with something so good?
All it does need is you, a comfy sofa to put your feet up on and a giant mug of steaming tea or coffee, while you enjoy it warm from the oven....Why even bother trying not to succumb to temptation? Just do it!
Hungry for more?
If you are loving the sweet banana vibe then you might also enjoy my:
Vegan Banana Pancakes
Vegan Banana Scones
Easy Banana Peanut Butter Ice Cream Bars
And if you love this recipe, please do check out my cookbook, and subscribe to my email list for a fabulous FREE eCookbook featuring my top 10 recipes. Being on the list means you will be first to see my new recipes and you’ll be kept in the loop on all things new and exciting too!
Vegan Chocolate Banana Bread
Ingredients
- 3 medium bananas* , very ripe & spotty
- 6 tablespoons natural nut or seed butter ** peanut butter, almond butter, sun butter or cashew butter are all fine. You can also use the same amount of oil if you prefer.
- ¼ cup maple syrup ***
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 115g / ½ packed cup sugar
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- 210g / 1¾ cup spelt flour **** or all purpose flour (plain flour in the UK), wholewheat or a good all purpose gluten free flour blend.
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- ¾ teaspoon baking soda , bicarbonate of soda in the UK
- 50g / ½ cup cocoa power
- 85g / ½ cup dairy-free chocolate chips *****, plus a handful extra for sprinkling ( or chop a bar of chocolate into small chunky pieces instead).
INSTRUCTIONS
- Preheat the oven to 350°F and grease and line a 9 x 5 inch loaf pan with a strip of parchment paper down the middle with some extra overhanging at the end to act as handles for lifting the cooked cake out.
- Puree the bananas until smooth. You can do this by hand with a fork or in a mixer.
- Add the nut/seed butter, maple syrup, vanilla extract, sugar and salt to the bananas and beat until smooth and light and fluffy.
- Add the flour, baking powder, baking soda and cocoa powder and mix gently until everything is just combined. Do not over mix because it will affect the texture and rise.
- Then add the chocolate chips and stir just enough to distribute evenly.
- Pour the batter into the prepared loaf pan, even out the top and sprinkle with an extra handful of chocolate chips.
- Bake for around 45 - 50 minutes until the loaf is coming away from the sides of the pan and is firm with a bit of bounce when you poke the centre of it. This bread is best when very slightly under-cooked as it has maximum fudginess then. If you insert a toothpick, instead of it coming out clean like with most cakes, you want a bit of fudgy cake clinging to it. If it feels liquidy put it back in the oven for another 5 minutes then check again.
- Remove from the tin immediately once done using the parchment paper as handles and place on a cooling rack. Be sure to remove the strip of paper from it's bottom by gently turning it on its side and peeling it away.
NOTES
It has a tare function which is really handy. This means you can place any bowl on the scale and reset to zero so it doesn’t include the weight in its calculation, plus you can reset to zero when adding multiple ingredients to the same bowl which saves on washing up. If you do a lot of baking and want optimum results a scale really is a great investment.NUTRITION
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Mary says
Delicious & easy!