Hello, everyone! It was about time to write another post! My absence has been due to a malfunctioning laptop. It won’t turn on, no matter what I do. Apparently, it needed a vacation, so I had to figure out a way to make blog images with my phone. Not that I am very good at that, but at least we can continue posting regardless of my “smartphone-photo-editing-abilities” ? I guess we just cannot have it all. Can we? Anyways! To sweet up the day I made this incredibly easy Vegan Banana Bread.
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You’re going to love it because:
It is extremely easy. You just need a bowl, a fork and rubber spatula (and, well, your scale too! ?)
It is vegan and budget-friendly. Just a few ingredients you probably have at home.
It is barely sweet. After making this recipe 3 times in a row, I decided to cut down the sugar even more and it was still delicious
You can make it fat-free. For the original recipe I used melted margarine, then I used coconut oil and for my final try I skipped the added fat entirely (I substituted the fat with unsweetened apple sauce) so you can do it either way.
First of all I have to say…This is not your typical overly sweet banana bread. The sweetness of this banana bread come almost in its entirely from the very ripe bananas , so if you are looking for that, super sweet and so called “indulgent” recipe, this is not the one.
This recipe is great to use those bananas that are too ripe to eat by themselves. I have read some people suggesting that if you don’t have ripe bananas you can “ripen” them by baking them until the peel is black, BUT this doesn’t really work well with this (or any banana bread, for that matter) because even though you will soften the bananas is the oven, the sweetness and characteristic flavor of ripe bananas won’t be there. So, forget about the shortcut and just use very ripe bananas (if yours are still too green, this will be a great opportunity to also exercise your patience)
Let’s talk about results
All banana bread versions came out spongy and barely sweet to my taste. The one made with margarine had a little crunchiness on the edges and it was slightly taller than the one with apple sauce. Also, the banana bread with margarine had a more tender and more fine crumb.
The last batch (made with less sugar and applesauce) came out a bit smaller than the first two but it wasn’t dense, and for me wasn’t really a big deal, but, if you feel your batter is too dense for your liking you always can add a bit of liquid (like soy or coconut milk). The crumb wasn’t as tender as the batch with margarine but for me still an excellent choice for breakfast or as a snack, specially for kids. And if you are watching your caloric intake, you don’t really need the extra fat and sugar ?
Easy Banana Bread {Vegan, Low-sugar with Fat-free option}
Notes
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Ingredients
- 660gr ripe bananas
- 10 grs baking soda (2 tsp)
- 100 grs sugar
- 430 grs self rising flour
- 100 grs coconut oil or margarine, melted* (see notes for fat-free option)
- 2 tsp ground cinnamon
- ¼ tsp ground nutmeg
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 200 gr roasted almonds (optional - Or you can add dry roasted seeds for a nut-free version)
- 10ml vanilla extract (optional)
Instructions
- Prepare your baking pan with a piece of baking paper on the bottom and preheat your oven to 180°C (350°F)
- In a bowl, mash the ripe bananas. Add baking soda and sugar. Mix well.
- Sift the flour over the mixture and mix well with your rubber spatula.
- Add the melted coconut oil, margarine or apple sauce, the vanilla extract and almonds if using. Finish with a pinch of salt.
- Give it a final mix making sure there is not lumps of dry flour.
- Pour the mixture in your baking pan and bake at 180°C (350°F) for 60 minutes or until a thermometer registers 200ºF
- When is done, take out of the pan and let it cool in a wire rack.
– For the fat-free and (and less sweet) version I reduced the amount of sugar to 60grs and used 100 grs of unsweetened applesauce instead of the melted coconut oil (or margarine)
– To make this banana bread I used this 9×4 loaf pan. If you are making half batch, use smaller pan.
– The best way to test for doneness is with a thermometer. It needs to register 200ºF. If you are baking half batch and using a smaller pan, adjust baking time.
– For a half batch recipe see below
VEGAN BANANA BREAD (HALF BATCH)
330gr ripe bananas, mashed
5 grs baking soda (1 tsp)
55 grs sugar (1/4 cup)*
215 grs self rising flour
1 tsp ground cinnamon
50 grs coconut oil or margarine, melted* (see notes for fat-free option)
A pinch of ground nutmeg
A pinch of salt
100 gr roasted almonds (optional)
5 ml vanilla extract (optional)
Which version are you trying first? Let us know in the comments section below, or on social media: Instagram & Pinterest. When you make this recipe, don’t forget to post your photos on Instagram with the hashtag #sisterblissdiary.
Until next time!
