Recipe: Banana Bread (vegan)

I woke up early this morning to bake some banana bread for breakfast. I had some old blackened bananas in the freezer that I thrown in there for this purpose. This recipe comes from a friend who got it from a friend. Although I am not vegan, I was intrigued by this recipe because it used maple syrup instead of sugar. I used unsweetened apple sauce because Ben doesn’t particularly care for sweet things most of the time (ice cream is one exception).

I was really pleased with this recipe. It baked beautifully. The bread was nice and light with a delicate crumb. It wasn’t sweet at all, except for the sweetness that came from the banana flavor. The original recipe called for three bananas, but frankly I discovered that if you want banana bread to have a real banana flavor, you need four. If you prefer a sweeter bread, add a little more maple syrup and sweetened apple sauce. Best of all, it was a really good banana bread and not a good vegan banana bread. I doubt anyone would know that it’s vegan unless you tell them.

Vegan Banana Bread

Ingredients
1 cup unbleached white flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup maple syrup
4 really ripe medium bananas. Mashed.
2 teaspoons ground flax
1/2 cup water
1/4 cup canola oil
1/4 cup applesauce
3/4 cup pecans chopped

1. Preheat oven to 350.
2. Lightly grease 8x 3 1/2 x 2 1/2 inch loaf pan with nonstick cooking spray.
3. In a medium bowl, combine white flour, wheat flour, baking soda, and salt.
4. In another bowl, combine maple syrup and mashed banana.
5. In a small cup, mix flax powder with 1/2 cup of water, pour into maple/banana mixture and stir to combine.
6. Add canola oil, applesauce, and pecans to the mix.
7. Pour banana mixture into flour mixture and stir only until combined.
8. Pour into prepared pan. Bake at 350 degrees F for about 60-75 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.