This gluten-free vegan banana bread (cake) takes inspiration in plant-based ingredients, with almond flour, arrowroot starch, plant milk and chia seeds.
As Layla was testing banana bread recipes, we decided to also try to make a vegan, gluten free version of this popular cake. Cakes can be a treat, but if you eat a plant-based diet or if you avoid gluten, you need modern versions of classic recipes which take these into account.
How different does the vegan and gluten-free banana bread taste, compared with the regular recipe? I found the regular recipe to be a bit fluffier, given that it uses regular wheat flour, which tends to also rise more and keep its shape. For this cake we replaced wheat with almond flour, arrowroot starch. The change in flours resulted mostly in a more moist and slightly flatter consistency, which I felt was no problem. Growing up eating cakes in France, it reminded me of quite a few which sometimes used less flour or had lots of butter. They were so good and very filling.
As far as egg replacement, we went for chia seeds and water, which we put in a bowl to let the seeds absorb the water and create an egg-like texture. Chia seeds are a great egg alternative. Often, for breakfast, I add some while cooking oatmeal in the pan, and they definitely help absorb excess water, plant milk, and gently solidify the recipe.
Give it a try and let us know what you think!
Vegan banana bread (gluten free)
Ingredients
- 4 bananas preferably very ripe
- 3 cups almond flour
- 0.25 cup arrowroot starch
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1 tbsp baking soda
- 0.5 tsp salt
- 2 oz avocado oil
- 2 tbsp chia seeds
- 6 tbsp water (2 tbsp chia seeds + 6 tbsp water roughly equates to 2 eggs)
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 0.5 cup soy milk or your preferred plant-based milk: almond milk, or oat milk (rice milk may be too liquid)
- 1 tsp apple cider vinegar
- 3 oz brown sugar
Decoration and pairings for vegan banana bread
- Fresh berries
- Small amount of plant milk if you like extra softness
Instructions
- Make the egg replacement by mixing in the chia seeds with water in a small bowl. Stir slowly until the seeds absorb some water uniformly. Let it rest for 10 minutes.
- Mix the flour and arrowroot starch, cinnamon, sugar, salt and baking soda in a bowl. (dry ingredients)
- Separately, blend bananas with oil, plant milk, egg replacement, vinegar, and vanilla. (wet ingredients)
- Mix the two together.
- Bake at 350 F for 60 minutes.
- Once fully baked, let it rest for 10 minutes to cool down before serving.
Notes
Nutrition
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