Vegan Pecan & Banana Bread

Served with a generous spread of tahini and oven- roasted rhubarb, takes this banana bread to the next level. Light, fluffy and flavourful, with the added crunch from the chopped pecan nuts. Simply delightful!

The banana bread - lockdown trend is still going strong in my kitchen. It makes a wonderful breakfast, afternoon snack or as a dessert with a cup of coffee.

This recipe is simple, straightforward and wonderfully easy to make.

Bake a loaf or two and freeze left-overs by slicing the loaf and storing the slices in a freezer safe container or a bag. Simply let it thaw at room temperature before eating or pop a slice in the toaster for a few minutes and it will taste freshly baked again.

LET'S TALK BANANAS

Remember it is all about the bananas. The riper the banana, the better.

The ripeness level will affect the taste and texture of the bread.

The riper the banana the more natural sweetness, which allows for less added sugar.

The banana is also used as a binder, as this recipe is vegan and therefor not uses any eggs.

The only problem I always have is keeping bananas around long enough to get them ripe enough to use for banana bread. If you eat as many bananas as I do, it's probably best to buy a few extra ones that are already very ripe.

If you have a few extra bananas, why not freeze them and use them to make a delicious, healthy nice cream, such as this healthy snickers nice cream.

Or for a really indulgent dessert this gooey vegan chocolate mug cake.

YUM!

YOU WILL NEED

• 3 large, ripe bananas

• vegetable oil or coconut oil

• brown cane sugar, preferably organic

• vanilla paste or vanilla extract

• almond milk or milk of choice

• flour - I used a mix of whole wheat and cake or AP flour

• baking powder

• bicarbonate of soda

• ground cinnamon

• salt

• and a few chopped pecan nuts

CAN THIS BE MADE NUT-FREE OR GLUTEN-FREE?

Yes it can.

For a nut-free version, simply replace the almond milk with a nut-free milk and omit the pecan nuts. You can alternatively replace the nuts with seeds, such as sunflower or pumpkin seeds.

For a gluten-free version, you can use buckwheat flour instead of cake or whole-wheat flour.

OTHER RECIPES YOU MIGHT LIKE

vegan whole orange & almond cakes

vegan carrot cake cinnamon rolls

Omas Nusstorte

WHY NOT TRY THE BANANA BREAD WITH THESE

roasted strawberries

decadent pecan butter

VEGAN PECAN & BANANA BREAD

Light, fluffy and flavourful, with the added crunch from the chopped pecan nuts. Simply delightful!

Serves: makes 1 loaf

Prep time: 10 min

Baking time: 1 hour

INGREDIENTS

• 3 large, ripe bananas, mashed

• ½ cup vegetable oil or coconut oil (melted)

• 75g brown cane sugar or coconut sugar

• ½ tsp vanilla paste

• 55ml almond milk

• 1 ¾ cup flour (I used half whole wheat and half cake or all-purpose)

• 1 tsp baking powder

• 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda

• 1 tsp ground cinnamon

• ½ tsp fine salt

• ½ cup chopped pecan nuts

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Preheat the oven to 175C and prepare a bread tin

2. Mix the oil, mashed bananas, sugar, vanilla paste and almond milk until well combined.

3. Sift in the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and salt a little bit at the time and mix gently until well incorporated. Do not overmix the batter.

4. Add in the pecan nuts and fold into the batter.

5. Pour the mixture into a prepared baking bread tin and sprinkle with a few more nuts on top, if desired.

6. Bake for 50 min – 1 hour. Test the loaf with a baking needle or knife to make sure it comes out clean.

7. Remove from the oven and let it cool for about 10min before removing it from the baking tin to cool.

8. Serve with a generous layer of tahini or your favourite nut butter and a drizzle of maple syrup or roasted fruit.

Have you made this?

If you have, I would love to see your creations on Instagram.

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