An incredibly moist and flavourful banana bread made with freshly-ground whole almonds. This recipe is wheat and gluten-free, but you can use light whole spelt or wheat flour instead of the brown rice flour and starch if you like. Use high quality dark chocolate chips for a supremely delicious treat.
Patty
Preheat the oven to 325. Oil and dust a loaf pan - I use coconut oil and rice flour in a glass pan.
Combine:
*1 c whole raw almonds, ground (1 1/3c almond meal/flour)
2/3 c brown rice flower
1/4 c starch (tapioca starch or corn starch)
1/2 tsp sea salt
1/4 tsp baking soda
2 tsp baking powder
*To grind almonds, pulse 1/2c at a time in a blender or food processor until it's a fairly uniform almond meal. 1c of whole almonds will make about 1 1/3c of almond meal/flour.
Combine separately and beat together:
2 large eggs
2 Tbsp melted butter or coconut oil
1/3 c agave syrup, maple syrup or mild honey
1/3 c milk or milk substitute (I use unsweetened almond milk)
2 tsp vanilla
1/4 tsp freshly grated nutmeg (optional)
1/2 tsp freshly grated lemon or orange zest (optional)
To this, mix in:
2 large hand-mashed very over-ripe bananas (~3/4c)
Mix dry and wet mixtures together until just combined. Then fold in:
2/3 c dark chocolate chips (I'm not one to push brands, but Ghirardelli 60% cocoa bittersweet chocolate chips are awesome!) Sprinkling a bit of flour (or dry ingredient-mixture) over the chips helps prevent them from sticking to the pan.
Pour batter into the prepared pan, smoothing the top with a spatula. Bake for about 55 min, rotating half way through baking. It will be ready when a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Allow to sit in the pan for about 10 minutes before removing and placing on a cooling rack.
This bread tastes great warm and fresh out of the oven, and even better the next day. When cool, wrap it up and store in the fridge.
Enjoy ♥
May 25, 2009 - 15:55
This banana bread is TERRIFIC! I left out the chocolate chips and added a full cup of bananas. I love the texture and how mosit it is! Thanks SO much!
May 26, 2009 - 09:34
Super! You're welcome + thanks for the feedback. :-)
Did you use chopped-up bananas, mashed bananas, dried bananas..?
May 27, 2009 - 06:16
Hi! I used mashed bananas. Do you recommend dried bananas? If I wanted a stronger banana flavor, do you think I could substitute some dried bananas for the chocolate chips?
May 27, 2009 - 08:33
Good to know, thanks!
I meant to say "banana chips", because some people put them in banana bread - though I generally don't since they're fried and end up loosing their crunchiness in the bread.
September 4, 2009 - 08:09
whoa, this banana bread turned out so yummy and moist! Thank you for the recipe!
September 6, 2009 - 14:05
Thanks + you're welcome!
December 16, 2009 - 22:24
Patti,
This recipe is so Amazing! I love it more each time I make it, tonight will be the fourth time! I make muffins and bake for 15 minutes. I use carob chips in place of chocolate chips and throw in a fist full of pepitas at the same time, sprinkling a few on top for absolute cuteness.
To die for!
Thank you for your site. This recipe is just my favorite, I've tried nearly all.
Colette
December 18, 2009 - 16:40
Thanks so much for the great feedback Collette! You totally made my day. The muffins with carob and pepitas sound delicious - can you send me some here in Mexico? ;-)
March 14, 2010 - 20:24
This recipe is incredible! My husband and I were both drooling over every last crumble, and he said it was the best GF thing he's ever had. I put the almonds through my food processor so, while it was mealy, there were still teeny tiny chunks which made the loaf have the slightest of crunch/chew. Unbelievable. Your blog is a treasure find. Have made the banana booty bars and was impressed with those too. Thanks for sharing! I'll be back :)
March 15, 2010 - 10:12
Wowee - thanks for the wonderful feedback + kind encouraging words! I'm blushing. :) Happy to share the healthy treats I love. xoxoxox Patty