Nonna’s Banana Bread… Oil-free and Vegan!
Simple. Homey. Cozy. Love. That’s what a good banana bread says to me. My earliest memories of baking involve banana bread. My mom, a.k.a. Nonna, taught me how to make banana bread. It was the first thing I ever baked on my own… after school and before she came home from work. I was so proud to fill the house with that amazing aroma. Of course, her version was not vegan and had white sugar and white flour. But, hey, just a few minor adjustments and it’s still a simple endeavor with a wonderful, whole-food, plant-based result.
By the way—shameless plug, here—my blog turns 2 years old today! Yay! Happy Birthday to us. 🙂
Anyway, I wanted to create this down-home loaf to invoke all those warm fuzzies that multi-generational, passed-down recipes do… I have lots of baked goodies on this site but so many of them involve gluten-free flours and other ingredients that may or may not be easily accessible to many. This plump, moist, perfectly-risen bread uses easy-to-find ingredients; things you probably already have in your kitchen cupboard. Well, maybe not everyone has flax meal, but it’s easy to make—just grind some flax seeds in a nut/seed grinder. So… let’s get baking!
Ingredients:
- 2 cups whole wheat, whole wheat pastry or whole spelt flour (I used spelt)
- ½ cup coconut sugar, or other minimally processed, granulated sweetener
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- pinch salt (optional)
~ wet:
- 1 cup ripe, mashed banana (about 3 small bananas)… leave it a bit chunky!
- 1½ cups unsweetened plant-based milk
- 1 TBS flax meal + 3 TBS water
- ¼ cup applesauce
- 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 1 tsp lemon juice
Directions:
- Preheat oven to 350° F.
- Lightly grease a standard sized loaf pan.
- Combine flax meal with water and set aside.
- Mix all dry ingredients together.
- Mix all wet ingredients together.
- Pour wet ingredients into dry and stir well to combine.
- Spoon batter into loaf pan, smooth the top and bake for 45-50 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
Makes one yummy loaf. Enjoy!
Healthy trails,
