Vegan Banana Chocolate Chunk Bread

Vegan Banana Chocolate Chunk Bread made in 1-bowl. Naturally sweetened with bananas and coconut sugar.

I was sitting in 10th grade Psychology class when my friend, Dan, pulled out a loaf of banana bread from a large Ziplock bag.

“Want this?” he said, offering the crumbled loaf to me.

“I realized afterwards that I forgot to add sugar,” he said sheepishly.

I grabbed a big chunk from inside and chewed.

Banana walnut, yum.

It was a little (okay, a lot) bland, but I liked how you could clearly taste the bananas and nuts.

The bell rang.

He shrugged, “You can have it if you want.”

So I tucked the ziplock bag of sugar-free banana bread into my backpack and strolled out into the locker bay.

For the remainder of the day I enjoyed pieces of bland banana bread, the subtle sweetness growing on me, and by dismissal time I was pretty sure I needed the recipe.

I didn’t quite feel right continuing into 2019 without a banana bread recipe on the blog.

Before we continue, no, this isn’t a remake of my friend Dan’s sugar-free banana bread fail.

But if we were doing one of those word association games I’d probably tell you this story if prompted, “BANANA BREAD.”

What I do have for you, though, is a delicious banana bread recipe that’s also oil free and refined sugar free, which is pretty cool.

This weekend we cleaned the oven for the first time since moving in (two years ago).

Obviously by we I mean it was Dan who wiped it down and it was me who watched in disgust as the paper towel came out black again and again.

I vowed to never let it get that bad again, and then I set out to start breaking it in again.

This Vegan Banana Chocolate Chunk Bread was the first thing I baked in our freshly spruced furnace.

So here’s how to dirty up your oven in the best possible way.

What You Need to Make Vegan Banana Chocolate Chunk Bread

Here’s what you need: 

• bananas
• gluten-free oat flour
• gluten-free old-fashioned rolled oats
• coconut sugar
• nut or seed butter
• ground flaxseed
• baking powder
• Hu Kitchen Chocolate Banana Dark Chocolate

That’s it!

The ingredients here are simple.

Lots of bananas, the riper the better.

A mix of gluten free old-fashioned rolled oats and gluten free oat flour create a hearty gluten-free base.

Creamy peanut butter (or sub any nut or seed butter) acts as an oil replacement and adds healthy fats and creaminess.

A bit of coconut sugar, not too much, but enough to boost the sweets from the bananas.

Your standard flax egg to hold the deliciousness together and baking powder to make it rise like royalty.

Guys, that’s pretty much it.

How to Make Vegan Banana Chocolate Chunk Bread

I’ve become a black bananas hoarder in anticipation of this recipe, encouraging Dan to eat the yellow ones so I could save all of the spotty ones for testing and retesting.

This banana bread is also made in just one bowl!

To be honest, I’ve never really baked bread the “right” way, often using less bowls than denoted so I can dirty less dishes and hoping for the best.

In this case, the best happened and it can happen to you too.

Preheat your oven to 350°F and line a bread pan with parchment paper, or alternatively, grease it lightly with coconut oil.

In a large bowl, combine the ground flaxseed and water and allow it to sit for 5 minutes to gel.

Add the smashed banana to the flax mixture and stir to combine.

Next, add in the nut butter and coconut sugar and mix everything well to combine.

Finally, add in the oat flour, oats, and baking powder and stir well.

Fold in 1/2 cup of the chopped dark chocolate and stir to distribute them evenly throughout the batter.

Pour the batter into the bread pan, smoothing out the surface with the back of a spatula.

Top with remaining 1/2 cup chocolate chunks.

Bake for 45-55 minutes, until the top is golden brown, and a toothpick comes out clean.

Allow bread to cool completely before slicing.

Store the banana bread in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to one week and freeze for long term storage.

The Best Bananas for Banana Bread

A note on bananas–I used 4 in this recipe, but did other tests with 3 and had similar successes.

If the batter is too thick after stirring everything in, add an extra banana to thin things out.

Anywhere from 3-4 should be the sweet spot.

If you have frozen bananas, you can thaw these to throw in, too.

Hu Kitchen Chocolate

For the chocolate, I used Hu Kitchen Crunchy Banana Dark Chocolate bar, chopped, leaving a trail of melty crunchy chocolate on the inside and out.

This refined sugar free dark chocolate bar has morsels of crunchy banana on the inside that make each bite a Chunky Monkey treat.

You’re going to love the way the crunchy bananas and chocolate accent the banana bread with texture and taste!

I recommend using half of the chocolate in the batter and sprinkle the rest on top for full cocoa coverage.

You’ll thank me later.

How to Serve Vegan Banana Chocolate Chunk Bread

This Vegan Banana Chocolate Chunk Bread is a classic for me already and I hope it becomes a classic for you.

It’s ideal for a breakfast, snack, dessert, or sharing with your pals from 10th grade Psych.

I love a slice smeared with nut butter and served with a glass of almond milk!

If you want more of a basic banana-bread template,  leave out the chocolate altogether and let the bananas do their thing.

For even more texture, try throwing in 1/2 cup chopped walnuts or almonds.

Enjoy!

More Vegan Bread

• Cinnamon Tahini Walnut Banana Bread

• Strawberry Banana Bread

• Orange Cranberry Bread

• Dark Chocolate Banana Bread

• Black Sesame Butter Banana Bread

• 1-Bowl Butternut Bread

• Vegan & Gluten-Free Cinnamon Raisin Bread

• Blueberry Banana Breakfast Bread

• Vegan Banana Chocolate Chunk Bread

• Pumpkin Chocolate Chunk Bread

• 1-Bowl Tahini Date Nut Bread

• Pumpkin Spice Bread

I Want to Hear From You

If you make this Vegan Banana Chocolate Chunk Bread recipe, let me know!

Be sure to leave me a comment, rating, and review so I can use your feedback to create more yums.

Give me a shout on Instagram and use #floraandvino to show me your creations.

Check out my Pinterest page to pin more recipes like this one to make later.

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XO Lauren

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