Vegan & GF Banana Chocolate Chunk Bread

Easy vegan, gluten-free, and oil-free banana 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 & GF 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.

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.

The ingredients here are simple.

Lots of bananas, the riper the better.

A mix of GF old-fashioned rolled oats and GF 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.

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.

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.

This Vegan & GF 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.

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

I’d love to hear what you think.

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

Show me your loaf on Instagram and use #floraandvino!

Want more oil-free, gluten free, and refined sugar free breads? Check out my 1-Bowl Tahini Date Nut Bread and Pumpkin Chocolate Chunk Bread.

For more banana-bread inspo, check out my Banana Chia Chocolate Chip Muffins and Banana Bread Balls.

Do you love this post and want more? Go to my homepage and subscribe to get updates delivered right to your inbox!

XO Lauren

Print

This post is brought to you by Hu Kitchen, but all words and eats are my own. Thanks for supporting the sponsors that keep me hungry!