Vegan Recipe: Best Banana Bread Ever

By Irina Rostokina/Shutterstock

Looking for a super-tasty, quick and easy treat? A healthy snack that even your mother would love?

Stop right now and make this banana bread recipe!

Best Banana Bread Recipe Ever

• 3 ripe bananas, mashed with a fork
• 1/4 cup oil
• 1/2 cup agave nectar or maple syrup or honey
• 1 & 1/2 cup whole wheat flour
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 cup wheat germ

Preheat oven to 375° F. Mix all dry ingredients first, then mix in bananas, oil, and honey. (If you measure out the oil first, and then use the same measuring cup for the honey, it will all slide cleanly out of the cup.)

Pour into an oiled bread pan and bake for about 20 minutes. Cooking times can vary a bit depending on your choice of sweetener, and your ingredients, so check it a little earlier than 20 minutes, and perhaps let it bake longer if needed. This recipe is also great for muffins, which take less time – maybe 15 minutes or so until done. Use a toothpick or knife to check the middle. If it sticks, keep baking.

Recipe Substitutions:

• Vegans can substitute agave nectar or maple syrup for the honey, and you can cut the amount of sweetener down to your taste.
• Quinoa or brown rice flour can replace the wheat flour to go gluten-free
• We usually use either olive oil or canola oil for this recipe, but coconut oil is another excellent option. We have also made it before with just 1 tablespoon of oil for a lower-fat banana bread.
• I don’t ever use plain table salt to cook with, as it’s simply sodium chloride and has a rather bland taste. Unrefined and lesser-refined salts have a much better taste and a full mineral content, in my opinion.
• For dessert, throw in a handful or two of chocolate chips and shredded coconut!
• We always buy organic if possible.

This is a very versatile recipe. Cut off a few fat slices and take them with you for a natural power bar. It packs very well and makes a great travel food. I recently took a loaf with me on a trip, and when I pulled it out to eat mid-flight, half the plane turned around wondering what smelled so good, and I save a huge chunk of cash by not having to buy airport food.

You could probably fry it up like pancakes or fried cookies, or spread it thin and dry it, like banana bread jerky. (Hmm… that actually seems like a do-able idea.)

Originally published on NaturalPapa.com