Today’s recipe is from my wonderful friend Amy from Nourishing Amy (@nourishing.amy) and I’m so happy to share it with you, because it’s epic.

There are arguably some recipes that we all should have in our repertoire and one of these is banana bread. We all need a good banana bread recipe for cold winter evenings and a cup of tea, just as much as for summer brunch outside, served with fresh fruit, and for that any-time-of-year moment when we realize those bananas just need to be eaten.

I’ve made this recipe several times and particularly enjoy making it before a trip (nothing better than a chocolate chip version of this moreish loaf on the train or plane 😉 ). It’s super simple, not requiring any outlandish ingredients or a special trip to the grocery store, and can easily be whipped up. It’s also a really great one to play around with – adding chocolate chips, peanut butter, fresh raspberries or all together, depending on what mood you’re in. I’ve also seen Amy do this recipe in muffin version, which always looks incredibly irresistible!

Without further ado, let’s get baking!

Nourishing Amy’s Ultimate Banana Bread

Ingredients

Wet ingredients

• 3 large bananas (the riper the better)
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 tbsp chia seeds (ground flaxseeds will work too)
• 1/3 cup plant-based milk [I use rice, while Amy loves oat and almond]
• 2 tbsp olive oil or coconut oil, melted
• 2 tbsp maple syrup, or coconut honey

Dry ingredients

• 1/4 cup coconut sugar [I’ve also used raw cane sugar]
• 1 tbsp baking powder
• 1 tbsp bicarbonate of soda
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• pinch of salt
• 1 1/2 cups spelt flour*

Optional: sliced banana for topping, ½ cup walnuts, dried fruits, chocolate chips etc. 
Optional: 1 tsp maca, lucuma

* I’ve also tried this with buckwheat flour, which worked really well too. Apparently plain flour also works well, although Amy doesn’t recommend wholemeal flour, as it was a bit too dry.

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 160Fan/180°C. line a loaf tin with baking parchment.
2. Mash the banana well in a large mixing bowl until smooth. Add all the wet ingredients and stir until combined.
3. Leave for 5-10 minutes, then add in the dry ingredients together and mix until fully incorporated.
4. Add in ½ cup optional extras, if using. The mix will be very thick and seem ‘dry’ but this is perfect.
5. Pour into loaf tin lined with baking paper, smooth over the top. Add sliced banana on top, if using.
6. Bake for 30-40 mins, ovens vary, until the top is browning nicely and an inserted skewer comes out clean. Keep checking the cake very 5 mins if it’s not done and add some foil to cover if it is getting too dark on top.
7. Leave to cool on a wire rack. After 10 mins, remove from the tin and peel away the parchment. Allow to cool fully before storing in an airtight container for up to 5 days. It freezes well in slices too.

To serve, eat as is, or slather on some peanut butter, chocolate and raspberry chia jam, as I like to do 😉

Hope you enjoy and don’t forget to check out Nourishing Amy for more plant-based goodness, wonderful recipes and lots of feel-good vibes!

Enjoy!