19 February, 2016
Banana Nut and Seed Bread (Grain Free, GF, Vegan)
I quickly fell in love with my Pumpernickel Nut and Seed Bread and was immediately inspired to make a new version. I love a good banana bread but I am not a fan of all of the sugar and refined grains that are typically involved in most versions. I got experimenting in the kitchen to create a sweeter version of my original savory loaf.
Banana Nut and Seed Bread was a success at first try. I love the subtle sweetness of this bread and letting the naturally sweet banana flavor shine. My taste buds have definitely changed for the better over the years from eating more real food and avoiding a lot of added sugar. I used to be a sugar addict and could easily eat a bag of sour patch kids (used to be my favorite) in one sitting. These days when my sweet tooth kicks in I reach for a square or two of dark chocolate instead. One great way to cut out unnecessary sugar is to bake with much less than the recipe calls for and replace it with fruit like bananas.
I discovered a really great trick with this bread as well that is very helpful when in a pinch for a healthy breakfast or snack. If you cut this bread into slices and freeze them you can pull out one slice at a time and put it in the toaster to thaw it out. After finding this out I now make two loaves and slice them up for the freezer so that I always have something wholesome to eat on hand. My favorite way to eat these toasted slices is with nut butter melted on top and adding more sliced bananas on top.
Homemade nutella would be fantastic with sliced strawberries. What about coconut butter with fresh mango? My mouth is watering just thinking about it…what combinations do you want to try?
Ingredients
- 1 cup raw sunflower seeds
- 1/2 cup flax seeds
- 1/2 cup raw walnuts
- 2 tablespoons chia seeds
- 4 tablespoons psyllium husks
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup almond meal
- 1/4 cup coconut flour
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1/2 cup mashed ripe banana 2-3 bananas
- 1 cup warm water
- 3 tablespoons coconut oil
- 3 tablespoons maple syrup or honey
Instructions
-
In a large bowl add all of the ingredients threw the banana.
-
In a small bowl add the warm water and melt in the coconut oil and maple syrup.
-
Mix the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients until well combined.
-
The dough will be thick at this point.
-
In a lined 10x5x3 bread pan or silicone bread pan press in the dough to an even shape.
-
Let the bread sit to continue to form while the oven heats up.
-
Heat the oven to 350 degrees F.
-
Cook the bread for 20 minutes.
-
Remove the bread carefully from the pan and transfer the bread directly to the oven rack.
-
Bake an additional 30-40 minutes until fully set and crispy on the outside.
-
Allow to cool fully before cutting into slices with a serrated knife.
-
Store in an airtight container for up to 5 days or slice and store in the freezer for one month.
Recipe Notes
*choose organic ingredients when possible.
Your recipe is amazing! I love all the seeds and nuts in it!
Thank you!
So seedy (in all the right ways!!). I know this is a vegan recipe, but I would probably have a slice with some warm, salted butter 🙂
A slice of warm butter would be amazing on this. I am with you on that!
This is a great idea for cutting down on the refined sugars! Thanks for sharing!
You are welcome!
Oooh good tip about making extra and keeping slices ready to go in the freezer. Love saving time in the morning, means I can enjoy my coffee just a little longer haha. This bread sounds seriously delicious, especially being lower in sugar and letting that banana flavour shine. And what an awesome blend of nuts and seeds! Can’t wait to try 🙂
I hope that you enjoy it!
Sounds great. Do you use raw walnuts instead of toasted for a particular reason? I’m not vegan, or GF, so not sure if that matters 🙂
They don’t have to be raw but I don’t usually buy roasted since they normally have added salt. Any nut would work!
So much goodness in one loaf! The amount of nutrients in this bread is incredible! It looks amazing!
My mom and I were just talking about how we want to cut back on our sugar. This bread looks perfect for us; I’m sending it to her now!! 😀
Oh my goodness. THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THIS RECIPE. I have to be grain free gluten free, dairy and md egg free and I sooo missed my European dark rye bread. This is fabulous. I’ll experiment a bit with it as I always do. Thanks again.
I am so glad to be able to provide this recipe that can fit your needs!
Your recipe says 1/2 of banana but in parentheses says 2-3 bananas. Seems like 2-3 bananas would be well over a cup, possibly two. Which is it?
The recipe calls for 1/2 cup of banana so it depends on the size of your banana. You want about 1/2 cup.
Looks tasty! Do you have the nutritional breakdown of calories, fats, etc?
I unfortunately don’t. It is on my list of hopefully something to do one day for our recipes. I like to add the ingredients to My Fitness Pal to help figure out the details.