Have you tried my coconut raisin banana bread yet? If you haven’t, I highly recommend that you make it. And don’t let the fact that raisins are part of the recipe turn you off, they can be omitted (but why would you want to leave them out?!) That recipe is one of my favourites on this site. It’s so easy to make, it tastes amazing, and the best part? No one would ever guess it’s vegan and gluten free. The same can be said for this gluten free vegan chocolate banana bread.
My youngest is actually the reason why I made this recipe, the first time I made it. It was a Sunday morning and I was trying to decide what to make for school snacks for the upcoming week. It was her suggestion to make chocolate banana bread. She’d never had it before but thought it sounded like a good idea. Smart child. Because chocolate + banana is a great combo. Almost as good a combo as my favourite chocolate + mint!
Another reason why it was a good idea is because of all the overripe bananas I had sitting in my freezer. The part of the freezer I keep them in was overflowing, so banana bread making was the perfect idea for that day.
Ever since making it that first time, it has become a keeper recipe and it has become one of the more requested recipes for me to make.The kids love it and I love it too!
As mentioned above, a loaf of gluten free vegan chocolate banana bread is perfect to make on the weekends to have for snacks during the week. It can even be enjoyed for breakfast or at a brunch, even though it’s like dessert! It’s rich, decadent, not overly sweet, and filled with deep chocolate flavour that I hope you’ll love. It’s also fluffy…but at the same time, a little dense. I think that has to do with all the chocolate chips! I know that doesn’t really make sense (fluffy but dense), so you’ll have to make it yourself to see what I mean!
If you love the chocolate/banana flavour combo, be sure to check out my Chocolate Banana Coconut Chia Pudding recipe, another breakfast or snack idea that tastes like dessert!
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How to Make Gluten Free Vegan Chocolate Banana Bread
- 2 tbsp ground flax seeds
- 6 tbsp water
- 2 cups gluten free flour blend (I use Bob's Red Mill, see note below)
- 1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 2/3 cup coconut sugar
- 3 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 cup melted coconut oil
- 1 3/4 cups pureed bananas (approximately 4 large bananas or 5 small)
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 3/4 cup chocolate chips
- Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
- Grease a 5" x 9" (1.5 quart) loaf pan.
- Prepare your flax eggs by whisking together ground flax seeds and water. Set aside to thicken.
In a large bowl, whisk the flour, cocoa powder, coconut sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt together.
- In a small bowl, mix the melted coconut oil, pureed bananas, vanilla, and flax mixture together.
- Pour wet ingredients into dry ingredients and mix well to combine.
Fold in the chocolate chips.
- Pour into greased loaf pan.
- Bake for 50 minutes to 1 hour or until a tester comes out clean. See note.
- Baking times will vary slightly depending on your oven and the type of bakeware you use. I use a glass loaf dish when making this recipe and it takes 50 minutes. Start checking around the 50 minute mark and don't over bake.
- It's important to know that different gluten-free flour blends use different ingredients and ratios, so results will always vary if you substitute. I have never used any other brand of flour to make this recipe (other than Bob's Red Mill), so please know that your results may not be the same as mine if ingredients are substituted.
Jennie says
IHello,
I was wondering what chocolate chips you use? Are they dairy free? I have been looking for a vegan recipe like this for a while now…
Thanks
Gwen @ Delightful Adventures says
Hi Jennie, I use a couple dairy-free brands brands but the one I think that is most accessible and will be the easiest for you to find is by a brand call Enjoy Life. They make several types of chocolate to bake with (dark chocolate chips (what I use in this recipe), mini chocolate chips, and chocolate chunks). All of their products are dairy-free 🙂 You can find more info on their site here: https://enjoylifefoods.com/our-food/baking-chocolate/chocolate-for-baking-dark-chocolate-morsels/
Tina says
Hello,
this recipe looks amazing! thanks for sharing. I was wondering, can I use spelt flour for this?
Thank you
Gwen @ Delightful Adventures says
Hi Tina! I just published a recipe for spelt rolls (you can see it on the homepage) and I learned a lot about spelt flour while testing that recipe. You can make this recipe with spelt flour, but you will need to make some adjustments to the liquids, since spelt flour recipes need less liquid than regular recipes. I did test this one with all purpose flour, and it was perfect, but I have not tested it with spelt, so I am not 100% sure what the liquid measurements would have to be adjusted to. If you do try, come back and let me know how it turns out! 🙂
Anje says
Thank you for this delicious recipe!
Gwen @ Delightful Adventures says
You’re very welcome!
Vera says
Wow this is so good! I made it last night for my husband and can’t stop eating it haha. He actually ate so much he couldn’t eat dinner. 🙂 It’s even better the second day – it’s like all the flavor starts really developing and it gets thicker.
I’m not GF, so I don’t mind using regular flour, but I used half rice flour and half unbleached all purpose for this and it came out amazing. Thank you so much for this recipe!
Gwen @ Delightful Adventures says
Thank you, Vera! So, so happy to hear you and your husband like it! I *may* have run into that problem (being too full to eat dinner) because of some of my recipes 😉 And good to know that it worked well with your flour mix. Thanks for your note! 🙂
Sherri says
What could I use instead of coconut oil? Palm oil?
Thanks!
Gwen @ Delightful Adventures says
Hi Sherri, any neutral flavoured oil will work to replace the coconut oil. I hope you like the recipe! 🙂