Vegan Banana Bread with Walnuts & Berry Chia Jam

Breakfast, brunch, snack, dessert

This banana bread can be everything and anything! We all need more banana bread in our lives, wouldn’t you sign this petition if it was one?

For the banana bread

Ingredients

1 1/3 cups mashed ripe banana (about 4 medium)

2 tbsp flax seeds

1/3 cup plant-based milk of choice

1/4 cup coconut oil, melted but not too hot

2 tbsp peanut butter

2 tbsp maple syrup

1 tbsp apple cider vinegar

1 tsp vanilla extract

1/4 cup coconut or raw cane sugar

1 1/2 cups spelt flour or whole-grain spelt flour

1/2 cup rolled oats

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

pinch of sea salt 

1 tsp cinnamon

1/2 cup walnuts

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C and line a loaf pan with baking paper (unless you’re using a silicone one). 

2. In a food processor or blender, mix the ripe banana, plant-based milk, maple syrup, peanut butter, vanilla extract and flax seeds until smooth. (If you do not have a blender, you can simply mash the banana with a fork – in this case, you’ll need to use ground flaxseeds though!) Pour this mixture into a bowl and add in the coconut oil, apple cider vinegar, sugar, cinnamon and salt. 

3. Now stir in the flour, oats and baking powder and whisk until there are no remaining clumps. 

4. Pout the batter into your loaf pan and cover the top of the banana bread with walnuts – gently press them onto the surface to ensure that they stick.

5. Bake the banana bread for about 45 – 50 minutes or until a knife comes out clean. 

6. Let the loaf cool before slicing and serving along with your favourite toppings.

For the berry chia jam

Ingredients

2 cups mixed berries of choice (eg raspberries, blueberries, strawberries, cherries, blackberries), fresh or frozen

2 tbsp chia seeds

2-3 tbsp maple syrup (depending on how sweet you like it)

INSTRUCTIONS

1. In a pot, heat the berries, chia seeds and maple syrup. If the mixture is too thick, add a splash of water. Let the jam simmer for about 10 minutes with occasional stirring. The chia seeds will thicken up the jam during the cooking process but even more when storing it.

2. Let the jam cool and then transfer into a jar. Store in the fridge for up to 5 days. 

Other toppings

coconut yoghurt

berry chia jam

more peanut butter, because why not

a drizzle of maple syrup

roasted and chopped nuts

granola