Vegan Chocolate Chip Banana Bread

My favorite comforting banana bread recipe, loaded with melty chocolate chips! This vegan chocolate chip banana bread is made with just 5 ingredients and it’s totally gluten free and banana sweetened.

Happy new year!! I’m welcoming 2018 with open arms. I’m going to be real – 2017 wasn’t an amazing year in terms of my overall happiness. But, it was definitely enlightening in terms of really figuring out my overall goals and what I want to do with my life, and I’m thankful for that. I love the vibes this time of year, the feelings of excitement about being able to start fresh, reinvigorated with energy for things you want to make happen in the new year. I’ve got big plans for scary but exciting transitions and new opportunities.

While we’re on the topic, promise me you won’t let negative nancies talk you out of big, exciting resolutions. If you’re pondering a resolution but are unsure whether you can pull it off, just GO FOR IT. Because you can do it. Life is just too damn short not to wake up happy, healthy, and excited about how you’re spending your days. If you’re thinking about going vegan this year, check out this site. If you’re on the fence, watch this, this, this, or this.

In our current society, there is no longer ANY valid reason or excuse to continue breeding animals to experience an entire life of suffering solely for a meal. Doing so causes unfathomable suffering and deaths of countless animals who want to live, while also wreaking havoc on our own personal health, and destroying our planet.

Now, let’s talk vegan chocolate chip banana bread! To start, we’re using oat flour as the base. In the past I’ve used banana flour and buckwheat flour, both of which I personally love. But I know a lot of you guys don’t have access to those, and I’ve recently fallen in love with oats all over again. They’re SO healthy for you, and they work amazingly in banana breads for their slightly sweet flavor and dense texture. All you have to do is grind some oats (I always use whole grain, gluten free rolled oats) until they look like flour.

Ingredients for vegan chocolate chip banana bread

• Rolled oats: you’ll blend the oats to flour consistency, which will hold the banana bread together. Because it’s the only grain in the recipe, the oat flour will give the bread quite a dense, rich texture – it’s not light like a cake, but hearty and satisfying.
• Banana: as always with banana baked goods, make sure your bananas are super ripe and spotty. They’re the only sweetener in this recipe, so they need to be really ripe for optimal banana flavor and sweetness.
• Ground flaxseed: you’ll make flax eggs by putting the ground flax in a bowl with water in the fridge for 20 minutes, until it gels up a bit. This helps hold the banana bread together and provides some great nutrition, too.
• Nondairy milk: a bit of milk brings the batter together. I use unsweetened almond milk for neutral flavor, but any nondairy milk should work.
• Vegan chocolate chips: I love PASCHA unsweetened chips, but use whatever chocolate chips you like. You could also chop up a dark chocolate bar.

Tips for making vegan chocolate chip banana bread

• Measure the rolled oats before blending into flour. I always list the amount of oats used BEFORE they’re blended for flour. So in this case, you’ll measure out 2 cups of whole, rolled oats, then put those 2 cups into your blender to make flour.
• Use a nonstick or parchment-lined pan. Make sure to use a nonstick or parchment-lined pan so that the bread doesn’t stick after baking.
• Let it cool completely. Let the banana bread cool for at least 15 minutes before flipping it out of the pan, then let it sit and cool completely before slicing. It is pretty soft and gooey as is, but will firm up during the cooling process, and if you slice it too early, it may be a gooey mess.

This vegan chocolate chip banana bread has an incredibly gooey, rich texture. I freaking love it. This is not a light banana cake, it’s a thick, dense banana bread, okay?! So be prepared to be satisfied, in the best way. And if you really want to take things to the next level, spread on some almond butter, die of happiness, then come back alive and thank me later.

Start the year off with a slice of this, and I guarantee it’ll be your happiest, healthiest yet.

Xo,

Sara