Easy 5-Ingredient Vegan Spelt Banana Bread

Sue Maree P -

I’m always looking for a healthier banana bread recipe, and after seeing a simple 4-ingredient version made with self-raising flour, I wanted to try my own twist using wholesome wholegrain spelt flour instead. What inspired me was no eggs, no dairy and optional extras for my twist. 

I had 4 very ripe bananas to use up, so I decided to challenge myself to test bake, tweak the recipe as I went, and film the whole process to share with you, too!

The result? A soft, naturally sweet, absolutely delicious vegan banana bread made with just 5 ingredients and no refined sugar. I used date syrup for sweetness, which worked perfectly. Can I use another sweetener? Yes, try agave or your preferred one. The oil could be swapped for melted coconut oil. An easy recipe to adapt to your tastes or what you have on hand.

Takes: 10 minutes
Bakes: 50-55 minutes
Makes: 1 loaf (9x5 inches tin), about 10-12 slices

Wet Ingredients

  • Bananas, ripe, mashed – 450g (about 2 cups mashed) 4 large
  • Date or maple syrup, or your choice – 80g (1/3 cup)
  • Oil, rapseed or olive oil (or your choice) – 80g (1/3 cup)

Dry Ingredients

  • Wholegrain spelt flour – 260g (1 + 3/4 cups)
  • Baking powder – 2 ts

Optional Extras

  • Ground cinnamon – 1 ts
  • Vanilla extract or powder – 1 ts
  • Toasted chopped walnuts – 60g (1/2 cup)
  • Chocolate chips – 85g (1/2 cup)

Method

  1. Preheat the oven to 180˚C fan forced. Lightly toast the walnuts on a baking tray for about 7-8 minutes. Then cool before chopping. Prepare a small 9x5-inch loaf tin, grease it, and line it with baking paper, long on the sides to lift out.
  2. Mash up the bananas with a fork on a plate. Add to a medium bowl, pour in the date or maple syrup and oil, then stir to combine.
  3. In a separate bowl, whisk the baking powder, cinnamon and vanilla powder into the spelt flour. Add in the chopped walnuts being used. If using vanilla extract, add this in with the wet ingredients.
  4. Now combine the dry into the wet ingredients and gently fold until combined. Do not over-mix. Pour into the prepared loaf tin and bake for 50-55 minutes until golden brown. I covered my banana bread with tin foil halfway as I thought the top was browning too quickly.
  5. Once cooked, rest for 10 minutes, then remove from the tin and cool for at least 1 hour before slicing. This banana bread is even tastier toasted the following day.