Vegan Banana Nut Bread

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Peanut butter seems like it should be healthy, right? But have you ever read the ingredients? Most peanut butter is filled with added sugar and trans fats! Even if the nutrition facts states “0g trans fat” or it says “0g trans fat per serving” on the package, that may not be true. If there are hydrogenated oils listed in the ingredients, there are trans fatty acids in the food. If it’s less than a gram, it doesn’t have to be listed. That’s a big issue because with so many processed foods containing hydrogenated oils, it can really add up overtime and lead to some serious health issues. That’s exactly why I used Crazy Richard’s Peanut Butter to make my Vegan Banana Nut Bread–there is only one ingredient: peanuts!

What even are hydrogenated oils?

Hydrogenation refers to the process of adding hydrogen atoms to the oil. I’ll try not to get too much into chemistry, but basically the process breaks some of the double bonds found in unsaturated fats. It converts them to single bonds so that the fatty acids are non-conjugated (there is at least one methyl group between them) which allows them to be in a trans configuration. Translated to English, that means they can pack more closely, thus being more temperature stable. Why is this even an issue? Hydrogenation takes unsaturated fats (which are, in many cases, healthier) and makes them artificially behave like saturated fats.

“Natural” Peanut Butter

What really frustrates me about the food industry (actually there are a lot of things) is how there is no regulation on the word “natural”. It’s just another marketing scheme and doesn’t mean anything nutritionally. Even though “natural” peanut butters don’t contain hydrogenated oils, there are still a lot of brands that add sugar, salt, and palm oil. These are totally unnecessary ingredients (besides maybe a little salt), but Crazy Richard’s really keeps it clean and simple by strictly using peanuts.

Nut Butter Egg Substitutes

The other thing I want to address is why I added peanut butter at all. Not only is it one of my favorite foods, but it makes a great egg-replacer. I wouldn’t call it universal, but it’s perfect for breads, muffins, and cookies. Three tablespoons is equivalent to one egg. Just like a real egg, it adds both fat and moisture. If you’re allergic to peanuts, any other nut or seed butter will work too!

Refined-Sugar

As always, I try to minimize processed ingredients as much as possible. For my Vegan Banana Nut Bread, I limited refined sugar to a half cup in the loaf and didn’t use any in the topping. The bananas add a good deal of sweetness on their own, so I didn’t feel the need to add much more. In the topping, I used sucanat instead of granulated sugar. If you aren’t familiar or haven’t come across it in my other posts, sucanat is an unrefined sugar that still contains the natural molasses. It tastes like brown sugar, only it’s more rich and flavorful. You can definitely use it in the loaf in place of granulated sugar and molasses, but it will change the texture just a little bit. I like to use Wholesome Sweets because it’s organic, non-GMO, and fair trade certified.

Vegan Banana Nut Bread only has a few simple ingredients and comes together in just over an hour. If you’re short on time though, the batter works great for muffins too. They would only need to bake for 15-20 minutes.

More Banana Recipes to Try

• Vegan Blueberry Banana Muffins
• Banana Date Muffins
• Spiced Banana Rum Cookies
• Spiced Rum Banana Muffins
• Banana Chocolate Chip Cake
• Vegan Tahini Banana Muffins
• Chocolate Banana Rye Muffins
• Mini Banana Bundt Cakes

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Vegan Banana Nut Bread

Vegan Banana Nut Bread is whole wheat, swirled with peanut butter, and topped with a crunchy pecan topping!

Prep Time20 minutes mins

Cook Time1 hour hr 10 minutes mins

Total Time1 hour hr 30 minutes mins

Servings: 12 slices

Rachel Alexandra

Ingredients

Muffins

• 2 cups overripe bananas mashed
• ⅓ cup coconut oil melted
• 3 Tbsp natural peanut butter
• 1½ tsp cinnamon extract
• 1 tsp Spice House cinnamon
• 1 tsp baking soda
• ¼ tsp Celtic sea salt
• 1½ cups whole wheat pastry flour

Pecan Topping

• 2 Tbsp old fashioned oats
• 2 Tbsp whole wheat pastry flour
• 1 Tbsp sucanat
• ⅛ tsp Spice House cinnamon
• 1 Tbsp pecans chopped
• Pinch of Celtic sea salt
• 1 Tbsp coconut oil melted

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 350°F and line a 9×5 loaf pan with parchment paper.
• In a large bowl, whisk the mashed banana, coconut oil, peanut butter, and cinnamon extract.
• Add the cinnamon, baking soda, sea salt, and flour and stir until just combined. Be sure not to overmix.
• Pour the batter into the prepared pan and smooth out the top with an offset spatula.
• In a small bowl, mix the oats, flour, sucanat, cinnamon, pecans, and sea salt.
• Add the coconut oil and mix it in. Then sprinkle the streusel on top of the batter.
• Bake for about 50-55 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Allow the bread to cool before removing from pan and slicing.

Notes

This recipe can also be made into 12 muffins with a reduced bake time of 15-20 minutes.

In the case of a peanut allergy, any other nut or seed butter can be used instead of peanut butter. For tree nut allergies, simply omit the pecans from the streusel.

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