A deliciously warm banana bread recipe made with cassava flour, that is SO easy and SO healthy! It is both vegan and paleo - gluten free and refined sugar free. 

Breakfast is always a struggle for me. I wake up extremely hungry. I want food, and I want it NOW. I do not want to wait 30 to 45 minutes for a breakfast meal, can anyone else relate?

Especially now with a baby, meal prepping my breakfast is becoming more important than ever for me. That's why I have been lovinggg this vegan paleo banana bread lately. It is so easy to prep, but also, freezes wonderfully well.

I have been making one or two every week (freezing the one I am not eating right away) and enjoying this sweet-but-still-healthy treat for breakfast most mornings paired alongside my super creamy pumpkin spiced latte.

This recipe is great for breakfast, or for dessert, because it tastes delicious, sweet, but also is really healthy. Made with cassava flour means that it is gluten free and grain free. It also has no refined sugars because the bananas make it sweet enough.

What is Cassava Flour?

Cassava flour is flour made from ground cassava root. It is becoming a very popular vegan and paleo baking flour because of it's gluten free / grain free properties and it works wonderfully well in most baked goods. You can also use it for non-baked goods too. I love using cassava flour to make my own homemade paleo tortillas that I use to make tacos, burritos, and empanadas with. It is also more affordable than almond flour, so that's always a plus. 😉

What ingredients you'll need to make this easy banana bread recipe:

Cassava flour: I usually use Anthony's Organic Cassava Flour that I buy off of Amazon. Recently it was out of stock for longer than usual so I ventured out and tried the Food To Live Organic Cassava Flour which was also great. There is also Otto's Cassava Flour which is pretty popular on Instagram (I see it on there all of the time featured in recipes) but it is actually MORE expensive than the other two brands I mentioned and it's NOT organic. I always choose organic when possible and in this case, it is cheaper to do so.

Bananas: because duh! We can't have banana bread without bananas. Make sure they are pretty ripe. I mean, regular bananas will work but the more ripe they are, they mushier they'll be and it'll add more moisture to your bread. But it's okay, don't stress it.. any banana will do as long as it's ripe. 🙂 I usually use 3 regular sized bananas for this recipe.

Maple syrup: Maple syrup has really become my sweetener of choice. I use to be obsessed with agave but I have recently made the switch. I think maple syrup might be more expensive than agave (I haven't really done the math) but, I also think it is much healthier for you and less processed. The maple syrup that I am obsessed with lately is the 365 Whole Foods brand that you can get off of Amazon. You can also find maple syrup at Trader Joes.

Coconut oil: Coconut oil helps keeps things moist in this bread. Cassava flour makes much denser baked goods than almond and oat flours so the oil really helps keep this from getting too dry. I buy my unrefined coconut oil at Trader Joes.

Flax Eggs: I wanted to keep this banana bread vegan so I'm using flax eggs instead. A flax egg is made up of 1 tablespoon flax meal and 3 tablespoons water. Actually there are some variations to this depending on what blog you follow but I like to keep my flax eggs with a 1:3 ratio. Flax meal is basically flax seeds that have been ground down to a powder or meal. You can do this at home with a blender or purchase ground flax seeds known as flax meal.

Apple Cider Vinegar: We need apple cider vinegar in this recipe so that it can react with the baking soda and act as a leavening agent. This combination, between the ACV and the baking soda will create rise in the bread.

Baking powder + Baking soda: yes, we need both in this recipe. I have tried it with just baking soda and it isn't the same. Make sure your baking soda / baking powder isn't expired because it will not work as intended if it is. Also, note that once the baking soda is activated with the apple cider vinegar you should bake this right away. In other words, don't add the ACV and let the mixture sit on your counter top for an hour, pop it in the oven as soon as possible.

Cinnamon powder: Because you cannot, i repeat, you cannot have banana bread without cinnamon. It's a sin.

Vanilla extract: for extra flavor and yumminess. Totally optional though. It will not break the recipe if you do not have this.

kitchen equipment needed to make banana bread:

• A mixing bowl
• some measuring cups
• an 8 x 4 bread loaf pan
• parchment paper

Making this healthy banana bread recipe is SO easy!

Making this banana bread is definitely a simple task. The way I like to do is:

1. Preheat the oven so that it can start warming up while you make everything else.
2. Add all dry ingredients to a mixing bowl and mix them up using a whisk.
3. Make your flax eggs by mixing the flax seed meal with water and let it sit.
4. Add all wet ingredients, except the bananas and flax meal, to another small bowl or cup and mix to combine.
5. Smash up the bananas in a bowl or cup using a fork. You can also pop them in a food processor but this just means you'll have more things to clean up. A fork does the job too.
6. Add the wet ingredients, the flax eggs, and the bananas to the dry ingredients and mix everything to combine.
7. Transfer the mixture to the loaf pan lined with parchment paper and pop in the oven for 35 to 40 minutes.

how will I know the banana bread is ready?

I always give a range in time because every oven is different. Every environment is different. Baking in high altitude yields different results than baking at sea level. Keep an eye on your bread. Use a tooth pick inserted in the middle to see if it is ready - if it comes out clean it's ready. If it's wet and mushy, it probably needs more time.. give it an extra 5 to 10 minutes and recheck.

Let the banana bread cool before serving. Once the bread spends some time in the fridge it will naturally harden. You can pop it back into the oven for a few minutes at 350F and it'll soften back up.

For more banana bread recipes check out this simple raw vegan banana bread that use a dehydrator. Or if you're in the mood for cookies instead of bread, check out these chocolate chip banana bread cookies.