Simple Raw Vegan Banana Bread
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Hey friends,
If you are vegan, especially raw vegan, then chances are that *bananas* are a pretty big staple in your diet. We love bananas. Bananas are versatile, easy to eat, and taste pretty darn good.
But, do you know what's even better than just plain old banana? - BANANA BREAD - And not just regular banana bread, but RAW, VEGAN, NO SUGAR ADDED, NO OIL ADDED, banana bread. 🙂 Sign.Me.Up.
The original recipe was found here on Amanda Nicole Smith's website which has a ton of great vegan and raw vegan recipes. However, I did make a few changes to fit my needs at the time of making the recipe. Feel free to try both! I am sure you will be delighted either way!
This recipe does require a dehydrator and this (<- affiliate link) is the one that I currently use and HIGHLY recommend! I also noticed there is a cheaper dehydrator available by the same company and it is called "economy dehydrator" so that might be something to look into for a more affordable option. You can find that one here via this affiliate link.
PS. Take a minute or two, to read the additional notes at the bottom of the recipe. I always add little tidbits of information, substitutions, variations, or anything else that might have come up during the making of this recipe that may help you out in the process! Have fun!
Simple Raw Vegan Banana Bread
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 4 - 6 hours
- Total Time: + 6 hours
- Yield: 8 - 9 slices 1x
- Category: Raw Vegan Desserts
Ingredients
- 3 cups of rolled oats
- 1 cup of macadamia nuts (or a mix of your favorite nuts. Sometimes I use almonds, cashews, pecans, or brazil nuts.)
- 1/2 cup of flax seed meal
- 4 very ripe bananas
- 1 cup of date paste (1/2 cup of dates + 1/2 cup of water)
- 1 tsp of vanilla extract
- a pinch of salt
*Optional Additional Ingredients for Topping:
- 1 TBS of raw dark agave (coconut nectar or maple syrup will also work here)
- 1/2 tsp of cacao powder
Instructions
- Place oats in a food processor and process until a fine flour forms. Place oat flour in a mixing bowl.
- Process macadamia nuts (or your nut of choice) in food processor until they are evenly broken down (still a little bit chunky, making sure not to over process or you’ll end up with nut butter). See picture for texture.
- Place oat flour, processed macadamia nuts, and 1/2 cup of flax seed meal back into food processor and pulse until mixture is evenly mixed and place back into mixing bowl.
- Make date paste by mixing dates and water in a blender. (sometimes, if you use less than 1/2 cup of dates, the blender will have a hard time blending such a small amount.) You should have a thick sweet paste when done blending. Add this paste to the mixing bowl and mix.
- Smash ripe bananas in a separate bowl with a fork until a soft and smooshy (wait, is that a word?) mixture forms and then add this mix to the bowl as well.
- Add vanilla extract and pinch of salt and mix everything together until you have a nice sticky dough.If mixture looks dry, go ahead and add a little bit of water at a time until it is evenly mixed and very sticky. You can also add an extra very ripe banana if it’s really dry.
- Using a piece of parchment paper, cover all sides of an 8×4 loaf pan (see picture), and place the banana bread mix inside the loaf pan. See notes below as to why I use parchment paper.
- Place loaf pan inside dehydrator at 155 degrees Fahrenheit for one hour. This helps to firm it up quickly so that you can then remove the bread out of the loaf pan.
- After the first hour, remove banana bread with parchment paper out of loaf pan, cut into slices (see notes about cutting) and continue to dehydrate at 115 degrees for another 6 to 8 hours. (if you don’t slice it there is a good chance it will still be wet and gooey on the inside even after hours of dehydrating.)
- Once ready to serve, use a spoon to mix agave and cacao powder in a small bowl. Drizzle over the banana bread and serve up a slice. Enjoy!
Notes
- There is a lot of back and forth on what temperature is considered ‘raw’. Some say below 105, others say 115. Honestly, I am not that strict when it comes to ‘raw’ temps especially in the dehydrator; I choose my temps depending on the recipe and how quickly I need dinner on the table. So please, if any of my temps don’t work for you, feel free to experiment and use lower/higher heat as needed.
- The reason why I use parchment paper to cover the loaf pan is because it is so much easier to remove the wet banana bread out of the mold. It might be near to impossible to remove the wet banana bread out of the loaf pan without it. I don’t like using wax paper or plastic wrap because there is heat involved and I don’t want any wax or plastic getting into my food.
- You don’t necessarily need a loaf pan mold – Amanda Nicole Smith just forms the shape with her hands, however, either it is extremely hard, or I am not that talented because I was unsuccessful. So, loaf pan mold it is for me.
- If your dates are hard just soak them in some water for about 15 minutes before making date paste (especially if you don’t have a really powerful blender.)
- Please take the temps and the amount of time it takes to dehydrate very flexible. The location where you live (humidity, heat, winter) all factor in to how long it takes the food to dehydrate. It may take 4 hours where you live, but in my hot humid kitchen it might take 6. In other words, use these as an ‘estimate’ or a window. Always keep an eye on your food and taste often so that you can achieve your desired consistency.
- When it is time to cut the slices (after only 1 hour of dehydrating) the inside of the bread will still be very soft and gooey, so try to use a really sharp knife and cut gently. This will help the bread dehydrate evenly.
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some of the products used to make this recipe
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Thank you so much for this recipe! 🙂
Can this really be considered raw since it is dehydrated at 155 degrees for 1 hour? It was my understanding that to be considered raw, foods cannot be exposed to over 118 degrees. Have you tried/will this work with only setting at 118 degrees for a longer period of time?
Hi Erica!
I suppose some people wouldn’t consider this fully raw because of that one hour at 155F. I personally do not mind cooking it at a higher temp initially and then lowering the temp for the rest of the time – to me, I still consider this food to be raw but I can see how others may not. I have not cooked it entirely at 118 but if you give it a try, come back and update us! Hope this helps.
This was great! With no soft dates on hand (and a lack of desire to soak them) I substituted 1/4 cup of maple syrup (obviously not raw, but technically neither are rolled oats!) and a 1/4 cup of water. The result was dense and perfectly slice-able after 6 hours in the bread tin at 40 degrees celcius and 2 hours out of the bread tin at 35 degrees celcius. Thanks for the inspiration!
★★★★★
The maple syrup sounds like a wonderful addition! Glad you enjoyed it. Making me want to make some myself now haha!