This recipe was a happy accident of sorts. A couple of weeks ago it felt like my colleagues could use a pick-me-up after a particularly long and cold week and I wanted it to be a treat that everyone could eat, that I could make with the ingredients I have on hand. If I’m baking for everyone I work with, I need to be mindful of nut and dairy allergies and gluten intolerance which, to be honest, I’m not always able to cater for. I’d been working with buckwheat flour that week, making David Lebovitz’s buckwheat chocolate chip cookies and wondered if I might be able to make a loaf of banana bread using some wilting bananas (don’t we all have those languishing on our countertops?) and hey, while I was at it, I could try to make it dairy free as well (eggs are ok in baked goods for my dairy allergic colleague). I’ve baked with gluten-free flour before and I just don’t get the same result, so wondered about using buckwheat flour which is naturally gluten free. I’ve been buying my buckwheat flour at my local bulk foods store but for this version, I used Bob’s Red Mill, which is dubbed whole grain and is slightly darker than the bulk version – hence the almost black tones in the end product.
Since my bananas were very ripe and I was using chocolate chips, I ended up not adding any sugar either so while it’s definitely not “healthy”, the sweetness comes from apple sauce, the bananas and the chocolate making it a “better-for-you” treat, dubbed the “inclusive loaf” in our staffroom because everyone could eat it!
Ok so that’s all very well, I hear you say, but how does it taste? I caught a colleague arriving at school after his morning run and convinced him he needed to taste it before I put it out for everyone because I wasn’t sure of the flavour. He confirmed what I suspected – this loaf is phenomenal. It’s not at all dry, has a hint of nuttiness from the buckwheat and loads of flavour from the bananas and chocolate. The cocoa powder kicks it up a notch to make it extra chocolatey too. So, what are you waiting for?
An easy and outrageously delicious double chocolate banana bread that's naturally gluten and dairy free. As an Amazon Associate and member of other affiliate programs, I earn from qualifying purchases.Double chocolate buckwheat banana bread
Ingredients
Instructions
Recommended Products
Enjoy!
Love banana bread? Check out my other banana bread recipes!
________
Please note: I am a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites. This means that if you click over and purchase something, I will receive a very small percentage of the purchase price (at no extra cost to you) which goes towards maintaining eat. live. travel. write. Thank you in advance!
I have made this banana bread three times in the last 10 days. Once for my family, once when people were coming over for coffee and now have one in the oven to take to a cocktail party as a thank you. It is delicious. It’s my new go to I think. Gluten free and so easy. Thank you Mardi.
This makes me SO happy to hear 🙂 Thanks for letting me know! Happy Holidays to you!
Did anyone’s banana bread come out a bit bitter? I also had to add some coconut sugar.
If you use really ripe bananas you don’t really need any sugar but it depends on personal preference, I guess..
I’ve made this recipe, but I made it with coconut oil instead, which worked well.
I also didn’t put chocolate in, to keep it healthy (but of course used the cocoa!).
I found that it taste more like cake than bread, which is lovely!
I didn’t have apple sauce, so I’ve used apples, and put them in the blender.
I wonder though, can you keep it outside the fridge for a couple of days?
Thanks for your comment. Of course you can use any vegetable oil you like and it will not affect the recipe. Apples in the blender – applesauce! And it’s not meant to be “healthy” (per the post) so sure, you could remove the chocolate chips but it’d be better with them! And yes, it keeps outside the fridge for a couple of days.
Just wanted to let you know this I have baked this about once a week since March. It’s my lockdown special!
Thank you so much for letting me know. It’s really good, huh? <3
So good! I add caramellized ginger as an extra treat on top! If you know of similar sugar free recipes I would be so keen to try them! Thanks so much
Super yummy! I subbed a 1/3 of the buckwheat flour for white rice flour and I added a dash of maple syrup because my bananas were pretty underripe. I also made the recipe as muffins- 375F for ~15 minutes. Made 12
Sounds good – thanks so much for reporting back!
Looks great, can’t wait to try it 😀 do you think chia or flax egg would work?
I haven’t tried this with a chia or flax egg, sorry!
This looks so good! What a great way to enjoy a bread and still avoid gluten!
Thanks!
Thanks for sharing! Does it freeze well?
I haven’t tried freezing it – it lasts a few days at room temperature – but I imagine it would. I’d slice it and take out a slice the night before I want to eat it, and thaw it in the fridge?
This recipe is fantastic and absolutely addicting. I didn’t have applesauce so I used vanilla Greek yogurt instead, turned out great! Also I used a combination of semi sweet chocolate chips and milk chocolate chips. Family loves it! My new favourite banana bread. I’m curious though, what’s the nutritional facts for this recipe? Thank you!!
Thanks so much and glad you enjoyed. Yoghurt is a great option here if you can eat dairy! Re: nutrition, I don’t know but there are a lot of free recipe butrition calculators out there you could plug the ingredients into!