Healthier Oatmeal Banana Bread – No Flour, Zero Sugar

Healthier oatmeal banana bread. Your favorite banana bread gets a ‘healthier’ upgrade! Made with oat flour, bananas, and cocoa powder, this bread contains no flour making it a nutritious option. Plus, regular sugar is replaced with maple syrup making it deliciously healthy without compromising on sweetness. Moist, decadent, and healthier banana bread just for you!

Healthier Oatmeal Banana Bread

You may not have tried making banana bread with old fashioned oatmeal, but let me tell you, the decadent combination of oatmeal, cocoa powder, maple syrup, and chocolate chips will blow your mind. Obviously, oatmeal is an unusual ingredient in everyday baking, however, this recipe is pure magic.

The basic idea is to create a healthier version of traditional banana bread with ingredients which you likely already have on hand. While oat flour replaces regular flour, sugar is substituted with maple syrup.

Key Ingredients In Oatmeal Banana Bread

• Oat flour – It’s all about rolled oats processed into a fine powder.
• Bananas – Mashed bananas are the key ingredient that make this bread moist and delicious banana loaded banana bread.
• Cocoa powder – It’s the basic chocolatey ingredient of the recipe.
• Maple syrup – The healthier way to add sweetness instead of regular granulated (caster) sugar.
• Dark chocolate chips or chunks – This brings in extra dose of chocolatey goodness.

Healthier Oatmeal Banana Bread Recipe

Prep the ingredients – Traditional rolled oats or quick oats work perfectly in this recipe. Process oatmeal to make a very fine powder called oat flour. With bananas, you can use a fork to mash them lightly. However, I would suggest processing them into a smooth puree using your blender. Apart from oats and banana, you will also need cocoa powder, eggs, ground cinnamon, and maple syrup. I have opted for maple syrup as the sweetener in this recipe, however, it can be easily substituted with dates, agave nectar, or honey.

Mix and bake – Start with combining all the dry ingredients including oat flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, ground cinnamon, and a small pinch of salt. Give this a quick whisk to mix all the ingredients. Next, you can add the wet ingredients. Pureed bananas, eggs, and maple syrup, all go into the dry mixture. A quick mix just to combine the dry and wet ingredients, and you can fold in the dark chocolate chunks. Transfer this mixture to a baking pan, and bake until risen and cooked through.

Yield: 1 loaf

Healthier Oatmeal Banana Bread - No Flour, Zero Sugar

Print

Moist and decadent banana bread with no flour and no added sugar!

Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 40 minutes

Total Time 50 minutes

Ingredients

• 2 cups traditional or rolled oats
• 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• A pinch of salt
• 3 large bananas, mashed
• 2 eggs
• 3 tablespoons maple syrup
• 3/4 cup dark chocolate chips or chunks

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 180 C or 350 F. Grease and line a 9 x 5 - inch loaf tin with baking paper. Set aside.
2. To make oat flour, process oats to a fine powder.
3. Transfer oat flour to a large bowl.
4. Add cocoa powder, baking soda, ground cinnamon and salt. Whisk until just combined.
5. Make a well in the center of the mixture.
6. Add mashed bananas, eggs, and maple syrup. Fold in gently until combined.
7. Add 1/2 cup chocolate chips or chunks. Fold in again.
8. Pour batter into loaf tin.
9. Top with remaining chocolate chips or chunks.
10. Bake for 35-40 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the center of the bread comes out clean.
11. Remove from oven.
12. Let cool for about 10 minutes before turning on to a wire rack to cool completely.

Notes

• Bananas - Puree bananas in the blender for a smooth paste.
• Maple syrup - Although maple syrup is the best choice, feel free to substitute with honey, agave nectar, and soaked and pureed dates.
• Optional ingredients - The recipe is designed to make a healthier version of banana bread, but, you can add a couple of tablespoons of brown sugar if you prefer more sweetness.
• Thick batter - If the batter is too thick, add a few tablespoons of milk.
• Low gluten  - Please note this bread is NOT gluten free. Although oats are not labelled as ’gluten free’ in Australia, they are naturally wheat free and a great low gluten option.
• Storage - Store in an airtight container at room temperature for 1-2 days. You can refrigerate this for 5 days, and freeze for up to a month.

Nutrition Information

Yield

6

Serving Size

1
Amount Per Serving Calories 355Total Fat 11gSaturated Fat 5gTrans Fat 0gUnsaturated Fat 4gCholesterol 64mgSodium 264mgCarbohydrates 58gFiber 7gSugar 25gProtein 9g

The nutritional data is for information purposes only

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