“This is the best thing you’ve made in a while!”
“It sounds like summer vacation!”
Scene: Three quickly browning bananas on the counter. One baker who wants to test out chia egg replacer. No butter or milk in sight. Some quick thinking leads to even more delicious replacements: coconut oil and coconut milk. Toss in shredded coconut to bring out the coconut flavor and a little crunch to the outside.
And so, vegan coconut banana bread was born.
I can’t find the words to truly explain this bread – it’s incredibly moist and flavorful, tasting of tropical coconut with a hint of banana. The chia egg replacer worked perfectly in this recipe and no one could tell the difference from a banana bread with egg.
Part of the reason I’ve been so into chia seeds lately (I made chocolate pudding too) is this awesome set of ancient grains that Bob’s Red Mill sent me:
They challenged me to try out the chia seeds and see what I could make with them. On Wednesday, September 11th, I’ll be joining 4 other bloggers for a Google+ Hangout to chat about what we’ve discovered about chia seeds and answer your questions about them.
Even better, Bob’s Red Mill is giving a Grains of Discovery set to one of you! It includes 9 ancient grains: farro, teff, spelt, sorghum, millet, chia seeds, amaranth, kamut, and quinoa. They have a gluten-free version of the set if you need one too. It’s a great sampler to try out a bunch of nutritious grains. Enter below and don’t forget to join us for the chia seed Hangout!
Replacements: you can use butter instead of coconut oil and any kind of milk instead of coconut milk (it will be less coconut-y though). Also, 1 egg can be used in place of chia seeds, but then it won’t be vegan.
Ingredients
- 2 cups all purpose flour
- 1 cup coconut sugar
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 serving of chia seed egg replacer
- 3 super ripe bananas, mashed
- 1/2 cup coconut milk (from a carton, not a can)
- 1/2 cup unrefined virgin coconut oil
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup unsweetened shredded coconut, plus extra to sprinkle on top
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease a loaf pan (I used coconut oil).
- In a medium bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
- In a large bowl, combine chia seed egg replacer, mashed bananas, coconut milk, coconut oil, and vanilla.
- Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients and mix until combined. Add shredded coconut to batter and stir to combine.
- Pour batter into prepared pan. Sprinkle additional shredded coconut on top.
- Bake for around 1 hour, until top is golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
Notes
Adapted from Mom Filter
https://www.52kitchenadventures.com/2013/09/10/vegan-coconut-banana-bread/
Heather
September 10, 2013 at 9:59 pm (11 years ago)I would make chia pudding and ancient bread
Janet Ingalls
September 10, 2013 at 10:16 pm (11 years ago)If you are using ground chia seeds instead of whole do you use an equal amount?
Stephanie Nuccitelli
September 11, 2013 at 8:21 am (11 years ago)Janet – yes, use 1 tablespoon ground chia seeds: 3 tablespoons water.
Anna Lavender
September 11, 2013 at 1:08 am (11 years ago)What I have found when cooking with coconut oil is the moistness as well as the rise. Combined with great grains like chia seeds you have a keeper recipe 🙂 I like to make pudding with chia seeds but they work great ground as a flour too.
Zainab @ Blahnik Baker
September 11, 2013 at 5:22 am (11 years ago)I love coconut bread and this recipe looks amazing. I’ve never used chia seeds and I would very interested in experimenting with it in baking.
Zainab @ Blahnik Baker recently posted Coconut Almond Cream Cake
Kate Pietschman
September 11, 2013 at 5:40 am (11 years ago)I use chia seeds in my paleo treats and in smoothies
Ellen@BakeItWithBooze
September 11, 2013 at 8:10 am (11 years ago)I’ve wanted to try the farro ever since someone brought a farro salad to a recent potluck. Potluck of bloggers, so you know it was delish! Thanks, Stephanie!
Ellen@BakeItWithBooze recently posted Japanese Slipper Cupcakes
Nicole
September 11, 2013 at 10:37 am (11 years ago)Ooh – grains of discovery! How fun it would be to experiment with those great ingredients…starting first with that banana bread! Yum!
Elizabeth
September 11, 2013 at 10:50 am (11 years ago)I love them in smoothies!
Melissa
September 11, 2013 at 10:15 pm (11 years ago)I use chia seeds in smoothies
Caroline Ivory
September 11, 2013 at 10:51 pm (11 years ago)I heard chia seeds can speed up your metabolism. Is that true?
Meaghan
September 12, 2013 at 6:31 am (11 years ago)I’ve been really curious about cooking with alternative grains, and this would be a great way to begin that journey! I’d probably begin with cookies or a quick bread. 🙂
Meaghan recently posted test batch: apple butter
Marian
September 12, 2013 at 8:38 am (11 years ago)I sprinkle Chia seeds on our oatmeal and put them in smoothies 🙂 I think my next test will be this banana brad, it looks yummy!
Ritika
September 12, 2013 at 12:43 pm (11 years ago)I would love to try Farro
Emily R.
September 12, 2013 at 8:44 pm (11 years ago)I’m excited to try millet – I see it used in recipes pretty frequently but haven’t gotten my hands on any yet.
Diane
September 14, 2013 at 10:58 am (11 years ago)A friend made your bread this morning, and brought me a couple of slices. It was so moist and flavorful; I loved every bite.
All the grains are appealing but I have not yet cooked with kamut, sorghum or spelt, and I would love to do so!
Natasha
September 15, 2013 at 5:12 pm (11 years ago)I’ve been seeing a lot of Chia lately but Ive never tried it so I would be very excited to try that!!
Iisha B
September 15, 2013 at 6:59 pm (11 years ago)Farro but there are a few others that catch my eye
Marie
September 15, 2013 at 7:09 pm (11 years ago)Wow, the whole world opens up with a set like that!
Jessica Esperanza
September 15, 2013 at 7:09 pm (11 years ago)What a great set, a perfect way to bump yourself into more conscious cooking. Everything in that box is so good for you, and even if you only add one or two into your regular baking/diet you will be making wonderful changes! I would love to get my hands on all of them!
Betsy Hartmann
September 15, 2013 at 7:21 pm (11 years ago)The Chia.
Allison (Spontaneous Tomato)
September 15, 2013 at 7:49 pm (11 years ago)Definitely the Teff flour because I want to make Injera!
Allison (Spontaneous Tomato) recently posted Mole Enchiladas (Guest Post)
Hannah
September 15, 2013 at 8:19 pm (11 years ago)All of them!
Dawn | KitchenTravels
September 15, 2013 at 9:17 pm (11 years ago)I’d love to try the Teff! I don’t think I’ve ever had that one, and I know I’ve never baked with it. Thanks!
Dawn | KitchenTravels recently posted Kitchen+Travels :: Sonoma County Wine Road Dinner at Enotria (Part 2 – The Food)
Elizabeth L.
November 18, 2013 at 2:34 pm (11 years ago)I used milled flax seed instead of chia (just using what I had in the pantry) and the bread was phenomenal!
Stephanie Nuccitelli
November 18, 2013 at 2:57 pm (11 years ago)Elizabeth, that is awesome! I love this bread recipe and it’s great to know that flax works too!
Adriana
December 14, 2016 at 3:16 pm (8 years ago)This recipe was terrible! I followed to a tee, the batter came out very crumbly, so I baked half like that and to the other half I added more coconut milk and apple sauce to make it a bit more like batter. It didn’t rise and it tasted very dry
Jill Budzynski
February 8, 2021 at 12:03 pm (4 years ago)Wonderful recipe!! Some who thought the dough too dry might have let the moist ingredients stand until the coconut oil resolidified. I just added a little more liquid. Also topped it with coconut lime drizzle. Superb!!
Daniel
April 2, 2022 at 8:19 pm (3 years ago)I used flax instead of chia,
Almond milk instead of coconut milk,
And substituted half of the vanilla extract for coconut extract. Turned out pretty well for having no butter or eggs.