This is mostly the brain child of my wife who had to become gluten-free and vegan practically overnight after some changes in her health. Having grown up with a brilliant, delicious, but animal-product-heavy version of this as a child I knew that I needed to have a go-to banana bread to help fill the void. This is it! Enjoy. Send photos.
Preheat your oven to 350 F.
In a small bowl, combine the ground flax or ground chia seeds with 6 tbsp water to form an “egg.” Stir and set aside for 5-10 minutes.
Add 2 cups of the rolled oats into a blender or food processor and blend until they form a fine flour, about 45-60 seconds. If you have oat flour already you can skip this step - feel free to use a whole wheat flour if you’re not gluten-free.
Place the oat flour into a medium sized bowl and add the baking powder, baking soda, remaining 1/2 cup of rolled oats, and salt. Mix all that all together and set aside.
Add your ripe bananas to a separate, large bowl, and smash the hell out of ‘em with a fork until they form an even, gooey texture. Add the sunflower butter, sweetener, apple cider vinegar, vanilla extract, and flax or chia egg to the bowl. Mix it all together. It’s going to be a sloppy mess - that’s totally okay.
Slowly add the dry flour mixture into the wet banana mixture, stirring well and until all the annoying clumps have dissolved. If you want to sneak in some chocolate chips or nuts, now is the time to fold them in.
Pour the batter into a parchment paper-lined or greased or silicon 8″ bread pan. Smooth out the top off with a spatula so it’s all pretty like. If you wanna get fancy here top it with some chocolate chips, seeds, or nuts.
Bake at 350F for 40-45 minutes, or until the top is golden brown, and a toothpick comes out clean as hell or with minimal crumbs. Remove from the oven and let cool for 10 minutes in the pan, then get it out of the pan and let that beautiful loaf cool completely before slicing.
Stores in a container at room temperature for up to one week. Freezes super well.
Servings 8
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet. Your daily value may be higher or lower depending on your calorie needs.
Calories do not include optional chocolate chips or walnuts.
