cook with me: vegan banana bread (muffins + loaf)

it seems that everyone and their mother is making banana bread during this quarantine/lockdown/self-isolation/social-distancing moment. i grew up eating the most delicious banana bread (hi, mom!) and wanted to create a vegan version. i adapted this recipe from Betty Crocker's vegan banana bread after making it as-is since my freshman year of college. this recipe is vegan, gluten-free, and refined sugar free. this can be made as muffins or as a loaf. i've included every successful substitution i've made on this journey below. so, let's get to it!





ingredients: 

• 1 cup vegan sugar

i use the lankato monkfruit sugar substitute. i follow celeste thomas, a RN who is also a clean beauty and food food/anti-inflamatory advocate, on instagram and youtube. she raves about this monkfruit sugar substitute and i have absolutely hopped on the bandwagon! this is 0g sugar/0 glycemic and only has two ingredients: monkfruit and erythritol (a sugar-alcohol that naturally occurs in fruits and fermented foods). 

i have tried coconut sugar as a substitution for cane or granulated sugar in this application. it's...fine. the end result isn't as sweet and indulgent, but coconut sugar is also a great low-glycemic alternative to traditional sugar. 

• 3 medium mashed ripe bananas
• 1/2 cup coconut oil, melted
• 1 tsp vanilla 
• 1/4 cup unsweetened non-dairy milk

i make homemade oat milk in my almond cow, and oat milk is my preferred non-dairy milk in every situation. i've used almond milk here and it's great! use whatever non-dairy milk works for you.

• 1 tsp apple cider vinegar
• 2 cups flour 

i've used gluten-free, almond, and oat flour in this recipe, all as a 1:1 substitute. my two preferences are definitely oat flour and gluten-free. almond doesn't provide the same dense, chewy texture as the other two do. oat flour isn't as airy in this application, even with the added leavener's, but the texture is so chewy and yummy. 

• 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup-1 cup add-ins

i always use the enjoy life semi-sweet chocolate mega chunks or the dark chocolate morsels. to be honest, i don't even measure how much i put in. i like my banana bread chocolatey! i've also made this with regular chocolate chips, shaved chocolate, reese's chocolate chips and mini-cups, you name it. the original recipe calls for the addition of walnuts, but i'm allergic. either way, there are so many yummy things you can add into this! or, you can leave out additions entirely. do you, boo. 

steps: 

1. heat oven to 350 degrees.
2. in a large bowl, beat the sugar, bananas, coconut oil, and vanilla until smooth. 
3. stir in the almond milk and vinegar until combined. 
4. add in your dry ingredients and stir until combined.
5. once your dry ingredients are added and combined, add your chocolate/walnuts/add-ins
6. pour into a lined loaf pan OR using a cookie scoop, scoop batter into a lined/greased muffin tin until the trays are almost full.
7.  for a loaf: bake for 45-75 minutes depending on your oven and the depth of your loaf pan. check after 45 minutes by inserting a knife or toothpick in the middle of the loaf. if wet, continue cooking in 15-minute increments. 
8. for a muffin tin: cook for 25 minutes. at this point, a knife or a toothpick should come out clean (or smudged with chocolate). cook in 5-minute increments if your muffins are not done. 
9. let cool for at least 10 minutes before removing the loaf/muffins from the pan. 
10. once cooled, slice and serve. 

- a.