Vegan, Gluten-Free
I’ve talked and talked …. and talked… about how all my bakes have to be dairy-free, egg-free, and gluten-free due to the cumulative allergies in my home, but one thing I don’t talk about is my FODMAP diet. Due to the ongoing, chronic – and as of yet undiagnosed – digestive hell that I live in, I need to avoid foods that are inflaming to the digestive system … or I’m stuck in painful attacks that last for days.
Following a FODMAP diet is restrictive and can be incredibly frustrating at first. One big FODMAP no-no are bananas, which really stinks because banana bread is one of my favourite comfort foods and one of the very first recipes I ever mastered when I was a kid baker.
After doing some research on plantains recently, I discovered that these banana cousins are actually FODMAP friendly and can be eaten freely. So I set out to develop a Plantain “Banana” Bread recipe that of course was also gluten-free, dairy-free, and egg-free.
Sounds restrictive. But honestly, this is the yummiest, moistest, can’t-tell-it’s-gluten-free recipes I’ve made yet. The plantains bake very similarly to bananas, just a mild, nuttier flavour. The only thing to keep in mind is plantains need to be very ripe – when most of the skin is black (they look a frightful sight, but this is the sign that the plantain is ready for eating!) Also, do a little research on how to cut into a plantain before trying to peel it like a banana – like I did! – those skins are much denser and require a knife to peel.
Plantains are a fantastic alternative for those with digestive disorders and an excellent way to get all the same nutritional benefits of a banana. My next task will be to try to develop a smoothie recipe with plantains!
Vegan Plantain Chocolate “Banana” Bread
-
1/3 cup + 1/4 cup almond milk
-
1 tbsp lemon juice (or vinegar or apple cider vinegar)
-
2 large, ripe plantains
-
1 tsp baking powder
-
1 tsp baking soda
-
1/2 tsp salt
-
2 cups Gluten Free flour blend
-
1 tsp cinnamon
-
heaping 3/4 cup sugar
-
1/2 cup to 3/4 cup chocolate chips
-
1/2 cup flavourless oil
-
2 “eggs” of egg replacer of choice (I use white powder egg replacer you find in the organic section of your grocery store or health food stores, but flax eggs would work for this recipe as well).
-
1 tsp vanilla
-
Make Vegan Buttermilk by combining almond milk and lemon juice together and set aside.
-
Mash 2 large, ripe plantains.
-
Sift together all dry ingredients and stir in chocolate chips.
-
Combine wet ingredients with mashed plantains and buttermilk and gently fold into the dry ingredients, being careful to not over mix.
-
Bake in a greased loaf pan at 350F for about 1 hour … it is a dense loaf and depending on the size of your loaf pan it can take a bit of time to fully bake. Keep checking in the centre of the loaf for doneness.
-
Allow to cool on a wire rack.
-
Can be stored covered at room temperature, but is best eaten within a day to avoid drying out. Can be frozen.
![Pinterest](https://pinterest.com/pin/create/button/?url=https://aotales.com/content/vegan-plantain-banana-bread/&media=https://aotales.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/plantain-banana-bread-2-site.jpg&description=Recipe for a scrumptious Vegan Plantain "Banana" Bread that is gluten-free, egg-free and dairy-free!){kind=link}