Vegan maple chickpea flour banana breads, made in mini loaf pans! They are grain-free, oil-free, nut-fee, gluten-free, and sweetened by bananas and maple syrup.

Overhead Shot of Slices of Vegan Chickpea Flour Banana Bread

Grain-Free Vegan Banana Bread

For anyone trying to cut back on grains, or eliminate them entirely, the idea of a quick-to-make, toothsome bread sounds too good to be true.

However, a quick google search in fact reveals multiple options made with nuts, vegetables and seeds in place of flour, or coconut flour breads made withhalf a dozen eggs.

Yes, they are grain-free. But I have a quibble with the “bread” description, which is (far too) often loosely applied to a squidgy, squishy, or gooey lump of ingredients baked in the form of a loaf or muffin.

Until now. Introducing my not-so-humbly namedreliable vegan grain-free banana bread.It lives up to itsbreadmoniker.

Vegan Chickpea Flour Banana Bread on a Cooling Rack, Sliced

Many bananas were sacrificed in pursuit of perfecting this recipe.Many.

But all of that testing has led to a recipe that I know you will want to try, and, better yet, will love to eat!

Ingredients

The exact amounts of each ingredient are indicated in the recipe card at the end of the post.Toggle betweenUS Customary(volume) andMetric(weights) for preferred measurement option.

Here are the primary ingredients for the recipe:

Bananas
Chickpea flour
Flaxseed meal
Chia seeds

I made several loaves with a small amount of coconut flour mixed in with the chickpea flour, but, regardless of the egg replacer (chia, flaxseed meal, psyllium husk) combinations and proportions I tried, the end results had gooey centers, or gooey everything (they rose, they fell).

The Winning Combination: Chickpea Flour + Chia + Flax

So I stuck withchickpea flouralone. I already knew that chickpea flour can produce a remarkably grain flour-like crumb in breads when made with eggs, but without eggs? I suspected it was possible, but had my doubts.

Psyllium huskwas an utter failure. Psyllium is wonderful when it works, but I could not get at to work here, at all.

Chia seedsworked pretty well on it’s own. The finished loaf looked and smelled great (no post-bake sinking), but sadly, had a gummy texture.

Flaxseed mealwas promising, too: the finished loaf looked sad (a droopy center after 5 minutes of cooling), but the texture was better (more grain bread-like) than chia alone.

So, I madechickpea flour + chia + flaxmy working combination. And after 5 or 6 more tries, I produce the reliable loaf. Lovely rise, golden brown, moist and tender crumb texture (hallelujah!), great banana flavor, no deflating, and it isundeniably bread

No Oil Required

The high oil content in the flaxseed meal and chia seeds keeps the bread perfectly moist (and rich in omega-6 fatty acids) without any added oil, and bananas do the majority of the sweetening.

Sweetener Options

I use maple syrup (1/3 cup total), which gives the bread a gently sweetness without going anywhere near “cake” territory. You could add a little bit more sweetener if you like (decrease the milk by the same amount of extra maple syrup) but less than 1/3 cup (I tried it) was definitely not as good.

For the record, I tried the same proportion using bananas alone with stevia (no maple syrup), adding a few tablespoons milk to make up the volume. In a word, EWWW. RIP, sad loaf. I have tweaked and tweaked this recipe, so I would not recommend any substitutions for any of the ingredients unless you are prepared to make a dozen test loaves.This recipe works. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it!

Bake in 3 Smal Loaf Pans

This recipe works reliable if you use3 small loaf pansas opposed to one large 9×5 pan. The smaller loaf size helps the loaves reach their height during baking and maintain it during cooling.

If you are new to chickpea flour, this bread will convince you to use it in all kinds of recipes! It is far more than a grain-free flour, it is a nutrient rich food all around. High in protein, it is also a high-fiber carbohydrate, which means that the starch in chickpea flour will not spike blood sugar levels. This kind of resistant starch is beneficial to overall digestive health. Win, win, win!

Do give this bread a try, and let me know what you think! I’ve definitely got the baking bug (hello, fall) so expect more unexpected breads, bars, and more, all designed for nourishing living, in the weeks and months to come!

Happy Baking!

More Vegan & Grain Free Chickpea Flour Recipes to Try:

Chickpea Flour Sandwich Bread
3-Ingredient Chickpea Flour Frittata
3-Ingredient Chickpea Flour Beer Bread
Banana Chickpea Flour Cake
Chickpea Flour Chocolate Cake
Chickpea Flour Carrot Cake Bites
Chocolate Chickpea Flour Muffins
Chickpea Flour Gingerbread Bundt Cake

Vegan Maple Chickpea Flour Banana Breads {grain-free, oil-free}

Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 47 minutes
Total Time: 57 minutes
Servings: 3 loaves (12 big portions)

Ingredients

1 cup 250 mL nondairy milk (I used unsweetened almond milk)
2 tablespoons chia seeds
1 and 1/2 cups 180 g chickpea flour (garbanzo bean flour)
1/4 cup flaxseed meal
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
3 large very ripe bananas, peeled (about 1-1/2 cups once mashed)
1/3 cup maple syrup
1-1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Method

In a measuring cup or small bowl , stir together the milk and chia seeds . Let stand for 20 minutes until thickened.
Preheat oven to 325F (160C). Line 3 small (5×3 inch/ 12.5 x 7.5 cm) baking pans with parchment paper ; lightly grease or spray remaining sides.
In a medium bowl , whisk together the chickpea flour , flaxseed meal , baking powder , cinnamon and salt. In a large bowl , mash the bananas until no lumps remain. Stir in the maple syrup , vanilla and chia-milk mixture until blended.
Add chickpea flour mixture to banana mixture, stirring until completely blended and no lumps remain. Spoon and spread batter into prepared pans, smoothing the tops.
Bake in the preheated oven for 42 to 47 minutes until a toothpickinserted in the center comes out with only a few moist crumbs attached.
Transfer to a wire rack and cool in the pans for 10 minutes. Use parchment overhang to remove loaves from pans. Cool completely on wire rack.

Notes

Storage: Store the cooled breads in an airtight container at room temperature for 2 days, in the refrigerator for 1 week, or the freezer for 3 months.