Oat Flour Banana Bread

This Oat Flour Banana Bread is super moist, sugar free and loaded with banana flavour, giving it the perfect level of sweetness.   It’s cozy, familiar, full of protein and fibre and great with your morning coffee, just like these fluffy banana pikelets.

Recipe Highlights

• Soft, moist and fluffy and it stays that way for days. No dry crumbly banana bread here!
• Makes 8 big thick chunky slices
• It's excellent for freezing in ziplock bags so you can grab and go as you head out the door
• Its naturally sweetened with the sweetness of bananas, dates and monkfruit. No added sugar!
• Avoid the sugar high you get from traditional sugar laden banana bread
• Quick, simple and easy to make using your food processor
• Make it with just 8 Basic ingredients
• Its perfect with your morning tea or coffee, or even as a breakfast on the run
• Higher in fibre and protein than regular banana breads

Ingredients

Ingredient Notes

• Choosing the right bananas: If you can choose bananas that have started to go a bit brown, that is ideal. Any brand of banana is OK, it’s more important to ensure it’s the right level of ripeness.  Avoid buying bananas that have any green bits as these won’t be suitable to make banana bread.  They’ll  be too firm and to bitter.
• Ripening Bananas Quicker: Put bananas in a brown paper bag in a drawer overnight to help them ripen up.
• Oats: Big rolled oats are ideal to use as they are full of fibre and blitz up nicely to make oat flour. Alternatively you can buy oat flour from the supermarket. I also use oat flour to make these low calorie Oatmeal Blueberry Banana Muffins.
• Sweetener: I used Golden Earth Brown Granulated Sweetener. It looks just like brown sugar and has the same consistency and taste but without the calories. Its also a natural sweetener without any nasties or aftertaste.
• Medjool Dates: These add moisture and sweetness to the banana bread. Medjool dates are soft and plump with a caramel like sweetness. They are also full of fibre.
• Vanilla Essence and Ground Cinnamon: These provide extra flavour and help to bring out the sweetness of the bananas.
• Eggs: these are the binder that hold the bread together. Fresh eggs at room temperature will give the best result.

What is Oat Flour

Oat Flour is simply finely ground oats that have a  flour like appearance.

• Its great to use if you’re looking for a healthier alternative to highly processed white
• Its easier to digest and great if baked goods contain flour upset your stomach
• Oat flour is also richer in fibre and protein which means it keeps you fuller for longer, so you can eat less, but feel more satisfied.

How To Make Oat Flour Banana Bread

1. Preheat Oven: Preheat fan oven to 180°C/400 F. Lightly spray a 10 cm x 20 cm (4 inch x 8 inch) loaf tin with oil and line with baking paper.
2. Soften Dates: Combine dates and 1 cup boiling water in a bowl. Let them sit for 10 minutes to soften and them drain or press out excess moisture. (can skip this step if dates are already soft and pliable)

3. Make Oat Flour: Process oats in the food processor until they resemble a flour consistency

4. Add remaining ingredients and Blitz: Add bananas, eggs, vanilla, baking powder, cinnamon and date mixture to food processor and process until it turns into a smooth batter.

5. Pour into cake tin and bake: Spoon mixture into prepared tin and smooth surface with back of a spoon. Bake for 35 minutes at 180 degrees fan forced (400 F) or until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean.
6. Rest and Cool: Set loaf aside in tin for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool. Cut into 8 slices and serve

Recipe Variations and Add-ins

• Spice it Up: adding half a teaspoon of spices such as ground cinnamon, nutmeg, ground ginger, or ground gloves, will add to the flavour of the banana bread.  I wouldn’t add anymore than half a teaspoon though as you still want to be able to taste the bananas.
• Make it into Muffins: instead of a loaf, use a silicone muffin tray to make 12 muffins.  If you don’t have a muffin tin, use store bought paper or foil cups
• Add some nuts: walnuts and pecans are great additions and add a lovely textural element to your banana bread.  Choose one nut, about 1 cup, lightly toast the nuts on a baking tray for 5 minutes in a hot oven, and stir through the batter before putting it into the tin.
• Add More Fruit: blueberries (fresh or dried), raspberries (fresh), or even unsweetened coconut.  I’d avoid using frozen fruits as it will add too much moisture to the batter and may affect the overall cooking time.

Recipe Tips

Make sure to let it cool in the tin before removing it.

• Serving Ideas. Serve warm banana bread with a slather of butter, or peanut butter/your favourite nut butter. Maybe some blueberries on top or a sprinkle of cinnamon.
• To Store. It will keep  in an air tight container at room temperature for 2 to 3 days.  If you aren’t going to eat it all in that time, freezing is an option.
• To Freeze.  Slice into 8 portions, pop into ziplock bags and into the freezer. Freeze for upto  8 weeks.
• To Reheat. Let the banana bread defrost naturally to room temperature if possible, then reheat in microwave for 10 seconds.  If you can’t let it defrost naturally, microwave it at 50% power for 30 -50 seconds.

This oat flour banana bread is way healthier than store  bought banana breads that are  loaded with sugars, and it’s easy to make.  It’s the ideal high fibre, protein packed, sugar free snack to keep your energy levels up and to enjoy with your morning coffee.

More Sugar Free Baking Recipes

• Dairy Free Moist Banana Bread
• Double Chocolate Banana Muffins
• Easy Sugar Free Lemon Loaf
• Warming Sugar Free Gingerbread Loaf
• Healthy & Simple Date Loaf
• Sweet Orange Polenta Cake with Orange Glaze
• Low Carb Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting