Baking for me has always been a stress reliever and a way for me to clear my head and lift my mood. Since the abnormally hot temperatures lately quickly ripened all my bananas, I immediately turned to a comforting recipe my mom has made since I was a kid: banana bread. I couldn’t decide whether to make regular or chocolate, so I combined the two!
This vegan recipe is easy and delicious and is done baking in 45 minutes. I added vanilla plant-based protein powder to the batter (because it’s my latest obsession!), which not only enhanced the sweetness so I could cut down on the white sugar but also made this bread more satiating — one slice has almost 10 grams of protein.
Smeared with a little nut butter, this perfectly moist chocolate marbled banana bread makes a delicious breakfast, snack, or after-dinner treat. This also freezes well so you can whip up a double batch, slice it up, and save some for later.
Ingredients
- 3 medium bananas (1 cup mashed)
3/4 cup sugar
2 tablespoons olive or coconut oil
1/3 cup unsweetened nondairy milk (I used Silk Unsweetened Vanilla Almond and Cashewmilk)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/3 cups white whole-wheat flour
1 serving vanilla plant-based protein powder (about 1/3 cup; I used KOS, which has 20 grams of protein per serving)
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
6 tablespoons boiling water, divided
1 tablespoon nondairy mini chocolate chips (optional)
1 tablespoon chopped pecans (optional)
Directions
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Lightly grease an eight-inch loaf pan.
- In a large bowl, mash the bananas with a fork. Mix in the sugar, oil, nondairy milk, and vanilla.
- Add the white whole-wheat flour, protein powder, baking soda, and salt, and mix until just combined.
- Now it’s time to make the chocolate batter. Scoop out one cup of the banana bread batter into a small glass measuring cup or other heatproof bowl. Add the cocoa powder and three tablespoons of the boiling water (you’ll use the other three in a second). Mix until a silky chocolate batter forms. Set aside.
- Add the remaining three tablespoons of boiling water to the original batter, and mix until smooth.
- Ready to get creative? Drop a large spoonful of the regular batter into your prepared pan. Now drop a large spoonful of the chocolate batter. Continue alternating between the two until all the batter is in the pan.
- Now for the marbling! Poke a butter knife into the batter, and swirl it around about six times; don’t overdo it, because you want to maintain the two separate flavors. Toppings are optional.
- Bake it for 45 to 50 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
- Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to five days, or freeze.
Here’s the nutritional info for one piece (makes eight):
Information
- Category
- Desserts, Cake
- Yield
- 8 servings
- Prep Time
- 10 minutes
- Cook Time
- 45 minutes
- Total Time
- 54 minutes, 59 seconds
Nutrition
- Calories per serving
- 212
