This Chickpea Flour Banana Bread is a healthy vegan, gluten-free banana bread recipe with a moist crumb and delicious crunchy chocolate chips. Bonus, this chickpea version of the vegan banana bread is also oil-free!
I’m a huge fan of banana bread of all sorts, and in my quest of trying to make healthier versions of the classic, I’ve experimented with flours like Spelt Banana Bread, Oatmeal Banana Bread, and Gluten-Free Banana Bread. But I wanted something even more special.
Chickpeas are a great ingredient full of nutrients and it brings a subtle taste to baking recipes without being overbearing. It can transform a mundane recipe into a tastier and healthier alternative that everyone will still love!
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Chickpea Flour Banana Bread
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cup Chickpea Flour - spoon, slightly pack and level
- 1 ¾ cup Mashed Banana - about four large ripe bananas
- ⅓ cup Maple Syrup
- 1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
- 1 teaspoon Cinnamon
- 2 teaspoons Apple Cider Vinegar
- 1 tablespoon Baking Powder
- ½ cup Dairy-Free Dark Chocolate Chips - – optional
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F (180°C). Line a 9-inch x 5-inch loaf pan with parchment paper. Oil the pan and paper with coconut oil. Set aside.
- Measure your chickpea flour in a medium-size mixing bowl. Using weight: grams or oz for precision. Otherwise, spoon, pack and level your measuring cups. If lumps show in your flour, squeeze between your fingers to remove them. Set bowl aside.
- In another large mixing bowl, combine mashed bananas, maple syrup, vanilla extract, cinnamon, apple cider vinegar, and baking powder.
- Gradually stir in chickpea flour, make sure your flour has no lumps, or it will form packets of flour in the dough that can taste bitter.
- Stir in chocolate chips and transfer the bread batter into the prepared loaf pan.
- Bake for 55 to 65 minutes, tent the loaf pan with foil paper after 40 minutes to prevent the top from browning too fast. You know it's ready when a skewer inserted in the center of the loaf comes out clean with no to a little crumb on it.
Storage
- Store the bread in a sealed cake box in the fridge for up to 4 days or freeze slices and thaw the day before serving.
Nutrition
Ingredients and Substitutions
Chickpea flour, also known as garbanzo flour, is a healthy, yellowish gluten-free flour made of roasted ground chickpeas. It’s a great flour to make healthy baked recipes, high in plant-based proteins, and without using flax eggs. In fact, chickpea flour gathers ingredients very well, making it possible to make egg-free banana bread recipes. The main ingredients you need to make this easy gluten-free, vegan chocolate chips banana bread are:
- Chickpea Flour – Also known as garbanzo flour. Make sure you are using a fresh bag of flour with no lumps. In fact, chickpea flour is very sensitive to humidity and easily forms lumps. If your flour has lumps, you will end up with bitter, flours lumps in your bread.
- Ripe Bananas – Overripe bananas with many dark spots on the skins are the best for this banana bread recipe. It increases the sweetness of your bread.
- Baking Powder – for a fluffy texture.
- Apple Cider Vinegar – to give the bread a rise.
- Maple Syrup – Or any refined sugar-free liquid sweetener like brown rice syrup or agave syrup. Don’t use a crystal sweetener in this recipe, or your bread will be dry.
- Vanilla Extract – For flavor.
- Vegan Dark Chocolate Chips – Chickpea flour can have a slightly bitter aftertaste, and adding chocolate chips to your banana bread is a great option to avoid this flavor.
How To Make Banana Bread With Chickpea Flour (in Pictures)
Serving Suggestions
This chickpea flour banana bread is delicious plain, for breakfast or as a snack. You can also spread some peanut butter on your bread slice and serve with an almond milk hot chocolate for a delicious vegan breakfast.
More Vegan Banana Bread Recipes
I love ripe banana recipes and especially banana bread. It’s a great recipe to make ahead healthy breakfast bread or snack. Below I listed my other vegan banana bread recipes for you to try
I love this recipe. I had extra chickpea flour and although I am not ‘gluten-free’ I really enjoy the taste of chickpea flour in banana bread. I’ve tried a few recipes but usually the bread is too wet and this one gave me exactly what I wanted, a more breakfast / toast-able banana bread.
I did tweak it because after starting I realised I was missing 60g of chickpea flour and had no syrup. So I used 60g of rye flour and 100ml (more or less) of aquafaba (just when I couldn’t make this bread more chickpea-y XD) and it turned out great!!!!
There is someone copying your recipes and claiming them as her own. The Instagram is LaurenloLiving and the Facebook page is Digestive Health, LPR/GERD, Acid Reflux, Chronic Inflammation Support Group. She has posted your exact recipe for Chickpea Banana Bread. She’s claiming this recipe as hers. She has down this with multiple food bloggers. Every recipe of hers I do a search for I can find the food blogger who created it. I’ve found 15+ recipes so far. She even has recipe books she’s charging money for. I’m not sure what recipes are in them but I have no doubt they are recipes she stole from others. Just fyi. I hope you choose to contact her and make her remove your property or more. It’s very wrong what’s she doing and someone really needs to scare the shit out of her so she stops.
Thanks for this lovely message but there’s so many people who copy recipes from each others everyday. Unfortunately we can’t do anything about it and as soon as one ingredients change, even 1/4 teaspoon salt, it’s a new recipe to the law. Plus, legally recipes are not protected and anyone can tell this is my recipe. The photography are protected and she doesn’t use my photography as it’s all good. For us bloggers, it can be hard but with time I have learnt to see this as a compliment. She’s inspired and she still cook, shoot her photography and probably adapt the measurement a little bit to to add her touch. I am glad you know where to get the original of the recipe, and that’s what matters the most to me.
Just read the comments about the “besan” chickpea flour I pulled mine out of the oven after 40 minutes. Toothpick test seemed to think it was ready. Will let it cool and see. ♀️ smells delicious…
I am not a baker.
Your recipe came out perfect. I love this!!! thank you…. brilliant.
Great recipe. My boyfriend keeps on asking me to make it again so will be making it again today. I bought a few huge bags of bananas with brown spots for a great price.
Can I omit the Apple cider vinegar? Or sub for anything else?
Yes, or use another acid like lemon juice
I followed the recipe, which is something I rarely do, and now I know why!! The bread was totally dry and as hard as a brick!! Waaaaay too much chickpea flour and it was a total flop! Such a shame as it had such good ratings.
I am sorry to hear that. It looks like you used besan flour, sometimes called chickpea flour too in store, but besan flour and garbanzo flour – the one used in this recipe are not the same. Besan flour is high in fiber, and absorb moisture consequently which would explain a dry bread using the same amount of ingredients. I hope this helps !
I just mixed up this, ready to put in the oven – can I simply mix in more banana or something to save it??
I wouldn’t change the ratio of banana in the bread or the texture can be gummy. I would freeze leftover for nice cream or smoothie recipes later.
How will we know flour we have?
Usually your packaging provides this information it’s impossible to tell just but looking at the flour itself
Can i use honey and baking soda for replace ?
Any liquid sweetener works. If you want to swap baking powder by baking soda you need to half the amount and add an acid ingredients to activate the baking soda – like 1 teaspoon lemon juice
Can this recipe be used to make muffins instead of bread?
I am sure it will work well yes!
This was just perfect!
Thanks Carine.
Xx