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!
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
- First, peel and mash the bananas with a fork or potato masher. Measure the amount of banana required in the recipe using measuring cups or a kitchen scale.
- It’s essential to measure the amount of mashed banana in your recipe precisely, or the bread can come out dry or too moist.
- Then, in a large bowl, combine the mashed ripe bananas, maple syrup, baking powder, apple cider vinegar, and vanilla. Next, gradually stir the chickpea flour into the bowl to create a smooth bread batter.
- Finally, stir in the vegan dark chocolate chips. Don’t over-stir the batter to avoid heavy, dense bread.
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C). Line a 9-inch x 5-inc loaf pan with oiled parchment paper.
- Pour the bread batter into the loaf pan and place it in the oven’s center wire rack.
- Bake the bread for 50 to 65 minutes at 350°F (180°C) until a skewer inserted in the center of the bread come out clean or with a little to no crumb on it. I recommend tenting the loaf pan with a large piece of foil after 40 minutes of baking time.
- This vegan chickpea flour banana bread is long to bake, which prevents the top from browning too fast. Remove it from the oven and cool on a cooling rack for 2 hours before slicing. You can sprinkle extra chocolate chips on top of the bread as it cools down.
- The chips will melt and add a delicious extra chocolate flavor to your bread.
Storage Instructions
This chickpea flour banana bread can be stored for up to 4 days in the fridge, in a sealed cake box. I recommend slicing the bread just before serving to keep it moist. Otherwise, you can freeze the bread slices in a sealed container and thaw them the day before serving at room temperature.
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.
Frequently Asked Questions
No, this recipe has been created to use chickpea flour. Therefore, the recipe won’t work with almond flour or oat flour, or coconut flour. If you want to use other flours, use one of my other vegan banana bread listed below.
This is a moist, fluffy banana bread recipe with a crusty outside, strong banana flavor, and crunchy bites of chocolate chips. Chickpea flour has a slightly bitter, earthy flavor that most people won’t notice. Even my kids loved this recipe and won’ notice the healthy flour used in this bread.
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
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Chickpea Flour Banana Bread
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cup Chickpea Flour - spoon, slightly pack and level (245g, 8.6oz)
- 1 ¾ cup Mashed Banana - about four large ripe bananas
- ⅓ cup Maple Syrup
- 1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
- ½ 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.
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
How much chocolate chips? They’re missing from the list of ingredients.
You can add up to 1/2 cup of vegan dark chocolate chips. They are optional. I updated the recipe card for you, thanks for spotting my mistake ! Have a great day, Carine
I really appreciate the simplicity of this receipt.
Looking good, will try this.
When I saw the post for this recipe on Instagram I knew I had to try it out and also I had all the ingredients needed in my pantry.
This is a super easy recipe to make.
The bread is tasty with a strong banana flavour and extra yumminess from the melted chocolate chips.
Just made this, OMG it’s amazing!! Soooo good, thank you!