Chocolate Chip Gluten-Free CHICKPEA Banana Bread made with – you guessed it – chickpeas! Simply blend the ingredients in a blender for a fluffy, dense, flavorful and delicious banana bread that is grain-free, refined sugar-free, dairy-free and healthy!
You knew this was coming, didn’t ya?
It was only a matter of time…
If you’ve been around The Roasted Root a while, you know I have a tendency to make sweet treats using chickpeas or black beans.
You also know I have an affinity for gluten free banana bread recipes.
On this week’s edition of bean-infused deliciousness, we’re baking banana bread! No need for flour of any kind! All you need is a can of garbanzo beans (chickpeas), and you have a solid foundation for bean bliss.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe:
- Gluten-free and grain-free
- Dairy-free
- Refined sugar-free
- Lower in fat and sugar than regular banana bread
- Fun and easy to prepare with minimal cleanup
Let’s discuss the details behind this flourless banana bread recipe.
Ingredients for Chickpea Banana Bread:
Garbanzo Beans (aka chickpeas): The base of the banana bread! Garbanzo beans take the place of flour in this recipe – you’ll need 1 can of garbanzo beans
Ripe Bananas: The banana portion of the banana bread 😉 Make sure you use very ripe bananas with a lot of brown spots for the best results.
The browner they are, the sweeter they will make the bread! You need ⅔ cup of mashed ripe banana, which should be 2 medium ripe bananas.
Eggs: Eggs help fluff up the bread and hold it together. I haven’t tested the recipe using an egg replacer yet, but I imagine aquafaba eggs would work. Flax eggs will make the bread very dense.
Gluten-Free All-Purpose Flour (Optional): For a fluffier, sturdier bread, add just 1/4 cup of your favorite gluten-free flour blend. I use Bob’s Red Mill’s gluten-free 1-to-1 Baking flour. While the bread will still turn out without the use of flour, it will be enhanced by flour. 😉
Coconut Sugar: In addition to the ripe bananas, we sweeten the bread with coconut sugar. Coconut sugar is lower on the glycemic index than regular sugar, making the bread a better option for those who are trying to keep their blood sugar under control.
If you don’t have coconut sugar on hand, you can use granulated cane sugar or brown sugar.
Baking Powder, Baking Soda & Cider Vinegar: The leavening agents! The combination of baking powder, baking soda, and vinegar helps leaven the bread. If you don’t have cider vinegar, use lemon juice, lime juice, rice vinegar or any type of edible acidic fluid.
Sea Salt: The flavor enhancer! Sea salt makes the bread taste sweeter without having to add more sugar. It also gives the bread rich, well-rounded flavor.
Chocolate Chips: Because we love studding everything with chocolate, we toss in some chocolate chips. These are optional, but always recommended.
Optional Add Ins: You can add ½ cup of chopped walnuts or pecans if you enjoy banana nut bread.
Now that we have the ingredients down, let’s bake the bread!
How to Make Chickpea Banana Bread:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and line a 9” x 5” loaf pan with parchment paper.
Drain and rinse the garbanzo beans in a colander. Pat them dry using a paper towel – it’s okay if the beans are a little wet, but try to get them as dry as possible.
Add all ingredients except for the chocolate chips to a blender and blend until smooth.
Add the chocolate chips to the batter and stir in until combined.
Transfer the banana bread batter to the parchment-lined loaf pan and bake on the center rack of the oven 40 to 50 minutes. I bake mine for 45 minutes, then turn off the oven and allow the loaf to sit another 5 minutes in the hot oven.
Insert a digital thermometer into the center of the bread. If the internal temperature is 190 degrees or higher, it is fully cooked!
Remove the loaf from the oven and allow it to cool completely to room temperature (at least 1 hour) before slicing and serving.
More Sweet Treats Using Beans:
- Double Chocolate Vegan Black Bean Cookies
- Flourless Black Bean Banana Bread
- Double Chocolate Black Bean Brownies
- 6-Ingredient Peanut Butter Chickpea Cookies
Bean bread on repeat!
Chickpea Banana Bread Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 ripe bananas mashed (2/3 cup)
- 2 large eggs
- 1 (15-oz) can garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed
- 1/3 cup coconut sugar
- 1/4 cup gluten-free all-purpose flour optional
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp lemon juice or vinegar
- 3/4 tsp sea salt
- 3/4 cup chocolate chips
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and line a 9” x 5” loaf pan with parchment paper.
- Drain and rinse the garbanzo beans in a colander and pat them dry using a paper towel (try to get as much water off as possible, but it’s fine if they’re a little moist).
- Add all ingredients except for the chocolate chips to a blender and blend until smooth.
- Add the chocolate chips to the batter and stir in until combined.
- Transfer the banana bread batter to the parchment-lined loaf pan and bake on the center rack of the oven 40 to 50 minutes. I bake mine for 45 minutes, then turn off the oven and allow the loaf to sit another 5 minutes in the hot oven.
- Remove the loaf from the oven and allow it to cool at least 1 hour before slicing and serving.
The recipe was delicious! I didn’t have coconut flour so I used brown sugar. I also put 1/4 cup of old fashioned oats into a coffee grinder to make flour. I was wondering what would happen if I halved the sugar or even left it out altogether. Has anyone tried it? The bananas and chocolate chips are already sweet. Just curious. It was delicious as I he recipe is written. Thank you.
Hi Maria! I’m betting you could get by just fine without as much sweetener! I typically find bananas to be sweet enough to not need any sweetener at all, but I get that some people like a sweeter bread, which is why I typically write recipes with added sweetener. So all of that said, I’m betting you could reduce or even eliminate the sweetener and still enough the bread 🙂 Happy Baking!