DC’s Best Banana Bread

Everyone has their go-to recipe for the BEST banana bread, right?! I’m sure you grew up loving one made for you whether it was by a parent or grandparent and you would come downstairs on a lazy Sunday morning to the most epic, incredible smell you had ever smelled before… sound familiar?

One of my favorite memories is making this banana bread for my own friends and family. Now I’m honored to make it and serve to our awesome community here in NYC at Charley St. If you have stopped by recently you may have even gotten a taste of it! We serve ours up with a drizzle of olive oil and walnuts, to keep things super simple. But banana bread is one of those recipes that can be enjoyed in so many different ways. How do you do your best banana bread?!

with whipped cream or whipped coconut cream
drizzle of nut butter and berries
topped with fresh yoghurt and chia seeds

What makes this Banana Bread Recipe Healthy?

The main takeaway from this recipe is how we’ve modified the sugar option in the bread. The mashed bananas alone provide tons of natural sweetness to this recipe, especially if you use super ripe bananas. And while you can use maple syrup (a great natural sweetener as opposed to regular cane sugar), if you happen to have it around, try using the water from a sweet potato!

Sweet potatoes are a good source of vitamin A, vitamin C, manganese, calcium, and vitamin E. They’re also naturally sweet. Try making your own “sweet potato water” in one of the following two ways:

Grate sweet potato over a bowl and squeeze out the juices with a clean cloth or paper towel. Roast the grated potato in the oven at 375F for 20 minutes for an epic hash! Save the juice for your recipes!
Boil sweet potatoes to make sweet potato mash. Chop into 1″ chunks and boil for 10-15 minute or until soft. Strain and reuse the water for your recipes!

What makes this Banana Bread Recipe easy?

I pared down the ingredients down in this recipe to just the basics! There’s nothing more you need for an epic banana bread than the following. I opted not to make this one gluten-free, because I love the beautiful rise and hearty structure that whole wheat flour does for this.

But you could definitely try this out with your favorite 1:1 gluten-free flour replacement, or try a blend of your own creation. Be sure to show me when you whip it up, and if you’d like to see a gluten-free version… let me know!

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Happy banana bread making!

xo Dan

Recipe: DC’s Best Banana Bread

Prep Time: 5 minutes

Cook Time: 45-55 minutes

Cost: $5-10

Skill: Easy

Ingredients:

1 Cup Olive OIl
⅓ Cup Maple Syrup or 2/3 cup sweet potato juice!
3 Eggs
3 Bananas
1 tsp Vanilla Extract
2 1/2 Cups Whole Wheat Flour
Pinch of Salt
2 tsp Baking powder
2 tsp Cinnamon

Method:

Preheat oven to 325 F.
In a standing mixer or with a hand-mixer, whisk the olive oil and maple syrup (90-120 seconds, don’t over-mix it!)
Add eggs one at a time until the previous is combined, then gradually add the bananas piece by piece until incorporated. Add in the vanilla extract.
In a bowl combine the flour, salt, baking powder and cinnamon.
Add the dry mix to the wet in three parts.
Grease a loaf tin with oil and pour the batter in. Bang tin on bench top to release air bubbles.
Bake in oven uncovered for about 45-55 minutes. Check it at least 50 minutes in. To see if it is cooked insert a knife into the center and see if comes out wet or dry. If dry, you’re done.