Gingerbread Banana Bread – Soft and moist gingerbread combines with sweet homemade banana bread for the ultimate holiday baked good.
Maple Syrup And Agave – Are They Better For You Than Sugar?
Pretty much on a weekly basis, readers ask me what I think of agave, maple syrup, and other alternatives to white sugar.
Are they healthier?
Are they good for you?
Should you replace white sugar with maple syrup?
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While these sweeteners might be a little less unhealthy than table sugar, that doesn’t mean they are good for you.
Sugar is still sugar, and it’s a good idea to cut back no matter what type of sugar you are using, whether it’s maple syrup, agave, honey, coconut sugar, brown sugar, or white table sugar.
I keep this in mind when developing recipes, and most or all of the recipes on my site that call for any type of sugar will have significantly less sugar than traditional versions of the same recipes.
There is, however, one exception: blackstrap molasses.
Blackstrap molasses is by far my favorite sweetener, not just for its gingerbread flavor but also because it offers an incredible number of health benefits packed into one tiny tablespoon, including copper, manganese, magnesium, potassium, and 20% of the RDA for both calcium and iron.
If you’re new to molasses, be sure to try my recipe for Vegan Pecan Pie.
Especially around Christmastime, I try to add molasses to as many recipes as I can.
And since I’ve already done regular gingerbread, with my 3 Secret Ingredient Gingerbread Recipe, making banana bread seemed like the logical next step.
If you like gingerbread and bananas, you will love this vegan gingerbread banana bread!
Adapted from my Healthy Banana Bread
Gingerbread Banana Bread
Ingredients
- 1 3/4 cups mashed banana
- 1 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 1/3 cup milk of choice OR oil
- 1/4 cup pure maple syrup, agave, or honey
- 1/4 cup molasses – blackstrap or regular
- 1 1/2 tbsp vinegar
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 2 1/2 tsp cinnamon
- 2 tsp ground ginger
- 1/2 tsp ground cloves
- 1/8 tsp ground nutmeg
- 3/4 tsp each: baking powder and salt
- 2 cups spelt, white, or bob’s gf flour (260g)
- optional pinch stevia or 3 tbsp sugar for more of a dessert bread
- optional 1/2 cup raisins or crushed walnuts
Instructions
- Grease a 9x5 loaf pan very well, going up the sides. (Or line the pan with parchment.) Preheat oven to 350 F. Whisk the first 6 ingredients together in a bowl, then set aside. In a large bowl, stir remaining ingredients together very well. Pour wet over dry, stir just until evenly mixed, and smooth into the loaf pan. Bake on the center rack for 33 minutes – then do not open the oven even to peek, but turn off the heat. Let sit in the closed oven for 10 additional minutes. Remove and let cool completely before going around the sides with a knife and inverting onto a plate or cutting from the pan. Store leftover slices in the fridge for 2-3 days or freeze for up to a month.View Nutrition Facts
Notes
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Katie, I’ve been reading your blog for many years, and I have to say that this is my favorite recipe that you have created. It’s so delicious and I’ve made the banana bread a few times a year since you published this recipe. Pro tip: it tastes really yummy “frozen”, as in I eat it straight from the freezer without letting it thaw. Thanks for this recipe :).
Mine came out a bit gummy in texture but it tastes DELICIOUS! I think it could have used a few more minutes of baking time….thanks!
Made this today. Beyond delicious. I used pumpkin pie spice in place of the non-cinnamon spices, so it was yummy but not noticeably gingery. (Hubby said he doesn’t like gingerbread. News to me!) I lowered the baking temp by 25° since I used a dark pan. Alas, I forgot to increase the baking time, so the middle fell during cooling, but the flavor is still awesome. Not taking a pic this time!
Is a toothpick to come out clean? The inside doesn’t seem cooked enough. Anyone have suggestions? The outside is definitely cooked.
Making this for the second time – it is amazing. Just keep in mind that if you use raw, thicker honey, the bread would be a bit sticky (still loved it).
I tried to make this and it didn’t turn out well at all.
The inside never cooked through and I even (after following your instructions) baked it for another 10 minutes -totally cooked on top but once cooled was still
Mushy in the middle.
I love gingerbread and so bummed this wasn’t a success for me ?
I just made this. Because I only used half the sweetener (liquid) I thought I’d make up for the liquid by throwing in an egg. Mistake! It needed to cook another 15 minutes, and is still a touch too moist. Live and learn.
Thanks for your awesome posting! I really enjoyed reading it, keep the great work going have a nice evening!
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I have prepared gingerbread many times with pleasant results. I am surely trying out your recipe this coming weekend.
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Made this bread yesterday. All I can say is YUM!!! Thanks for the recipe!
Actually, I was searching for how to make the Gingerbread Banana Bread. And suddenly got this information. Surprisingly, I made a tasty gingerbread. Thank you so much for giving a nice piece of content. It helps me a lot.
Hi Katie, I live at altitude 7,000ft would you know how I should adjust baking times and temperature to adjust for this please?
Thanks!
Helen
Thanks for sharing recipes with us. After reading this articles I could not stop myself to prepare it.I tried to make at home .. uhm it was really good. Also its homemade healthy food which I preferred to give my kids.
Thanks again and keep sharing this kind of yummy recipes.
I’ve made this bread five times in the last month. I love the flavor of the ginger and molasses. You wouldn’t guess that it was vegan or healthier than the average sweet bread. Even with the 10 minutes resting in the hot oven it usually need an extra five minutes of baking time to cook through.