This chocolate paleo banana bread is dense but airy, and chock-full of banana goodness. Sweetened only with coconut sugar, it's just on the right side of sweet, and makes a great breakfast or afternoon snack. I love it with tea, coffee, or a thin smear of coconut oil on top.
When you came out of the oven, your smell wafting through the small apartment, I knew: this is love. I had an inkling to the enormity of this feeling when I was stirring in the chocolate chunks, imagining the bliss that lay in store.
But now, as I see their black, silky bodies broken down into ribbons of the sweetest molten paradise, running through you like veins, I am stupefied by just how strongly I feel about you.
Chocolate paleo banana bread, you're the one.
Why paleo rocks
Some of you may remember my decision to try and keep a vegetarian paleo diet for one month. I have to say that it wasn't easy, especially at first, but I was also quite surprised by how natural it became as time went on. And after a month of reading labels and agonizing over whether I can eat store-bought mustard (I did), some parts of the habit died harder than others.
The most important part was how good keeping paleo made me feel. I was energetic, down to the point that it was easier to get up in the mornings, and afternoon naps no longer seemed as necessary to life as oxygen and running water. My stomach stopped hurting all the time, and the wretched bloated feeling went away.
I lost weight, sure; but it wasn't even so much about that as about the new feeling that seemed to course through my body: I felt lithe, strong, unencumbered.
So I made the decision to keep paleo every three months. In July, I finished my third round, and I'm proud to say I only felt better.
I enjoyed keeping paleo so much that I even felt bad going back to my normal eating (pescetarian, lactose-free, low on yeast, low on sugar); alas, an impending trip to Argentina beckoned me with its ice cream and bowls of pasta.
But while I love paleo, and would strongly recommend it to others, there is one thing that bothers me the entire time I keep this diet - the lack of happy endings. I am not a big dessert eater, and I usually try to avoid sugar.
But during the months of paleo, the thing that drove me up the walls during the first adjustment period was always my body's craving for sugar. Paleo, with its lack of any baked goods or the guilt associated with eating a piece of chocolate, really sparked the sweet-tooth in me.
I have tried different ways to combat this: I made paleo almond butter cookies that turned into a pile of goo.
I ate strawberries like they were going out of style. I mashed bananas and fried them into pancakes.
I drizzled just a touch of maple syrup into my coffee.
But still, I missed the heft of a piece of cake, the feeling of drinking tea and dunking a perfectly formed shortbread cookie into it.
The perfect paleo banana bread
That's how my search for the perfect paleo banana bread began. And after trying scores of recipes, testing flour combinations and trying to decide if I preferred chocolate to walnuts or raisins, I am happy to declare: we have a winner!
This chocolate paleo banana bread is dense but airy, and chock-full of banana goodness. Sweetened only with coconut sugar, it's just on the right side of sweet, and makes a great breakfast or afternoon snack. I love it with tea, coffee, or a thin smear of coconut oil on top.
Anyway you slice it, this chocolate paleo banana bread is the bee's knees.
Chocolate paleo banana bread
Ingredients
- 3 ripe bananas mashed
- ⅓ cup 70 grams melted coconut oil
- ⅔ cup coconut sugar
- 3 flax eggs or regular eggs beaten
- ⅓ cup almond milk or applesauce
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- Up to ½ teaspoon nutmeg
- Pinch of ground cloves
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- Pinch of salt
- 1 cup 95 grams coconut flour
- 1 cup 95 grams hazelnut or almond flour
- 2 oz unsweetened baking chocolate choped
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F. In a large mixing bowl and using a wooden spoon, mix coconut oil into the mashed bananas.
- Add in the coconut sugar, eggs or flax eggs, almond milk/ applesauce, vanilla and spices. Sprinkle the baking soda and salt over the mixture and mix in.
- Add the flours last, mixing just enough to incorporate - take care not to overmix! Stir in the chopped baking chocolate, and fold to combine.
- Transfer mixture into a buttered 4×8 inch loaf pan. Bake for 50 minutes to one hour, or until a tester comes out clean. Cool on a rack.
- NOTE: I tend to keep my chocolate paleo banana bread in the pan, and don't bother taking it out. However, if you're looking to serve it, you may want to try - just be very, very gentle and accept that it may break.
Kathryn @ The Scratch Artist says
I am in love with your first paragraph! Nice work creating a delicious dessert for yourself. And I know what you mean about missing the sensation of eating a particular type of food. I miss not only the taste of things but how it feels in my hand, the texture, how it feels to chew it, etc...
Thanks for another lovely post! I always love reading your writing.
kseniaprints says
Because we're such tactile creatures, I find that the sensations you've described are sometimes the biggest part of enjoying a meal - and the reason why foods eaten with our fingers seem to taste that much better!
Thank you for your kind words, Kathryn. They bring a smile to my face.
Faith (An Edible Mosaic) says
Everything about this post is lovely. I can completely relate to what you're describing here; the emotions connected to, for example, an afternoon break or an evening dessert that involves tea or coffee and a cookie or sliver of cake is something that beckons to me. I make a lot of paleo treats for this very reason, and I will definitely be trying your beautiful chocolate banana bread.
kseniaprints says
What's you favourite paleo treat? I honestly would love to hear an educated recommendation!
Katie @ Whole Nourishment says
Um, yes please! Although I don't follow the paleo diet I happen to love baked goods with an almond and coconut flour base because it gives a really nice crumb. This looks nothing short of amazing! So much of society has lost touch with how food makes them feel, so it's always nice to see people like you bringing that connection back front and center.
kseniaprints says
I completely agree about the nut flours - I was a fan of genuine, fuss-free gluten-free baking long before it was a thing. Coconut flour is still an acquired taste for me, but I love the sandiness it brings to this loaf.
Kristi says
I've tried different coconut flour banana breads but none have been as good as this one! I did cut down the sugar a bit as I don't like things that sweet but thanks so much for sharing this recipe. It's now going to be my go to when I crave banana bread.
kseniaprints says
Yay, I'm so glad you liked it! I also made paleo chocolate-banana muffins the other day that were so amazing, I think I'm just going to have to post them. I honestly just get so happy when I find a good paleo dessert, I can't wait to share it with the world!
Kristi says
I think you should post the muffins, I'd love to try them! I'm making the banana bread again right now, yum.
kseniaprints says
I think I'm just going to have to post them, then 🙂
Maria McKenzie says
Hi Ksenia! Thanks so much for sharing this recipe. I absolutely love it, and so does my whole family! It's my go to banana bread recipe when I have ripe bananas sitting around needing to be used. I have found that if I use two smaller loaf pans lined with parchment paper, the loaves can be easily removed from the pans and slice quite well.
kseniaprints says
Oh that's great! I'm actually planning on cooking it this afternoon as I have ripe bananas. It's my all-time favourite as well!