This vegan chocolate and chickpea flour banana bread is protein-packed and mouth-wateringly delicious. A great gluten free banana bread option, it’s also good to make when you’ve run out of flour, or you have chickpea flour that needs using up.
Recently I’d run out of flour and I got to thinking about what I could use instead to make a cake. Despite having no plain, spelt or self raising flour in the house I did have two bags of chickpea flour.
I usually use chickpea flour to make crepes, fritters or pakoras but I’d never experimented with baking with it before.
I wasn't overly confident but I got stuck in and made a banana bread using chickpea flour. And it turned out great!
Personally I could detect a slightly different taste but my kids all tucked in to the chickpea flour banana bread with gusto and didn’t notice any difference.
However, my first attempt was a tiny bit dry so I’ve adjusted the quantities, tested it several times and finally have a result that I’m happy with. This chocolate chickpea flour banana bread recipe is it.
What is chickpea flour/gram flour?
Chickpea flour, also known as besan, gram flour or garbanzo flour, is simply chickpeas that have been ground into a flour.
There are different varieties of chickpea flour. If you buy it from an Asian supermarket you may end up with besan - which is made from brown chickpeas rather than white.
I have used besan in this recipe.
Read more about the difference between besan and chickpea flour on Vegan Richa's site.
Is chickpea flour suitable for vegans?
Yes, chickpea flour is simply ground chickpeas - so it’s a perfect vegan ingredient. It's free from animal products and is naturally high in protein.
This banana bread recipe is suitable for vegans too. It is egg free and the mashed bananas and chickpea flour both help to bind it together. And the bicarbonate of soda and cider vinegar mean that it rises well.
Is this banana bread recipe gluten free?
Yes, as well as being vegan this recipe is also suitable for a gluten free diet. Just be sure to buy gluten free baking powder.
Can you make a cake with chickpea flour?
I wasn’t sure about this when I started testing this chickpea flour cake - however, happily, it turns out that you can.
I can't guarantee that a direct substitution will work in other recipes however, and it took me a few tweaks to get this banana bread recipe right.
How difficult is this chickpea flour cake to make?
It’s no more difficult to make banana bread from chickpea flour than it is to make regular banana bread.
You will need to make sure you sift the chickpea flour as it can be very lumpy.
What ingredients do you need to make gram flour banana bread?
You will need the following ingredients:
- 3 ripe bananas
- 150ml dairy free milk
- 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar or lemon juice
- 280g gram flour
- 50g cocoa powder
- 1.5 baking powder
- 1/2 bicarbonate of soda
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- 150g light brown sugar
- 150ml sunflower oil
- 100g raisins or chocolate chips
Do you need any special equipment to make this cake?
You will need:
- a loaf tin
- baking paper
- mixing bowl
- wooden spoon
- sieve
- weighing scales
- measuring jug.
A rubber spatula is also useful for scraping out the last of the mixture.
More chickpea flour recipes
Chickpea flour can be used as a binding agent or a vegan egg alternative. It makes delicious savoury crepes or pancakes. Plus it's really good at binding together ingredients for fritters or pakoras.
Here are some chickpea flour recipes that you might like
- Vegan corn fritters
- Carrot fritters
- Sweet potato fritters
- Easy dosa recipe
- Cauliflower and potato pakoras
- Vegan frittata
Some of these recipes appear on my kid food blog Sneaky Veg.
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How do you make chocolate and chickpea flour banana bread?
If you have made this recipe and loved it please consider leaving a comment and rating below.
Chocolate and chickpea flour banana bread
Ingredients
- 3 ripe bananas mashed
- 150 ml dairy free milk I used oat milk
- 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar or lemon juice
- 280 g gram flour sifted
- 50 g cocoa powder sifted
- 1.5 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- 150 g light brown sugar
- pinch salt
- 150 ml sunflower oil
- 100 g raisins or chocolate chips optional
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 180°C (fan)/200°C/gas mark 6.
- Grease a 900g loaf tin and line with baking paper.
- Mash 3 bananas really well and set aside.
- Place 150ml oat milk in a jug with 1 tbsp cider vinegar or lemon juice. Set aside.
- Sift 280g chickpea flour, 50g cocoa powder, 1.5 tsp baking powder, 1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda and 1 tsp ground cinnamon into a large mixing bowl.
- Add 150g light brown soft sugar and a pinch of salt and stir in.
- Pour the milk mixture into the flour along with 150ml sunflower oil. Stir well.
- Add the mashed bananas and stir again
- If using stir through 100g raisins or chocolate chips.
- Pour the mixture into your prepared loaf tin and level the surface.
- Bake in the preheated oven for 50 minutes or until a skewer inserted in the centre comes out clean.
- Cool in the tin before turning out and serving. Store in an airtight container for 1-2 days. Any longer and it starts to dry out and go crumbly.
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