Oil-Free Vegan Buckwheat Banana Bread (GF)

It only takes minutes to make my easy, oil-free vegan buckwheat banana bread! Moist, tender, and loaded with banana flavor, it is also gluten-free.

Buckwheat Flour: Great for Vegan Gluten-Free Baking

For reasons I cannot quite identify, I have not done a lot of buckwheat flour recipes here on Power Hungry.

Could it be my semi-obsessions with chickpea flour, almond flour, and coconut flour, as well as my dabbling with cassava flour and tiger nut flour? Methinks yes. What an oversight! The more I bake with buckwheat flour, the more I fall in love with its nutty, wholesome flavor.

I especially love how the unique flavors of buckwheat accentuate other flavors. Case in point, in this homey, nourishing Oil-Free Vegan Buckwheat Banana Bread. I am savoring every slice (all day long).

Recipe Benefits

This gorgeous bread is super-delicious, moist & satisfying, as well as:

• Vegan (egg-free, dairy-free)
• Gluten-free
• Oil-free
• Super easy to make
• Made in one bowl
• High fiber (3.2 grams per slice)

Ingredients for Oil-Free Vegan Buckwheat Banana Bread

The exact amounts of each ingredient are indicated in the recipe card at the end of the post.

The ingredients for the bread are minimal and easily acquired. Here is what you will need:

• Mashed VERY RIPE banana (super-squishy, lots of brown spots)
• Coconut sugar (I have options in the recipe card)
• Vanilla extract
• Buckwheat flour
• Flaxseed meal
• Ground cinnamon
• Baking soda
• Salt

Banana Pro Tips

1. Use Very Ripe (Squishy) Bananas. It is very important to use very ripe (sweet, squishy) bananas in this recipe (the bananas should have lots of brown). Fresh bananas (peels are mostly yellow) are not liquid-y enough, nor sweet enough (those starches are converted to sugar as the bananas become super-ripe).
2. Freeze Bananas for Future Baking. I like to freeze my super-ripe bananas for future baking. When defrosting, do not drain the bananas. Measure the defrosted bananas WITH the defrosted liquid.
3. Finely Mash or Puree Bananas. Mash the bananas super-fine. I use my immersion blender to blend the bananas entirely smooth.

How to Make Oil-Free Vegan Buckwheat Banana Bread

Step One: Preheat Oven & Prepare Baking Pan

Preheat the oven to 350F (180C). Spray a 9×5-inch loaf pan with nonstick baking spray. If you want or need the bread to be free of all traces of oil, line the loaf with parchment paper instead.

Step Two: Whisk the Wet Ingredients

In a large bowl, whisk the bananas, coconut sugar and vanilla extract until blended.

Step Three: Stir in the Dry Ingredients

Add the buckwheat flour, flaxseed meal, cinnamon, baking soda and salt to the bowl.

Stir until completely blended, and then scrape the batter into the prepared pan, smoothing the top.

I had a small semi-ripe banana on hand, so I decided to slice it lengthwise and add it to the top of the bread. Just because. If you do the same, gently press the banana slices into the batter (about halfway).

Step Four: Bake the Bread

Bake the bread in the preheated oven for 42 to 46 minutes until risen, the surface appears dry, and a toothpick inserted near the center of the loaf comes out with only a few moist crumbs attached.

Step Five: Cool the Bread

Cool the bread in the loaf pan for 10 minutes before removing and cooling completely on a cooling rack.

Cool the bread completely before slicing it.

FAQ

How Should the Bread Be Stored?

Store the cooled buckwheat banana bread in an airtight container at cool room temperature for 2 days, the refrigerator for 1 week or the freezer for up to 6 months.

What is the Taste & Texture of the Bread?

This is a moist, yet firm, loaf with a deep banana flavor. The buckwheat adds a subtly, nutty flavor, similar to whole wheat flour.

You will not miss the oil. The generous amount of banana, plus the natural oils from the flaxseed meal make for a perfectly moist loaf.

The bread is lightly sweet, making it well suited for healthy breakfasts and snacks on the run. But it is thoroughly satisfying as a sweet treat, too.

Can I Use Something Other Than Buckwheat Flour?

If you do not need this to be gluten-free, you can use white whole wheat flour or spelt flour.

Alternatively, check out my Vegan Chickpea Flour Banana Bread. It is also oil-free and gluten-free, as well as grain-free. It is very similar to this recipe. Or type “banana bread” into the search function. I have a wide variety of banana bread options with alternative flours (all vegan, gluten-free, and many oil-free, too).

Happy Baking!

Related Recipes:

• Vegan Buckwheat Flour Banana Bread (gluten-free)
• Gluten-Free Buckwheat Sandwich Bread {vegan, no yeast}
• Buckwheat Flour Carrot Muffins (Vegan, Oil-Free, GF)
• 4-Ingredient Buckwheat Flax Chia Bread {vegan, GF, oil-free}
• Healthy No-Bake Buckwheat Granola Bars {vegan, gluten-free}