Gluten-free, dairy-free and refined sugar free, but you wouldn’t know it.
Healthier banana, passionfruit and coconut loaf – gluten, dairy and unrefined sugar free but you wouldn’t know it. Jump to Recipe
To be honest, I don’t particularly like the word ‘healthy’ when it comes to describing food. I mean, how do you quantify healthiness? It’s not like at an arbitrary number of calories or grams of today’s ultimate taboo, sugar, you can say – yup, that’s healthy, or nope, that’s not. For me, it’s really about context: the context of each individual and their needs, activity levels and the remainder of their normal diet as well as the nutritional value behind those kilojoules. In my opinion, sweet treats are a perfectly healthy part of a balanced life.
As you may remember from a few weeks back, I just finished a month with no sugar (with the exception of fruit). The original aim was to remind myself that a sweet treat isn’t necessary every day, with every cup of coffee or following every meal, and to gain more of an appreciation for the sugar I do consume. Reading Ottolenghi’s In Defence of Sugar this week cemented my thoughts on the whole thing. Last week’s tender pistachio cake shared with friends, fragrant with lemon and topped with ripe, tart summer plums; the fudgy, brownie-like chocolate rye cookie dotted with sea salt flakes savoured alongside my morning coffee; or the award winning fruit studded hot cross bun, fresh from the oven and brushed with a sticky sweet glaze – those moments are worth much more to me than dietary restrictions. The upshot is that I’m back to the original mantra – everything in moderation. Including moderation. Always aiming for a balance of getting moving every day, mainly fruit and vegetables, not much processed food with undecipherable ingredient lists, eating a little more mindfully rather than in front of a screen, and yes, the occasional treat.
The other tactic I’ve found useful in the past few weeks, both for my wallet and my waistline, is limiting myself to a once-per-week grocery shop. It won’t work for every situation, but I haven’t managed to do a second supermarket visit (usually hungry at the end of a long day at university) without coming away with multiple unnecessary items. It’s an “I see I want” kind of thing. It also forces me to be more creative towards the end of the week with scraps of herbs, odds and ends of vegetables, those eggs in the fridge and a can of chickpeas in the cupboard – which is oddly satisfying for my recipe-minded brain and reduces waste. On that note, check out these waste-less recipes by Anna Jones in the Guardian this week – I need to start using my carrot tops and the brine from the capers jar!
These are not new concepts or an overnight solutions – but together, it’s a start.
In that vein, this healthier banana, passionfruit & coconut loaf is a little more nutrient dense than usual, without compromising on flavour. I see little point in reducing the sugar and fat in a recipe only to come up with something you’re not really going to enjoy, but I would honestly eat this any day. It’s also perfect for those who are coeliac, gluten-intolerant, dairy-free or simply trying to cut back on the level of refined sugar in their diet. It’s a one bowl, stir and bake kind of deal too – 10 or 15 minutes tops from start until your loaf tin hits the oven. The passsionfruit and coconut give it a tangy, tropical vibe, taking your banana bread to the next level. You can’t taste the coconut oil at all, and honey gives it a burnished caramel edge when cooked. Enjoy!!
Also please note: the colour of the loaf’s interior is much browner than shown in the pictures, as I adapted the recipe further after the original photos. The exterior is practically the same.
PS: does anyone have the answer to why the banana on top often turns a little pink in the oven? Something to do with the potassium, maybe? Would love to know!
Cook’s Notes:
- If your bananas are not super black and spotty, place on a baking tray in the oven at 200°C, whole (skin on, unpeeled) for 10-15minutes or until blackened and just starting to ooze juice. Leave to cool for 10 minutes, then peel and mash. Continue with the recipe as normal
- The colour of the loaf’s interior is much browner than shown in the pictures, as I adapted the recipe further after the original photos. The exterior is practically the same.
- To make it gluten-free, swap the flour for buckwheat flour or your favourite gluten-free blend.
- I’m also keen to try this using spelt flour rather than plain – let me know if you give this a go!
- 1/3 cup coconut oil , melted
- 1/2 cup honey or maple syrup
- 2 eggs
- 1 cup mashed very ripe bananas (2 large) + 1 extra banana to decorate
- 1/4 cup passionfruit pulp
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon vanilla essence
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 3/4 cup plain flour (or buckwheat flour to make gluten-free)
- 3/4 cup almond meal
- 3/4 cup dessicated coconut
- 2 teaspoons coconut sugar for sprinkling
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If your bananas aren’t very spotty/black, follow instructions above in Cook’s Notes for extra ripening.
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Preheat oven to 160°C and grease and line a loaf tin with baking paper.
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Beat together the coconut oil and honey until combined. Add both eggs and whisk to combine. Add mashed bananas and passionfruit pulp - whisk gently, making sure to leave clumps of banana - it doesn’t need to be smooth.
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Whisk through the baking soda, vanilla and salt.
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Fold in the flour, almond meal and dessicated coconut until just combined.
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Pour into greased loaf tin and top with the extra halved banana. Sprinkle the extra banana with coconut sugar.
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Bake 45-55 minutes or until a skewer inserted comes out just clean.
yesss! i love everything about this. your philosophy towards food and health is very similar to mine. also, i love ottolenghi’s new column!
passionfruit and banana bread?! yes, yes, yes. i definitely strive for the once a week grocery trip, but that just doesn’t work (lugging two heavy bags of groceries onto a bus, and trying to fit all of it into a full fridge shared with 3 others is a hassle). i do love trying to use odds and ends (though it’s more fun when i’m home, because i don’t buy all the groceries and it’s like a treasure hunt to see what we have).
bananas + passionfruit = magic!!
This is my credo, precisely. I have struggled with myself far too long to determine what is healthy and what is not, and I finally came to realize that local and seasonal food with the occasional treat works for me. Working in the wine & food industry – and in Italy on top of that, how could I give up the occasional sip of wonderful wine?
And I totally second the once-a-week grocery trip.Twice, tops.
I loved reading this post, and definitely into my Pinterest this beautiful loaf goes!
gorgeous!! totally craving for a slice right now, and i love the addition of passionfruit! Xx
I love the idea of passionfruit. I often mix banana and coconut, but I think the passionfruit might take it to another level. Thanks! (I also shop once a week)
So delicious! I love the caramelized top and that you used passionfruit, mm! I often bake gluten free, refined sugar free things if I’m feeling a little over done.. I don’t consider them healthier but rather a light alternative to regular baking and yes! to only shopping once a week. xo
Hi Claudia
What can you use instead of coconut oil ?
As i have all the ingredients except the oil
Di
Hi Di! You could use olive oil instead, or melted butter 🙂
Would love to know how it goes!
Claudia x
I made this today with 1/2 cup of spelt and 1/4 of plain flour, it is SO GOOD! I just baked mine for over an hour because I didn’t think it looked cooked enough and it’s perfection
Thanks for the recipe
I couldn’t agree with you more! I’ve experimented with diets a lot and eventually found my way back to an “everything in moderation” philosophy. I do appreciate some of the baking and cooking lessons I learned from those diets and I still experiment with the flavor and texture combos as well. The surface looks perfect on this-I would snack on those crispy bits all day.
I just can’t get over the beauty of this bread. Plus it’s a great sweet solution for my gluten-free, vegan friends. Yum!
I second all of your sentiments…everything in moderation, including moderation! This loaf sounds delightful – especially love the passionfruit addition!
This post speaks to me! Everything in moderation, fresh and seasonal, keep moving and avoid the things with indecipherable ingredients lists. What more advice do you need to live by!!! I can’t do the once a week shop though my brain is too disorganised. I plan a week of meals and by tuesday it is out the window trying to cater to my mood swings haha. This bread CLaudia! I have the ingreidients so giving it a try this afternoon. Love how good it makes the house smell xx
Moderation for me is something I have to constantly strive towards. Like you said, it is a lot about being mindful. Also, I am leaning now more and more towards reducing food waste thinking about how to turn leftovers into something delicious! This looks delicious. Love all the flavors you’ve got going on in there.
Claudia, this bread is absolutely gorgeous! Thanks for linking to the Anna Jones article! I cook with beet greens and carrot tops all the time, but I never thought of using the brine from capers!
I am very late to the party on this recipe but found it this morning as I had some black bananas and passionfruit from the garden. It was the most delicious bread! Sensational warm with a cup of tea. I didn’t have coconut oil handy so used olive oil and it was perfect
Thanks Clare! So glad you enjoyed it. Olive oil is a great substitute – I use it myself a lot too.
I don’t like coconut, Will it be ok to omit, or do you have a suggestion to replace.
Thanks!
Hi Heather! I would replace with 1/2 cup of almond meal. Hope that helps!
Thank you! I’ll give it a try and let you know how it turned out!
If I had an option to give five stars I would! I was making this for a DF/GF friend and just used ordinary GF flour, but I’m looking forward to trying with whole wheat. I didn’t have passionfruit, so added a little extra almond milk and some frozen raspberries and it was absolutely delicious. Thanks for a great recipe!
Oh thank you Sarah, that’s so lovely to hear!! So glad it worked out so well
Hi, this recipe sounds amazing, but I am allergic to almonds (all nuts). Would it work if I replaced the almond meal with GF flour or should I try oat flour (by grinding up the oats)?
Many thanks!
Hi Joree, sorry about the late reply. You could definitely replace with either. The almond meal makes it quite moist so I’m not sure exactly how it would turn out unfortunately but it is quite a flexible recipe and will most likely be fine. Let me know how you go!
HI!
I ended up replacing the almond meal (and the regular flour) with equal parts GF flour and it turned out great!
It was so flavorful and delicious!