These vegan banana bread blueberry bars are the perfect hybrid between a classic banana quick bread and snack cake. They’re perfect for a snack or a not-too-sweet dessert, or you can have it with your morning coffee like I just did, and the dark chocolate and sea salt on top is a classic combination and gives a nice crunch when you bite in.
Gluten-Free Flour Blend
I’m really happy with the gluten-free flour blend of:
- Rice flour
- Buckwheat flour
- Almond flour
It adds a nuttiness, and the texture wasn’t gummy at all which can sometimes happen in my gluten-free baking experiments.
No Eggs, No Dairy
Classic banana bread typically contains eggs, milk and butter. I used an unsweetened soy-based yogurt here, and you could swap for coconut or your favorite non-dairy yogurt. For added fat, I used coconut oil and for all of those coconut haters, there is zero coconut flavor here. The bars hold together really well without the use of eggs, and they are tender, not crumbly.
I try to use super ripe, like almost black, bananas because they add a natural sweetness, but I enhanced it with some agave syrup, but you could always swap for maple syrup too which would give a deeper flavor.
Flavor Ad-Ons
I added blueberries because it’s the end of summer and I wanted to use up some super ripe ones, but you could sub in:
- Other berries like strawberries or blackberries
- Nuts or seeds like walnuts or pumpkin seeds
- Chocolate chips for a sweeter snack
These banana bread bars are super easy to make, and packed with blueberries and 300g of banana for a nutrient boost. Normally I would make a loaf, but I actually don’t have a loaf pan here in Italy, so I went with bar form instead, and they’re just as delicious.
Let me know in the comments your favorite way to use up bananas!
Banana Bread Blueberry Bars | Vegan, Gluten-Free
Ingredients
Wet Ingredients:
- 300g very ripe banana (about 3-4 medium bananas)
- 55g agave syrup
- 15g lemon juice
- pinch salt
- 30g coconut oil, melted
- 50g dairy-free unsweetened yogurt
Dry Ingredients:
- 60g almond flour
- 60g rice flour
- 60g buckwheat flour
- 3g ground cinnamon
- 50g fresh blueberries
For the topping:
- 50g 70% vegan dark chocolate
- Flaky sea salt
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 180C/356F, and line a 9in x 7in baking dish with parchment paper..
- Add banana to a bowl with agave, lemon juice and salt, and mash with a fork until broken down. I like to keep mine slightly chunky, but you can mash until your preferred texture.
- Add the remaining liquid ingredients and whisk well to combine.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together all dry ingredients except blueberries.
- Toss the blueberries into the dry mixture until completely coated in flour.
- Pour the wet ingredients into the dry, and mix until just combined. Be careful not to overmix. A lumpy mixture is totally fine here.
- Pour the batter into the baking dish, and bake for 25-30 minutes until golden brown on the top.
- Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely before drizzling with chocolate.
For the chocolate drizzle:
- Melt chocolate in the microwave in 30 second intervals, stirring well between each time to avoid burning. Pour the chocolate into a squeeze bottle (or use a spoon,) and drizzle over the banana bread. Top with flaky sea salt. Enjoy!
1 thought on “Vegan Banana Bread Blueberry Bars with Dark Chocolate & Sea Salt”
Everything looks great!!