(Vegan) Lemony Olive Oil Banana Bread

This is the time of the year when one of my least favourite word, “diet”, becomes all the rage once more. It’s the beginning of a New Year and and most of us are feeling inspired and motivated by the resolutions we have made in the last few weeks. When it comes to food, this usually means starting a new diet or eating plan.
All of a sudden we can’t get enough herbal teas, juice cleanses, hot water with lemon, and all the green stuff available (kale, broccoli, spinach, chard, etc.)
So I’m not sure this is the right time to post a recipe for a banana bread dotted with chocolate chunks, and covered in a delicious lemon glaze.
But you see, as soon as I perfected this recipe (last week) I couldn’t possibly wait to share it with you all.

I’m aware that I already have two recipes for banana bread on this blog, one completely paleo and the other one made in a blender.
Truth is I never get tired of banana bread. It’s rich, smells great, tastes amazing, and gets better with age.
This recipe is notable not only because it’s vegan but also because it incorporates lemons in 2 ways in the banana bread: lemon zest in the batter and lemon glaze on top.
It is a flavor explosion.

This (Vegan) Lemony Olive Oil Banana Bread is moist, delicious, and dotted with chocolate chunks that make each bite more special than the previous one. The flax eggs bring a slightly nutty flavor which is to-die-for.
Which is why I urge you to give this banana bread a try even if you’re not vegan (like myself), you won’t regret it!

(Vegan) Lemony Olive Oil Banana Bread                                                                                      Print this recipe!
Adapted from 101Cookbooks

Note. If you don’t care about the vegan thing, just sub the 3 flax eggs with 2 eggs and use regular yogurt instead of the vegan yogurt.

Ingredients
One loaf makes 14 slices

Banana bread

1 cup all-purpose flour (I used GF flour)
1 cup whole wheat flour
¾ cup brown sugar (I used coconut sugar)
¾ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
1 cup coarsely chopped dark chocolate (or dark chocolate chips)
⅓ cup olive oil
3 flax eggs (follow this recipe to learn how to make flax eggs)
3 ripe bananas, mashed
¼ cup non-dairy yogurt (I like to use Forager Project Cashewgurt)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Zest of 1 lemon

Glaze

¾ cup powdered sugar (use this recipe to make powdered coconut sugar)
3 teaspoons freshly squeezed lemon juice

Directions

Preheat oven to 350° (175°C) and place a rack in the middle. Grease a 9x5-inch loaf pan, or equivalent.
In a large bowl, whisk together the flours, sugar, baking soda, and salt. Add chocolate pieces and combine well.
In a separate bowl, mix together olive oil, flax eggs, mashed banana, yogurt, vanilla, and lemon zest.
Pour the banana mixture into the flour mixture and fold with a spatula until just combined, do not overmix.
Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and bake for 50 minutes, until golden-brown.
Transfer the pan to a wire rack to cool for about 15 minutes, then turn the loaf out of the pan to cool completely.
While the cake is cooling, prepare the glaze. In a small bowl, whisk together the powdered sugar and the lemon juice until smooth. When the cake is completely cool, drizzle the glaze on top of the cake, spreading with a spatula to cover.

Nutrition facts

One serving yields 254 calories, 10 grams of fat, 38 grams of carbs, and 4 grams of protein.