It’s a snowy day here in Chicago, the perfect kind to stay in and do nothing. I figured I would work on some new recipes today, especially since my due is approaching and am not sure of how much recipe work I’ll end up doing postpartum. But quite honestly, I didn’t feel up to working too hard in the kitchen today. I pulled out my cookbook and decided to make an old favorite: Dairy, Egg and Nut Free Banana Bread. I had brown speckled bananas sitting on my counter top that were screaming to be used in some way. I could have made a smoothie or something with chocolate chips in it. But today, I just wanted something pure and simple.
Then it hit me…I don’t think I’ve ever posted my Banana Bread recipe. I’ve posted the Banana Chocolate Chip and Banana Chocolate Chip Snack Cake, but not just the Banana Bread. It shocked me because it’s one of the very first allergen free recipes I developed that was awesome, yet it was also among the most simplest. I always make this bread when my in-laws come over to our house. My father-in-law literally looks for it upon arrival at our house, along with a fresh cup of coffee.
I’m also excited to share my new “Printer Friendly” option on my Recipes Page. You won’t see the change on the actual page itself, but when you go to print a recipe from my site, a simple black and white page will pop up, easier for you and your printer! A big thanks goes to my FANTASTIC web guy Mark for creating this useful tool for the rest of us. Enjoy and Happy Baking!
Dairy, Egg and Nut Free Banana Bread
Make sure your bananas are nicely browned, because very ripe bananas produce the best breads. Make one for now, and freeze the other for later.
Yield: 2 loaves
1/2 cup dairy-free margarine
1 1/3 cups granulated sugar
1 1/2 cups mashed ripe banana
3 tablespoons water
2 3/4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup dairy-free buttermilk (1 c. of soy milk mixed with 1 T. vinegar. Let sit 5-10 minutes)
Preheat oven to 350ºF, and spray two 8-inch baking pans with dairy-free baking spray.
In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine margarine, sugar, bananas, and water. In a medium bowl, combine flour, salt, and baking powder with a wire whisk.
Alternate the flour mixture with the buttermilk, starting and ending with the flour mixture. Pour into prepared pans, and bake 50 to 60 minutes, or until cake tester comes clean.
Cool completely before slicing.
Hi Kelly, this sounds wonderful, and it is great that it makes 2 so that we can enjoy it twice.
I wondered if you have a good corn muffin or corn bread recipe that you can share (I know you will be very busy soon, so no rush!). I have tried many different recipes and they are either tasteless or very dry.
Thank you, enjoy your new little miracle.
Would I be able to use coconut oil instead of the non dairy butter? Also, do you think coconut milk would work for the soy in the buttermilk? My daughter is allergic to dairy, corn and nuts and all the non dairy butters and milks (besides the So Delicious Coconut Milk) have corn in them
She loves bananas though and this sounds like a great recipe!
Hi there,
I LOVE your recipes, Kelly. I just recently joined your blog and bought your cookbook (thanks for signing it–that was a nice surprise). We are a completely dairy and egg free family for general health reasons. We are nut free because of my youngest daughter’s severe tree nut and peanut allergies (she’s also allergic to fish). Your cookbook was such a welcome addition to our family! I’ve got blueberries on the counter today to make your blueberry muffins. I told my daughters before they left for school that they’d be waiting for them when they got home. They were very excited.
As for a good corn bread recipe (question from Diane in the last post), I have a great one if you’d like to pass it along. It’s actually called spoon bread, but it’s not soupy at all. Very nice moist texture and delicious!!! I make it often and serve it with soup most frequently.
Spoon Bread
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup white flour
2/3 cup corn meal
3 teaspoons baking powder
3 tablespoons sugar or 2 tablespoons honey
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups soy milk (I use vanilla-flavored soymilk)
1/3 cup olive oil (or canola)
Whip together. Put in 8X8 inch greased pan (or you can make into muffins). Bake 25 minutes at 375 degrees. Enjoy!
I have a silly question. Your recipe calls for 3/4 cup dairy-free buttermilk, and the directions say 1 c. of soy milk mixed with 1 T. vinegar. Are you supposed to use the entire 1 cup of soy buttermilk? Or just 3/4 cup? I noticed this in your fabulous cookbook also and wasn’t sure if soy buttermilk is so different from milk buttermilk that it needs the extra 1/4 cup.
Thanks! Kathleen
For the cornbread recipe….I use one box of Jiffy cornbread mix, a small can of cream corn, and a small can of green chiles. Mix well and spoon into the mini muffin tins and bake according to directions. The juices from the “veggies” take the place of the milk and egg. My kids love them and they are too easy!!
thank you to both Georgia and Alethea for the great cornbread recipes
Great question Kathleen! Most of my recipe testers prefer even measuring, so that is why I used 1 c. soy milk per 1 T. vinegar. Also, I tend to bake double batches of everything, or bake another recipe with buttermilk so I save the rest for later. If you prefer exact measurements, measure 3/4 c. soy milk to 3/4 T. vinegar.
I second that to Georgia and Alethea; great cornbread tips and recipes! Dianne, I have a yummy corn muffin recipe in my book as well that I always make to go with Chili, etc. My kids love it.
In response to Dianne’s question about the coconut oil and milk. I successfully substitute with coconut milk all the time – just making sure I use the unsweetened kind. As for coconut oil, I use that as well but more in pie crust/pastry type recipes. It’s a little hard to use because well, it’s so hard at room temperature. Often times you can end up with small chunks of coconut oil in the dough. Maybe try to slightly soften it before you mix it with the sugar. I really like using it though. Just be warned, sometimes you have a slight coconut taste – which I happen to like
P.S. using coconut milk (combination of full fat and reduced fat) makes a great ice cream. I make a pina colada ice cream and a chocolate ice cream this way.
Hello Kelly…
I just wanted to say thank you from the bottom of my heart for all of these wonderful recipes…So far I have tried the Banana Chocolate Chip Snack Cake and the Not so Peanut Butter Cookies…to die for I tell ya and my son just ate them up.
My son who just turned 9 has been living his life without a lot of favorites until I came across your blog…don’t know how but I am so thankful!
Since he was 1, he has tested postive for allergies to Peanuts, Tree Nuts, Dairy, Eggs and Shellfish for food anyway…. and every year we are hopeful he will “grow out” of them but unfortunately, he has not.
Thank you for all of your hard work and congrats on your upcoming new one.
Thanks Kelly! I made this today and it is FABULOUS! My son insists on having a piece of each bread, one from my beautiful ornate bread pan and one from my plain bread pan. He insists they taste different! Ok, he is 4, he justs thinks they are different! So much for saving one for later.
Thanks Kelly – this couldn’t have come at a better time! I had 3 large brown bananas, just about at fruit fly stage! The boys wanted to eat the batter w/spoons!
I know what I’ll be baking tomorrow morning! Thanks for this recipe. Can’t wait to try it.
The recipes in your book are so good. It makes me so happy to see my daughter enjoy these wonderful treats. Thank you so much, Kelly.
hey kelly!
My son loves it! Thanks again for all that you have done for my family by making your baking book. We are forever grateful. By the way I love your website as well!
my dad recently purchased your book for my family and it was a great surprise!! my son is 18 months and has sever food allergies to milk, egg, peanut, tree nuts, mustard, and sage. We found out when he was only 7 months old and since then my husband and I have committed to keeping our house free of those allergens for him. From the day we found out, I have not eaten any of those in my diet and my husband does the best he can with it! We are constantly looking for new cookbooks and recipes and I found yours online and so did my father. I told him I was going to order it and next thing i know he bought it and it was delivered to my door step. We made your banana bread over the weekend and it is delicious! i have made one before from a different book but not quite as good as yours
Thanks so much Ashley!!!
Hi Kelly,
I can’t wait to get your cookbook. I have 2 children with multiple food allergies and have spent a not-so-small fortune on allergy cookbooks. It had been awhile since I last checked the internet for new cookbooks/website, but it was well worth the time because I found your website. I have been reading all the comments and noticed that people are raving about your Not So Peanut Butter Cookies and your Banana Chocolate Chip Snack Cake. Would you please kindly email them to me.
Thank you for all your work and recipes.
Heidi
i am off to find the chocolate version! Thanks!
Hi Jamie, let me know how it turns out for you!
Hi Kelly,
Ur receipes are great and have come in handy for my 41/2 year old son. just wondering on the flour part of this receipe. Could I substitute that with tapioca flour? And if so, would I use the same amount or more or less. Thanks ahead of time, for ur help.
Janie
Hi Kelly!
After learning that our baby has several pretty high food allergies, a friend surprised us with this book. Thank you so much for creating it! I was so excited to find so many wonderful recipes, and was especially excited about the cake recipes. We got the book just in time for our daughter’s first birthday, so I am thrilled that I can now make a tried and true homemade birthday cake for her! The banana bread was soooo good! Even when I made it with mostly whole wheat flour it turned out fantastic. Words really can’t express how much we appreciate the time, creativity and effort that went into making this cookbook, so I will just say, thank you so much, once again. Christy
So I must update that my daughter’s birthday cake was one of the best cakes I have ever had! I made the carrot cake and my family could not have been happier with the results! Since then, I have tried several more of your recipes and everyone who has tried them has given rave reviews! Your cookbook now sits front and center on my shelf and I know that as my daughter grows it will be so much easier to let her be a part of so many activities that involve food and cooking. Thank you too for all of the brand recommendations. It has made it so much easier to search the stores here for specific brands, rather than try and ask vague questions like, “Do you have any dairy free butter?” and get those blanks stares in reply. As I finish off this last piece of chocolate banana bread, I’m getting ready to try those oatmeal fudge bars. Yum!
Thanks so much Christy!!! That means so much to me, and am so happy you are enjoying the recipes…it’s fabulous to know that your daughter enjoyed a yummy cake for her birthday!
So glad I found this site! I will be bookmarking it now.