This post was originally shared in December 2017. It has been updated with improvements to the text and recipe as of April 2020.
Tahini Banana Bread
This is a recipe for chillier days, something to bake on a rainy day. It’ll heat your home as it bakes and give it a cozy scent of cinnamon and nutmeg. If you need comfort food but don’t want to go too far right into cake, this is a good one.
I make this type of whole grain, higher protein tahini banana bread about once a week during autumn and winter and leave a loaf on the counter for quick breakfasts or snacks. Top it with extra nut or seed butter to make it even more filling, and add a little honey or maple syrup if you like a touch more sweetness.
Don’t be turned off by the long ingredient list, it’s mostly seeds and spices. You can use the seeds you have in your pantry, but the ingredients in this recipe are easy to find.
Make sure to wait until your bananas are turning brown and spotty before using them as you need the natural sweetness from the overripe fruit. (This is key. If you write me that the loaf wasn’t sweet enough, I will blame your bananas.)
I’ve gifted this vegan banana bread to several people here in Germany and they always go nuts for it, because banana bread is a bit of a rarity over here. We like to have it around for snacking and it’s a nice healthier option if you’re craving something sweet.
What’s in this loaf?
- Spelt flour
- Sunflower seeds
- Pepitas (pumpkin seeds)
- Chia
- Dates
- Baking powder
- Baking soda
- Salt
- Cinnamon
- Nutmeg
- Overripe bananas (you’ll need three – the spottier the better)
- Non-dairy milk
- Tahini
- Olive oil
- Maple syrup or honey
- Vanilla
Substitutions
Although the title says tahini banana bread, it can easily be adapted to suit your tastes. Try using a mix of chopped nuts (hazelnuts, walnuts, cashews) instead of the seeds, sub sesame or hemp for the seeds that are used, or switch out the tahini for another nut/seed spread, or mix in a little dark chocolate to the batter. You can also use a different dried fruit instead of dates, like blueberries or cherries.
That being said, I really love the combination of the seeds, dates, and slightly bitter olive oil and tahini. It’s a bit of an adult, luxury banana bread and perfectly suitable to eat throughout the day.
The loaf itself isn’t very sweet but the dates add little bites of sweetness – don’t leave them out. You could use other dried fruit like raisins or cranberries if you prefer. Topping with the sunflower seeds adds visual interest and a nice flavour and texture. If you don’t like tahini you can try substituting sunflower seed butter in its place.
Changing flours and a gluten-free option
As always, wheat flour, either all-purpose or whole wheat, can be substituted in place of spelt if you don’t have any on hand. The recipe calls for whole-grain spelt but light works just as well.
Several readers have emailed me saying that they’ve made this recipe successfully with buckwheat flour in place of spelt. Please note that if you would like to make it gluten-free, buckwheat flour is an excellent substitution and a 1:1 gluten-free blend should be pretty much foolproof.
If you want a GF loaf that’s been tested, I can recommend this gluten free banana bread recipe. It’s not vegan but can easily be made dairy free.
More Banana Recipes
Chocolate Chip Coconut Banana Bread
Vegan Banana Chocolate Muffins
Dreamy Peanut Butter, Banana, and Chocolate Popsicles
Chocolate Banana Babka
Vegan Banana Buckwheat Pancakes
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Cozy Sunflower Seed Banana Bread
Ingredients
- 300 grams whole spelt flour
- 80 grams raw sunflower seeds plus extra for topping
- 40 grams cup pepitas
- 50 grams chia seeds
- 60 grams semi-dried dates chopped
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoons cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon fresh-ground nutmeg*
- 400 grams / 3 medium sized overripe bananas, mashed
- 125 ml non-dairy milk oat or nut
- 60 grams runny tahini
- 60 ml olive oil
- 60 ml maple syrup or honey
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 180°C (350°F) and grease a standard loaf tin (I use coconut oil).
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, seeds, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and spices. Add the chopped dates and stir to coat them in the flour mixture. Make a well in the centre of your dry ingredients.
- In a shallow bowl, mash the bananas. Add the milk, tahini, olive oil, maple syrup, and vanilla. Use a fork to gently mix the wet ingredients together until incorporated.
- Add the banana mixture to the large bowl and use a wooden spoon to stir until just combined and no streaks of flour remain.
- Pour the batter into the prepared loaf tin and gently tap the tin on the counter to settle it. Leave the centre higher than the edges. Top the batter with another handful of sunflower seeds.
- Place in on the middle rack in your oven and bake for 50-55 minutes, or until the loaf is golden and an inserted toothpick comes out clean. If your oven runs a little hot then make sure to check the bread at about the 40 minute mark.
- Remove from the oven and let it cool in the tin on a cooling rack for ten minutes, then gently remove it and let it cool completely before storing. Eat at least one slice warm if you can. It keeps for 3-5 days on the counter, wrapped well, and may be frozen.
the little chef says
Awesome
Gabrielle @ eyecandypopper says
Looks great! I make a similar recipe and it's always a success, I love mixing nuts and seeds too. I mean, why not? It's so thoughtful of you to make your gifts, edible or not. I bet your friends and family appreciate it that much more!
Emma R says
I love the sound of this – something that can be eaten at any time of day. Seeds always make me feel so healthy!
Lily {Gastro Senses} says
Wow this bread is perfection, that crust!! I love, love the smell of banana bread baking, I find it so comforting.
Cathys Gluten Free says
I love loaves with lots of seeds and fruit like this! This would be great to have on a regular basis as you do. I'm sure the recipients will be most appreciative!
Heather Cermak says
Great recipe! I'm making it now. Does 400g mashed bananas mean 400g bananas with peel, and then mash, or after peeling, measure 400g bananas? Thanks!
Alexandra Daum says
Thanks Heather! It's the banana with peel, like how you'd weigh them at the market.
Chien-Hui says
Thank you so much for this recipe! I made it over the weekend and it came out perfectly. Since spelt flour is not available in taiwan, i used whole wheat and replaced part of it with rolled oats. I threw in sesame, flax and hemps seeds, and subbed coffee for the non-dairy milk, and sunflower seed butter instead of tahini. It is so good, and sweet enough just with the bananas and the honey. Makes a wonderful treat, spread with black sesame butter or coconut oil. Thank you!
Alexandra Daum says
I love that you're doing practical substitutions! That addition of coffee sounds awesome, and I'm so happy you like the bread. Thanks, Chien-Hui!
Tricia Rene says
Well….Yours look stunning. I just put mine in the oven, but something just doesn't seem right. You say "pour" the batter? My batter wouldn't pour if I turned the bowl completely upside down:0! Very think? Check and follow the recipe exactly with the exception of flour. I used a combination of buckwheat, coconut, almond and oat.
Alexandra Daum says
Changing the flour makes a big difference, I'm afraid! Coconut flour is particularly absorbent so it sounds like it sucked up too much of the moisture. I know readers have had good results subbing buckwheat flour.
Tricia Rene says
I figured as much. Didn't have any spelt on hand. Will definitely try this again. Made the spicy carrots/lentil/tahini as well. Had much greater success with that and it was a hit with my company! Happy to have found your blog!
Lymarie Medina says
I wonder if I can substitute the bananas for apple sauce(unsweetened). My hubby and my son are allergic to bananas. Thank you!
Alexandra Daum says
I haven't tried making this without banana as it's a banana bread, so I can't give you solid advice, but you could try with a smaller amount of applesauce as it tends to be more liquid and see how it goes. I think the chia will still hold everything together but if you use too much I think it'll go soggy – maybe a cup of applesauce.
Jo says
I made the bread exactly how you wrote it (except I used 400 g of peeled bananas, oops) and it turned out absolutely delicious!! Yum yum. Thanks for sharing this recipe!
Daniel says
Is it normal that it actually tastes much more like a cake than a bread? I was even unable to slice it properly and it is very sweet for a bread.
Alexandra | Occasionally Eggs says
Hi Daniel – banana bread is a quick bread, so calling it ‘bread’ is a bit idiomatic. It’s not going to be like a yeasted bread and is more like a muffin than something like a sandwich bread.
Tina says
This bread is sooo good! I made it yesterday and I’m enjoying a slice right now. I actually used whole wheat flour and it worked perfectly. I added a little glug of apple cider vinegar for some acidity, and a little bit more oil (I used sunflower for a more neutral flavor) because the dough seemed a bit dryer than normal quickbread texture. I didn’t have vanilla powder so I used about 2 teaspoons of extract, and I used maple syrup, not honey, to make it totally vegan.
Because there were so many ingredients this bread took a teeny bit longer to make than simpler banana breads, but I 100% believe it was worth it! It has such satisfying texture, and such a complex depth of flavors that’s truly more of a treat than a more basic bread. I do really appreciate how you listed ingredients in grams. I love when I can just put the mixing bowl on my scale and pour stuff in without using measuring cups.
Thanks so much! I’ll definitely make this bread again.
Tina says
This bread is sooo good! I made it yesterday and I’m enjoying a slice right now. I actually used whole wheat flour and it worked perfectly. I added a little glug of apple cider vinegar for some acidity, and a little bit more oil (I used sunflower for a more neutral flavor) because the dough seemed a bit dryer than normal quickbread texture. I didn’t have vanilla powder so I used about 2 teaspoons of extract, and I used maple syrup, not honey, to make it totally vegan.
Because there were so many ingredients this bread took a teeny bit longer to make than simpler banana breads, but I 100% believe it was worth it! It has such satisfying texture, and such a complex depth of flavors that’s truly more of a treat than a more basic bread. I do really appreciate how you listed ingredients in grams. I love when I can just put the mixing bowl on my scale and pour stuff in without using measuring cups.
Thanks so much! I’ll definitely make this bread again.
Sara says
Thank you for this wonderful recipe! I used spelt flour for the first time and the combination with tahini, banana, maple and cinnamon is super unique and delicious! Also replaced the oil with applesauce and it came out perfect after 50 minutes. I am used to many of my vegan breads being quite heavy and dense but this one is super light and fluffy. It will for sure become one of my go to banana bread recipes and I cannot wait to share it with friends and family.❤️
Viktoriia says
I made this bread today; have already tried it and OMG, it’s amazing. This is the best banana bread recipe I’ve tried. Soo good and delicious. I’ll definitely make it again. Thank you for this recipe!
Sarah says
This is my absolute favourite recipe for banana bread I have ever found. And I did a lot of searching. Healthy, filling and the texture is divine!
The only slight problem I keep having is that the bread does not hold well when it’s time to slice it. The centre falls apart a lot despite the loaf being cooked. Is there any solution you may offer? I don’t mind eating it in smaller bits or with a fork but if this could be remedied id love to try.
Thank you for bringing this recipe into my life!
Alexandra Daum says
Thanks for your kind words about the recipe, Sarah! The bread will slice best when it’s fully cooled and will crumble a bit if warm – this is because of the high quantity of seeds and dried fruit. The only real solution is to reduce the add-ins, but chilling helps!
QueenMab says
Also, making it into muffins helps!
Sarah says
This is my favourite recipe ever. Fills me up so much and the ingredients are beautifully wholesome while tasting divine.