Banana Nut Molasses Bread

This sweet nut banana bread is filled with high nutrients ingredients making it a great breakfast or healthy sweet snack or dessert.

I’ve been experimenting with putting molasses in just about everything, from smoothies, to banana bread to pasta sauce… After learning about how good and high in nutrients molasses is I have been adding it to our daily diet in different types of ways. To read more about the benefits of molasses click here!

Ingredients For Banana Nut Molasses Bread

Vegan friendly alternatives below

Bananas

Ripe bananas are best, they are the sweet and easy to mash up and make into breads. You can use unripe but they are harder to mash so you might end up with more banana chunks in your bread. Bananas are a great source of potassium, vitamin B6 and vitamin C.

Plain or Vanilla Yogurt

I use Greek Plain Yogurt, I use yogurt in replacement for oils or butter in most of my muffins and bread. It has more vitamins and protein then oils and butter and less fat.

Eggs

Eggs are the binding agent in this recipe also adding 6.5 grams of protein per eggs. Whole Eggs also contain vitamin B12, selenium (anti-oxidant, anti-cancer, and stimulates the immune system) and iron.

Blackstrap Molasses

Full of flavor, nutrients and keeps my breads moist and delicious! Oh how I love molasses! It is so rich in so many vitamins and minerals and such a fun ingredient to add to my recipes. Molasses contains, iron, calcium, magnesium, sodium, copper and more. healthy for your heart and nervous system. Read more on the Benefits of Molasses here!

Flour

I use a combination of organic whole wheat and organic all purpose flour. Whole wheat is full of a wider range of vitamins and minerals such as, manganese, calcium and selenium, then all purpose or even enriched flours. It also has more flavor but is also a bit more dense. So I do half and half whole wheat and all purpose.

Oats

Not just for texture sake but I do love the texture of oats in my breads and muffins. Oats are full of fiber and also contain protein, thiamine, iron, phosphorus and more.

Sugar

You can substitute sugar with honey or maple syrup. Both of those would also add a lovely flavor to this recipe but I typically bake with sugar and save my honey and syrup for smoothies, pancakes, teas, oatmeal and such.

Cinnamon

Cinnamon is the chosen spice in order to add another layer of flavor to this recipe. Nutmeg, cloves or allspice would also be great additions but this recipe already seem complex with so many textures that I left those out for now.

Salt

Salt is going to help bring out all the flavor in this recipe. You can use table salt or pink Himalayan salt or another sea salt will also works great.

Baking Soda & Baking Powder

Both of these are a rising agent. The original recipe just had baking soda but as I adapted and added all these heavy grains I found the baking powder was also needed.

Chia Seeds & Flax Seeds

Chia and flax seeds are small but mighty. The Chia seeds have more iron, magnesium, zinc and phosphorus while flax seeds have more copper, thiamine, a B vitamin that help with metabolism, flax is also full of good omega 3 fatty acids. It is better to grind your flax seeds before consuming but not always necessary. I usually leave them whole for this recipe.

Walnuts

Walnuts are also full of both omega 3 fatty acids and antioxidants, they are also full of protein and they just taste delicious. You can substitute most any nut, almonds, pecans, hazel nut would be yummy. In the photos you might notice I added both walnuts and almonds this time.

Chocolate Chip (optional)

I could try to convince you that chocolate chip are a superfood by telling you about all the ways chocolate chips have reduced my stress and given me the endurance I needed that day but I don’t think I have to. I think you all know a little chocolate goes a long way. Although my kids and husband would prefer me to always add chocolate chip I only add it every so often as a treat. My way off making something ordinary, special.

Vegan Alternative Ingredients

• Yogurt/Applesauce.
  You can substitute yogurt for apple sauce at the same ratio and it will turn out the same.
• Eggs/Chia Seeds or Flax Seeds.
  Both of these are already in the bread but you must mix them with 1/2 c water and let them sit for a while before adding them to your batter. If you use the flax seeds for an egg substitute you will need to grind them in a coffee grinder first to get the correct reaction. You are looking to the seeds and water to get thick and gloppy, kinda like an egg.

How to Make Banana Nut Molasses Bread

1. Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Because this bread is so moist with the bananas, molasses and yogurt plus the chia, flax and oats are holding on to water, you will want to bake this banana bread at a lower temperature for longer. Thus If the temperature is too hot you will burn the outside before the inside is done. Therefore this bread bakes for 60-70 minutes. Although a long time it does not dry out but stays moist.
2. Secondly, mash Bananas in a bowl, then add all the other wet ingredients. Eggs, yogurt and molasses. and put aside.
3. In a second bowl mix all your dry ingredients, flour, oats, sugar, cinnamon, salt, baking soda, baking powder, chia seeds, flax seeds and walnuts.
4. Now combine the wet and dry ingredients and mix together.
5. Pour into a 9.5×5 bread loaf pan or you can make muffins by pouring into a muffin tin. When making muffins or cupcakes I like to use these reusable silicone muffin liners.
6. Bake in loaf pan for 60 minutes at 300 degrees.
   Bake in muffin tin for 23-25 minutes at 300 degrees.
7. Check to see if its done by inserting a tooth pick into the center. If the toothpick comes out clean it is done.
8. Finally, let the bread cool completely before cutting into it

How to Store and Freeze Banana Bread

This banana bread can be stored in a zip-lock bag on your counter for 3-5 days and in your refrigerator for 7-10 days.
You can also freeze a loaf but putting it in a freezer zip-lock bag. Be sure to remove all the air for save storage. Keep it in your freezer for 3-6 months. In order to thaw the banana bread out simply take it out and set in on the counter for a few hours or rather in the refrigerator overnight.