Coconut Banana Bread (Vegan GF)

A light, summery and zesty banana bread with subtle coconut flavours and lots of crunchy coconut on top. Finish this banana loaf with creamy coconut yoghurt and tropical passion fruit for a delicious vegan, gluten-free and simple bake.

I am loving my banana bread challenge, take a look at all the previous banana bread recipes here, and June’s recipe is the start of the summer recipes. I thought of a few different flavour combinations, but one thing I have been meaning to make for a while is a coconut loaf – so why not combine this with the beloved banana bread?

Coconut Banana Bread

The resulting Coconut Banana Bread is light and fluffy with lovely subtle coconutty flavours lifted with some fresh lemon zest and warming vanilla. You only need 10 main ingredients for this cake and they’re all basic pantry staples – and banana, of course.

• Mashed banana: the key to banana bread! Make sure you use the ripest bananas you have and for the best results, mash the banana and weigh it to reach 400g. The riper bananas have a sweeter flavour and much smoother texture.
• Lemon: adding fresh lemon zest to bakes really lift the flavours without an overpowering lemon flavour. Add extra lemon zest on top, too, for a lovely lemon-y lift.
• Sunflower oil: I tend to bake a lot with this as it is easy to find, inexpensive and has a neutral flavour but you can also use another light-flavoured oil like olive oil.
• Maple syrup: this banana bread is not too sweet, but the maple syrup is key to help bind the batter as well as make it feel like a cake and a sweet treat or dessert. I like to use maple syrup but fruit or coconut syrup would also work (as would honey if you are not strictly vegan).
• Vanilla essence: the key to so many bakes! If you don’t have this, you can skip it, but the sweet mellow flavour really makes this batter special.
• GF flour: I try to make my bakes as accessible as possible to as many people as possible, so they are based on simple ingredients with options for different dietary diets. This Coconut Banana Bread is great with GF flour (I use the Free Foods GF blend) or use plain flour, too.
• Desiccated coconut: essential for the coconut element of this banana bread. The finer the better when it comes to the desiccated coconut – adding the lovely coconut flavour without any lumps.
• Baking powder, bicarbonate of soda and salt: the three extra ingredients that are key to a successful bake!
• Coconut flakes: for the second coconutty element to this bake. They add a lovely texture on top to make this banana bread extra special. They will darken as they bake so watch out that they don’t catch. if necessary, cover the cake with foil for the last 10 minutes to prevent them from burning.

Coconut Banana Bread

Coconut Banana Bread

Stir it all together and that’s it. Allow this Coconut Banana Bread to bake until risen, golden and wonderfully moist before topping with some creamy coconut yoghurt, extra lemon zest and passion fruit.

This Coconut Banana Bread is so easy to make and bake while being naturally vegan, gluten-free, nut-free and moist. It is light and fluffy with a mellow coconut flavour and a delicious texture. It is great served with lots of coconut yoghurt or ice cream or served with a cup of tea.

If you are looking for more coconutty recipes, how about my Chocolate Chunk Coconut Blondies, Date Cashew and Coconut Granola Bars, Mango Coconut Overnight Oats or Chocolate Coconut Raspberry Cheesecake Slices.

Coconut Banana Bread

• Servings: 1 loaf
• Time: 45 minutes plus cooling
• Difficulty: easy
• Print

A light, summery and zesty banana bread with subtle coconut flavours and lots of crunchy coconut on top. Finish this banana loaf with creamy coconut yoghurt and tropical passion fruit for a delicious vegan, gluten-free and simple bake.

Ingredients

• 4 ripe bananas (400g), mashed
• 1 lemon, zested
• 60ml sunflower oil
• 120ml maple syrup
• 1 tsp vanilla essence
• 320g (2 cups) GF or plain flour
• 40g desiccated coconut
• 1 tsp baking powder
• ½ tsp bicarbonate of soda
• A pinch of salt
• 10g coconut flakes
• Frosting:
• 200g coconut yoghurt
• ½ lemon, zested
• 1 passion fruit

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 160Fan/180*C and line a loaf tin with parchment paper.
2. Add the mashed banana, lemon zest, sunflower oil, syrup and vanilla essence to a bowl and whisk to combine. Pour in the flour, desiccated coconut, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda and a pinch of salt and stir until just combined – some lumps are ok.
3. Pour into the loaf tin and sprinkle with the coconut flakes. Bake for 35-40 minutes or until an inserted skewer comes out clean. Allow to cool in the tin for 10 minutes before cooling fully on a wire rack.
4. If frosting the banana bread, stir together the coconut yoghurt and lemon zest. Spread over the cooled cake and top with the passion fruit.

Coconut Banana Bread

I look forward to hearing what you think of this Coconut Banana Bread (Vegan GF) so please let me know in the comments below. Tag me in your bakes too, I’m @nourishing.amy on Instagram and use the hashtag #nourishingamy. I’m also on Twitter, Facebook and Pinterest  – please say hello!

With Coconut Banana Bread love x