Name: Buckwheat Banana Bread
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 50 min
Total time: 1 h
Ingredients: 3 large ripe bananas (300 g or 1 heaping cup mashed); 3 large eggs; 2 tsp vanilla extract; 1 cup buckwheat flour, lightly packed (150 g); 1/3 cup coconut flour, lightly packed (40 g); 1/4 cup arrowroot flour (30 g); 2 tsp cinnamon; 1 tsp baking soda; 1/2 tsp salt; 1/2 cup water

This Buckwheat Banana Bread recipe is moist, easy to make, gluten-free, nut-free and only sweetened with bananas. It holds together well, making it a great vehicle for a heaping spoonful of nut butter, a drizzle of dairy-free yogurt or slathered in an almond based cream cheese. Even a savory combo such as mashed avocado and a soft boiled egg would pair well with this lightly sweetened banana bread.

The Best Way to Use Over-Ripe Bananas

What to do with over-ripe bananas? Well, my top choice is to make banana bread or muffins. However, I also like to freeze extra ripe bananas to use in smoothies.

Bananas are one of my favorite baking "ingredients" because they add a natural sweetness to desserts and baked goods. Simply put, I don't like adding a lot of sugar to sweets and treats. Bananas provide just what I'm looking for: a natural, whole food sweetener that tastes great and provides a nice texture.

This blog is filled with various Paleo banana bread and muffin recipes. The reason being, there are so many different types of banana bread to make! This particular recipe uses buckwheat flour.

What is Buckwheat Flour?

Buckwheat flour comes from buckwheat, which is a fruit closely related to rhubarb. The fruit is dried and ground into a fine flour. Because buckwheat is actually a fruit and not a grain, it is Paleo friendly. So, don't be fooled by its misleading name...buckwheat does not contain wheat!

Buckwheat flour has an earthy, nutty taste and ranges from reddish-pink in color to dark brown. Depending on the brand and where their flour originates from, you'll find various colors of buckwheat flour. The flour used in this recipe is a dark brown, whereas the buckwheat I used in my Zucchini Banana Buckwheat Muffins was light in color.

Buckwheat is quite nutrient dense as far as baking flours go. It contains fairly high amounts of manganese, copper, magnesium, dietary fiber and phosphorus. In addition, the protein in buckwheat is a high quality protein, containing all eight essential amino acids, including lysine. (1)

How to Make Buckwheat Banana Bread

All that's needed to make the batter is a bowl, a fork and the necessary ingredients. Aren't one-bowl recipes the best?!

First, preheat your oven to 350 degrees F. Next, peel the bananas, add to a medium-sized mixing bowl and mash with a fork.

After mashing the bananas, mix in the eggs and vanilla. Then, add in dry ingredients and mix. Lastly, mix in the water.

Pour the batter into a parchment lined 8" x 4" baking pan. Bake for 50 minutes in your preheated oven.

After baking, remove the loaf and let it cool on a wire cooling rack.

This loaf is best stored in the fridge, up to one week. It tastes great on it's own, or topped with anything from yogurt to nut butter. Or, my personal favorite, tahini, blueberries and bee pollen.