Egg free baking with plantains
This recipe features a base of plantains and an unexpected ingredient to create a moist, comforting quick bread without eggs.
I’ve received countless requests for egg-free baked goods in the last few months, and I can’t remember the last time I posted a recipe and didn’t get the comment, “Can I use an egg substitute here?” My inside joke is that I could post a recipe for scrambled eggs and still receive that comment.
Egg-free and grain-free baking is a tricky game, which is why I don’t recommend using egg substitutes in my recipes designed for eggs. The result is often disastrously dense and gooey.
I know the challenge of eliminating eggs from one’s diet. Main dishes aren’t so difficult – veggies, fruits, spices, herbs, and meats provide endless variety without eggs. Baked goods, on the other hand, create a conundrum. So I developed this comforting, hearty paleo plantain bread specifically without eggs.
For a few of my other egg-free treats, bookmark the following recipes:
Ingredients in Paleo Plantain Bread
Gelatin sounds like an unusual ingredients in baked goods, but it creates the egg substitute in this plantain bread. It lacks the leavening power of real eggs, but helps hold together the ingredients and provides a pleasant chewy quality to this plantain bread.
Coconut flour and arrowroot flour act as the binder for this recipe. These flours compliment each other well, as coconut flour can be too dense on its own and arrowroot alone creates a very chewy result. I’ve mentioned it before, but don’t forget to take advantage of the free bag of coconut flour from Thrive right here. A $50 purchase is required to get the free gift.
Plantains offer different baking properties depending on their stage of ripeness. The sweetness and creamy texture of ripe plantains are integral to this recipe, so use plantains that are yellow with a lot of black. Green plantains will be too dry and starchy for this recipe.
Baking soda and apple cider vinegar (or lemon juice) is my famous duo for leavening baked goods. It allows me to avoid using baking powder, often made with a cornstarch base, and many of you avoid or are sensitive to corn.
Quick Tip
To prepare your baking dish for this recipe, cut unbleached parchment paper so that it overhangs two sides of the dish as pictured below. This allows easy removal, as this plantain bread likes to cling to the bottom of the pan.
I also use this prep step when baking brownies or bars in a square pan.
- 1 Tbs. grassfed gelatin, available here
- 3 Tbs. just-boiled water
- 2 very ripe plantains (yellow with a lot of black), 12 oz peeled plantains
- ⅓ cup coconut oil, melted
- ¼ cup coconut flour (free coconut flour from Thrive available here)
- ¼ cup arrowroot flour
- 2 Tbs. maple syrup
- ¾ tsp. cinnamon
- 1 tsp. vanilla extract (omit for AIP)
- ½ tsp. baking soda
- 1 tsp. lemon juice or apple cider vinegar
- Line an 8" baking dish with unbleached parchment paper so that it overhangs two sides, as pictured. Grease the paper and pan with coconut oil and preheat the oven to 350.
- Have all the ingredients, except the gelatin and water, in a blender (I use and recommend a Ninja).
- In a small bowl, whisk together the hot water and the gelatin, until the gelatin has dissolved. This is a "gelatin egg" which will act as a binder. It must be used quickly before it sets. Blend together the gelatin egg with the other ingredients.
- Pour into the prepared pan and bake for about 45 minutes, until the top is golden and springs back slightly when pressed.
- Let cool before cutting. The bars have a moist and hearty, but not heavy, texture. It will not be as fluffy as a typical bread.
This looks great! I am so happy to find an egg free banana bread recipe for my son. And I can always count on you to provide one with coconut flour 🙂 I love your site and have been following you since you started it. Thank you for your example and wonderful information & recipes!
Do you think this recipe would still work if it is not as thin but cooked in a deeper pan like a loaf pan in place of a square pan?
Just made this tonight, and it turned out so great! Thanks so much for the recipe, I had been craving ‘banana bread’ and this hit the spot, without derailing all the progress I’ve been making on AIP.
Hi Lauren!!
Love this recipe, and your site!
Had a question, Do you think I could substitute the coconut flour for another type of flour? My husband can’t eat coconut flour because of hemmoroids.
Let me know if you can, thanks so much,
Anita
Unfortunately, coconut flour has very unique baking properties and this recipe was formulated specifically for it. This recipe uses plantains and no coconut flour: http://empoweredsustenance.com/flourless-plantain-cake/
This turned out great! I subbed flax eggs for the gelatin and tapioca flour for the arrowroot and I couldn’t be more pleased with how it turned out. I don’t often have high hopes when trying new GF + Vegan recipes (especially with coconut flour since it can be tricky) but this exceeded my expectations and will be one I come back to again and again! Thanks so much for sharing!!!
Wow, thank you! I made this for my extremely picky 4-year-old, and I fully expected it to be another recipe I ate myself after she refused it. But, she loves it! She asked for it as her treat after dinner last night! I have never used plantains, so I was a bit nervous, but it was simple and turned out great! Thank you for the awesome recipe- I can tell it will be a staple for us, and it was very clear to follow. Now I need to check out the rest of your recipes!
I love this bread! It’s been a lifesaver for this former bread-aholic now forced to be AIP for life I think. It’s been a year and reintoductions just aren’t working for me. Can this be frozen? I made ahead for a trip to Mexico to go diving so I can have this for breakfast. I know it travels well as I’ve done this before but I’d like to freeze it so it will be fresh in 4 days when I want to eat it.
Thanks so much Lauren!
Did not see this question so here goes–what can be used instead of the grass fed gelatin. I assume that it is beef gelatin that is listed. Am trying to see what I have on hand that is not a beef product. Would soaked chia seeds do? Or fresh ground flax seeds? BTW, I am not against using eggs as long as it is not too many. The organic ones are just too expensive.
I use different type of egg alternatives with similar results for most recipes, and sometimes real eggs too when my neighbour have some left from her hens
This is really easy and good. We enjoyed it toasted w/ apple butter. I’ll be bookmarking this recipe for sure… thank you!
This recipe is so good! It was very moist but sturdy with a very sweet banana taste. I made it as written and ate the entire pan in a day! I then made it without the syrup and thought it was just as sweet and still ate the entire pan.
I have never used a “chia egg” before. As I am unable to eat eggs anymore, I usually just skip over recipes which include them. Can chia eggs be used in lieu of any other baked goods recipe? I love your cornbread coconut muffin recipe, but haven’t made it in a very long time due to not eating eggs. Could I use this chia egg in that recipe?
Now if only I could figure a way for plantains to ripen faster…
I just tried it and it is truly delicious!! Thank you so much for this recipe, I made some substitutions like one tablespoon of flax seed for the gelatin and made it with less coconut oil, and came out really well.