Life has gotten incredibly busy lately, so I must apologize for being few and far between when it comes to posting on the blog. The wedding is about two months away and we’ve still got SO much to do (ummm I haven’t gotten Tony’s ring yet). Also it doesn’t help that all I want to do is BAKE and cook all the cozy wonderful things like soup, pumpkin bread, apple butter and cookies. Food distracts me.
HELP.
Here’s an example of me being distracted from wedding planning: Last Friday, Abra and I came back after a day of video shooting and noticed three ripe bananas on the stovetop begging to be mashed and transformed into a wonderful banana bread.
Since Abra loves all things chai, I decided to make a healthy chai banana bread made with whole grains and naturally sweetened with pure maple syrup.
The loaf baked up more beautiful then you could imagine (you’ll see yourself when you bake it) and the aroma of the spices drifted throughout my house, leaving me with a grateful smile on my face and a happy heart. Abra was happy too — that’s the most important.
Of course, it wasn’t just enough to bake up the loaf. I peeked into my cupboard, noticed cashew butter and got giddy about glazing this beautiful chai loaf with a simple, yet incredibly sweet and salty cashew vanilla glaze (trust me, it’s SOOOO dang good).
I love this bread for all sorts of reasons, but mostly because it’s really easy to make and whip up whenever you are in need of a quick loaf.
Personally I think the addition of chopped nuts in the bread would be delicious, but it’s up to you.
If you make this bread, be sure to leave a comment below and rate the recipe! Or upload a photo to Instagram and tag #ambitiouskitchen. xo!
If you like this recipe, you might also like:
Chai-Spiced Pumpkin Oatmeal Muffins
My Favorite Healthy Banana Bread Recipe
Chai-Spiced Sweet Potato Pancakes
Healthier Carrot Cake Banana Bread with Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting
Chai-Spiced Healthy Apple Oatmeal Muffins
Healthy Chai Banana Bread with Cashew Vanilla Glaze
Ingredients
- For the bread:
- 3 medium ripe bananas, mashed
- 2 eggs, at room temperature
- ¼ cup coconut oil, melted and cooled (can also use melted butter)
- 1/2 cup pure maple syrup
- 1/2 cup unsweetened cashew milk (or sub almond or coconut milk)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 cups whole wheat pastry flour (or can use white whole wheat flour)
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 3/4 teaspoon cardamom
- 3/4 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1/2 teaspoon allspice
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- Optional add-ins: ½ cup chopped nuts (I like walnuts or pecans)
- For the cashew butter vanilla glaze:
- 1/4 cup powdered sugar
- 1 tablespoon cashew butter
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 tablespoon cashew milk (or almond milk)
- Sea salt, for sprinkling
Instructions
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Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a 8x4 or 9x5 inch pan with parchment paper and grease the inside of the pan to prevent sticking.
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Add mashed banana, eggs, coconut oil, maple syrup, cashew milk and vanilla extract to a large bowl; mix until well combined and smooth.
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Next add in the dry ingredients: whole wheat pastry flour, baking soda, cinnamon, cardamom, ginger, allspice, ground cloves and salt. Mix until just combined and no pockets of flour remain. Do not overmix.
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At this point you can fold in 1/2 cup of the nuts if you are using them.
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Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake for 45-60 minutes or until a tester inserted into the middle comes out clean or with just a few crumbs attached.
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Allow bread to cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then remove and transfer to a wire rack to finish cooling.
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In a small bowl mix together powdered sugar, cashew butter, vanilla extract and cashew milk until smooth. Pour over bread, then sprinkle the top with a little sea salt. Cut into 12 slices and enjoy!
Recipe Notes
To make into muffins: Line a 12 cup muffin tin with muffin liners. Bake for 18-25 minutes or until tester comes out clean.
Nutrition
50 comments
Looks delish! Can this be made gluten free with plain gluten free flour or buckwheat?
Hi Payton! I’ve actually only made this recipe with whole wheat pastry flour, as the other gluten free flours will really change the texture of this loaf. I have a few gluten free banana breads that you can add the “chai” spices and drizzle! This one uses coconut flour, and this uses chickpea flour.
Do you think the cashew butter in the glaze could be subbed with almond butter? This looks delicious!
You bet!
What are your thoughts on using a spouted Spelt flour substitute? I love your blog and recipes!!
I haven’t tried it in this recipe so I’m not sure if the consistency would be quite the same. Thanks Maria!
This sounds amazing! Could a “chai spice” mix be substituted for all of the individual spices? If so, what measurement would you suggest? Thanks!
Hi Emily! You bet – if you have a spice that is “chai” flavored I would use about 3 – 3 1/2 teaspoons of it in here.
Fantastic, thank you so much for your quick response! Making this weekend!
Hi Monique! this looks divine, and cant wake for the wonderful aroma as well when baking. Wanted to inquire about use a flax egg. Do you think it will still hold up as well? Looking forward to making it this weekend, esp now that fall is almost here 🙂 Congrats again on your upcoming wedding, youre going to make a beautiful bride!
cant wait***
Hi Nisha! Yes, flax eggs should work in here – let me know how it turns out! And thank you so much 🙂
Looking so yummy. I must try to make this.
Oh my goodness, I’ve never made Chai bread and now this is on my list to make this fall!!
Amazing! I hope you make it and love it 🙂
I definitely want to try this recipe. However, I would not use wheat flour at all. I don’t consider wheat flour to be healthy. As others have suggested, I would use another flour like oat flour, spelt, etc. even if it does change the consistency. Thanks for the recipe!
You bet! I like using whole wheat products as they provide extra fiber, vitamins & minerals, and actually help reduce that spike in blood sugar that traditional, processed flours can cause. It’s a personal preference!
Currently baking this delicious bread. My house smells AMAZING! Can’t wait to glaze it & eat it 🙂
Delish! I hope you enjoyed! 🙂
This looks yum.
Thanks for the recipe mate.
Really appreciate the effort you put into the article.
Will definetely try this and tell you 🙂
I hope you get the chance to try it!
Never actually tried chai banana bread, but it sounds delicious! I’m not huge on chai, but I do like the flavor! This loaf looks soooo delicious too. Definitely want to try baking with chai sometime!
You should definitely give it a try! The flavors might surprise you 🙂
It’s in the oven now! Batter tastes delicious–I love the addition of the chai spices. Used two chia eggs instead of real eggs. Can’t wait to taste with that amazing looking glaze! <3
Amazing! I hope you enjoyed!
I made this for the first time last night and I absolutely love it! I followed the recipe to the tee, and it turned out beautifully! Thanks so much for sharing!
Cheers,
Argie
So great to hear, Argie! One of my favorite banana breads. Glad you enjoyed!
Hi , I love following your recipes and just want to ask what is equivalent of whole-wheat pastry flour in Australia – have a wonderful honeymoon “down under”😎
Hi Donna! I’m actually not sure – if I find out while I’m down there I’ll let you know 🙂
Cleaned out my freezers to find about 9 frozen bananas, so I made two loaves of this and another of a different banana bread. Sooo yummy. I subbed almond butter for cashew just because it’s what I had. It’s super yummy. I’ll be curious to see how it is tomorrow. Not sure if I overbaked it or not. I baked it 55 min. And even if I did overtake a bit, it’s nothing a little warming up and a smudge of butter can’t help!
Amazing! Perfect way to use up extra bananas 🙂
this is good receipe.Batter tastes delicious food.
I’m glad you liked it!
I made this with butter, agave syrup, and 0% regular milk, and I didn’t make the glaze. So, some substitutions, but it came out really, really well! Moist and flavorful, and perfect for fall (or what I’m hoping will soon be fall…)
Great! This is one of my favorite breads for fall (it’s almost here!)
This banana bread with a cashew vanilla glaze drizzled on top is delicious!
Hi Monique,
Congrats on the little one! Loved this recipe but made a swap and an addition which worked out surprisingly well. Subbed one cup of oat flour for 1 cup of all-purpose flour (didn’t have white whole wheat). Also sprinkled the top of the batter with ground flax seed prior to baking which turned into this deliciously nutty crunchy crust on top-similar to adding a cinnamon-sugar mix (big I felt much better about it). I’m adding this into my recipe app as my go to banana bread recipe. Thanks for the recipe!!
Hi Jessica! I’m glad those swaps worked out well 🙂 such a great snack!
Moist but very bland. You can barely taste any of the spices- it’s only vaguely cinnamon-y with a whiff of clove. Since I can’t taste the maple I’d opt for honey next time, up the salt to 1/2tsp and probably add 1/4tsp more of each spice.
Sorry to hear that you didn’t like it! I’ve always found this banana bread to be perfectly spiced, but everyone’s taste preferences are different. Let me know how you like it with more spices!
Wow – just made this and it is bomb.com! Even without the glaze!
So good! Glad you loved it 🙂
Delicious! Used almond butter for the glaze and it was Amazing
Perfect! Glad you enjoyed 🙂
Hello! I tried this, but didn’t make the icing as I am trying to avoid processed sugar. It was very moist, but I am wondering if there is any other natural sweetener I could try in order to sweeten the bread a bit more? Honey? Coconut sugar? Or even cane? Also wondering if I were to add more bananas, if I should adjust elsewhere as this would add more liquid to the batter. TIA for the help!
Hi, Jacquelin. Sorry for the delay! If you’d like a sweeter bread, make sure to use extra ripe bananas with lots of brown spots. You can also feel free to increase the maple syrup to 1/2 cup or use 1/2 cup of honey, which will add extra liquid and sweetness 🙂
This sounds wonderful. Do you think it would work if the whole wheat flour replaced with gluten free flour?
I haven’t tried making it GF, so I’m not completely sure, but a 1:1 gluten free all purpose flour might work! I just can’t be sure since I haven’t tested it.
Delicious bread especially for a relatively healthy banana bread. The only change I would make is to double the spices. I just prefer a stronger flavor. I’ll do that the next time I make this.
Perfect! Thanks for sharing, glad you are loving this recipe and it turned out great ❤️