I started cooking with plantains probably about five years ago now, and I have to say that my family and I love them! They are a very unique food, and they are quite tasty when cooked and used in a variety of different ways. Currently, I’m still having trouble introducing bananas back into my diet, but I have always loved banana bread. So, I wanted to create something similar with sweet plantains. This bread is gluten free, grain free, dairy free, nut free, coconut free with no added sweeteners or sugar. I have a lot of allergies, what can I say. However, I still want to eat something that tastes yummy! I think this recipe does the trick.
Sugar is one of the things I have to avoid. Once plantains begin to ripen, they have natural sweetness like bananas. I’m not supposed to do a ton of super sweet fruits, so this is a very special treat for me when I have it. This bread has NO added sweetener (not even natural sweeteners like maple syrup or honey). There isn’t any sugar or sweetener in these dark chocolate chips. That’s no easy feat, my friends. I couldn’t find these 100% cacao chips in the grocery store. I found them on Amazon. You can buy them here. Yes, they are pricey, but we use the bag multiple times. Also, these aren’t full of several filler ingredients and sugar. They are pure, organic cacao and allergy friendly, so the price goes up. If you decide you love these, they have some options to buy in bulk on Amazon too. Check these out here. This is a better price option. Being pure they are rich in flavor in the bread. If you are used to milk chocolate, this will taste stronger and a little more bitter without sweetener. If you aren’t a dark chocolate lover, you may want to substitute a chocolate chip not quite as strong.
The plantains I use are yellow with black spots like the ones pictured above. I can’t seem to find organic plantains anywhere, so these are conventional. I peel them and chop them into about five pieces before putting them into the food processor. I puree these separately in my food processor. If you don’t have a food processor, I highly recommend this one. I ordered it from Amazon. You can get it here. We love it and use it frequently. The brand is Hamilton Beach. It is more costly than some, but it is higher quality. My only wish is that the bowl was glass. I’ve yet to find a glass bowl food processor, so I must use plastic. I NEVER put hot foods in this though.
This bread can be made with or without the cacao chips. My husband has said he’s not sure which one he likes better. They are both great. My daughter loves them both as well! This is a fantastic breakfast or brunch addition to any meal and really can be enjoyed anytime. It is great warm, cold or out of the freezer warmed up. I want to eat some now just writing about it.
Here are a few pictures of the plantain bread without cacao chips. My mouth is watering. The dish pictured below is a glass Anchor loaf dish. It is roughly 5 inch x 9 inch or 1.5 quart. Glass is a much safer option to use in baking. I prefer this to any aluminum or other type of baking dish. Here’s a link to purchase it on Amazon. I hope you give it a try and enjoy it as much as we do!
- 4 yellow plantains with black spots (approximately 3 cups of pureed plantains)
- 5 pasture raised eggs (bonus points for organic, pasture raised)
- 1 teaspoon of vanilla powder or 1 teaspoon gluten free vanilla extract
- ¾ cup Otto's cassava flour
- ½ cup Pascha organic dark chocolate baking chips 100% cacao unsweetened
- 1 Tablespoon organic Ceylon cinnamon
- ¾ teaspoon of Himalayan pink salt
- 1 teaspoon gluten free baking soda (I use Bob's Red Mill)
- ¼ cup of Spectrum organic palm shortening plus approximately ½-1 Tablespoon to grease the pan or pans
- Preheat oven to 325 degrees bake (if making one, large loaf-see below for instructions on 2 loaves)
- Puree plantains in a food processor until smooth and not too chunky.
- Combine these liquid/wet ingredients: eggs, vanilla (if liquid), and shortening.
- In a separate bowl, combine dry ingredients: baking soda, flour, cinnamon, salt, and vanilla powder(if used).
- Combine dry and wet ingredients listed above in the previous steps and mix by hand.
- Add plantains and mix.
- Then, add and mix in dark chocolate chips.
- I feel like it tastes better mixing it by hand rather than using a hand mixer or food processor.
- Grease a glass loaf pan (5 inch x 9 inch) or other baking loaf pan generously with extra palm shortening.
- Pour batter into greased loaf pan, and place in the preheated oven on the bottom rack.
- Cook for 60-65 minutes or until done in the center.
- If you choose to use two loaf pans and make two smaller loaves, the cook time is approximately 35 minutes at 350 degrees bake. I've done this and made one plain loaf without dark chocolate chips and one with dark chocolate. Simply half the batter and half the amount of chocolate used (use ¼ cup of chips). This bread is fantastic with or without the chips.
- Remove from oven. Use a knife around the edges then dump your beautiful loaf onto a plate or platter.
- Allow to cool some before slicing.
- I love it warm right out of the oven, so I'm not good at waiting very long!!
- Enjoy!!
