Easy And Healthy Zucchini Banana Bread For Evening Tea Time

Yield – 11-12 slices

Prep time – 15 mins               Cooking time – 60 mins  Resting time – 20 mins 

Banana bread is a perfect teatime snack for any occasion. Baking banana bread always makes my home smells amazing and is one of my go-to easy baking recipes. Being banana in season all year around makes this recipe a popular one anywhere in the world. Adding zucchini to banana bread is another smart way to increase daily fruit and vegetable consumption. 

Using over-ripe bananas helps to cut down the additional sugar content in the recipe and using maple syrup is more beneficial than adding white sugar as it contains more nutrients. This recipe is one of the easiest and healthiest as it contains gluten-free oats flour. The combination of banana, zucchini, and oats makes this fiber-rich and provides more health benefits to your body. 

When you have leftover ripe bananas, this is one of the easiest ways to get rid of them. I have also published a Sri Lankan version of the overripe banana recipe, My Mother’s Banana Fritters Recipe Made From Leftover (කෙසෙල් පැණිවළලු). So, who wants to try this recipe for evening tea time? 

What you need: 

• 2 cups oats flour
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon powder
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
• 1 1/2 cups zucchini, grated
• 1 cup over-ripe Cavendish banana, mashed
• 2 eggs, large
• 1/2 cup canola oil
• 1/2 cup maple syrup
• 1 teaspoon vanilla essence 
• 1/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips 
• 2 tablespoons dry walnuts, chopped

Let’s make it: 

1. Mix oats flour, cinnamon powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a bowl. 
2. Add zucchini, banana, eggs, oil, and maple syrup in a separate bowl. 
3. Mix wet ingredients using a whisk or a fork until everything combines together. 
4. Add the dry mixture into the wet mixture gradually and mix until it forms a homogenized batter. 
5. Separate 2 tablespoons of chocolate chips for garnishing. 
6. Add vanilla essence and the rest of the chocolate chips into the mixture and give it a final mix. 
7. The final texture of the batter should be thick, but pourable (like a cake batter). 
8. Rest the mixture for 5 mins by covering it with a tea towel or a plate. 
9. Pour the batter into a bread pan and garnish the top with the chocolate chips separated earlier and the walnuts. 
10. Using a split banana for garnishing is optional. 
11. Bake for about 50 – 60 minutes, until a skewer comes out clean. 
12. Cool the bread loaf for about 15 mins before slicing. 

Tips for you: 

• Remove the liquid from the grated zucchini by squeezing it with your hands or with the use of a muslin cloth. 
• If you can’t find Cavendish banana use sugar banana (Seeni kesel) or sour banana (Ambul kesel). Any kind of sweet, yellow, over-ripe bananas is preferable for this recipe. 
• You can use vegetable or sunflower oil instead of canola oil. 
• You can use kithul treacle or honey instead of maple syrup.
• Cooling before slicing is really important as it prevents breaking the slices and helps in keeping the form. 

Make ahead info: 

• Grate the zucchini by using a grater. 
• Mash the banana using a fork. 
• Store the leftover bread slices in the fridge for 3-4 days. If needed warm it up in the microwave before serving.