• Home
  • About
  • Recipes
  • Recipes
    • vegan
    • gluten-free
    • paleo
    • fruit-sweetened
  • Shop
  • Contact
  • Video Production

Feasting on Fruit

  • Recipes
    • vegan
    • gluten-free
    • paleo
    • fruit-sweetened
  • Shop
  • Contact
  • Video Production

vegan, gluten-free, cakes & breads, fruit-sweetened, sweet · November 17, 2016

Chai Spiced Quick Bread

Jump to Recipe·Print Recipe

Your favorite spiced tea transformed into a soft, frosted, date-sweet slice–this healthy Chai Spiced Quick Bread is the perfect cozy sweet treat! Vegan, gluten-free, oil-free.

Chai Spiced Quick Bread {vegan, gluten-free, oil-free}

A quick bread without frosting I can handle. Some quick breads are possibly even better that way. But a frosting without a quick bread or a cake or some sort of soft, baked spot to call home…we can’t let that happen! So with all that creamy vanilla frosting from yesterday’s post on hand, I really had no choice but to do a bit of fall-flavored bread-baking.

Chai Spiced Quick Bread {vegan, gluten-free, oil-free}Chai Spiced Quick Bread {vegan, gluten-free, oil-free}

While I do like coffee, I don’t drink it regularly. It’s not a habit I want to start, so I only have it if I am at some sort of cute cozy cafe where someone much more skilled will make it for me. But if there is a chai latte on the menu I will pick that in an instant over any sort of coffee beverage. And while I’ve been known to drink a non-iced chai latte even in the middle of summer, it’s these chillier months when the flavors of warm chai tea are the most enticing.

The spices that make up chai seem to vary a bit depending on who you ask or what brand of tea you are using. Cinnamon, cardamom, and ginger are always in there, but the rest can vary to include allspice, cloves, anise, black pepper, or all of the above. To avoid complete spice jar overwhelm, I stuck with cinnamon, cardamom, ginger, and cloves. I would’ve added in anise as well, since I love that licorice-y flavor, but I didn’t have any on hand–ground or flower-shaped form.

In addition to the ground spices, I also used actual chai tea in this recipe to bump up the spice and cover any I left out. Since date paste is the sweetener and base for this quick bread recipe, I just swapped out the usual water for blending with chai tea. Easy and extra flavorful!

Chai Spiced Quick Bread {vegan, gluten-free, oil-free}Chai Spiced Quick Bread {vegan, gluten-free, oil-free}Chai Spiced Quick Bread {vegan, gluten-free, oil-free}

And all those lovely spices mingling in every soft, crumbly, spiced slice makes this quick bread the perfect pair for a thick layer of frosting…

Chai Spiced Quick Bread {vegan, gluten-free, oil-free}

Now I certainly wouldn’t say no to a hot chai mug alongside my slice of chai bread either if anyone here is really good at latte making and just wants to send one my way! Nope, no takers? Okay fine, I’ll make it for myself. As long as you go make this quick bread for yourself. And be sure to tag me @feastingonfruit and #feastingonfruit if you do!

Chai Spiced Quick Bread {vegan, gluten-free, oil-free}Chai Spiced Quick Bread {vegan, gluten-free, oil-free}

Print
clock clock iconcutlery cutlery iconflag flag iconfolder folder iconinstagram instagram iconpinterest pinterest iconfacebook facebook iconprint print iconsquares squares iconheart heart iconheart solid heart solid icon

Chai Spiced Quick Bread

★★★★★ 4.9 from 12 reviews
  • Prep Time: 10 minutes
  • Cook Time: 35 minutes
  • Total Time: 45 minutes
  • Yield: 8 slices 1x
Print Recipe
Pin Recipe

Description

A spiced tea favorite transformed into a soft, frosted, date-sweet slice–this healthy Chai Spiced Quick Bread is the perfect cozy sweet treat! Vegan, gluten-free, oil-free.


Ingredients

Scale
  • 12 pitted medjool dates
  • 1 cup prepared chai tea
  • 1 1/4 cup oat flour
  • ¼ cup tapioca starch
  • 1/4 cup nondairy milk
  • 2 tsps baking powder
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • 1 tsp lemon juice
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1 tsp cinnamon
  • 1/2 tsp ginger
  • 1/2 tsp cardamom
  • 1/4 tsp cloves
  • Optional: Low-Fat Vegan Vanilla Frosting

Instructions

  1. Preheat the oven to 350F.
  2. Pour the chai tea over the dates and soak for 10 minutes. Blend the chai tea, dates, lemon juice, non-dairy milk, and vanilla on high until smooth.
  3. In a large mixing bowl combine the dry ingredients and mix briefly.
  4. Add the date mixture. Stir to combine.
  5. Lightly oil or line a loaf pan and pour in your batter, smoothing out the top.
  6. Bake for 35 minutes at 350F.
  7. Cool completely before frosting and slicing. Keep in the fridge. It is best fresh and will dry out over time.

Notes

This bread is not very sweet. If you want a sweeter loaf, you can add 1/4 cup maple syrup and an extra 1/4 cup oat flour to make up for the extra moisture.


Nutrition

  • Serving Size: 1 slice
  • Calories: 179
  • Sugar: 24g
  • Fat: 2g
  • Saturated Fat: 0g
  • Carbohydrates: 41g
  • Fiber: 3g
  • Protein: 3g

Did you make this recipe?

Tag @feastingonfruit on Instagram

Click Below To Pin

chai-spiced-quick-bread

Pin
Share
Tweet
Email

In: vegan, gluten-free, cakes & breads, fruit-sweetened, sweet · Tagged: cake, cardamom, cinnamon, frosting, ginger, icing, loaf, medjool dates, oil-free, hclf, oat, starch solution, tea

We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.

recipes to your inbox

enter your email to get on the list!

You’ll Also Love

Vegan Frosted Animal Crackers
Cranberry Gingerbread Crumb Bars
Muesli Streusel Banana Bread

Comments

  1. Leah M | love me, feed me says

    November 17, 2016 at 4:28 pm

    I’m so in love with this bread already! The texture, the frosting, the spices, the ingredient list – just all of it <3 Extra excited that I have everything on hand so I can whip this up!! I've been craving a nice cozy loaf, but I'm no good at saving bananas for bread so this is just so perfect.
    Also have some maple sea salt ice cream in the freezer that I think belongs on top of a toasted slice of this *heart eyes emoji x100*

    Reply
    • Natalie says

      November 17, 2016 at 6:10 pm

      MAPLE SEA SALT ICE CREAM!??!! Oh wow I need that in my life right now, on top of this or just with a big spoon–I’m up for either! Oh I have to buy a special bunch of bananas and put it in a special spot to ever have any left for baking so I know what you mean 😀 Happy cozy baking, still dreaming about your cinnamon roll!

      Reply
    • Uzhmaa says

      April 18, 2021 at 1:52 pm

      Hi would you reckon GF plain flour would work in place of oat flour? Also I don’t have tapioca so would corn starch or Arrowroot starch do the job (which of the 2 would be best?)☺️;

      Reply
      • Natalie says

        April 19, 2021 at 8:37 am

        You could try them with GF flour! If you do that though you won’t need the starch, just use all GF flour 🙂

        Reply
  2. The Vegan 8 says

    November 17, 2016 at 4:35 pm

    Oooooh, now we are talking lady!! Chai and cinnamon and pumpkin spice are all pretty much what I live for in life, haha! I love, love chai anything. It is actually my favorite tea to drink, so I imagine a nice hot mug of tea to drink with this would just make my chai dreams come true, haha! It’s beautiful and the texture looks awesome and I bet the dates do a good job of keeping it moist! I need to go read your frosting post next…I just saw it on Instagram. I really need to try a japanese sweet potato since I never have because my first thought would be that I would think it tastes like all potato, but I’ve heard that japanese potatoes are really different. This is such a pretty loaf and just perfect for the holidays!

    Reply
    • Natalie says

      November 17, 2016 at 6:06 pm

      My favorite too–extra spice please! I may even prefer this blend of spices to pumpkin spice, although that’s a tough call. It’s not as exclusively seasonal though, so that’s nice. Although I know pumpkin spice season is year round for you haha 🙂 I have been thinking of you and hope you are doing and feeling okay <3

      Reply
  3. Mandy says

    November 17, 2016 at 5:10 pm

    CHAI!!!!!!! You had me at chai, and of course that dreamy frosting! I am a chai tea addict. There’s a local company here that makes a tea called “Cinnamonious Chai” and it is heavenly – we make lattes with it quite a bit. I’ll bring the latte if you bring this bread 😉 Looks amazing, Natalie! I guess I missed your frosting post…need to go check it out! <3

    Reply
    • Natalie says

      November 17, 2016 at 10:04 pm

      Just the name “Cinnamonious Chai” and I already know I will love it! Plus creativity points. I am an abysmal latte maker (it’s either not hot enough or not frothy enough or not sweet enough…I can never win!) so that’s a deal I would make in an instant. I drank so many chai lattes/drinks when I was in Oregon, there are lots of good coffee shops up there. I’ve made a few tea-less warm chai mugs lately too with just spices and maple syrup and coconut milk–so yum 🙂 Thanks Mandy!

      Reply
  4. Demeter | Beaming Baker says

    November 17, 2016 at 10:31 pm

    Oh, I see whatcha did there.. 😉 Haha. Ya know, you’d pretty much be doing the frosting a huge disservice to not find it a cozy home atop this amazing quick bread. Really. 🙂 Coffee: how can we be besties without me knowing this about you?? And woah… when we hang out you might be a bit jarred by how much coffee I drink. But then I’ll just place a big, steaming cup of chai in front of you and all will be forgotten. 😉 I’ll bring the chai lattes, you bring the bread! 😉 Can’t wait to chat this weekend! xo

    Reply
    • Natalie says

      November 18, 2016 at 12:03 am

      Yes you get me!! We certainly can’t have homeless frostings just wandering around, they deserve creature comforts too, of course 😉 Always looking out for those in need, that’s me haha! I’m open to coffee, no judgement, just not a regular part of my life. I LOVE the smell of it, so maybe hanging around you would be perfect I can just enjoy the aroma 🙂 Make that milk on top extra frothy please! Yes yes, chat we shall <3

      Reply
  5. Tania says

    November 17, 2016 at 10:41 pm

    This looks delicious 🙂 I don’t have any tapioca – is it possible to substitute for something else (plain all-purpose flour, for instance?)

    Reply
    • Natalie says

      November 17, 2016 at 10:43 pm

      If you use AP flour for all of the flour than the tapioca isn’t necessary since you have gluten in there to do the binding job. Or you can simply substitute cornstarch one-for-one in place of the tapioca and leave the oat flour in 🙂

      Reply
      • Tania says

        November 17, 2016 at 10:49 pm

        Thanks for the quick reply! I’ll try it with flour and see how it goes… 🙂

        Reply
  6. Stacey says

    November 17, 2016 at 11:05 pm

    Sounds great! Is there a substitute for oat flour? Perhaps coconut flour?

    Reply
    • Natalie says

      November 17, 2016 at 11:07 pm

      Coconut flour is really tricky in baking, I’m afraid it won’t work here. All purpose, spelt, or a gluten-free blend are the only others I can be pretty confident would work, almond flour may work as well but it would take some tweaking. Sorry, there’s no easy sub!

      Reply
  7. Nisha / @rainbowplantlife says

    November 18, 2016 at 1:28 am

    I can almost smell my mother’s kitchen full of chai spices. Love the aroma of these spices, and I can only imagine how heavenly your kitchen smells. Love this recipe, Natalie!

    Reply
    • Natalie says

      November 18, 2016 at 1:55 am

      I absolutely adore the smell too, I just made another batch today and didn’t even want to leave the kitchen while it was baking and miss out on all those wonderful spiced aromas 🙂 Thanks for stopping by Nisha!

      Reply
  8. Kaila @ Healthy Helper Blog says

    November 18, 2016 at 2:31 am

    Chai ANYTHING. I love. Bread form? EVEN BETTER. Wondering…would potato starch work instead of tapioca??

    Reply
    • Natalie says

      November 18, 2016 at 2:33 am

      I know cornstarch would, not positive about potato starch since I don’t work with it very often but since it’s a small amount I imagine yes. Yes me too, chai is amazing!!

      Reply
  9. Wonda says

    November 18, 2016 at 2:41 am

    Tha page for the vanilla frosting recipe does not exist. Thanks for this amazing recipe anyway.

    Reply
    • Natalie says

      November 18, 2016 at 2:43 am

      Oh no! It is just broken, I will fix it right now. Frosting is here: https://www.feastingonfruit.com/low-fat-vegan-vanilla-frosting/

      Reply
  10. Stacey says

    November 18, 2016 at 9:37 am

    This looks absolutely wonderful Natalie, I can also smell this beautiful loaf through the screen! Gorgeous photos too!

    Reply
    • Natalie says

      November 18, 2016 at 3:17 pm

      The smell is like it’s own treat! Ah how I love fall/winter baking for that 🙂 Thanks for hopping over to check it out Stacey!

      Reply
  11. Laura says

    November 18, 2016 at 8:09 pm

    I feel like we’re both in a quick version of quickbread kind of mode. This sounds delightful, and I love the icing option! A little sneaky extra treat 🙂

    Reply
    • Natalie says

      November 18, 2016 at 9:15 pm

      Yes I was thinking that too! I think we also just both love quick breads period 🙂 Thanks Laura!

      Reply
  12. Casey says

    November 19, 2016 at 4:15 pm

    This looks incredible. I am obsessed with the idea of that icing, especially. You are SO inventive. Pinning now!

    Reply
    • Natalie says

      November 19, 2016 at 7:45 pm

      The icing is my favorite part too!! Thanks Casey 🙂

      Reply
  13. Liza says

    November 19, 2016 at 10:49 pm

    Chai is everything i need in my life…and your amazing desserts of course. Natalie you are a genius!!! I need to do this asap, just a lil problem. I don’t have dates now.. it will work if i use coconut sugar or maple syrup?

    Reply
    • Natalie says

      November 20, 2016 at 1:16 am

      Hi Liza! Chai is so good in every form, isn’t it!? If you want to make it without the dates, I recommend adding in either pumpkin or applesauce or even mashed banana otherwise it will be really dry. And then yes, use coconut sugar or maple syrup to sweeten. I would try 1/2 cup maple syrup, 3/4 cup pumpkin or applesauce (pumpkin is better!), and then increase the flour to 1 1/2 cup to make up for the addition of maple syrup. I hope that helps, let me know if you have any other questions 🙂

      Reply
  14. Kelly Frohnauer says

    November 20, 2016 at 12:58 am

    If I add a 1/4 cup maple sugar instead of maple syrup would I need to add the extra 1/4 cup of oats?

    Reply
    • Natalie says

      November 20, 2016 at 1:11 am

      Hi Kelly! Maple sugar will be fine, you do not need to adjust any of the other ingredients. Happy baking 🙂

      Reply
  15. Adrienne S says

    November 25, 2016 at 12:30 am

    Hi! Wanting to make this delicious sounding bread but wondering…
    The ingredients list mentions non-dairy milk, but the instructions do not. I would assume adding it when you add the dates/chai, but don’t want to put it in if it was in the ingredients inadvertently.
    Thanks!

    Reply
    • Natalie says

      November 25, 2016 at 12:48 am

      Oooops! My mistake, that’s what I get for retesting and tweaking the recipe at the last minute. Just add the non-diary milk into the blender with the dates and other wet ingredients, I will add that to the recipe right now. Thanks Adrienne and happy baking 🙂

      Reply
      • Adrienne S says

        November 25, 2016 at 1:08 am

        Great! Thanks!

        Reply
  16. audrey @ unconventional baker says

    November 25, 2016 at 2:56 pm

    Ok, what is going on here, Natalie?! I’m catching up on some of your latest goodies, and I want to make EVERY. SINGLE. THING.!.!.!. What are you doing to me?! ? This bread, all those spices, and all that frosting — they all look insane!

    Reply
    • Natalie says

      November 25, 2016 at 3:53 pm

      I am totally digging the fall/winter flavors, ideas (and spices) are just flowing right now!?

      Reply
  17. Sam says

    December 12, 2016 at 6:44 am

    Hi Natalie
    I dont have the tapioca starch so if I use whole-wheat pasty flour in place of 1 1/4 cup oat flour and ¼ cup tapioca starch , must the qty be 1.5 cups of pastry flour or should I also be adding baking powder?

    Reply
    • Natalie says

      December 12, 2016 at 4:03 pm

      Hi Sam! If you use whole wheat pastry flour in place of the oat + tapioca, yes it will be about 1.5 cups total. Since it is a completely different protein/gluten content and will absorb liquid differently, if the batter seems excessively thin or thick adjust accordingly. And yes you do still need the baking powder. Hope that helps!

      Reply
  18. Fede Pastabites says

    December 14, 2016 at 10:55 am

    Oh this looks so lovely and timely for winter!

    Reply
    • Natalie says

      December 14, 2016 at 4:53 pm

      Indeed! All those warm spices are perfect right now 🙂

      Reply
  19. pola says

    December 22, 2016 at 4:35 pm

    I cannot find the japanese sweet potato in any of my grocery stores, what can be a substitute?

    Reply
    • Natalie says

      December 22, 2016 at 4:49 pm

      Any type of sweet potato will be okay, it will just affect the color and texture slightly. With the regular orange you will probably need a little less non-dairy milk, but adjust accordingly.

      Reply
  20. Tracy says

    January 3, 2017 at 4:58 am

    Do you use real ginger or ginger powder?

    Reply
    • Natalie says

      January 3, 2017 at 5:01 pm

      I used powdered here, but either would be fine 🙂

      Reply
  21. Peanut Butter & Ellie says

    March 8, 2017 at 2:07 pm

    Natalie, stop it, I’m drooling! I need to make this while I’m home over spring break!
    Anything I can use instead of tapioca starch by chance? No worries if not.
    Love that the frosting is made with SWEET POTATO- what the heck!! You are a creative genius. I miss making your recipes, but it’s tough at school without a blender or food processor (I know, how do I live!?). Can’t wait to make this bread though since I LOVE chai and bananas!

    Reply
    • Natalie says

      March 8, 2017 at 7:29 pm

      But really, how do you live!?!? Hahaha!! That would be tricky, but how wonderful it will be to be home over spring break with a full size kitchen and all the appliances! Cornstarch would be the next best thing in place of tapioca if you have it, that will be just fine. Let me know if you do get a chance to try it, always love hearing your thoughts Ellie. And enjoy your break (is it soon?)

      Reply
      • Peanut Butter & Ellie says

        March 10, 2017 at 8:51 am

        Hi Natalie! I miss chatting with you! I’ve sort of fallen out of my blog and instagram now that I don’t have a kitchen 🙁
        What did you do about that in college? Or did you always have a kitchen or blender?
        I have been posting articles on Spoon University though, so I’m not totally out of the food loop!
        I’m actually on spring break right now, so I’ll be making this today or tomorrow! It’s so nice to be able to make smoothies again, as well as lots of other treats. I feel like you right now, as I’m experimenting with putting spinach in cookies! All my friends think it’s disgusting though hahaha.

        Reply