No gingerbread spices or peppermint flavor. No green and red toppings or holiday shapes. This loaf isn’t particularly holiday-themed, but a warm slice of sweet crumbly banana bread is cozy and cheerful always.
If you follow me on Instagram, you may have seen this crazy snack stack. The ice cream, toppings, and molasses sort of stole the spotlight there, but let’s talk about the base. That is a slice of Maple Cornmeal Banana Bread. And that is the product of a late night impromptu baking experiment.
The oat flour bag was nearly empty. The blender was too wet for flour grinding. So I stirred half oat flour, half cornmeal into the bowl of batter. The result? A unique variation on banana bread with a wonderful coarse texture and a subtle cornbread flavor.
The maple makes it sweet. The banana makes it familiar. And the cornmeal makes it a little something special.
I flip-flopped multiple times between calling this cornmeal banana bread or banana cornbread, but I think it is more banana than corn. And the loaf shape may have swayed me too…
Maple Cornmeal Banana Bread
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 45 minutes
- Total Time: 55 minutes
Ingredients
- 1 cup oat flour
- 1 cup cornmeal
- 1/3 cup maple syrup
- 3 very ripe bananas (mashed)
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 2 tbsps tapioca starch (can sub cornstarch)
- 2 tbsps non-dairy milk
- Optional: chopped pecans for sprinkling on top.
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 325F.
- Combine all the ingredients in a large mixing bowl. Mix.
- Pour into a loaf pan that is lightly oiled or lined with parchment paper.
- Bake for 45-50 mins at 325F.
- Let it cool before removing from the pan, slicing, and eating.
Or for a banana bread with the classic texture -> Sweet-Topped Banana Bread
I like your impromptu baking 😉 I love cornbread too and I will always love banana bread! The only thing my mom would “bake” often (although it was just the pIlsbury mix) still fantastic! I always loved coming downstairs and finding her mashing up ripe bananas with a fork in a plastic cereal bowl and the mix on the counter <3
OMYUMYUM!
Any dish that evokes childhood memories like that is a keeper 4 life! Banana bread is actually something my mom rarely made because she is a banana hater. But it’s like the easiest quick bread there is, I love it!!
Hellllloooooooo banana bread of my dreams! I loooove cornmeal in my baked goods, why have I never thought to put it in banana bread?! So much yes!
The cornmeal I used was from the same bag that I bought many months ago to make your Blood Orange Polenta Cake actually. You can tell how often I use it haha! It was your cake that made me realize how wonderful it is in sweets, mmmm just love it!
Ive been cravvvvinnnggg a warm hunk of cornbread for a few weeks now and still haven’t gotten my fix! Banana bread is always good, but when its paired with cornbread, its golden! Great recipe 🙂
Before this I was seriously craving cornbread too! Something about it is so cozy and satisfying. This totally hit the cornbread spot for me, and used up some of the gazillions of bananas I had haha 😀
Look at those slices! This banana bread looks absolutely perfect.
Thanks Michelle! It was so hard not stealing a taste while doing these photos, but I think it would’ve bene too obvious if one of the slices was missing 🙂
Hi! No butter or oil in this recipe? Sounds too good to be true!
Nope, none necessary! The bananas keep it very moist naturally. Enjoy 🙂
Again!! Love this recipe…i have a huge bag of cornmeal ready to be opened and used! Can I sub something for the tapioca? I think i may have ran out…if not, i’m definitely going to go get some to make this as well! Looks and sounds delicious!
Oh perfect, a yummy use for all that cornmeal! And you can just leave the tapioca out. It makes for a slightly better texture, but it will still be fine without!
Wowwwwww.!!! And as I said on your instagram earlier – OMG!! This cake is my idea of heaven. I adore banana cake, especially when there’s maple syrup involved! This cake looks perfect Natalie! So moist! I definitely need to try this!
★★★★★
Maple syrup and nanas, amazing right! Don’t know why I haven’t tried that before, seems so obvious. Thank you Harriet, you are so sweet!
Ok, this is easily the best sounding banana bread ever! And I love the pecan topping. So much YUM!!! Your food porn of an IG post yesterday was so epic that I have it permanently engraved in my brain! ?? As soon as our bananas ripen, I’m making this for my family.
Haha thank you Mandy. Well I can’t get the thought of Mint Choco Chip body butter out of my head, so we’re even 😀 I’m in that waiting for bananas to ripen boat with you right now…watched bananas never seem to ripen! And yes I actually used nuts, crazy right!? I think this is probably the first appearance pecans have ever made on here, but they were the perfect crunchy compliment 🙂
Looks fantastic Natalie and such a wonderful idea to do as a cornbread! SO funny, I make my cornbread with oat flour and tapioca too! I bet the cornmeal gives this banana bread amazing flavor and texture and I love the look of it too, not too mushy like most banana breads I’ve seen! Love the wonderful color and of course, the pecans on top. I put pecan flour IN my cornbread too for moisture! This is a fabulous recipe girl!
Thank you Brandi! I think it was your Thanksgiving roundup with your cornbread included that planted the cornbread craving in my head, because I made this the day after Thanksgiving haha! But of course I had to throw fruit in there. The cornmeal makes for such a non-mushy texture, it’s fantastic! And I highly doubt you are a banana bread fan, so thank you for your sweet comment anyways 🙂
I love how the lack of some ingredient makes you improvise and ends up in creating something awesome! It happens to me all too often as well 😀 (except for that one time where the attempted pancakes turned into unidentifiable mixture of half burnt, half raw goo but that’s another story) I love how comforting and homey this loaf looks, that’s totally holiday themed if you ask me 🙂
★★★★★
Bahahahaha! I have totally had moments just like that pancake scenario! My poor disposal has seen some pretty freaky things that I’m not always sure were actually edible 😀 But in general, improvising is awesome as a creativity spark!
What a golden beauty! Love it. The texture looks spot on too. I’m super impressed with the short ingredients list too — I mean, not surprising coming from you of course :), but surprising that it looks so perfect with such minimalist contents. Gorgeous loaf <3
I actually picked up some corn flour on a whim a little while back, hoping to make something corny — like corn bread 😀 — but had to lay it aside and focus on the grain-free recipes for the book. Now you made me want to get into that bag more than ever 🙂
I have looked through your book multiple times now and watched all the videos, but it didn’t hit me until you just said it that the entire thing is grain free (yes I know it says that on the cover haha). Pretty amazing! Especially with that yummy cookie/bar section 🙂 But on a completely different note, yes please do make something corny soon! You weren’t able to eat corn for a while right? Well since you can now, all the more reason! This loaf reminded me of how much I love cornbread and the flavor of cornmeal in baking. And the short ingredients was purely a happy accident 🙂
thank u for sharing these recepies….i have a auestion
if i don’t use maple syrup or coconut suger in the recepies then what happen ??
I had bookmarked the recipe when I saw it on your blog but got motivated to make it after reading @besolful Mandy’s December Favorites! So glad I did! The house smelled fantastic and the bread turned out perfect! I couldn’t wait for it to cool! I had mine drizzled with almond butter and more maple syrup while my husband went the classic route and ate it with vegan butter. I love one bowl baking and this couldn’t have been easier! Delicious!
Thank you so very much for trying it Diana, I was so happy to see your post on Instagram this morning <3 Mandy's favorites posts and photos are very convincing, she always makes me want to try at least 3 or 4 different recipes! I think I need to follow your lead on toppings though, that sounds amazing. As soon as my bananas ripen I'm going to make it again to try that!
This looks great and I’m really curious to try it. Could I sub cornstarch for the tapioca starch? That’s what I typically have on hand.
Thanks Melissa, I’m so glad you are want to try it! And yep cornstarch will be fine. Enjoy 🙂
I just made this bread and followed the instructions exactly and it came out soooo good! My husband loved it too, definitely going into my “favorites” folder. Thanks for a delicious, easy recipe (the best kind!) Off to scour your website for other sweet things to make 🙂
★★★★★
That is fantastic to hear! Thank you for trying it, and I’m so excited that you love it too <3
Since i just made bkack besn aoup, I thought corn bread. Is this too sweet for soup and corn bread? If so, whst can I fo to adjust yo make it more corn bread like? Thanks
-Estee
Sorry for typos..stupid phone.
No worries 🙂 Yep, probably too sweet for soup as is, but if you replace the maple syrup with more non-dairy milk I think it would be great with soup! You might consider adding a bit of salt too to make it more savory.
Thank you. I will try that and report back.
This look so yummy!
Is it possible to use cornflour insted of cornmeal?
Hopefully it works, if not I’m going hunting for cornmeal right away 😛
I haven’t tried it, but it works with all oat flour so I think cornflour will be fine. It won’t have the same texture obviously, but it should still be yummy 🙂
Would this still bake if I didn’t use baking powder or baking soda?
Hi Marie! Without baking powder or soda it will not rise at all, making the texture really dense–I don’t recommend it. Sorry!
How should I store this bread?
In an airtight container or bag in the refrigerator will keep it fresh the longest. After about 3-4 days though it really does dry out significantly so it really is best eaten within the first few days of making it 🙂
hi there! this is just the recipe i was looking for (: beautiful! i had a load of über-ripe bananas so i’m looking to make quite a few bakes with them. could i also put this mix into muffin tins? if so, would you have any recommendations on adjusting the cooking time? cheers!
★★★★★
Sure you could definitely bake this in a muffin pan! As muffins, they will probably take around 25 minutes to bake and you can bump the oven temperature up to 350F. Enjoy!
Hi can sub dates for maple syrup? Thanks!
★★★★★
Hi Larissa! I haven’t tried this one with dates and I worry it would throw off the texture, but you could try it. You could also try reducing or omitting the maple syrup and replacing with more non-dairy milk and just let the natural banana sweetness be the only sweetener 🙂
I see.. so I’ll put 1/3 cup of plant milk instead of maple syrup.. how can I sub flax seeds for tapioca starch? Looking into making this for thanksgiving but I gotta try it first…. Thank u soooo much for your help 😊
★★★★★
Yep, so it will be approximately 1/2 cup milk total. You can try subbing 2 tbsp flax instead of the tapioca starch but that will affect the texture and it may make it a bit more crumbly. Again, without testing it myself it’s hard to predict what affect any changes may have, but those are my best recommendations 🙂
Thank u so much for your advice.. I’ll update u with my experiment 😊
★★★★★
Best of luck!
The best banana bread I‘ve ever baked!!! Thank you so much for this recepe!!!
★★★★★
Woohooo!!! Now that’s what I love to hear, I am SO happy as a success🤗 Thanks for the good news Carmen, and enjoy the rest of the loaf!
Hi Natalie:
Thanks for sharing your banana bread recipe!
I added cinnamon and vanilla bean powder to the batter. My husband said, “best banana bread ever” – so, this is a keeper! ! ☺️ Wicked awesome and….. so easy!! What’s not to love?
★★★★★
Woohoo!! I am so happy to hear you both liked it🤗 I love the cornmeal in this one, just a slightly different texture but SO yummy. And always yes to cinnamon + vanilla😋 Thanks for the feedback Denise!
Hi Natalie,
Thanks for this recipe. I’m very eager to try it. Do you imagine shredded coconut would work fine in the batter and sprinkled on top? Also without the cornstarch/tapioca do you think it’ll be more crumbly? Should I add more milk? I saw you told another commenter that it would be “fine” without that addition, but I’m wondering what the difference in texture might be, especially since I’m using a cornmeal with medium coarseness. Thanks!
Hi Krystal! I think adding in some shredded coconut in or on top would be delish. As long as it’s only like a 1/2 cup or less shouldn’t affect the other measurements. And yes, without the starch it will be more crumbly so I recommend it if possible! Happy baking😊
Dear Natalie,
Thanks for such a quick reply. I got the tapioca starch and all the other listed ingredients. My husband loves hot food so I added lots of cayenne, some ginger and cinnamon and a few haberneros in addition to the coconut. I also topped it off with a Father’s Day message written in chocolate chips. I just hope it’s not too dry with all the added spies. Maybe I should have added a flax egg, but we’ll see. It looks pretty yummy out of the oven and he’ll try it in the morning. Thanks for sharing this recipe!
Whoa I am so curious to hear how it tastes and what he things. This sounds like the most unique lost of banana bread, I never would’ve thought to add the spices but the sweet + spicy combo is totally a thing. I hope it’s a delicious success, keep me updated🤗
I made these with chocolate chips, in “cupcake” form, and they were delicious! I had a picky 4 year old over for a month, who would not eat much of anything… but he ate 7 of these over two days. Win! Thank you for helping make our party a success. 🙂
★★★★★
Chocolate chip cornmeal banana bread cupcakes–that sounds AMAZING! What a yummy idea, I never would’ve thought of cornbread with chocolate but it sounds like a delicious contrast😋 Aww yay! That makes me so so happy that your son loved and devoured them too🤗🤗 Thank you for the feedback Charity!
If I don’t have any oat flour or oats on hand, could I sub the oat flour with almond flour by any chance? will it affect the texture and taste?
Thanks!
Oat flour won’t work here, it doesn’t sub 1-for-1 for oat since it’s much higher in fat and therefore makes things MUCH more moist. Quinoa or buckwheat flour would work though if you have either of those!
Okay-where has the recipe been all my life?! 🙂
I’ve made this recipe 3 times in the past week since it’s so delicious and I had a bag of discount bananas to use. I love that it’s easy to make, it’s oil-free and full of good stuff. I ran out of maple syrup after the first time of making this recipe so the next two times, I used equal parts of coconut nectar as a replacement. It was really good, too! It makes the batter a bit darker and bit richer in flavor similar to that of molasses but it’s not bitter-just delicately sweet. Currently enjoying a slice as a snack with my morning coffee.
Thank you for all of the great videos and recipes you put out! <3
★★★★★
Woohoo!! I am so happy you have fallen in love with this one, the cornmeal really adds something unique to banana bread doesn’t it? Mmm I love the sound of your coconut nectar version, darker/richer is always better if you ask me. Thank you for the wonderful feedback and happy baking, Kayla!
There seems to be something missing with this recipe… I followed it exactly, and triple checked it, but as written ended up with a bowl full of dry ingredients that definitely wouldn’t have made anything like banana bread. In the end I was looking at a glorified pile of flour, so I added 1/4 cup of oil and about a cup of milk substitute (in my case, oat milk), which corrected the consistency. It baked well, but the flavor was quite blah. If I were to do it again, in addition to adding liquid I’d def add a pinch of salt and more sweetener.
★★
Easy and husband likes having oat instead of wheat flour. Good but too dry for my taste. I would add a tablespoon or more of oil or melted butter next time.
★★★
Good to know! Yes this is an older recipe from back when I tried to avoid oil/fat, now I would probably add some coconut oil or nut butter too 🙂
Did I wait until the bread had cooled down to slice and devour it? Absolutely not. I couldn’t, what with the heavenly smell wafting up from my loaf pan and that gorgeous golden color right before my eyes. This is the best vegan cornbread recipe I’ve ever tried! The maple and banana weren’t overpowering, but they added a nice depth of flavor, and probably helped keep the bread moist. (I always have trouble with crumbly, dry cornbread.) The pecans on top were a must, of course. Thank you for the great recipe! I’ll definitely be pulling this one out next Thanksgiving.
★★★★★
Hahaha!! Your review made me laugh and I am SO happy you loved it Mimi🤗🤗 Such a unique combination of flavors and textures but I love it too. Very much appreciate the feedback and I love the idea of serving it for the holidays too!
Hi! If I use only cornmeal (i.e. sub cornmeal for oat flour 1-for-1) would it still work?
So use only cornmeal? That will not work here unfortunately, its not sticky enough to bind the bread together like oat flour is. Sorry!
Since bananas come in different sizes, what would 3 mashed up bananas measure out to in cups? I had a bunch of really ripe bananas a while ago that I froze.. do you think these would be good once defrosted to use, or should I toss those and start with fresh, ripe bananas? It looks like you blended the bananas to a smooth texture vs mashing by hand.. is one better than the other for banana bread? If I make muffins, will these freeze well? Thanks!
Fresh works best but I’ve definitely made it successfully with frozen/defrosted so don’t waste them! I prefer to blend vs mash, the texture of the bread turns out fluffier and less squishy, but up to you some people prefer it a little chunkily mashed. And they work great as muffins! And freeze really well as bread slices or muffins. If you go muffins, bake a little less time, probably 25-30 mins. Hope that helps 🙂
Thanks for such a quick reply! So 3 bananas would be equal to how many cups blended?
Ah I knew I missed something in there, my bad! Its usually a little under 1 cup depending on the size of your bananas
No worries.. It’s good to know because I freeze the bananas in pieces rather than whole. Also I usually try to buy the biggest bananas, but sometimes they are on the small side, so hard to know when it comes to recipes what size bananas were used. Thanks!
So much smarter to break them before you freeze, I learned that the hard way many years ago too haha! Totally understand though, but yes about 1 cup will be perfect 🙂
Can corn flour be substituted for cornmeal?
Hmm they are quite different and will really change the texture, so I don’t recommend it. Sorry!
Thanks for the quick reply. Because of kidney stones I am trying to follow a low oxalate diet, and for some reason corn flour is lower in oxalates than cornmeal. If I decide to try it I’ll let you know how it turns out!
Oh gotcha, I didn’t know that! Well let me know if you do 🙂
Looks very good. How long do I leave it to rise before baking?
★★★★★
You don’t have to let it rise, this is not a yeasted bread!
i liked the texture of the bread a lot! it was tasty and got me through a tough afternoon. I do prefer a more moist bread. Is there a way to make it more moist? more milk or bananas or oil? not sure if my three bananas were too small. Any suggestions?
More banana might make it mushy, try swapping the milk for oil to make it more moist!
This looks delicious! Would arrowroot starch work in place of tapioca starch?
Yes that will be fine!
What size of loaf pan did you bake it, 9×5 or 6×4?
Mine was 8×4″!
Hello there. I tried the recipe today with some substitutes based on what I had. Namely the half cup milk sub since I didnt have maple syrup; 2 buffet (burro) bananas and 1 regular banana, 1 tbsp ground flaxseed and 1 tbsp of honey and 4 chopped dates. I also roasted my quick oats and then ground them to get the flour so the oat flour was coarse not fine. I gave it 3 stars because I didnt use it as was. But I liked the texture and taste (not sweet) a lot. I think it wasn’t as sweet or bananary in flavour because of the buffet bananas. I sliced it and ate it with peanut butter. Thanks 🙂
★★★
Really sweet overripe bananas do work best here, so that’s probably what made the difference!