Whole grain banana bread with almond pulp recipe
Something I really hate to do is to waste food. One of the reasons I plan out a week of meals is that I can shop accordingly and only buy what I know I will use. But what about that leftover almond pulp? Despite my best efforts to use up the almond byproduct that results every time I make almond milk, it just doesn’t always happen. And raw almonds are so expensive that it actually pains me to throw the pulp in the trash. It’s perfectly good food, especially since the almonds were previously soaked, making them much more digestible and nutritious!
So what do I do with it? Of course, there’s the obvious — add it to anyone’s smoothie or stir it into a warm porridge or muesli. And almond pulp freezes well, so I can save it for another time. But I am just way too lazy to get out my dehydrator and dry out the pulp to use as almond meal. And then I thought to myself, what if I just tried the almond pulp in a quick bread in place of some of the wheat flour? Well, guess what? It worked! Although apparently, a million other people already knew this and I am extremely late to the almond pulp party!
I decided to take one of my banana bread recipes and tweak it a bit with almond pulp that was leftover from 1 cup of whole, soaked raw almonds. Remember, almonds have a lot more fat than grain flours, so we can cut back on some of the added fat. But almonds have no gluten, so I was reluctant to make an all-almond pulp bread this first time. I know this will be neither Paleo nor gluten-free (although I am confident you can swap the gluten flour for a good GF all purpose mix + a little xanthan gum), but I think we can fix that with a few more tweaks. Using half whole wheat flour and half almond pulp, this bread came out to be ABSOLUTELY PERFECT! Moist but hearty, not crumbly, and not too sweet. It’s perfect banana bread, in my book. My life changed instantly!! Let’s all imagine the possibilities of subbing some almond pulp for flour in different recipes! Is this exciting or what??
Most of the recipes on my site have been made in my cooking classes and at home about 20 times, but this one I just did once so I haven’t tested all the permutations, e.g. all almond pulp, no bananas, butter for coconut oil, and so on. But you can bet I will! I am planning on making my Millet Blondies today with almond pulp. Check my Instagram for updates! And please share your experiences with subbing in almond pulp in any recipes — I’ll try anything!
One last favor — I love Saveur Magazine and they’re conducting their annual food blog awards right now. If you like my blog, would you kindly take 15 seconds out of your busy day and nominate me for a Saveur Food Blog Award? I think the category of Best Special Interest Blog (healthy cooking) would be great. Thank you so much! Here’s the link (and I promise it takes 15 seconds!) http://www.saveur.com/article/
- 1¼ cups whole wheat pastry flour, whole spelt or sprouted spelt flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon aluminum-free baking powder
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
- ¾ cup packed almond pulp (leftover from 1 cup of almonds to make almond milk)
- ½ cup pure maple syrup
- 4 Tablespoons unsalted butter or unrefined coconut oil, melted
- 2 large eggs
- 1 Tablespoon pure vanilla extract
- 2-3 very ripe bananas, mashed (2 large or 3 small-medium)
- ½ cup pecans or walnuts, chopped
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Grease the bottom and sides of a 8 ½ x 4 ½ loaf pan with butter or coconut oil and line with unbleached parchment paper, if desired.
- In a large bowl whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Set aside.
- Place the almond pulp, maple syrup, melted butter or coconut oil, eggs and vanilla in a blender and process until combined. Or whisk well in a medium bowl.
- Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and combine until just blended. Fold in the mashed bananas and nuts.
- Pour into the prepared pan and bake for 50-60 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool in the pan 10 minutes and then remove the bread and transfer to a rack.
91 Comments
Just wanted to say thank you SO much for this recipe! I’ve been searching for a way to use the pulp from my homemade nut milk and I’ve tried a few online recipes that have been total flops.. but this loaf is amazing 🙂 and so forgiving! I think I’ll be able to use the recipe as a base to make a zucchini version and keep my freezer relatively pulp-free, yippee!
So glad you found it! Check out the other almond pulp recipe too. Apple quick bread!
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I used 1 cup light rye flour, 1/4 cup buckwheat flour, and 2 flax eggs. Absolutely delicious, thank you so much Pamela
Love your adaptations, Leanda!
Tried this recipe and my banana & walnut bread with almond pulp was perfect. A little twist on a regular banana & walnut cake I normally make. I used some golden caster sugar as didn’t have a full half cup of maple syrup. Enjoyed by all. Will definitely make this many times again and will check out your other recipes.
Thank you.
Glad to hear that! This is one of my favorite recipes.
Hi! I just started making almond milk and definitely want to try this recipe, but I avoid grains and gluten. How much almond or coconut flour would I use to substitute the flour? Thank you.
I haven’t made this recipe grain-free so I’m not sure how it would turn out – sorry. You can try using my Gain-free pumpkin cake recipe as a template though. Omit the spices and frosting and use mashed banana instead of the pumpkin puree. https://pamelasalzman.com/grain-free-pumpkin-cake-with-cinnamon-maple-cream-cheese-frosting-and-candied-pumpkin-seeds-recipe/
Thank you!!!
I tried this recipe as muffins with 1/2 C each oat flour and buckwheat flour and 1/4 C brown rice flour. Also reduced the maple syrup to 2tbs since I used 3 very sweet ripe bananas. Baked muffins 23 minutes. My kids loved them.
Hi after I make almond milk ans I have the pulp in the bag do I have to bake it before using it in the recipe or let it dry out and dehydrate it pre using in loaf? Lmk thx so much
No need to do anything to the almond pulp before using it in this recipe. Leftover almond pulp can be refrigerated for a few days or kept frozen. If you wanted to turn it into almond meal then you would bake it in the oven to dry out or use a dehydrator.
hi, do you have any idea what the amount of banana would be in cups?
About 1 cup mashed banana.
Delicious recipe! So happy to have use for almond pulp. Thank you so much!
Glad you loved it!
Delicious! Made into muffins….
Terrific!
Amazing recipe! My new staple for using up my Nut Pulp from making Homemade Nut Mylk! Do you think Buckwheat Flour would work????
I made mine into a Chocolate Swirled Banana Bread. I took half the batter and mixed in melted chocolate. (: I also have tried using a chia or flaxseed egg and no problem! Turned out amazing still! So hearty and delicious and not too sweet! I also used dark chocolate without sugar cause this recipe was sweet enough for me.
Another thang, when I made this recently the batter was so incredibly thick and I thought I messed it up! Still turned out FANTASTIC and delicious! This recipe is so durable and flexible!
Thank you!!!
Woohoo! Great tips, thanks! I think you can use buckwheat for maybe a 1/4 of the flour. Worth a try. I love buckwheat!
thank you will try it this week
This recipe worked perfectly. I followed it exactly and it was so tasty and just the right consistency when you cut it. Will 100% be making again.
Awesome! Isn’t is nice to be able to use up the almond pulp in such a tasty way?? 🙂
This is a staple recipe in my home. I make an almond-cashew-hemp milk blend for my toddlers, and the pulp works great. I make these as muffins as is with 1/2 the maple syrup, and the recipe works well. I use coconut oil and add some spices. Thank you for a healthy snack where I can use the pulp right away.
Can I use all purpose flour?
In place of the whole grain flour, yes.
This turned out delicious. I was nervous because my batter didn’t look as moist as your photos. I added a little extra maple syrup (tablespoon). Used mixture of almond and coconut flour, left out the nuts because didn’t have them in pantry and with the San Francisco shelter in not worth going out for.
SO glad to hear that! Your batter wasn’t as moist because you added coconut flour which is VERY absorbent. Glad it still worked though. 🙂
Love this recipe! Always looking for easy ways to use up my almond pulp (that don’t also call for the almond milk just made!) Do you happen to have the nutrition facts for it or for any of your other almond pulp recipes?
I don’t, sorry!
I love how easy you’ve made it to just directly use the almond pulp straight from making the almond milk!
For the fall season, could you replace the bananas with pumpkin purée? If so, would you need to adjust liquid content at all?
I think you could, but I haven’t tried it. I might do 3/4 cup pumpkin puree + an additional 1/4 c maple syrup + pumpkin spices. Or just take your favorite pumpkin bread recipe which calls for 2 cups of flour and replace 3/4 cup of the flour with almond pulp. That could work too!
I replaced the banana with about 1/2 cup pureed pumpkin and added 1tsp of pumpkin pie spices. They turned out absolutely beautifuly. I only use 1/3 cup of maple syrup and always add in 1/3 cup of chocolate chips.
I love these swaps! Thanks so much for sharing with everyone. 🙂
I’ve never felt the need to comment on a recipe that I’ve used before but this bread was so delicious that I thought I should this time. I made almond milk for the first time and was looking for things to do with my left over pulp. I happened upon this recipe for banana bread and I’m sure glad I did. By far, the best banana bread I’ve ever made or eaten. I used GF flour and it turned out perfectly. I will be making more almond milk just so I can make this bread after. Thank you!
Wow! That’s a great endorsement! TY 🙂
Amazingly good! Just made today and used hazelnut pulp. Thank you so much for this recipe! It passed my husbands taste test.
5stars
Oh wow – hazelnut pulp! I bet that was delicious. I need to try that next!
YUM! Thanks Pamela!
I did make this with blanched almond flour because I didn’t have any pulp handy. I just added one extra tbsp of coconut oil like you suggested in an earlier comment, and it turned out delicious! THANK YOU!
Yay! So excited to hear that!
I never comment on blogs… but this recipe is absolutely perfect. It will be my go to banana bread recipe now… and I’ve got about 6 cups of frozen almond pulp to use up! Thank you for the exact recipe that I needed!!
Have you ever used Teff flour when baking? Or cooking? Just discovering it but not sure when to use. Also, can this recipe work as muffins as well?
This recipe can work as muffins, just cut the cook time. I would test them after 20-25 minutes. I have tried teff flour, although I haven’t used it in a while. I find that it is much better when it is combined with other flours, like whole wheat pastry.
thank you!
My family is in love with this bread. Every time we make almond milk, we either make this bread, muffins, or pancakes. I think their favorite is the banana bread though 😉
Terrific! Isn’t it so nice to make such good use of all that almond pulp? 🙂
My almond “pulp” has been sitting in the fridge for about a week. Will it still work for this recipe?
Yes. I’ve used one week-old almond pulp.
hi this looks like a great recipe. I’ve just started making almond milk and don’t want to waste the pulp. Quick question: my husband is allergic to bananas. I know that’s what is distinct about the bread, but any suggestions for a substitute ?
Why don’t you try this recipe instead: https://pamelasalzman.com/whole-grain-and-almond-pulp-apple-quick-bread-recipe/ It doesn’t contain banana and it’s more versatile than the banana bread recipe. You can also try looking at my pancake recipe that uses almond pulp: pamelasalzman.com/whole-wheat-almond-pulp-pancakes-recipe/
Since I am from Europe, I converted the cups to grams and it worked out fine. The only changes I made were 3 large bananas instead of 2 and approximately 50% more of the almond pulp (I guess 1 and 1/2 cups) because this was what I had left from 1 liter of homemade almond milk. First I was afraid the bread would not turn out well, but it was luscious and it had such a great, intense banana taste. Thank you for this great recipe.
I’m so glad this worked out for you! Thank you for writing in with your adaptation — it’s always helpful for other readers 🙂
Can you please provide the version of the recipe by weight, especially for the flour part?
So sorry, I don’t have those measurements. Next time I make it, I will weigh everything.
Could I use almond meal instead of almond pulp or do you think it would change the texture since there is no water in the almond meal? Thanks!
Not sure. I formulated the recipe to account for the extra moisture in the pulp. If you try it with almond meal or flour, maybe add an extra bit of fat.
I have used Almond Meal for this recipe and I personally love it as is but my family thinks it’s a bit too dry and that is why I wanted to see your comments to see if anyone commented on this. I am glad I did! How much more fat would you add?
I would try adding 2 Tablespoons of fat and adjust based on what your family thinks.
This recipe is AWESOME! I used regular whole wheat flour and sprinkled some oats on top. I love that it’s not overly sweet. Great recipe
Thanks! So exciting to make good use of the almond pulp, too. 🙂
Hi Pamela – I made this last night and it was a huge hit with my friends and at work! I love it! I used real eggs and butter, but want to try it with coconut oil as well. Do you have a taste preference? Also, you forgot to add in the instructions when you add the eggs but I referenced your other recipe. Just a note that you may want to include that/add it in. Thanks for sharing – would love more suggestions on how to use almond pulp as I made my own almond milk a couple of times a week as well. This bread goes GREAT with English Breakfast Tea & Almond Date Milk 🙂
Ahhhhh! Thank you so much for catching that. I have been transitioning each recipe to a new plug-in and it must have been edited out, inadvertently. Thank you! I love butter or coconut oil here. I am not sensitive to the taste of coconut oil, but some people are. If that’s you, I would stick with butter. 🙂
Hi, Pamela. Could I substitute white whole wheat flour for the whole wheat pastry flour?
Yes! They are interchangeable as far as I’m concerned.:)
This is a great recipe and results in a really moist bread. Could I use coconut sugar instead of maple syrup? If so, how much should I use and would I need to adjust any of the other ingredients?
Thanks!You could use coconut sugar instead and you would use the same amount. 🙂
Thank you, Pamela!
This bread has become a staple in our house. We make almond milk twice a week so of course, we get banana bread every week! Thanks for such a great tasting (guilt free) recipe!
Great! I hope to post a pancake recipe soon. 🙂
Hi, can u tell me how many calories are in a serving of this cake? Many thank.
I have no idea!
Just made with my leftover almond pulp and its delicious!!
Yesterday, I made your multigrain waffle recipe. I didn’t have buttermilk so I subbed in plain Kefir and they were yummy! Thanks!
How great! Yes, kefir for buttermilk works perfectly. Thanks for the comment, Kathleen!
So good, thank you! And very happy not to waste the almond leftovers as well! Voted. We probably cook from your recipes 85% of the time! Keep it up:)
Yay! Thank you! More almond pulp recipes to come!
I have been literally wondering the same thing and feeling guilty about throwing away the almond pulp so I’m super super excited about this
I make almond milk 3 times a week so this might bey new favorite thing
So excited
Voted! You are my go to for recipes – always delicious! Good luck! 🙂
Thank you, Jen. SO kind of you!
Could I make this vegan and gluten free?
Sure! Do you know how to make a flax egg? (For this recipe you need 2.) 2 Tbs. ground flax meal mixed with 6 Tbs. warm water. Allow to sit for 10-15 minutes. use that in place of the eggs. I would just use a good GF flour mix like King Arthur plus 1 tsp. xanthan gum or this mix:
½ cup sorghum flour
½ cup millet flour
½ cup sweet rice flour
¼ cup GF oat flour
3 Tablespoons potato starch
1 Tablespoon tapioca starch
1 teaspoon xanthan gum
Thank you!!!
Hi Pamela,
Just wondering how critical the xanthan gum is. I’m thinking you now are a fan of jovial gf and maybe TJs gf flours?
Thanks so much!
It’s what gives the batter structure. You can try making this without, but I think it will be dense and wet. I love Jovial GF flour as well as King Arthur multipurpose GF flour. Check Jovial Foods website for their GF recipes. Jovial flour already contains xanthin gum FYI.
You’re the best Pamela!
Hooray! I’ve been looking for a way to use the pulp from making almond milk. Do you think this would work with flax eggs to make it vegan? If I wanted to make it into muffins, 18 minutes at 350? Thanks in advance (and I just voted at Saveur!)
Thank you, Caryn! I think it would definitely work with flax eggs as a binder since bananas also help bind. For muffins, you might need 20-25 depending on how you fill the cups. 🙂
The muffins (w/flax eggs) came out great! We are enjoying them for breakfast this week.
Awesome! I felt pretty confident the flax eggs would work out well, but I’m glad to know for sure. Thanks for reporting back!