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/
Whole Grain Banana Bread with Almond Pulp
Ingredients
- 1 1/4 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
Instructions
- 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.
Like this recipe? Rate & comment below!
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. 🙂