This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure and privacy policy.
This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure and privacy policy.
Homey and healthy vegan chickpea flour banana cake that is grain-free and gluten-free! It is ready, start to finish, in 30 minutes.
Table of Contents
- Banana Cake Made with Chickpea Flour
- What is Chickpea Flour?
- Recipe Benefits
- Vegan Chickpea Flour Banana Cake Ingredients
- How to Make Vegan Chickpea Flour Banana Cake
- FAQ
- How Should I Store the Vegan Chickpea Flour Banana Cake?
- Can I Leave out the Walnuts in the Vegan Chickpea Flour Banana Cake?
- Can I Use A Different Flour, Less Sugar or Less Oil?
- Related Recipes
- Vegan Chickpea Flour Banana Cake (Grain-Free) Recipe
Banana Cake Made with Chickpea Flour
Yes, you need another banana cake recipe, and lucky for you, I have got one that is well worth trying.
It’s neither fussy nor precious, but it does have a special ingredient that makes it unique: chickpea flour!
What is Chickpea Flour?
Chickpea flour (aka garbanzo bean flour, ceci flour, chana, besan and gram flour) is made from finely ground dried chickpeas. It is naturally gluten-free, grain-free, easy-to-use, inexpensive, and incredibly versatile for making both sweet and savory eats.
Chickpea flour has a subtle nutty flavor and packs a bonus punch of protein, too. It is gaining in popularity in North America, but it is anything but faddish. Finely ground chickpeas have been around for centuries and are used in myriad cuisines from the Middle East, Southeast Asia, Northern Africa and Southern Europe.
This banana cake is a great choice for giving chickpea flour a try. It is perfect for the lunch-packing season ahead since it can be made at the drop of a hat, is not-too-sweet and travels well.
Recipe Benefits
- Vegan (egg-free, dairy-free)
- Gluten-free
- Grain-free
- Quick and easy to prepare
- Frugal (chickpea flour is inexpensive)
Vegan Chickpea Flour Banana Cake Ingredients
The exact amounts of each ingredient are indicated in the recipe card at the end of the post.
- nondairy milk (e.g., almond milk, cashew milk, soy milk)
- lemon juice
- chickpea flour
- baking powder (certified GF, as needed)
- baking soda
- ground cinnamon
- salt
- natural cane sugar (or granulated sweetener of choice)
- mashed very ripe banana
- melted coconut oil (or vegetable oil of choice)
- vanilla extract
- Optional: 1/2 cup chopped toasted walnuts
How to Make Vegan Chickpea Flour Banana Cake
Note that the complete directions are also in the recipe card below.
- Preheat oven to 375°F (190C). Line a 9-inch (22.5 cm) square metal baking pan. lightly grease or coat with nonstick cooking spray
- Combine the nondairy milk and lemon juice in a small bowl. Let stand 5 minutes to curdle.
- In a large bowl, whisk the chickpea flour, baking powder, baking soda, and cinnamon. Make a well in center of flour mixture.
- Add the sugar, banana, oil, and vanilla to the curdled milk mixture, whisking until well blended. Add banana mixture to the flour mixture in large bowl, stirring just until moist. Stir in walnuts, if using. Spread evenly into prepared pan, smoothing top.
- Bake in the preheated oven for 18 to 22 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool cake in the pan 10 minutes on wire rack; remove from pan. Cool completely on wire rack.
FAQ
How Should I Store the Vegan Chickpea Flour Banana Cake?
Store the cooled cake in an airtight container at cool room temperature for 1 day, in the refrigerator for up to 1 week, or the freezer for up to 3 months.
Can I Leave out the Walnuts in the Vegan Chickpea Flour Banana Cake?
Yes, you can leave out the walnuts in the cake.
I can go either way with the addition of walnuts. I love their toasty flavor, but I think the cake is smashing without them, too. My husband holds fast that banana breads and cakes MUST have nuts to qualify for eating, but my sister and others believe the exact opposite.
Go with your own tastes, or by what’s on hand for the add-ins. You can also swap in chocolate chips, chopped dried fruits, or other types of nuts, or seeds, in place of the walnuts.
Can I Use A Different Flour, Less Sugar or Less Oil?
No, I do not recommend any other flour for this particular recipe; stick with chickpea flour. Further, use caution with substitutions and proportions here. Chickpea flour is not all-purpose flour, so changes in the amount of sugar, oil, banana, etc. will likely require some experimentation before achieving the right balance.
Happy baking!
Related Recipes
- Chickpea Flour Chocolate Cake
- Chickpea Flour Carrot Cake Bites
- Chocolate Chickpea Flour Muffins
- Chickpea Flour Gingerbread Bundt Cake
- Chickpea Flour Banana Bread
- 1-Bowl Chickpea Flour Brownies
Vegan Chickpea Flour Banana Cake (Grain-Free)
Homey and healthy chickpea flour banana cake that is grain-free, gluten-free and vegan! Ready, start to finish in 30 minutes.
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup (175 mL) nondairy milk
- 2 teaspoons lemon juice
- 1 and 2/3 cups (200 g) chickpea flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 1/2 cup natural cane sugar (or granulated sweetener of choice)
- 1 and 1/4 cups mashed very ripe banana (about 3 large)
- 1/4 cup (60 mL) melted coconut oil (or vegetable oil of choice)
- 2 teaspoons (10 mL) vanilla extract
- Optional: 1/2 cup chopped toasted walnuts
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375°F (190C). Line a 9-inch (22.5 cm) square metal baking pan. lightly grease or coat with nonstick cooking spray
- In a small bowl, combine the nondairy milk and lemon juice. Let stand 5 minutes to curdle.
- In a large bowl, whisk the chickpea flour, baking powder, baking soda, and cinnamon. Make a well in center of flour mixture.
- In a small bowl, whisk the sugar, curdled nondairy milk, banana, oil, and vanilla until well blended. Add banana mixture to the flour mixture in large bowl, stirring just until moist. Stir in walnuts, if using. Spread evenly into prepared pan, smoothing top.
- Bake in the preheated oven for 18 to 22 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool cake in the pan 10 minutes on wire rack; remove from pan. Cool completely on wire rack.
Notes
Storage: Store the cooled cake in an airtight container at cool room temperature for 1 day, in the refrigerator for up to 1 week, or the freezer for up to 3 months.
Nutrition Information
Yield 12 Serving Size 1 pieceAmount Per Serving Calories 122Total Fat 4.3gSaturated Fat 1.9gTrans Fat 0gUnsaturated Fat 0gCholesterol 0mgSodium 138mgCarbohydrates 23.9gFiber 3.1gSugar 14.6gProtein 3.7g
Hello
Do you think I could use mash papaya instead of the banana?
Ooh, I think that’s a great idea, Cali–I have not tried it but I think that could work very well here. Would love to know how it goes!
Hi Camilla, can I substitute all the oil with the banana, if so, would you please let me know the total measurement of banana including 3 large banana in metric? Any idea if not using oil? Thank you!
Hi Janice–you would need 1.5 cups (450 grams) of mashed, very ripe banana total (that includes all of the banana plus the banana needed to replace the oil). 🙂
i can confirm that you can use 8 oz of Swerve brown sugar in place of the sugar and bananas, and use 2 whole large eggs in place of the bananas and use 2 tbs of an avocado, coconut and safflower oil blend oil in place of the coconut oil and the cake will come out fine. I did have to bake mine longer as I turned the temp down to 350 and put it in two 7 inch cheesecake spring form pans so I’d have two even cake layers without needing to cut my cake. I know from past experience when I add a lot of sugar replacement and lemon the cake will caramelize nicely and I didn’t want it to burn on top so the reduced temp fixed that. I proceeded to remove the cinnamon and added in orange essence, coconut shavings, and Choczero’s strawberry chips with extra lemon so it’s a orange, lemon, coconut strawberry cake. The extra lemon added additional leavening alongside the eggs.
I bake gluten free a lot, can you tell? I mostly do keto gluten free baking but my friend gave me some chickpea flour so I wanted to try making a spring themed cake. I topped it with a lemon coconut cream cheese frosting 🙂 and decorations of choice.
This is so awesome, Vanessa!!! Thank you for sharing your brilliance and experience (yes, it does show! 🙂 BTW, I will be dreaming of lemon coconut cream cheese frosting tonight 🙂
Made it and is delicious. My husband though is not a banana fan and was wondering if it would work if I used applesauce. Thanks
Hi Joanne, Yes! That should work.
Can i make this cake using unsweetened almond milk? Will that curdle with the lemon juice the same way non dairy milk does?
Hi Dea! Yes, definitely. When I say “non-dairy milk,” it means you can use any non-dairy milk you prefer, such as almond milk, soy milk, hemp milk, etc 🙂
Loved it but I am eating too much! 🙂
I want to make this cake without adding sugar due to being a diabetic and without adding vanilla extract because vanilla extract is made through alcohol.
Hi Aqeel,
You could use a measure-for-mesaure sugar substitute for the sugar in the recipe. You can leave out the vanilla without a problem. You could add a small amount of other spices, such as cardamom or nutmeg, or a bit pf finely grated lemon or lime zest for added flavor in lieu of the vanilla 🙂
also what could i add instead of baking powder and soda?
Hi Kylie,
This one is much trickier. If this was a traditional cake, you could use eggs for the leavening/rising (e.g., by beating them to incorporate air). But in just about all vegan cakes, you need some sort of chemical leavened (baking powder and /or baking soda combined with an acidic ingredient) to make the cake rise. Other vegan egg substitutes (e.g., flax eggs, chia eggs and psyllium) work more as binders, but do not make baked goods rise.
The only alternative is to try whipped aquafaba (chickpea liquid; it can work as a substitute for egg whites). I do not have a recipe for it here, but you can google it and find some excellent resources. Cheers!
Hi does this need to have the lemon juice added? My friend is doing an elimination diet and can’t have lemons!
Hi Kylie,
Can she have vinegar or cream of tartar? Both are acidic and will work in the same way as the lemon juice.
Just made this a 2nd time but with puréed sweet potatoes in lieu of bananas. Also added blueberries and apples. I could live off this bread.
Ooh, that sounds so delicious Laurie!!! So glad you are enjoying the recipe so much ?