Pandan Pistachio Banana Bread (vegan)
This pandan pistachio banana bread is so delicious, fragrant, and nutty. It is perfect for breakfast, as a snack, or for dessert. The combination of pandan, pistachios, and bananas makes this bread so flavorful, moist, and tender.
If you haven’t had pandan before, it is a plant that is grown in Southeast Asia. It has a floral, sweet aroma and a slight floral, vanilla, and coconut taste. People use the pandan leaves to flavor sweet and savory foods. In this banana bread, I used pandan extract to keep it simple and you can find it easily in any Asian grocery store. You could buy it on Amazon as well, but it is more expensive.
The pandan complements the pistachios really and the textures of this banana bread is incredible. You get the soft, fluffy banana bread, but then you get the nice, nutty crunch from the pistachios.
I used my classic vegan banana bread recipe for this pandan pistachio banana bread. It is seriously so addicting and perfect with your afternoon tea. I love the fun and vibrant green color from the pandan. It’s perfect for St. Patrick’s Day coming up too!
If you make this pandan pistachio banana bread, tag me on Instagram @nutsaboutgreens so I can see your creations! Also, don’t forget to leave a comment below!
Pandan Pistachio Banana Bread (vegan)
Ingredients
- 3 large very ripe bananas
- 1/3 cup melted coconut oil (or avocado oil)
- 1 flax egg (1 Tbsp ground flaxseed + 3 Tbsp water)
- 1/3 cup pure organic cane sugar
- 1/3 cup unsweetened almond milk (if using coconut oil, make sure the milk is room temperature)
- 1 tsp apple cider vinegar
- 1 1/2 tsp pandan extract
- 2 cups all-purpose flour (or whole wheat pastry flour)
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp sea salt
- 1/2 cup chopped pistachios
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line with parchment paper or grease an 8x5 inch loaf pan.
- In a large bowl, make the flax egg by combining the ground flaxseed and water. Stir and set aside for 5 minutes to thicken.
- In a medium bowl, add the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Whisk to combine.
- In the large bowl with the flax egg, add the bananas and mash them until smooth. Add the oil, sugar, milk, and apple cider vinegar. Whisk until well combined.
- Slowly add the dry ingredients to the wet and stir with a spatula until just combined and you don’t see anymore flour streaks in the batter. Don’t overmix because you don’t want a tough banana bread.
- Pour half of the batter into a bowl (I just used the bowl I had my dry ingredients in). Add the pandan extract to one half/bowl of batter. Stir with a spatula until combined. Don’t overmix!
- Add most of the pistachios (saving some for the top) to the plain banana bread batter. Fold in the pistachios. Careful not to overmix.
- Drop a large spoonful of batter into loaf pan, alternating between regular batter and pandan batter. Swirl a figure 8 into the batter with a butter knife about 3 times but no more than that! Sprinkle some extra pistachios on top. Bake for 50-60 minutes or until a toothpick/knife comes out clean. Let it cool in the pan for 5-10 minutes, then loosen the sides and place loaf on a wire rack to cool completely. Enjoy! Store in an airtight container on the counter for 3 days.
- Pro tip, it tastes even better the next day as the flavors have more time to develop. Place in an airtight container once cooled and enjoy it the next day! It will still be super yummy day of though!
