Vegan Cream Cheese Banana Bread (GF)

Step 1

Drain the cashews and place them in a blender. Add the firm tofu, almond milk, maple syrup, lemon juice, vanilla extract, and salt. Blend on high speed until smooth, about 1 minute. The cream should have the consistency of cream cheese. Set aside while you prepare the banana bread batter.

Step 2

Preheat oven to 350 °F (175°C).

Step 3

In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the oat flour, almond flour, rice flour, baking powder, cinnamon, ginger, and nutmeg. Set aside.

Step 4

In another bowl, mix together the coconut sugar with the mashed bananas, coconut oil, vanilla extract, and milk. For the mashed bananas, I usually just put them in the blender and blend until smooth. If you prefer banana bread with small chunks of bananas, mash them using a fork.

Step 5

Pour the banana mixture into the dry ingredients bowl. Mix using a wooden spoon until fully combined. The batter is quite thick; this is normal. At this point, you can taste the batter and adjust the spices to your liking.

Step 6

Line two small 5.75x3-inch mini loaf pans with parchment paper. Divide half of the batter into the pans. Top about 1/2 inch of cream cheese and spread it evenly. Finally, top the cream cheese with the remaining banana bread batter and smooth the top using a spoon. Top with chocolate chips if you want.

Step 7

Bake for 30-35 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the bread comes out clean. Allow the banana loaves to cool completely before slicing.

Step 8

Banana bread will keep for up to 3 days at room temperature or 5 days in the refrigerator. Be aware that banana bread is a bit firmer if stored in the refrigerator.