I had planned to take a break from baked goods recipes for a while, but then this Gluten Free Plantain Pumpkin Bread happened. Plans changed.
I had a smattering of way overripe plantains on my hands, so I decided to use them up by altering my Pumpkin Banana Bread and... Woah, I think I may have created something EVEN BETTER than the original.
What are plantains, anyway?
Before we get into the nitty gritty of this recipe, let's dive into what plantains are and how they differ from bananas.
But don't worry, I won't bore you with all the details. What you need to know is that bananas and plantains are essentially the same thing, but plantains have a much higher starch content.
If you want to learn more about plantains, I actually wrote an entire article about them — so make sure to give that a read if you're interested!
Plantains easily top my list of favorite foods. I'm constantly looking for new ways to use these starchy fruits in both sweet and savory recipes.
How to make the best plantain pumpkin bread
Whenever I see plantains at my local Natural Grocers, I snatch them up. Even if I don't have a planned plantain recipe on my calendar, I'm always eager to experiment with my favorite food or make an old recipe!
This time, though, I bought plantains in the midst of wedding photography busy season. They ripened on my counter... and ripened some more... while I was glued to my laptop editing photos.
With almost entirely black plantains on my hands, I wasn't sure if I would manage to find a use for them. But then I got to thinking about the best banana bread — I often say that the best banana bread uses the ripest bananas. So ripe you wouldn't eat them otherwise.
Worth a try, right? I took a look at my Pumpkin Banana Bread recipe, made a few adjustments, and ended up with the best damn plantain bread recipe ever.
My tips for this recipe?
- Use yellow-black or black plantains. The riper, the better! They should be pretty easy to peel when they are overripe.
- Blend the plantains with the other wet ingredients for a smooth batter.
- Let the bread cool completely for digging in. (A challenge, I know.)
More Baking Recipes
Print📖 Recipe
Paleo Plantain Pumpkin Bread
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 60 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour 10 minutes
- Yield: 1 loaf 1x
- Category: Baked Goods
- Method: Baked
- Cuisine: American
Description
This gluten free plantain pumpkin bread has the perfect quick bread texture! Use yellow-black or black plantains for this recipe.
Ingredients
- 3 large yellow-black or black plantains
- 4 large eggs
- ½ cup pumpkin puree
- ¼ cup pure maple syrup
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1 ¾ cup almond flour
- ½ cup tapioca flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 ½ teaspoon cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon nutmeg
- ¼ teaspoon allspice
- ¼ teaspoon ground clove
- ¼ teaspoon ginger
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
- Peel the plantains and add the flesh to a high-powered blender. Add the eggs, pumpkin puree, maple syrup, and vanilla extract. Blend until smooth. In a separate bowl, combine almond flour, tapioca flour, baking soda, salt, and spices. Add to wet ingredients and stir just to combine.
- Line a 9″ x 5″ loaf pan with parchment paper and pour in batter. Bake for 60 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
Keywords: plantain pumpkin bread
Brenda says
This is the last time I go googling random recipes. It’s wet inside!
★
Chelsea says
Hi Brenda, I'm sorry the recipe didn't work out for you. My first thought is it was possibly underbaked, but it's challenging to offer possible solutions without knowing if any substitutions were made.
Tami says
Had some plantains to use up. Made this pumpkin bread today. It’s quite good. It baked through even though the loaf was quite tall and the pan was very full. I was worried it’d be doughy inside but it was not. The texture is soft with a nice firm crust on the exterior of the loaf. The only change I’d make is to perhaps add some more of the spices. The spice flavor is mild. I think it’d be lovely with more cinnamon for sure. Thanks for sharing your recipes.
★★★★