And you know what?
It was!
Ryan has been in Rochester, New York for work since Wednesday (I didn’t mention it on the blog for safety reasons), and he isn’t due back in town tonight until 9:30 p.m.
I know that when I get home from a long day of traveling, there’s nothing better than walking into my house and sleeping in my bed… unless my house smells like baked goods!
That is extra awesome.
My three star ingredients included:
- 1 can garbanzo beans (chickpeas)
- 1 cup canned pumpkin
- 1 on-the-verge-of-death banana
I knew I wanted to play around in the kitchen, but I figured having some kind of loose guidelines to follow would be a good idea, so I used Cooking Light’s recipe for classic banana bread as a reference point. (My recipe ended up being very different from that version, but I used that recipe for measurement ideas.)
When I got the idea to include chickpeas in the loaf, I knew I had to pulse them in the food processor to make them have a smoother consistency. Some texture in banana bread is a good thing, but I’m pretty sure little balls of beans wouldn’t be a hit.
In the end, the chickpeas were completely undetectable and the loaf itself was simply bursting with the flavors of pumpkin, banana and cinnamon.
Pumpkin Banana Loaf
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Pumpkin Banana Loaf (Shhh… with Chickpeas)
- Cook Time: 65-76 minutes
- Total Time: 0 hours
- Yield: 1 loaf 1x
- Category: breakfast, recipes
Description
I love baking so much that no plans on a Friday night other than baking a loaf of banana bread from scratch in my pajamas actually sounded like a rockin’ good time.
Ingredients
- 1 can garbanzo beans, rinsed and drained
- 1/4 cup honey
- 1 cup whole wheat flour
- 1 cup white flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 3/4 cup (1 1/2) butter, softened
- 2 eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 cup canned pumpkin
- 1 large banana, mashed
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Place chickpeas and honey in a food processor and pulse until relatively smooth. Set aside.
- Combine whole wheat flour through cinnamon in a bowl and set aside.
- Mix sugar and butter with a mixer until combined. Add eggs, one at a time, and vanilla extract.
- Add chickpea mixture, pumpkin and banana to sugar mixture.
- Slowly add flour mixture to sugar mixture until batter is combined.
- Slowly pour batter into a loaf pan sprayed with cooking spray and bake for approximately 65 – 75 minutes, or until a knife inserted into the center of the loaf comes out clean.
- Cool, slice and enjoy!
I would love to try to make this loaf into muffins and smear them with almond butter for a delicious on-the-go breakfast option or a delicious mid-morning snack.
I have a feeling this loaf will be gone before the weekend is over!
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I’ve been loving adding chickpeas to baked goods lately. This is such a good idea! I’m a huge banana bread fan so I will def. try this!
What a great idea. I put garbanzo beans in a lot of stuff. It’s a multi-purpose bean!
I love chickpeas in baked goods! It still amazes me that they can be used without really affecting the taste. And I love pumpkin and banana – looks delicious!
I love that you made this with chickpeas! Who would have though? My husband and are both OBSESSED with banana bread — definitely going to give this recipe a try!
he’s lucky we’ve been having such great weather! normally it’s snowing in march. hope he had a good time. 🙂
what was he doing in rochester? that’s where i am. 🙂
That sounds yummy!! must try baking with chick peas stat!
This..looks..awesome! Can’t wait to try it! I’ve always wanted to try baking with garbanzo beans. This looks like a good start! 🙂
YUMM this sounds soo good, homemade banana bread is the way to my heart and if you add chocolate chips I have been won over!
You had me at banana
i love your recipe creations!! this one sounds like a winner for sure. banana bread is a favorite of mine, and if it’s packed with healthy ingredients? i’m sold! 🙂
It looks very moist and delicious in your pictures – does it taste as moist as it looks? I have all these ingredients on hand and I do believe this bread is calling me………….. I think I heard it say that it would be a great post-run recovery treat tomorrow after my scheduled 10 miles……..
So I’m guessing you’re going to have him taste it before telling him what’s in it? 😉 I do that sometimes to my husband haha!
MMM this loaf looks delicious! i love pumpkin bread and banana bread and this healthy version is definitely getting bookmarked!
Smart girl, safety first! I want to try this recipe! You are so creative 😉
Hey I’m from Rochester! And oddly enough I flew back from a conference on Wednesday late afternoon and could’ve sworn I saw him in a line for a car rental at the airport! No way you can tell I’m an avid blog follower, huh? 😉
That sounds amazing! Perfect grab and go breakfast (which is what I’ve been searching for recently… Need to switch things up!)
I love baking with chickpeas! Ups the fiber and protein without sacrificing any taste. If only I had ripe bananas. We go through them way too fast to ever be over ripe! 🙂
I would never have thought of using chickpeas, but what a great idea! The consistency and nutritional value sound like they’d be a great addition to baking.
Also, if Ryan feels like sharing, I’d love to hear what he did in his free time or where he ate on his business trip – I went to college right outside Rochester! We always felt like there wasn’t much goin’ on in western NY, but it’d be interesting to hear an outsider’s perspective 🙂
I tried your banana oatmeal muffins this morning!
amazing!
i replaced a tbsp of oil for applesauce to lower the calorie number. they turned out perfect!
thanks for the recipe.
i look foward to your daily posts.
Just wanyted to let you know you’re running a great blog! 🙂
Oh my gosh! What an awesome idea! I’m totally saving this and potentially trying this recipe this weekend. It looks SO good!
I live in Rochester! I had to do a double take when I read that because no one has ever heard of Rochester lol. Small world, hope Ryan enjoyed our little city! 🙂
I’m in Rochester too!! We’ve had the BEST weather here for the past couple of weeks. I hope Ryan enjoyed his time here.
Molly-I know what you mean by “no one has ever heard of Rochester” Anytime I tell someone I’m from Rochester, NY they either ask are you close to the Empire State Bldg or do you get to see a lot of shows on Broadway? Lol I politely tell them no but we have Wegmans and the Lilac Festival is amazing!! They look at me like I’m nuts!
Haha, I’m from Cayuga & people do the same when I tell them where I’m from. People always assume you’re from the city when you say you’re from New York, I don’t get it!
That looks absolutely delicious! And I bet the chickpeas just add some more moisture to it!
these look so good!! i love the idea of incorporating beans into the loaf! i tried to make black bean brownies once and my husband still won’t let me live it down. i bet i can totally fool him with this bread… heh heh heh!
ooo what an awesome idea!!! i will definitely be trying this!
LOVE this – garbanzo beans are a genius addition!
I never have a problem staying in PJs and baking on a Friday night 🙂 I will have to give the addition of chickpeas a try the next time I make banana bread!! Good idea!
This recipe couldn’t have been give at a more perfect time! I have a lonely ripe banana on my counter just screaming to be made into yummy bread and I have all the other ingredients on hand. I can’t wait to try this recipe out. Did you drain the chickpeas before mixing with the honey?
Yes! Rinse and drain!
I hope Ryan enjoyed Rochester, especially with the rare sunshine this time of year. My hometown is in that area!
Woah! Chickpeas in bread? Amazing idea!!! Can’t wait to try it 🙂
Yum 🙂 Have you ever tried chocolate chip cookies with chickpeas? They’re pretty good too and then eating like 10 doesn’t feel nearly as bad 😉
I never would have thought to put chickpeas in bread! I bet the bread is amazing!
I love banana bread and would love to walk into my home with that scent after a long trip…glad the chickpeas weren’t detectable!
Mmmm, I love finding new recipes to make that include pulses (and taste delicious!). Thanks for sharing! Can’t wait to try it 🙂
This looks so moist and comforting. I’m always hesitant to bake dessert goods with chickpeas, but this is convincing enough.
That loaf looks and sounds incredible, I can almost taste it! Id make it today only there is a serious lack of canned pumpkin in Ireland, I was lucky enough to get some around Halloween time but chances now are slim!
I’ve been meaning to make a pumpkin recipe. I have a can of pumpkins I’ve been wanting to use up before I fly home next week, so I may have to start baking today….Wuhu 🙂
Thank you!
I steal food and baking ideas off of ypur blog like every week, without your blog my meals would be of much less variety! So thank you for that! I do however change the recepies almost always since I never add sugar, white flour or thos kind of ingredients when cook or baking myself.
hoe cool! I’ve never even tried baking with beans before! Love it 🙂
It would def be gone by the end of the weekend if we had it our house- served toasty for bfast, a chunk for a mid-afternoon snack, or a la mode for an after dinner dessert… YUM!
wow that’s so creative and love the added protein to banana bread 🙂
That sounds yummy! Just wondering- what are the chckpeas for exactly? I mean is it okay to leave it out? I’m no stranger to chickpeas in baked goods (thanks Chocolate Covered Katie), but I don’t want to use up the last of my chickpeas. Thanks!
you should try chickpea flour!!!! i’m in love
Looks great – my son would love this bread and its a great way to sneak in some protein with the chickpeas!
That sounds like a perfect night to me! Thanks for the healthy quick bread recipe. I love “tricking” people by using healthy substitutions. Have fun car shopping!!!!
What a good idea!! I would never think to add chic peas to baked goods, totally trying this
Woaw it looks absolutely mouthwatering!
Sounds Amazing- I would sub oat flour in mine! 🙂
Oh man, I’m from the area RIGHT outside Rochester! This makes me miss home! Crazy
Looks yummy! I’ll have to try it. I always love your recipes for muffins & breads/loafs. 🙂
This looks and sounds really, really good Julie. I’ll have to give it a try!