Banana–Bean Bread
BODY&SOIL Banana Bread made with Bean Flour.
Made from bean flour, this soft, high-fiber loaf shows the power of local ingredients beyond protein.
Students at the RUCID Organic College learn from BODY&SOIL how to bake Banana-Bean Bread.
At BODY&SOIL, we work with local ingredients to create foods that are nutritious, affordable, and connected to local food systems.
Beans are one of the most important ingredients in this work—not just because they fix nitrogen in the soil, or because their leaves can also be cooked and eaten. Most people think of beans mainly as a protein source, but they are also rich in complex carbohydrates and among the best plant-based sources of soluble fiber.
This matters. Soluble fiber supports digestion, feeds beneficial gut bacteria, and helps regulate blood sugar levels — while also keeping you full for longer. It also helps you rid your body of LDL cholesterol (the bad cholesterol) and cellular metabolic waste.
But have you ever seen bean flour being baked with? We hadn’t anywhere, until we started doing this ourselves.
When we discovered bean flour as a baking flour and a possible replacement for imported refined flours, we were surprised by how soft and spongy the final products can be.
BODY&SOIL Chefs in our energy saving kitchen.
Instead of relying on wheat flour and refined sugar, this bread uses bean flour as a core ingredient. This increases protein, complex carbohydrates, fiber, and mineral content — while also creating more demand for local crops and helping to strengthen farmers.
Bananas bring natural sweetness. Carrots add color, vitamins, and texture. Groundnuts add richness and healthy fats. Ginger and lemon bring freshness and balance.
Together, they create a bread that is filling, nutritious, and suitable as a school snack or breakfast option. This is not just a recipe. It is a demonstration of what local food systems can produce.
Recipe developed by: Collins Wandera and Bonny Kalungi
Ingredients
Prep Time: 20–30 minutes
Baking Time: 45–60 minutes
Yield: 1 large loaf or 2 small loaves (12–15 slices)
1000g ripe bananas, mashed
400g bean flour (learn how to make your own bean flour here)
5 local (organic) eggs
280g cooking oil
200g grated carrots
2 tbsp lemon juice
1 tsp lemon zest
1 tbsp fresh ginger, grated
2–3 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
A pinch of salt
Roasted groundnuts, roughly chopped
Procedure
1. Prepare the baking tin
Preheat oven to 180°C. Grease and line a loaf tin with baking paper.
2. Prepare the batter
Mash 4 of your five bananas until smooth. Add in eggs and oil.
Roast your groundnuts, remove the peels and roughly chop.
Add your grated carrots, lemon juice, lemon zest, and grated ginger into the mixture.
You can use your grater to squeeze lemon juice.
Now add the bean flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and roasted groundnuts.
Mix everything together, then gradually add water until you have a smooth, pourable batter.
Do not overmix.
Slice the remaining banana into thin pieces.
Pour a layer of batter into the loaf tin, add a layer of banana slices, then repeat until all the batter and banana slices have been used.
We added some fresh rosemary from our garden, but that is optional.
Bake in your preheated oven for 45–60 minutes until a knife inserted comes out clean.
BODY&SOIL Banana-Bean Bread ready to be baked.
3. Bake
Bake in your preheated oven for 45–60 minutes until a knife inserted comes out clean.
Let the bread cool in the tin for 10–15 minutes, then transfer to a rack. Slice once fully cooled.
When stored in the refrigerator, it keeps for up to three days.
BODY&SOIL Banana Bread made with Bean Flour.
What to expect
A well-made Banana–Bean Bread should be:
Moist and tender
Naturally sweet from bananas
Golden brown on the outside
Lightly textured with groundnuts inside
Aromatic from ginger and lemon
Let’s summarize again: Why beans in baking
Because it won’t leave you feeling like refined wheat flour often does, especially if you are gluten intolerant.
And you get these bonuses with your bread:
Rich in complex carbohydrates
High in soluble fiber
Important for gut health and long-lasting energy
Using bean flour in baking is one of the simplest ways to increase nutrition without changing eating habits too much. This is where food systems here in Uganda can shift — not through replacing foods, but through improving them.
Changing the food narrative
This Banana–Bean Bread is part of a larger direction: using local crops to build healthier food systems in Africa, stronger farmer markets, and more nutritious everyday foods.
But for that, you need recipes people find tasty, like this one, made from ingredients people can grow.
Help us grow, by trying the recipe, and sharing it with you friends and people that should know about this!