Serve your family extra fiber, antioxidants and loads of vitamins in this Olive Oil Beet Bread with Walnuts – and they won’t notice the beets!
A few weeks ago was my sister-in-law’s birthday. The family got together and I was asked to make the cake – of course! My sister-in-law requested a non-chocolate cake, so I started to look for ideas.
I immediately started to think about what fruits were in season for my cake inspiration. There were berries, oranges and loads of other ideas running through my brain. What to choose? Then I realized that when I create a dessert, I tend to look to fruits for my creative spark.
Vegetables also give me much inspiration. There’s nothing more fun in the kitchen then to play with your vegetables and prepare them in a new and imaginative meal.
After the big birthday party, my kids requested something “cake-like” for breakfast. I have a freezer full of bananas waiting to be used in banana bread, but I found in my fridge some steamed baby beets sent to me from Melissa’s Produce.
I quickly began baking.
My family looked over my shoulder skeptically. I have prepared this sweet bread with whole wheat flour and all-purpose, and both turned out delicious. I, personally, could detect the beet flavor, but not everyone else could.
It’s a great way to sneak in some the nutritional goodness of beets for your family: fiber, antioxidants, anti-inflammatory and detoxification support. You can also use beets to make a beetroot red velvet cake!
Quick breads are really a great snack cake, lower in sugar than typical cakes. Go beyond banana bread with some of my more unique quick bread recipes:
- Whole Wheat Pomegranate Banana Bread with Pistachios
- Whole Wheat Banana Bread with Olive Oil and Blueberries
- Skinny Whole Wheat Chocolate Banana Bread
- Gluten Free Pumpkin Bread
- Mango Bread with Whole Wheat Flour and Protein Powder
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Olive Oil Beet Bread with Walnuts
Serve your family extra fiber, antioxidants and loads of vitamins in this Olive Oil Beet Bread with Walnuts - and they won't notice the beets!
Ingredients
- 6 oz baby beets, peeled, steamed & cooled
- 3 TBS water
- 1 TBS lemon juice
- 2 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup milk, low-fat
- ⅓ cup granulated sugar
- ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
- 1 ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 egg, large
- 1 cup walnuts, chopped
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350ºF.
- Coarsely chop baby beets and place in a blender.
- Add water and lemon juice to the beets. Pulse the beets in the blender until smooth.
- In a medium bowl whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
- Using a stand mixer or a hand mixer, combine milk, sugar, olive oil and vanilla. Mix until combined.
- Add the egg. Stir until fully incorporated.
- Add the beet mixture into the milk mixture until just combined.
- In batches, add dry ingredients into wet, making sure everything is evenly distributed.
- Stir in the walnuts by hand.
- Apply non-stick spray to a 9" x 5" loaf pan, and line the bottom of the pan with parchment paper. Pour batter inside.
- Bake bread in oven for 50-60 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the bread comes out clean.
- Let the bread rest in the pan for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a cooling rack to cool completely, about 1 hour.
Notes
Serving Suggestions: For an extra touch of sweetness, mix leftover beet juice with powdered sugar to make the icing.
Cooking Tips: This recipe uses already steamed beets. Allow additional steaming time if using fresh uncooked beets. This recipe works great with whole wheat flour, too.
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
12Serving Size:
1 sliceAmount Per Serving: Calories: 221Total Fat: 12gSaturated Fat: 1gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 10gCholesterol: 16mgSodium: 164mgCarbohydrates: 25gFiber: 2gSugar: 8gProtein: 5g
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