This loaf is dense, delicious, rich and fulfilling – everything you want a protein loaf to be! All you need to do is cut a healthy size chunk and slather it with your favourite nut butter on it and voila, you've got yourself a super yummy breakfast or power snack!
I chose chunky almond butter to slather on this slice because I love the texture and let's face it, it's OH SO GOOD! Almond butter or peanut butter, for that matter, are perfect together with chocolate but you probably already knew that if you've tried my Maca Chocolate Freezer Fudge (okay, that recipe contains hazelnut butter but any nut butter with chocolate is what dreams are made of!).
If you're looking for a soft, moist and light loaf, I'll have to apologize because this isn't it, haha! This loaf is much heartier and dense because it's meant to fuel you and satisfy you for hours! If you're on the hunt for more of a soft, moist, banana-y and fluffy loaf, you'll want to try my Chocolate Banana Loaf in my ebook, Little Food Lovers: Raising Healthy Snackers. Both would still be really nice to pair with my Rise and Shine Tea Latte , Maple & Spice Oat Milk Latte or Maca Hot Chocolate if you want to chocolate it up even more!
I packed this loaf with a ton of nourishing ingredients including Genuine Health's Fermented Organic Vegan Proteins+ powder (which is Joyous Health Approved!). I love this protein powder and it's the only one I use because it's fermented , making it easier to digest and the nutrients easier to absorb and because it's organic , which I never compromise on.
The fermentation helps to make the plant-proteins highly digestible so you don't get bloated and you nourish your microbiome. It's a win-win!
And YES, that's a beet right there in that photo above, which you might be surprised to see next to ingredients like chocolate chips and cacao powder but what you might not know is that beets and chocolate are a match made in foodie heaven!
In fact, in my new cookbook, The Joyous Cookbook, I have a recipe for Beet Quinoa Chocolate Muffins that are to die for! If you tend to steer clear of beets because of their earthy taste, not to fret because you won't taste it at all. The raw cacao powder masks it really nicely, but of course, you still get to enjoy all of the health benefits of beets, such as the natural liver detoxification support it provides!
Beets also provide a lovely and welcome moistness to this dense loaf. Also, if you don't have a gluten-free flour blend, don't stress because you can easily make a substitution like half oat flour and half brown rice flour. I do not suggest subbing in almond flour or coconut flour unless you're a real gluten-free flour baking wizard because they are not a 1 to 1 ratio.
If you're new to gluten-free flours and gluten-free baking in general, I have a handy Flour Substitution Chart that you might find to be helpful. You can download a free copy of it over here or below.
I highly recommend you decorate the top of this loaf with chocolate chunks to increase your chances of getting one in each bite you take.
This BEET Chocolate Protein Loaf is...
- Gluten-free and dairy-free
- Packed with gut-loving fibre and phytonutrients
- Blood sugar balancing and metabolism-boosting
- Kid-friendly
Here's my recipe for this Beet Chocolate Protein Loaf:
Desserts
Beet Chocolate Protein Loaf
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Ingredients
- 1-1/2 cups gluten-free flour blend*
- 1/2 cup shredded coconut
- 1-1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1 scoop chocolate protein powder**
- 1/2 cup raw cacao powder
- Pinch fine sea salt
- 2 eggs, whisked
- 1 cup grated beets, raw (approximated 2 small-ish beets)
- 1/4 cup melted coconut oil
- 2 tbsp water
- 3/4 cup real maple syrup
- 1/2 cup mini chocolate chips
- Optional: Handful chocolate chunks to decorate the top
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F (180C). Line a standard size loaf pan with parchment paper.
- In a large bowl, combine flour, coconut, baking soda, baking powder, chocolate protein powder, raw cacao powder and sea salt.
- In a separate bowl, combine whisked eggs, grated beets, coconut oil and maple syrup.
- Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and stir to combine. Fold in chocolate chips. Decorate top with chocolate chunks if using.
- Spoon mixture into loaf pan. Bake for 40-50 minutes or until a fork inserted comes out clean.
- Let cool completely before slicing. Store in fridge for up to 1 week or freezer for up to 3 months.
Notes
This protein loaf will satisfy your belly for hours. It's dense, rich and delicious!
*I use the Bob's Red Mill GF blend but you could also sub with oat or brown rice or quinoa flour or a mix of those.
**If you don't have protein powder, just add 4 tbsp more flour.
Remember it tastes great slathered with some nut butter and enjoyed with your favourite smoothie or tea latte like my Maple Spice Latte or my Rise & Shine Latte.
I have many recipes on the blog where I have incorporated protein powder into them so feel free to check out more recipes with Genuine Health's Fermented Organic Vegan Proteins+, including:
Sweet Potato Protein Muffins
Protein Blondie Squares
Banana Protein Bake
Carrot Cake Balls
As I type this out, I just realized I haven't done a protein pancake for the blog – I need to make that happen! Would you be into that? Let me know in the comments below!
Have a joyous rest of your week!
Joy xo
This post was created in partnership with Genuine Health, however all opinions are always my own. Read more about partnership ethos here.
Joy - what is the ** next to the protein scoop?
ReplySorry for the confusion, I've updated it!
I realized that I forgot to add the water and coconut flakes in my loaf. Do you think this is why my loaf came out crumbly?
ReplyHi Jen, the coconut oil and the water are what add moistness to this recipe and the coconut flakes give it some "meat". So yes, forgetting to put these ingredients in (the flakes and the water that is) will yield a different loaf. Sometimes baking too long will do the same thing. However, if you pop it in the fridge it may be easier for cutting. I hope it tastes yummy!
This looks delicious! Do you think « flax eggs » would work in this recipe? Thank you so much.
ReplyI haven't tried it yet but my guess is yes :)
From my attempt at the loaf, I wouldn't recommend using a flax egg in place of real one.
Thanks for sharing your feedback. How many flax eggs did you try? Did you use the protein powder by Genuine Health?
Hi Joy, is there something we can use in place of the coconut flakes? I’m the only one in my house that likes coconut. Thank you
ReplyWell if it's just taste, you don't taste them in this recipe :)
Hi Joy, I use tigernut flour to make bread because I can’t handle gf or nut flours. Do you know if I could substitute tigernut flour in this recipe, and if so, would it be 1:1? Thanks!
ReplyHi Martelle, I definitely think you could make this substitution but not sure of the amount because I haven't tried that sub myself. If you experiment, let me know how it turns out!
I tried your recipe and it tasted bitter and kind of chemically. I don't know what happened I am so disheartened I lost a lot of money in those products I used and don't make a lot. I make your recipes a lot and never had anything like this happen. Please help me I used everything in the recipe that you used except the protein powder was vanilla. My baking flour was the bobs red mill gluten free. I dont know what I did wrong.
ReplyOh no! Sorry to hear this. What brand of protein powder did you use?
Orgain organic vanilla protein powder
Hmm, I don't know that brand. I wonder if the mixture of that protein powder with the other ingredients made it taste funny?
If you haven't tried this recipe yet - do it! I made this a while back and it was scrumptious! It's a really great way to use up leftover beets too. :)
ReplyI can taste the potential in this loaf! Unfortunately, I didn't manage to follow it properly and it turned out dry. Will make it again, ensuring I don't miss the water, put the full amount of maple syrup in, and have enough eggs :)
ReplyOkay let me know how it turns out next time! It's definitely a dense loaf so if you miss some of that moisture it's likely too dry.
How many calories in the loaf? Can you use already cooked beets and shave them?
ReplyI don't know how many calories in each loaf. Yes, you can definitely use already cooked beets for sure!