Vegan Banana Bread - The Plant Based School (2024)

You can make our vegan banana bread in one bowl with one fork and eight simple pantry staples.

The bread is soft, perfectly moist, and packed with the natural flavor of ripe bananas.

Table of Contents

• Vegan banana bread video
• How to make vegan banana bread
• Variations
• Questions
• Storage
• More breakfast recipes
• More banana recipes
• Vegan Banana Bread Recipe

Did you know that banana bread was popularised by excellent marketing efforts from Chiquita (the banana company), who released a Banana’s Recipe book in the 1950s to boost banana sales in the USA.

The recipe was a hit; after all, banana bread tastes delicious and is easy to bake.

We’ve done many tests, and we are confident you can make the best vegan banana bread with the simplest ingredients.

The texture of this banana bread is light; it almost dissolves in your mouth as you bite into it.

The crumb is easy to slice, moist but not excessively, and you won’t need to bake it for hours. It has a naturally delicious banana flavor.

Quantities are in the recipe box at the bottom of the page.

Ripe Bananas

Try to use ripe or overripe bananas to make the best banana bread. Pick the ones with black spots on the peel. They are sweeter and easier to mash.

If you don’t have very ripe bananas, use regular ones and add 1/4 cup of extra sugar.

Flour

We use all-purpose flour.

Substitute half whole wheat flour (or whole wheat pastry flour) with half all-purpose flour. For gluten-free, use a 1-to-1 gluten-free flour for baking.

Sugar

We use brown sugar, but any sugar works. White sugar, palm sugar, and coconut sugar are all good alternatives.

Remember that coconut sugar is less sweet, so you might need to add 25% more than our doses.

Feel free to add more sugar if you like sweeter banana bread; you can go up to 1.5 cups.

We haven’t tried this recipe with maple syrup.

Non-Dairy Milk

We use almond milk. Any other dairy-free milk works. For example, we tested soy milk, oat milk, and rice milk, and they all worked great.

Oil

We recommend olive oil or avocado oil because they are the healthiest oils you can bake with.

We think oil is superior (and healthier) to butter when making quick breads because it produces a light and moist crumb. Butter produces a heavier, denser, and drier loaf.

For butter lovers, you can surely add unsweetened melted butter to this recipe instead of oil.

Melted coconut oil and vegan butter work, too.

Vanilla extract

Vanilla extract, or the seeds of a vanilla pod, adds a pleasant aroma and depth of flavor, and we recommend it.

Baking powder and baking soda

Baking powder is essential in baking a domed banana bread like the one you see in our picture, with a light, airy crumb.

If you are looking for a more natural alternative to baking powder, then cream of tartar is your best bet.

Baking soda makes the crumb super light and soft. It also adds a beautiful golden-brown color.

Salt (optional)

You won’t taste the salt in this recipe; however, salt helps in bringing the other flavors together and making tastier banana bread with a fuller flavor.

If you are on a low-sodium diet, keep the salt out.

What about add-ins?

Customize your loaf by stirring in your favorite add-ins. We like it with the following:

• Nuts: check out our banana nut bread recipe. You can use chopped walnuts, pecans, or hazelnuts.
• Raisins and cranberries: 1/2 cup.
• Dark chocolate chips: 1/2 cup.
• Cinnamon: 1 teaspoon.
• Grated zucchini: check out our banana zucchini bread recipe.
• Hazelnut chocolate spread: 1/2 tablespoon per slice to spread on top once baked.

Preheat the oven to 350°F or 180°C. Line your 9 x 5 inch (23 cm x 12 cm) loaf pan with parchment paper.

In a large mixing bowl, mash the banana with a fork until you get it to a pureed consistency.

Add non-dairy milk, olive oil, sugar, and vanilla extract to the mashed banana. Mix with the same fork until well combined.

Sift in the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt, and stir the banana mixture until just combined. You can use the same fork.

Don’t over-mix the batter; lumps are ok. Overmixing will develop the gluten that will make your loaf gummy and heavy.

Tip: Avoid using a whisk, electric mixer, hand mixer, or stand mixer; you’ll risk overmixing the batter. A fork or spatula is more than enough.

Tip: At this stage, you can fold in your favorite add-ins.

Pour the batter into the loaf pan. Bake immediately at 350°F or 180°C for about 40 to 50 minutes.

Tip: don’t overbake, or the loaf will dry out. Check doneness at the 40-minute mark. If a toothpick inserted in the center comes out dry, the vegan banana bread is ready. If not, keep baking in 2.5-minute increments.

Let the banana bread cool down for 15 minutes in the loaf pan, then pull it out and let it cool down completely on a cooling rack (at least 1 hour).

Slice with a bread knife and enjoy. We recommend 0.8-inch or 2-cm thick slices.

Banana muffins

You can make 12 vegan banana bread muffins with the same batter. They only take 23 minutes to bake!

You can add chopped nuts or chocolate chips as regular banana bread.

To bake banana bread muffins, use a standard 12-muffin tin (or two 6-muffin tins). You must line the pan with muffin liners or squares of parchment paper.

Check out our vegan banana muffin recipe.

Banana nut bread

Want to make this recipe with nuts? Walnuts taste delicious with the banana; we think they are the best add-in for banana bread. The recipe is also dairy- and egg-free.

Check out our banana nut bread recipe.

Banana zucchini bread

This one’s a favorite on our Instagram. Everyone loves it! The grated zucchini adds even more moisture, and the bread stays soft for almost an entire week.

Check out our banana zucchini bread recipe.

Make ahead: this vegan banana bread is an excellent recipe to make ahead and for meal prep because it stays moist for days, and its taste gets better on the second day.

Get more breakfast and brunch ideas with these easy, sweet, and savory meals:

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