Best vegan banana bread. Banana Bread has been around for years, but reached optimum popularity during the first year of lockdown (I hope one day I'll be reading this post and thinking, gosh, lockdown seems soooo long ago now!), so that was 2020?
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I think what made it popular was that it was bread/not bread. It has the name bread in it, but it's just a loaf cake! It does come under the guise of "quick breads", but I don't even think of it like that.
Banana Bread makes great use of overripe bananas, in fact, the riper the better, and you could use whole frozen bananas too.
Why is this the Best Banana Bread Recipe?
Of course, we all think that our recipes are the best, but this one combines two critical criteria:
- Speed. You can whizz and stir up the ingredients and have it in the oven in less than 5 minutes
- Taste. This is full of all the good stuff: vegan chocolate chips, walnuts, brown sugar, vanilla extract. It is the only banana bread recipe that you will ever need!
How do you make Vegan Banana Bread?
Simple! You take a whole lot of basic ingredients and mix them! Well, there's maybe a little more to it than that, but not too much.
- Sift the dry ingredients (all purpose flour (although you can use whole wheat flour) with baking soda (baking powder) and bicarbonate of soda) in a large mixing bowl.
- In a blender, puree the ripe brown bananas, and the wet ingredients, the melted coconut oil or vegetable oil, white sugar, brown sugar, and dairy-free cream and yogurt.
- Mix the wet and the dry mixtures and pour them into a large pan. Fold in the walnuts and chocolate chips.
- Pour your vegan banana bread batter into a 2lb prepared loaf pan (lined with parchment paper), and bake for about 45-50 minutes at 180c. Use the toothpick test to ensure it is cooked through.
- Cool on a cooling rack.
How do you serve Banana Bread?
Banana bread is great served just cut into chunks, like any loaf cake. However, you can also spread it with a little vegan butter, or, once it goes a little stale, fry it on a little vegan butter and spread with jam or peanut butter.
Note: Unlike regular banana bread, this vegan recipe does not need flax eggs or egg substitutes, and of course, it is a naturally eggless banana bread.
The resulting cake has a fluffy texture, studded with dark chocolate and nuts that punctuate the sweetness of the bananas perfectly.
Modifications
- Feel free to omit the nuts/chocolate chips or double them up
- Use coconut sugar instead of white sugar
- You can use canola oil, olive oil, sunflower oil, or melted vegan butter instead of coconut oil
- You can use non-dairy milk such as almond milk, oat milk or soy milk instead of vegan cream. Try adding a teaspoon of apple cider vinegar to the milk if you do replace it, this thickens it slightly and makes it richer.
FAQ
Yes, you can but I don't recommend it for a couple of reasons. One, unripe bananas will not give you a smooth puree when you blend it, they still have a really firm texture and will produce a more nubbly texture. Two, ripe bananas are much sweeter and have much more flavour than unripe. 
If you keep it in an airtight container, it will last for about 5 days.
Yes! Bake it, leave to cool completely, then wrap tightly in several layers of clingfilm. This will last in the freezer for about 6 weeks.
To serve, simply remove from the freezer several hours before you want to eat it.
Try my other delicious vegan cakes
- No-Bake Strawberry Cream Pie
- Vegan Pear and Walnut Brownies
- No Bake Key Lime Pies!
- Mango Coconut Sticky Rice
- Old-Fashioned Rhubarb Cake
- Easy Vegan Sultana Loaf
📋 Recipe
Ingredients
- 3 Bananas ripe, peeled
- 5 tablespoon Coconut Oil melted
- ½ cup Plain Yogurt vegan
- ½ cup Cream vegan, I used Oatly
- 1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
- ½ cup Granulated Sugar
- ½ cup Brown Sugar soft
- 1¾ cup Plain Flour
- 1 teaspoon Baking Powder
- ¼ teaspoon Bicarbonate of Soda
- ½ teaspoon Salt
- ½ cup Walnuts chopped
- ½ Dark Chocolate Chips vegan
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 180c.
- Line a loaf tin with baking paper (I used a standard 2lb tin).
- Sift the flour, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda and salt into a large bowl.
- In a blender, whizz up the bananas, coconut oil, yogurt, cream, vanilla and sugars until smooth.
- Pour into the dry ingredients and mix until just combined and no lumps are visible.
- Gently stir in the walnuts and chocolate chips
- Bake for about 45-50 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.
- Leave to cool in the tin before cutting into slices and enjoying!
Colleen says
This banana bread turned out perfect. Thanks for the recipe!
Amanda says
I loved how moist this banana bread was, turned out great - Thanks!
Lindsay says
This is so yummy! Love the idea of a loaf cake instead of bread too because that's totally what it is.
Sabrina says
I love this banana bread! So delicious.
Lucy says
You weren't wrong, this definitely is the best banana bread! The yoghurt and cream makes it so moist and I love the addition of walnuts and chocolate chips for different textures and flavours.
Nora says
This banana bread looks so good! I think the row of banana slices on top is so pretty! Can't wait to make it for my daughter! Thanks for the recipe!
Bernice says
This gorgeous loaf was irresistible! I baked it up yesterday and there's barely enough left for breakfast this morning. My whole family enjoyed it and didn't even know it was vegan.
Cathleen says
Wow, no way is the bread vegan!! I am definitely making it. Thanks for including some modifications too, I am excited to try those versions as well 😉
Megan Ellam says
So delicious! Love all the flavours and just how easy it is to make. Thanks for another kickass recipe.
Mihaela | https://theworldisanoyster.com/ says
True that everyone learnt to bake one in pandemic:)) I love your vegan version of the recipe!
Enriqueta E Lemoine says
I'm not vegan, but I have to try these banana bread asap! I love the way you decorated it with the banana slices on top. It looks so delicious and moist.
Kathryn says
This banana bread looks so delicious and I have ripe bananas that I need to use today. I'm looking forward to this and I know it will be a new favorite! Thank you!
Linda says
This banana bread is so good! Can't believe it's actually vegan
Loreto and Nicoletta Nardelli says
Such an awesome banana bread! You definitely cannot tell it is vegan. So delicious!
Amy Liu Dong says
I am not a vegan, but I love this recipe. It's delicious, easy, and healthy!
Katie Crenshaw says
This banana bread is outrageous. It turns out moist and flavorful. I love it.
GUNJAN says
I agree with the title recipe and I highly recommend everyone trying it. I baked it and came out excellent as expected.
Moop Brown says
This banana bread looks amazing. My mouth is watering just from looking at it.
Petro says
We absolutely love banana bread but I don't think we ever tried a vegan recipe! Thanks for sharing, I cannot wait to see how this turns!
Kayla DiMaggio says
Loving this Vegan Banana Bread recipe! So easy to make and delicious! Loved it!
Amy says
I always seem to have bananas lying around that are too ripe to eat so a good banana bread recipe is always so helpful. Tried yours and it was yum! Love the addition of the dark chocolate chips and walnuts. And yeah, it's not really bread is it?? LOL
Megan says
So delicious and easy to make. Thanks for another great recipe.
Oscar says
I love banana bread and this recipe totally hit the spot. I can't believe how moist and delicious it was. Definitely keeping this one to make again. Thank you.
Liz says
I love how you added banana slices to the top! Looks so pretty! We love banana bread at our house, so excited to give this recipe a try!