This quick and easy vegan banana bread recipe is moist, fragrant and perfectly fluffy. It uses one-bowl and takes less than one hour to make. Plus, it’s made with simple pantry ingredients, so you won’t need to make a trip to the health food store. The perfect afternoon snack or breakfast – I guarantee you won’t even be able to tell this banana bread is vegan!
I love to make this banana bread on a Sunday, so I can enjoy it for breakfast and snacks throughout the week (although to be real, it only lasts a couple of days in our house)! I’ll usually warm up a slice and drizzle it with a bit of honey or maple—it’s so yum! If you’re looking for more healthy but delicious breakfast ideas, then be sure to also try out my Chocolate Chia Mousse – it tastes like dessert but is actually perfect for breakfast! My other favorite sweet healthy snacks are Giant Peanut Butter Cups, Homemade Vegan Greek Yogurt, Baked Oats, or Airfryer Pancakes for quick breakfast. I also love these Vegan Blackberry Muffins – be sure to check them out 🙂
Ingredients
One of the reasons I am so proud of this recipe is that it doesn’t require any specialty binding ingredients. Even if you are completely new to vegan baking, you will probably already have most of these ingredients in your pantry 🙂
Here is a shopping list of all the ingredients you need to make this delicious vegan banana bread:
- Overripe bananas
- Plain flour
- Baking powder
- Vegetable oil
- Brown sugar
- Vanilla bean paste or vanilla extract
- Plant-based milk
- Salt
- Cinnamon
- Optional add ins (choose one): walnuts, pecans, raisins (or sultanas), chocolate chips
How do you make Vegan Banana Bread?
Making this one-bowl banana bread is so easy. See the recipe card at the bottom of this post for specific quantities and details. Here’s a quick video so you can see how to make it!
And here are step-by-step instructions with photos though to break it down:
Step One: Mash bananas until smooth.
Step Two: Add vegetable oil, sugar, vanilla bean paste, plant-based milk and salt.
Step Three: Sift in flour, baking powder and cinnamon into the wet mixture.
Step Four: Mix until just combined.
Step Five: If desired, include the optional add-ins, like nuts, chocolate chips or raisins.
Step 6: Bake in preheated oven for 45-50 minutes.
Step Seven: Leave to cool in the pan for a few minutes, then transfer to a wire rack.
Step Eight: Once cooled, slice into pieces and enjoy!
FAQs
The cool thing about this Vegan Banana Bread recipe is that it doesn’t require any egg alternatives, unlike many other vegan baked goods. The bananas naturally act as a binding agent to hold everything together! So there’s no need to do a trip to the health food aisle for flax or chia seeds.
The number one mistake when making banana bread is overmixing the batter. When mixing the flour and dry ingredients, it is important to stir only until just combined. Otherwise, it can make the banana bread tough and chewy. Overmixing develops too much gluten, which causes the structure of the loaf to become dense and heavy. It also prevents air bubbles from forming during baking, so there’s no rising or soft texture in between slices. This can result in dry and dense banana bread with little flavor. To avoid this problem, take extra care not to overmix when combining your ingredients.
Another common mistake people make when making banana bread is not using overripe bananas. While it’s tempting to use bright yellow bananas, using overripe black spotty bananas makes all the difference for your recipe. Overripe bananas have developed a deeper sweetness that adds complexity and moisture to your final product. Plus – they’re softer, so you save some elbow effort on mashing them up! So next time you’re making banana bread, skip out on those pretty yellow ones and opt for some freckly black ones instead!
Banana bread is delicious on its own, but you can also top it with a generous spread of nut-butter and sliced bananas. Serve it with a hot drink like coffee, tea or chai latte for a tasty sweet snack or dessert. To make banana bread even more decadent, you can warm or toast it and serve it with a scoop of ice cream and pour of maple syrup for dessert.
Why can’t you use unripe bananas for banana bread?
Bananas are fruits that come in different stages of ripening. Normally, when you buy them from the supermarket, their skins are bright yellow, sometimes with a hint of green. This may be great for eating raw, but for baking the perfect Vegan Banana Bread, you’ll want to leave those bananas to get super funky and ripe!
The difference between overripe and regular bananas is that overripe bananas are softer, have more brown spots, and are darker in color. Overripe bananas are also sweeter than ripe bananas because the starch has converted to sugar, and they have a much more pungent fragrance. This makes them a bit gross for eating but perfect for baking! The extra sweetness means we need to add less sugar to our batter (yay, health!). It also builds depth of flavor and keeps the banana bread extra moist. If you use regular bananas, your banana bread will likely be drier, not as sweet, and have less banana flavor. Let those bananas sit for a few days until they are nicely ripened.
In a rush and need to speed up the ripening process? Here’s a pro-tip: place your bananas in a paper bag! The bag will trap the natural plant hormone (ethene gas) that ripens the banana. This is also very handy for ripening other fruits, like avocado.
Expert tips for the best banana bread
- Use overripe bananas for the best flavor – trust me, I know it’s tempting to use bright yellow bananas, but it makes *all* the difference if you use overripe black spotty bananas. The depth of flavor, moisture, and sweetness is your reward! Plus, if you’ve accidentally bought too much fruit for the week, this is a delicious way to use up any sad leftovers in the fruit bowl.
- Do not overmix the batter – when combining the flour and dry ingredients, stir only until just combined; otherwise, it can make your banana bread tough and chewy.
- Get creative – if you want to make an extra indulgent loaf, stir through some extras like walnuts, sultanas, or dark chocolate chips.
- Grease and line your loaf pan for easy removal.
Substitutions
- Brown sugar – You can easily swap this for your sugar of choice. Raw cane sugar, coconut sugar, or even regular white sugar will all work well. Keep in mind that these will make the loaf slightly less sweet (brown sugar has that yummy caramel richness). The color will also be lighter if you use raw or white sugar.
- Plain flour – if you’re looking for a healthier alternative, you could substitute this for spelled wholemeal or whole wheat flour. Keep in mind these flours (particularly wholemeal/whole wheat) will affect the final flavor and texture. Add an extra splash of plant milk if the batter looks too thick.
- Vegetable oil – I use a regular everyday vegetable oil blend, but any mildly flavored oil will work well. You could try macadamia oil, light olive oil, sunflower oil, or even melted vegan margarine. If you like coconut oil, this is also a great option, but keep in mind it will impart its flavor.
How to store Banana Bread
Here are my top tips for storing banana bread so it stays fresh and moist for as long as possible:
- On the benchtop – your vegan banana bread will last for 3-4 days when stored in an airtight container at room temperature. By the 4th day, it will probably taste best if you microwave or toast it to refresh the moisture.
- In the freezer, if you’d like to keep your banana bread longer, you can freeze it sliced or whole. Wrap it in reusable clingfilm or a freezer bag; it should keep frozen for about 2 months. To defrost it, leave the entire loaf overnight on the countertop or in the fridge. Individual slices should thaw at room temperature in a couple of hours, or you can zap them in the microwave for about 30 seconds.
Watch me make this recipe
Here’s a video with step-by-step instructions 🙂
I hope you love this Vegan Banana Bread recipe! If you’ve made it, let me know your thoughts in the comments below. And if you’re looking for another healthy variation with a twist, try my super green Vegan Banana Bread with Spinach recipe, too.
Vegan Banana Bread
Ingredients
- 3 medium overripe bananas
- 1/3 cup vegetable oil
- 1/3 cup brown sugar
- 1/2 tsp vanilla bean paste or sub vanilla extract
- 2 tbsp plant-based milk
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1 + 3/4 cups plain flour sifted
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 2 tsp cinnamon
Optional extras (pick one)
- 1/4 cup walnuts roughly chopped
- 1/4 cup sultanas or raisins
- 1/2 cup vegan dark chocolate chips
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 180C/355F. Lightly grease an 11 x 21cm (base measurement) loaf pan or line with non-stick baking paper.
- In a large bowl, peel and mash the bananas until they form a smooth paste. Add vegetable oil, sugar, vanilla bean paste, plant-based milk and salt. Mix well to combine.
- Sift in flour, baking powder and cinnamon into the wet mixture, plus (if using) any extra ingredients. Mix until just combined, then transfer batter into the loaf pan.
- Bake for 45-50 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean.
- Leave to cool in the pan for 5 minutes, then turn transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Cut into slices and serve. Tastes extra indulgent with a generous spread of vegan margarine or smooth peanut butter!
Video
Claudia says
Super easy to make and delicious, not as sweet as some other banana bread recipes I’ve made. Will definitely make again 🙂
Anna says
so good and SO easy!! have to make one again soon!
Tiffany Castle says
Banana bread is so good toasted or fried over. I’ve never tried an egg free one. Thanks for posting.
Gareth Tan Yiam Leem says
So, so good, no joke.
Janet k. says
Delicious!!
Sarah says
Quintessential home-cooked goodness.
Hong Nguyen says
This was very tasty and easy to make!
Anne says
Super easy and tasty