Vegan Maple Banana Bread
This soft and fluffy maple banana bread is made with just 8 key ingredients including real maple syrup (no maple extract needed here)! It has a similar taste and texture to my vegan banana bread, but with a deep maple flavor.
Simple ingredients you’ll need
The full list of ingredient quantities and instructions are in the recipe card at the bottom of this post.
Notes about the ingredients
Maple syrup adds depth of flavor, similar to brown sugar. Any maple syrup will work; it doesn’t need to be fancy! I used a Grade A amber pure maple syrup from Costco/Amazon.
Overripe bananas. The riper your bananas, the more sweet, soft and moist your banana bread will be. This recipe also works with frozen bananas, just thaw them beforehand.
All-purpose flour. I’ve only tested this recipe with all-purpose flour. The banana bread will work with white whole wheat flour or spelt flour, but I recommend adding an extra dash of milk as they’re more absorbent.
Baking powder and soda. We’re using double baking agents to ensure this quick bread is fluffy. Bananas and maple syrup can weigh down baked goods, but the raising agents help prevent this.
We don’t need any special ingredients to replace the eggs in this recipe! Maple syrup and the extra banana bind the ingredients, and the leavening agents help the bread rise and set.
Making maple banana bread
First, mash your bananas in a large mixing bowl. You can do this with a fork, potato masher, or an electric mixer. I like using a hand mixer as it’s quicker and easier!
To the mashed bananas, add all your wet ingredients and mix until combined. We don’t need much milk in this recipe as the maple syrup adds a lot of moisture.
Finally, add all the dry ingredients and stir until just combined. Make sure you don’t overmix the banana bread batter, otherwise your final product may be dense.
This banana bread is delicious with add-ins like chocolate chips, chopped pecans and walnuts. When there are just a few streaks of flour in your batter, fold through your add-ins.
Baking the banana bread
This maple banana bread is tall, so will take 60-70 minutes to bake in the oven.
As it’s taller than most banana breads, I recommend lowering your oven rack to the bottom third of the oven. When you place the banana bread on the rack, it’s closer to the middle of the oven, rather than the top. This slows down the browning of the banana bread.
Customizing this recipe
This recipe works well with King Arthur’s gluten-free measure for measure flour. However, I recommend baking the loaf for around 65-70 minutes.
This recipe is similar to my vegan banana muffins, and readers have successfully made those with all-purpose gluten-free flour. I imagine it would work well with this recipe, though I haven’t tested it.
I recommend checking out my banana muffin recipe. You can make it with maple syrup with small adjustments (see the notes in the recipe box).
I have not tested this so I cannot vouch for results. You may be able to substitute the oil with unsweetened applesauce or yogurt but your banana bread will have a different texture.
More banana recipes
Or check out my other vegan quick breads.
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Vegan Maple Banana Bread
Ingredients
Wet ingredients
- 3 x (~360g total) medium very ripe bananas, (about 1 2/3 cups of mashed banana)
- ⅔ cup (225g) maple syrup
- 3 tablespoons (45g) dairy-free milk
- ½ cup (125g) neutral flavored oil, or melted vegan butter
- 1 tablespoon white or apple cider vinegar, optional
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, optional
Dry ingredients
- 2 ½ cups (315g) all-purpose plain flour, spoon and leveled (note 1, and for gluten-free option)
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon, or 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- Pinch of salt
- ¾ cup (130g) roughly chopped vegan chocolate or chocolate chips, or chopped walnuts, optional
To decorate (optional)
- 1 x (120g) medium ripe banana, sliced lengthways and/or
- vegan chocolate chips, chopped walnuts or rolled oats
Instructions
- Adjust an oven rack to the lower third of your oven (lower than the middle, but not the far bottom). Preheat your oven to 180°C (350°F). Line an 8-inch (20 cm) loaf pan with parchment paper, leaving an overhang on the sides. Or use a larger loaf pan. (note 2)
Make the maple banana bread:
- Add the bananas to a large bowl or stand mixer and mash until it forms a thick lumpy paste. Add the remaining wet ingredients (maple syrup, milk, oil, optional vinegar and vanilla) and mix until well combined. Add all of the dry ingredients and mix until just combined. Some lumps are fine, as long as they aren't lumps of flour.
- Optional: Add any nuts or mix-ins and gently fold them in.
- Pour the batter into your prepared loaf pan and smooth the top. If desired, top with an additional banana, or sprinkle with chocolate chips or walnuts.
Bake the banana bread:
- Bake the banana bread for around 60-70 minutes. During baking, if your banana bread is browning too quickly on top but isn't fully baked in the middle, carefully tent the pan with aluminum foil. The banana bread is ready when you can insert a toothpick in the middle and it comes out mostly clean (a few moist crumbs are fine).
- Allow the banana bread to cool in the pan for 15 minutes then place it on a wire rack.
- Use a sharp serrated knife to cut the banana bread into slices and enjoy it warm or at room temperature. For neater slices, allow the bread to cool completely.
- Store leftovers in an airtight container or plastic wrap. It can be stored at room temperature for up to 3 days, in the fridge for up to 5 days or in the freezer for up to 1 month. Allow it to come to room temperature or warm up a slice before serving.
Notes
- Spoon and level the flour: Please measure your flour accurately, otherwise your banana bread will be too dry. If you’re using measuring cups, use the spoon and level method where you fluff up the flour in its bag, use a spoon to add flour to a measuring cup, then level it off with a knife. Using the measuring cup to scoop flour out of your container will add too much flour to the recipe and make it dry. For the best results, use a kitchen scale and the grams measurements.
Gluten-free version: This recipe works well with King Arthur’s gluten-free measure for measure flour. However, I recommend baking the loaf for around 65-70 minutes. - This is a tall loaf. If your pan is shorter than 2 3/4-inch (7 cm) and you’re using mix-ins/toppings, your banana bread may overflow like a muffin. To prevent this, line your loaf pan so the parchment paper sits taller than the sides of the pan (to make the pan taller). Or remove 1/2 cup of the batter and bake it separately in a muffin pan.
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Hi! May be a dumb question but can I replace the maple syrup for molasses?
Hi Ally, technically it’ll work but molasses has a much stronger flavor than maple syrup so the banana bread will taste different. You may be able to use a smaller amount of molasses and add a little more milk if needed but I’m not 100% sure on quantities as I haven’t tested it myself. Hope that helps!
This is incredibly delicious! I added the optional vinegar, vanilla, added toasted walnuts to the mix, and topped with vegan chocolate chips.
I am especially happy there is no refined sugar!
Hi Sheila, that’s wonderful to hear and glad that you enjoyed it with some mix-ins! Thanks so much for your feedback!
This recipe was so simple and turned out great! I used 1 large very overripe banana and 3 medium ripe bananas for a total of 4 bananas. I also used King Arthur’s gluten free flour with same amounts, used 1/4 cup coconut oil and 1/4 cup avocado oil (didn’t have 1/2 cup of either alone) and omitted baking soda because I did not have any. I also opted for adding ACV. I did not use a traditional loaf pan, and instead used an aluminum brownie pan that could fit in my toaster oven.
The result was moist, light, fluffy & delicious! I was pleasantly surprised because another vegan banana bread recipe I tried recently was more complicated and I was disappointed with the results. This recipe, however, was quick to make with the longest part being baking. I baked for 60 minutes and the top was golden brown, even a bit dark which I do not mind for some crisp. The inside was beautiful and moist. Using maple syrup instead of sugar was the key difference in both recipes, and I feel that and the spoon of vinegar made this bread very tasty. Next time, I will add walnuts for more texture! For now I just top with crunchy peanut butter and it does well.
Mahalo for the recipe!
Thank you so much for your thoughtful comment and detailed feedback! It sounds like your banana bread turned out beautifully, especially with that golden top and moist interior 😍 We’re so glad it worked well with the gluten-free flour and your oil combo too. Topping it with crunchy peanut butter sounds divine, and I can totally see walnuts taking it to the next level. Thank you for giving the recipe a go and taking the time to share your experience, it means a lot! 💛
I just have to comment again. Your recipes have never disappointed my toddler so far. I scaled down the recipe to 3 servings to test my new toaster oven and it was such a hit. I only used half the amount of maple syrup and added an extra 1/2 banana, and extra milk to make up for the liquid. It turned out so good. My son ate more than half of the loaf within a day!!!!
Hi Miro!! I’m thrilled you and your toddler loved this banana bread! So glad that it worked with less maple syrup and extra banana/milk too – I’ll have to try that one day. Thank you so much for letting me know!
hi, this maple banana bread sounds amazing and i’m deciding if i’m going to make this one or your regular banana bread, but i was wondering, how many calories are in this one?
Hi Charlotte. For the nutrition content, it can hugely depend on the brand of maple syrup and ingredients that you’re using so I suggest using a seperate calculator inputing the brand of ingredients that you have. There are several calculators available online.