This tall and fluffy vegan banana bread comes together in one bowl and uses only 7 key ingredients. It's soft, moist and packed with 3-4 bananas!
Why you'll love this recipe
TRUSTWORTHY: This banana bread recipe was adapted from my popular vegan banana muffins which has lots of positive reviews! I also served it to non-vegan family members who said it was the 'best banana bread' they've eaten, even compared to non-vegan banana bread!
TEXTURE: Fluffy but denser than banana cake. Finely textured with no dense spots.
FLAVOR: For the best flavor, I use brown sugar, extra cinnamon and extra bananas in this recipe!
Ingredients you'll need
This recipe uses common pantry staples including:
Ingredient notes & substitutions
Ripe bananas that are either fresh or thawed from frozen. Riper bananas will produce a sweeter bread with more banana flavor!
All-purpose flour for the fluffiest banana bread. Alternatively, you can use spelt flour or whole wheat pastry flour.
Brown sugar for the best flavor. Alternatively, you can use coconut sugar for a slightly less sweet banana bread that's darker in color. Regular sugar or a granulated sugar replacer will also work but they lack the depth of flavor provided by brown sugar.
Dairy-free milk. I used unsweetened soy milk and almond milk as that's what I usually have. However, any milk or even water will work.
Baking powder and soda. We're using double baking agents to make sure the banana bread bakes through! This is also a very tall banana bread so we need a proportionate amount of baking agents.
Even though this banana bread is eggless, we don't need any special replacers such as flax eggs. The extra banana helps bind the ingredients and the extra raising agents gives the bread extra lift.
A complete list of ingredients, quantities and instructions are in the gray recipe card at the bottom of this post.
Tips for making the batter
This vegan banana bread recipe is really easy to make. However, here are some expert tips, for convenience and the best banana bread!
Use a mixer to mash your bananas. If you can't be bothered to mash your bananas with a fork, use a hand mixer or stand mixer to break them down. Less effort, same result! Just add the bananas to a mixing bowl and use the beater or whisk attachment to 'mix' them.
Once you add the flour and dry ingredients, don't overmix your batter. It's fine for your batter to have a few lumps!
If you stir your cake batter too much, it will overwork the gluten and make the banana bread dense and tough.
Baking Tips
Leave the top of your banana bread bare or top it with an extra banana. I love eating bits of baked caramelized banana on top of banana bread. However, placing a banana on top causes the bread to rise slightly less. So decorating your banana bread is optional!
Alternatively, you can top your banana bread with
- Old-fashioned rolled oats
- Crumble, such as from my banana muffin recipe. I recommend using just half the recipe.
- Nuts, however they may brown quickly.
If your banana bread is browning too quickly, cover it with foil. This is a large loaf and it needs at least one hour to bake. Some ovens have strong top heating elements and some run hot. At the 30-minute mark, if your banana bread is browning too quickly on top and isn't baked in the middle, tent it with foil.
If you know that your oven tends to burn cakes on top, before you preheat your oven, position a rack at the very top and place an empty baking tray on it. When you bake your banana bread, it'll be shielded from any strong direct heat.
Serving and storage suggestions
When this banana bread is very fresh from the oven, it will be a little crumbly and slightly gooey. If you allow the banana bread to cool down, you'll be able to cut cleaner slices. On the day of baking, the top of the banana bread is crispy so I recommend cutting it with a serrated knife.
This banana bread keeps very well for a few days. However, I recommend storing it unsliced as this helps retain its moist texture.
You can freeze the banana bread as a loaf or in slices. I recommend storing sliced banana bread in plastic wrap or between pieces of parchment paper. Allow the banana bread to thaw in the fridge and warm up as desired.
Extra Tips & Customizations
- Vegan chocolate chips
- Traditional rolled oats for extra fiber
- Chopped walnuts or pecans to the batter
- Flaked almonds or other nuts on top
- Blueberries, raspberries or check out my vegan blueberry banana bread
- Dried cranberries or other dried fruit
I haven't tested it myself however I think it will work. Readers have successfully made my vegan banana muffins with all-purpose gluten-free flour and 1:1 gluten-free flour so I'd say it would work with this recipe.
Yes but make sure your oil is fully melted but not hot. If you're in a cold climate, it may make your banana bread firmer so try to warm up a slice before serving.
More vegan quick breads
Follow Rainbow Nourishments on Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest, and subscribe via email to receive all of our latest recipes!
Vegan Banana Bread
Ingredients
Wet ingredients
- 3 x (~360g total) ripe medium bananas, (about 1 ⅔ cups of mashed banana, note 1)
- 1 cup (190g) packed brown sugar, coconut sugar, regular sugar, or granulated sweetener of choice e.g. erythritol (note 2)
- ½ cup (125g) dairy-free milk
- ½ cup (125g) neutral flavored oil
- 1 tablespoon white or apple cider vinegar, (optional)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, (optional)
Dry ingredients
- 2 ½ cups (315g) all-purpose plain flour, whole wheat flour or spelt flour
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- Pinch of salt
- ½ cup (60g) chopped walnuts, (optional)
To decorate (optional)
- 1 x (120g) medium banana, sliced lengthways
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F). Line an 8-inch (20 cm) loaf pan with parchment paper. Or you can use a longer loaf pan.
Make the vegan banana bread:
- Add the bananas to a large mixing bowl or stand mixer and mash until it forms a thick lumpy paste. Add the sugar and remaining wet ingredients. 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 loaf pan and smooth the top. If desired, place the extra banana on top.
Bake the banana bread:
- Bake the banana bread for around 60-70 minutes. If the banana bread is browning too quickly during baking but isn't fully cooked in the middle, carefully tent the pan with aluminum foil (note 3). The banana bread is ready when you can insert a toothpick in the middle and it comes out mostly clean. It contains a lot of banana so a few crumbs on your toothpick are fine.
- Allow the banana bread to cool in the pan for 15 minutes then place it on a cooling 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. For something extra, toast a slice of banana bread and enjoy it with vegan butter or ice cream.
- Store any leftover banana bread 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
- For accuracy, I recommend weighing your bananas and flour. If you only have measuring cups, make sure you use the 'spoon and level method' otherwise you may have too much flour.
- If your bananas are extremely ripe, I recommend reducing the sugar to ¾ cup (145g).
- The top of your banana bread may cook too quickly if your oven is too hot or has strong top heating elements. If you know your oven tends to brown cakes too quickly, before you preheat your oven, position a rack at the top of your oven and place an empty baking tray on it. Bake your banana bread directly underneath and it'll be protected from the direct heat.
Nutrition
This post may contain affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate, I may earn a small commission from qualifying purchases at no additional cost to you.
Can I use jaggery in place of brown sugar?
Hi Chani, I'm not sure as I haven't tried it. Jaggery tends to have more moisture than brown sugar so it might change the texture. However, it won't hurt to experiment!
Can I reduce the quantity to half?
Yes, it will just bake in a shorter amount of time. Try checking it at 30-40 minutes!
Greetings from Perth! 🦘 Great cake and so easy to make. Cooked in 60 minutes. Will definitely make it again.
Thank you so much for the extra notes and tips you included! I am new to vegan baking, and they were so helpful. I followed everything exactly, and it turned out perfectly. This will be my standard banana bread from now on 🙂 Looking forward to trying many of your other recipes!
This banana bread is so delicious and easy to make. I used coconut sugar, coconut oil, wholemeal flour, soy milk and added nutmeg and ginger. I did the pan above method and baked it for 55 minutes. Will definitely be using this recipe regularly!
Yay, I'm so glad that you loved this Jasmine!! I'm going to try it with nutmeg and ginger too. Thanks a million for your kind feedback x
Yumm! Would this work without any sugar? Hoping to make it for my toddler.
Hi Michelle, I think the banana bread will be dense if you completely remove the sugar. However, I know it'll work with a granulated sugar replacer such as stevia. I haven't tried it myself but it may work with dates or maple syrup if you change the quantities of the other ingredients.