Vegan Banana Bread
This tall and fluffy vegan banana bread is soft and moist and packed with bananas! It’s easy to make, uses only 7 key ingredients and comes together in one bowl.
Why you’ll love this recipe
TRUSTWORTHY: This classic banana bread 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!
Simple ingredients you’ll need
Ingredient notes & substitutions
Ripe bananas that are either fresh or thawed from frozen. Riper bananas will produce a sweeter bread with more banana flavor!
Brown sugar for depth of flavor. Alternatively, you can use coconut sugar for a slightly less sweet banana bread. Granulated sugar or a sugar replacer will also work but they lack the depth of flavor provided by brown sugar. Alternatively, check out my maple banana bread.
Dairy-free milk. I prefer using unsweetened soy milk as it has higher protein and makes baked goods more tender. However, any non-dairy milk (such as almond milk) will work.
Baking powder and soda. We’re using two baking agents to ensure the banana bread bakes through. This is a very tall loaf so we need a proportionate amount of baking agents.
Even though this is an eggless banana bread, we don’t need any special egg replacers such as flax eggs. The extra banana helps bind the ingredients and the extra raising agents give the bread extra lift.
The full list of ingredient quantities and instructions are in the 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 hacks and expert tips, so you can make the best possible banana bread!
Use a stand mixer or hand mixer to mash your bananas, instead of a fork or potato masher. Less effort, same result! Just add the bananas to a large bowl and use the beater or whisk attachment to mix them.
Once you add the all-purpose 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
You can bake your banana bread as is or top it with:
- An extra sliced banana
- Old-fashioned rolled oats
- Crumble, such as from my banana muffin recipe (use only half of the crumble recipe)
- Chopped nuts
This is a very tall loaf so it will take at least one hour to bake. To prevent the top from burning, I recommend lowering your oven rack to the bottom third of the oven. This positions the banana bread closer to the middle of the oven, rather than closer to the top.
Here are some other tips to prevent your banana bread from burning:
- During baking, if your bread is browning too quickly, loosely tent the pan with aluminum foil.
- When you preheat the oven, place an empty baking tray on an oven rack above your loaf. Some ovens have a strong top heating element and tend to burn cakes on top. An empty baking tray will shield your banana bread from the direct heat.
Serving and storage suggestions
Like all cakes, when this banana bread is very fresh from the oven, it will be a little crumbly and slightly gooey. You’ll be able to cut cleaner slices if you allow the bread to cool down. On the day of baking, the top of the banana bread will be 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 so the bread keeps soft and moist.
If you’d like to freeze this bread, it’s best to cut it into individual slices, arrange it between pieces of parchment paper or in separate freezer bags, and then freeze it. You can freeze the banana bread as a loaf, but you won’t be able to slice it while it’s frozen. Either way, allow the banana bread to thaw in the fridge and warm it up to serve.
Customizing this easy vegan banana bread
– Vegan chocolate chips
– Chopped walnuts or pecans to the batter
– Traditional rolled oats for extra fiber (if so, I recommend adding extra dairy-free milk to the batter)
– Dried cranberries or other dried fruit to the batter
– Flaked almonds or other nuts on top
– Blueberries, raspberries or check out my vegan blueberry banana bread. If you add more fruit, it will make the bread more moist and you’ll have to bake it for longer.
This is a very tall loaf, so if you add too many extra ingredients, your bread might overflow in the oven. To prevent this, line your baking pan so the parchment paper stands tall and upright, or use a 9-inch loaf pan.
This recipe works well with King Arthur’s gluten-free measure for measure flour, but I recommend baking the bread for 65-70 minutes.
This recipe is very similar to my vegan banana muffins and readers have successfully made them with all-purpose gluten-free flour so I’d say it would also work with this recipe.
For a refined sugar free banana bread, check out my vegan maple banana bread.
I haven’t tested replacing the oil with unsweetened applesauce or yogurt, so I cannot vouch for results. However, from experience, it will change the texture of the bread.
More vegan quick breads
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Vegan Banana Bread
Ingredients
Wet ingredients
- 3 x (~360g total) very ripe medium bananas, about 1 2/3 cups of mashed banana and weighed without the peel (note 1)
- 1 cup (190g) packed brown sugar, coconut sugar, regular sugar, or granulated sweetener of choice e.g. erythritol (spoon and leveled, note 2)
- ½ cup (125g) dairy-free milk
- ½ cup (125g) neutral flavored oil, (note 3)
- 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, spoon and leveled (note 4, and for gluten-free version)
- 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
- Adjust an oven rack to the lower third position of the oven and preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F). Line an 8-inch (20 cm) loaf pan that's at least 2 3/4-inch (7 cm) tall with parchment paper, leaving an overhang on the sides. Or use a larger loaf pan. (note 5)
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 prepared 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. 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 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 the best results, I recommend weighing your bananas. This recipe is already packed with bananas, but adding extra bananas may make the bread too dense.
- You can safely reduce the sugar to 3/4 cup (145g).
- You can use coconut oil, but make sure it’s melted and cooled. If you’re in a cold climate, it may make your banana bread firmer so try to warm up a slice before serving.
- Spoon and level method: If you’re using measuring cups, fluff up the flour in its bag, use a spoon to add flour to a measuring cup, then level it off with a knife. I don’t recommend using the measuring cup to scoop flour out of your container as it will pack in too much flour which will make the banana bread dry. For the best results, use a kitchen scale.
Gluten-free banana bread: This recipe works well with King Arthur’s gluten-free measure for measure flour, but I recommend baking the bread for 65-70 minutes. - This is a very tall loaf, so if your pan is shorter than 2 3/4-inch (7 cm), your banana bread may overflow. 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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Thank you for this recipe! This has become my highly requested go-to banana bread. I don’t know how often I shared this recipe because everybody just loves it and asks for it. 😄
For my toddler (2,5), I usually make a small version of this recipe. I take half of everything except for sugar and just one pack of vanilla sugar or a table spoon of maple sirup for sweetness. He loves it!
Hi Kathi, that’s truly the best news and I’m so appreciative of you sharing the recipe!! And it’s great you were able to customize this for your toddler too. Thanks so much for your lovely feedback, you’ve made my day!
This was soooo good! Moist and soft, just what I wanted. I halved the ingredients, only had about 100 grams of banana (instead of the 180 that was required). I was worried there would not be enough moisture, so I substituted with 2 tablespoons of thick yoghurt. It took around 45 minutes to bake. The bread has a surprisingly strong and pleasant banana flavour even though I was not able to use the full amount the recipe asked for.
Hi Dipa, I’m so glad that you loved this banana bread and it met your expectations! Good to know that you were able to adapt the recipe to the ingredients that you had on hand. Thanks so much for your feedback!
Brilliant recipe – the banana bread was delicious. I have added chopped walnuts and dark chocolate chunks – yum.
Your recipes always turn out great.Thank you!
Hi Lucia, I’m so glad you enjoyed this and I love how you added walnuts and chocolate! Thank you so much for your ongoing support. I appreciate it a lot!
I made this and took it to work to share with all my non-vegan workmates and they all loved it! So moist, so tasty
They said it was delicious, perfect, just right and I agree!
Hi Jackie, that’s wonderful to hear and you’ve made my day!!! Thanks so much for letting me know 🙂
Hi can you make this with oat flour instead
I don’t recommend it as there’s no gluten in oat flour to bind the ingredients together. It may work with half of a gluten-free flour blend and half oat flour, but I haven’t tested it myself.
Best banana bread i ever made! Thanks a lot. It’s the only recipe i use now.
I do mix a lot as i looove the texture it gives, and use a mix of coconut oil and sunflower oil to enhance the effect too.
Hi Géraldine, wow what a compliment! I’m thrilled that you love this banana bread, find the recipe to be customizable and that the recipe is a keeper for you. Thanks so much for letting me know 🥰
I had collected lots of overripe bananas and made two loaves. So good ! Moist and versatile (one I added spelt flour and chocolate) – a great recipe.
Hi Maryanne, I’m so glad you enjoyed this banana bread and found it easy to adapt! Thanks so much for your lovely feedback 🙂
This recipe is amazing! It is the best vegan banana bread I have ever made. Even better than any regular banana bread I have made. My husband isn’t even a vegan, but he loves it! I made your pumpkin bread recipe too, and it was incredible!
Hi Andrea, oh what a compliment!! I’m sooo glad you loved this recipe and my pumpkin bread too. Thank you so much for taking the time to let me know and leaving a comment here 🙂
Made this and oh my gosh what a great banana bread. I have made many over the years but this has to be the best banana bread ever.. So easy.
Hi Jackie, that’s wonderful to hear and is truly the best compliment!! Thanks so much for your lovely feedback 🙂
Delicious and it works every time! My oven is very old and a bit unreliable in temperature, so I have to cover it in the foil for the last 10-15 minutes of baking so it doesn’t burn at the top, so that’s a handy tip!
We love that the banana bread is a reliable bake for you! And we’re really happy to hear the foil tip worked well with your oven 🙌 Thanks for leaving a comment x
Hi! Can I use frozen banana instead of fresh ripe banana? Frozen banana is watery so do I need to drain well if I use frozen ones?
Frozen banana works perfectly without draining away the liquid. Please just make sure they’re room temperature before using!
Am I able to leave the sugar out of this recipe completely without it effecting the recipe?
Hi Sophia! You can safely reduce the sugar to 3/4 cup (145g) but we don’t recommend leaving it out completely. You could also substitute with a stevia blend at a 1:1 ratio which will yield slightly different results but still work! Hope that helps!