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.

Course Breakfast, Dessert

Cuisine American, Australian, British, Vegan

Prep Time 15

Cook Time 1

Total Time 1 15

Servings servings

Calories 302

Author Anthea

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.

Nutrition