The BEST Vegan Banana Bread Recipe Ever (Gluten Free!)
Why you’ll love this vegan banana bread whether or not you’re vegan:
The one thing that will always be my weakness is a good slice of vegan banana bread. My mom used to make this amazing classic banana bread for us as kids, and I thought I would never be able to capture the flavors and texture of her version within this vegan version.
But I was wrong.
This is truly the best banana bread I’ve ever had, hands down, vegan or not. It tastes just like the one I grew up with: super moist with a soft crumb texture, full of extraordinarily ripe bananas and a caramelized sweetness from the granulated sugar or coconut sugar (that mimics brown sugar), and subtle notes of cinnamon, nutmeg, and vanilla for extra warmth.
I start drooling just thinking about it!
This vegan banana bread recipe tastes just like the classic, so if you have some non-vegans stopping by for a bite to eat, know that you can serve this healthier banana bread without any doubt that it’s anything but the classic.
That’s how amazing this recipe is.
I know, a really bold statement to claim, and yes, I’m sure that other vegan food bloggers have amazing banana bread recipes, but I’m that confident that you’ll love this banana bread recipe as much as I do!
Which, if you couldn’t tell, is a whole lot. It’s made with simple vegan ingredients, comes together in just one bowl, and is the easiest vegan quick bread recipe to make when you’ve got to use up those ripe bananas!
Ingredients you’ll need:
As I mentioned above, one of the reasons why this is the best vegan banana bread ever is because of how simple the ingredients are.
You can make this vegan banana bread recipe entirely gluten free or keep is just vegan- it’s up to you! But here are the basic ingredients that you’ll need to get started:
- Mashed bananas from super ripe bananas
- Flour: I used all purpose flour, but you can also make this a gluten free vegan banana bread by using gluten free 1:1 baking flour. I do not recommend using whole wheat flour nor whole wheat pastry flour for this recipe. Whole wheat flour bakes much differently from all purpose or even gluten free.
- Sugar: As mentioned above, you can also use coconut sugar for a completely refined sugar free healthy banana bread recipe.
- Cinnamon + nutmeg
- Dairy free milk, such as oat milk or coconut milk
- Vegan butter, or olive oil or unsweetened applesauce (for oil free)
- Baking soda + baking powder
Nothing out of the ordinary here, which is why I love this banana bread. Whether or not you’re vegan, you can definitely fall in love with the combination of these ingredients!
What can replace eggs in banana bread?
Unlike other vegan banana bread recipes on the web, we’re actually replacing eggs with just mashed banana. Some recipes use ground flaxseed (even I used to!) to make flax eggs, but I’ve actually found the texture is much better if we just omit the vegan egg substitutes all together.
That’s right: this vegan banana bread does not use any vegan egg substitutes, making it a super approachable and easy one bowl recipe.
How to make vegan banana bread (overview):
For the full instructions and measurements for how to make this healthy vegan banana bread, please skip down to the recipe card at the bottom of the post!
However, for a quick run through of what you’re going to do to bake this banana bread recipe, keep reading!
To make a classic vegan banana bread:
- Preheat the oven to 350F.
Grease a loaf pan with coconut oil or olive oil. Then line it with parchment paper.
- Whisk together the dry ingredients.
This is the flour, spices, and leavening agents. Then set this bowl aside. Alternatively, to make this a one bowl banana bread, you can mix the wet ingredients first and then use a sifter to sift in the dry over the wet.
- Whisk together the wet ingredients.
This is the banana, sugar, dairy free milk, melted vegan butter, and vanilla. You can just use a hand whisk for this. Then add in the dry ingredients to your large mixing bowl, and whisk or fold the dry into the wet.
- Stir in the chocolate chips.
Personally, my vegan banana bread will always include chocolate chips!
- Pour the batter into your prepared loaf pan.
You can use an 8″ or a 9″ loaf pan. here. Top with extra chocolate chips or sliced banana if desired!
- I just do this for decoration and to signal that it’s banana bread (although you can definitely smell it from the kitchen!).
- Bake the banana bread.
Then allow the bread to cool for 10 minutes before removing from the pan. Then transfer the bread to a cooling rack or wire rack to cool some more. Allowing the bread to rest will ensure a cleaner slice.
- Slice and serve!
Store any leftovers in an airtight container and keep at room temperature for up to 3 days or in the fridge for up to 7 days or in the freezer for up to 3 months.
Easy Banana Bread Mix-Ins and Toppings
If you want to upgrade your classic vegan banana bread to have a bit more excitement, try some of these fun banana bread mix-ins and toppings!
- Chopped nuts, such as walnuts, pecans, almonds, even peanuts!
- Chocolate chips
- Coconut flakes
- Spices, such as pumpkin pie spice, chai spice blend, cardamom, etc.
- Lemon or orange zest
- Dried fruit, such as cranberries or chopped apricots
- Maple syrup: you can add just a tablespoon of maple syrup for a bit more of a maple-y taste without messing up the texture!
Tips for the best vegan banana bread recipe
Stir the banana bread batter until it is just mixed. The dry ingredients should be fully incorporated into the wet, but since we’ll also be adding in the banana separately, make sure not to over mix, or you’ll end up with a gummy texture.
I personally recommend using weighted (gram) measurements over a measuring cup. Your measurements will be way more accurate, and you’ll be more likely to achieve the desired result. However, if you don’t have a kitchen scale, please make sure that you spoon and level the flour into your cup measurements rather than scooping the flour. Scooping will lead to too much flour in the batter, and unfortunately a dry banana bread!
Not a problem! Personally, I like to leave my bananas on the table for about 5 days before I make banana bread. However, if you don’t have that time, no problem. You can actually bake the bananas for just under an hour in the oven to brown them! I follow this quick ripening banana trick from time to time (aka when I have zero patience ha!).
This is the key to a classic banana bread taste. Trust me, no one will know that this healthy banana bread recipe is entirely vegan, and I partially attribute this to the nutmeg. Nutmeg adds a nice kick to the cinnamon and makes it more lively.
I know how tempting it is to keep opening the oven to see how close you are to done, but don’t do this! Opening the oven will drastically alter the oven temperature (even if the clock doesn’t read it), because the hot air will rush out into a cooler kitchen (yes, 72F is considered way cooler than 350F haha!). This will change the way that the banana bread bakes. If you want to check on it, turn on the oven light, or if you need to open the oven, try to not do so until the very very end.
Use vegan butter! My favorite brands are Miyoko’s and Forager Project, but for a completely nut free vegan banana bread, you can also use Earth Balance. I’ve used all 3 for this recipe, and love them all!
Can I make this banana bread recipe oil free?
Technically, we’re using vegan butter here, but if you want to make this vegan banana bread lower in fat, you can absolutely swap in applesauce for the oil/vegan butter.
I give the exact swap down below in the recipe card.
Can I freeze this banana bread?
Absolutely! After making this vegan banana bread, simply slice the banana bread and store any leftover slices in an airtight container or bag.
Place the slices into the fridge for up to 5 days or store in the freezer for up to 1 month.
When ready to serve again, you can simply place a slice of frozen banana bread on a piece of tin foil and onto a baking sheet. Place the slice into the oven, set to 350F, and bake for 5-7 minutes.
How to ripen unripe bananas- FAST!
Want to make banana bread but your bananas aren’t ripe enough? I learned this super quick method for ripening bananas fast in the oven.
Easy! Use this trick:
- Heat the oven to 300F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper (any sized baking sheet will do).
- Place the bananas (still in their peels!) onto the baking sheet and bake for about 15-20 minutes.
- Then remove the bananas and allow them to cool for 10 minutes. Use as you would super ripe bananas
I hope you love this vegan banana bread recipe as much as I do! If you make it, let me know down below in the comments section, along with giving it a rating so that other people can see.
As always, I love to see your beautiful creations on Instagram and Pinterest, so be sure to tag me there! Please leave a review as well as a rating ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️so that others may find this recipe too!
Happy classic banana bread baking!
More healthy vegan quick bread recipes to make:
Super Moist Vegan Gingerbread Loaf
Paleo Vegan Marbled Pumpkin Bread
Vegan Chocolate Zucchini Bread
Want to save this recipe for later? Add it to your favorite recipe board on Pinterest!
If you make this recipe, please be sure to leave a comment and a rating ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ below. This helps others to find the recipes! As always, I absolutely love to see your beautiful creations on Instagram and Pinterest, so be sure to tag me there as well!
Print
Best Vegan Banana Bread Recipe
- Prep Time: 10
- Cook Time: 65
- Total Time: 1 hour 15 minutes
- Yield: 12 1x
- Category: Breads
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
- Diet: Vegan
Description
This is the BEST vegan banana bread recipe. Made in one bowl, everyone will love this super moist classic vegan banana bread!
Ingredients
- 2 cups (250 grams) sifted flour or gluten free 1:1 baking flour
- 1 tbsp cinnamon
- 2 tsp nutmeg
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 3 large ripe bananas, mashed (about 1 1/2 cups or 300 grams)
- 2/3 cup (120 grams) granulated or coconut sugar
- 1/4 cup (50 mL) dairy-free milk, such as oat milk or coconut milk, room temperature
- 1/3 cup (76 grams) vegan butter, coconut oil, or olive oil, melted if butter or coconut oil
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- Optional: 1 cup (170 grams) chocolate chips, 1 large banana, sliced in half for topping
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350F and grease an 8″ or 9″ loaf pan with coconut oil or olive oil.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the sifted flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, baking powder, and baking soda. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, mash the banana if you haven’t already. Then add in the sugar, dairy-free milk, melted vegan butter, and vanilla extract. Whisk together.
- Fold the dry ingredients into the wet until just combined. Fold in optional chocolate chips here as well.
- Pour the batter into the loaf pan, and top with the extra banana if desired.
- Place the pan into the oven and bake for 65-70 minutes, or until the toothpick comes out clean and the top of the banana bread is slightly browned.
- Remove from the oven and allow the vegan banana bread to cool in the pan for 10 minutes before removing.
- Slice and serve warm. Store any leftover slices in an airtight bag or container for up to 5 days in the fridge or up to 1 month in the freezer.
Notes
- To make this lower in fat, swap in 1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce for the vegan butter.
- To make this even lower in sugar, you can safely reduce the sugar to 1/2 cup.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 slice
- Calories: 192
- Sugar: 17.7 g
- Sodium: 173.4 mg
- Fat: 3.6 g
- Saturated Fat: 0.7 g
- Carbohydrates: 38.3 g
- Fiber: 2.4 g
- Protein: 2.8 g
- Cholesterol: 0 mg
Keywords: vegan banana bread, best vegan banana bread, vegan banana bread recipe, easy vegan banana bread, moist vegan banana bread, vegan banana loaf, healthy vegan banana bread
The fact that this bread doesn’t have a review yet is an absolute INJUSTICE. Hands down the most flavorful, moist, cozy loaf of banana bread I’ve ever made. This is the first time I’ve added nutmeg to a banana bread recipe, and you’re right – it makes all the difference! I used applesauce instead of vegan butter as per your recipe note, and I also reduced the sugar down to 1/4 cup. The bread still came out super sweet, and the texture was great! I can’t wait to make it again.
★★★★★
Oh my goodness!! Just the sweetest words, truly thank you!! Isn’t the nutmeg awesome?! I can’t make banana bread without it now!!!So happy you loved it, and thank you again for the kind words! ENJOY!
I’m really wanting to make this recipe because we have so many bananas at the moment but I was wondering if I could make it oil free by swapping peanut butter for the vegan butter/coconut oil? We don’t have any vegan butter at the moment so I would be using coconut oil, I just wanted to know if it was possible to swap it with peanut butter thanks!
Hi Paige! I haven’t tried swapping in peanut butter/nut butter for this bread personally so I can’t speak for the exact results, but in general, you can swap in peanut butter 1:1 in most recipes. Since this is a pretty standard banana bread recipe (i.e. it’s not complicated, pretty straight forward in method and ingredients!), I imagine it would work but I don’t want to tell you it will work and then have it not work, as I haven’t tried it!
Wow! I have found my new go to banana bread recipe! This came out perfect. The only thing I changed was adding brown sugar instead of coconut sugar and it’s still amazing. So glad I found this recipe!
★★★★★
This is just wonderful!! So happy you loved it 🙂 And nice call on the sugar sub!! Sounds great!
This banana bread is amazing. I used eggs instead of flax eggs because we are dairy free but not totally vegan. The flavor is delicious and moist. Thanks for the amazing gluten free recipes.
★★★★★
Aw I’m so happy to hear this!! Thank you so much for this review!! Enjoy and happy Sunday!
I have some bananas just about ready to try this out! I was wondering if I could use the Bob’s Red Mill egg replacer instead of flax? I currently have that in my pantry. Can’t wait to try this!!
Hi Elisa! Aw so happy to hear it! That’s the one vegan egg replacement I haven’t tried: BRM’s egg replacer! I would imagine from other reviews around the web that it would work, but I can’t say for certain! If you try it, each flax “egg” is equivalent to 1 egg, so it looks like you’d need 2 tbsp of the egg replacer and 4 tbsp water!
Hi ! Can I possibly use oat flour instead ?
Hi Iris! I haven’t personally tested this with oat flour, but I have tested my lemon loaf cake with oat flour, GF 1:1 flour, and all purpose- all versions came out amazing! With the oat flour, just make sure that your room temperature ingredients are truly room temperature, or you might get a gummy texture. Also, add in 1 tbsp of arrowroot starch or cornstarch to help the texture! It should work, but I can’t say for sure as I haven’t personally tested it! Just wanted to give an example of how it worked in a similar recipe 🙂
Thank you so so much ! I’ll try it out 😋
Hey Iris! How did it go? I have some gluten free family members and oat flour would certainly be more cost effective than buying gf 1:1 flour.
This banana bread was just wonderful. I loved the nutmeg in there, it really made the bread stand out, and it was so easy to make!! Loved it, thank you for the recipe!
★★★★★
Aw yay!! Yes, I love the nutmeg too 🙂 Enjoy!
Hello, I just made this banana bread last night and it came out really moist. Other vegan/gf banana breads I’ve made have not been more on the dense side than moist. I carefully spooned out the flour to measure and I used gluten free 1:1 baking flour. I used applesauce instead of vegan butter/oil, and soy milk for the non dairy milk. I was wondering if it would be ok to omit the milk from the recipe as I find it a bit too moist for my liking. Thanks
Hi Karen!
I’m so sorry to hear it was too moist! My guess is swapping in the applesauce made it probably too moist. This recipe is designed to definitely be fluffier/moist rather than dense, but it shouldn’t be too moist! If the batter seems to runny though, next time, you can try adding it in increments, and stop once you achieve your desired texture (it should be sort of thicker, not runny like brownie batter!). I hope that helps!
This recipe is just AMAZING!!! This is one of my to go recipe. My friends loved it (and they didn’t believe me when I told them it was vegan and gluten free)! Thank you!!!
Aw I’m so happy to hear it! Thank you so much for the review!! So awesome to hear 🙂 Enjoy!
I substituted the butter for same weight measurement avocado, did no sugar, used bobs reb milk all purpose gluten free flour, and forget to add the flax and it came out perfect. Moist but not mushy perfect bouncy texture. 60 mins in toaster oven. Leaving this for anyone who wants to make modifications!
This is wonderful!! Thank you so much!!
I am so happy with how this banana bread turned out – it’s the best vegan & gluten free baked good I’ve made. Every other one had a dense and gluey texture, but not this cake! I used the applesauce option instead of flax, used grapeseed oil, and a blend of various GF flours. Added in chocolate chips and pecans. Delicious!
★★★★★
Just so happy to hear this!!! Thank you so much for the review! Also love the addition of the pecans 🙂 Yum! Enjoy!
This recipe is a family favorite! My kids LOVE it! Thanks so much!!!
★★★★★
This is so wonderful!! Enjoy and happy holidays!
this is my second time leaving a comment, which should tell you something. when i have time on the weekends, baking is something i love to do. i ask my kids what they want and without fail they ALWAYS request this banana bread. it gets better every time i make it. and its literally gone within hours. thank you so much for creating this recipe!!!!!!
★★★★★
Oh my goodness!! This makes me so happy!! Wow!! So so grateful you all love it 🙂 Enjoy and thank you so so much for the review!
My day off from work and after running errands decided to bake this lovely bread. Simply delicious! Your recipes never disappoint 🤗! You make vegan baking simple and delicious!
★★★★★
oh my goodness!! this makes my heart so full, thank you so much for this review!! Truly so grateful you gave it a try 🙂 Banana bread is just the best, right?!