This is truly my all time favorite vegan banana bread recipe. It’s super moist, EASY, and so deliciously fluffy, no one will know this classic banana bread is vegan! TRUST ME!
My favorite banana bread recipe ever
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 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 (or gluten free 1:1 baking flour)
- Coconut sugar
- Cinnamon + nutmeg
- Dairy free milk, such as oat milk or coconut milk
- Ground flaxseed mixed with water
- Vegan butter, or olive oil or unsweetened applesauce
- 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!
How to make it:
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:
- Please make sure that your vegan flaxseed “egg” is fully mixed and ready to use!
- Preheat the oven to 350F and grease a loaf pan with coconut oil or olive oil.
- Whisk together the dry ingredients first then set aside.
- Then mix together the the wet ingredients.
- Fold the dry ingredients into the wet. You can add in the chocolate chips here as well!
- Pour the vegan banana bread batter into the loaf pan and top with an extra 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 vegan banana bread then allow the bread to cool for 10 minutes before removing from the pan.
- Slice and serve!
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
Don’t over-mix the batter! 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.
Measure your flour correctly! This means spooning and leveling 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!
If your bananas aren’t super ripe: 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!).
Don’t forget the nutmeg! 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.
Keep the oven shut while baking: 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.
For a super moist vegan banana bread: 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?
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!
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 something from The Banana Diaries, I would love to see your creations! Make sure to leave a review in comments section, as well as giving it a rating so that others may find the recipe. Also, follow along with me on Instagram, Pinterest, YouTube, and Facebook for more vegan recipe inspiration!
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This is my all time favorite vegan banana bread recipe. Made in one bowl, everyone will love this super moist classic vegan banana bread!
Ingredients
- 1 3/4 cup sifted flour or gluten free 1:1 baking flour
- 2/3 cup coconut sugar
- 1 tbsp cinnamon
- 2 tsp nutmeg
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 3 large ripe bananas, mashed (about 1 1/2 cups)
- 1/2 cup dairy-free milk, such as oat milk or coconut milk, room temperature
- 1/3 cup vegan butter, coconut oil, or olive oil, melted if butter or coconut oil
- 2 tbsp ground flaxseed mixed with 1/3 cup water
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- Optional: 1 cup chocolate chips, 1 large banana, sliced in half for topping
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350F and grease a 9″ loaf pan with coconut oil or olive oil.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the sifted flour, coconut sugar, 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 dairy-free milk, melted vegan butter, ground flaxseed mixture, and vanilla extract. Mix 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.
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 😋