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The Best Vegan Banana Bread

May 17, 2022

22 5 minutes read

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The best banana bread ever, and it’s vegan! Perfectly sweet, moist, and topped with a brown sugar crust, this delicious banana bread is super easy to make and customizable with your favorite stir-ins.

Sliced loaf of Vegan Banana Bread with a striped napkin in the background.

My family has the best banana bread recipe. Ever. I hate to brag, but it’s true. Back when I was young and learning to cook I tried out some banana bread recipes that were decent, before my mom took me aside, handed me a recipe card and informed me that it was the only banana bread recipe I’d ever need, because it was the best!

Well, she was wrong about at least one thing, because I guess she didn’t know that a time would come when a I’d need a vegan banana bread recipe. But that’s not a big deal, because creating a vegan version of the old family favorite recipe was no biggie!

Oh, and well, maybe she was wrong about it being the best, because, in fact, this vegan recipe is actually better.

Jump to:

Two slices of Vegan Banana Bread on a plate with tea cup and napkin in the background.

Ingredients You’ll Need

Overripe bananas. Your bananas absolutely need to be overripe. This means LOTS of brown spots. Preferably almost as much brown peel as yellow. Using bananas that aren’t ripe enough will not only affect the banana flavor of your bread, but it will give it a dry, chewy texture.
Sugars. We’re using granulated white and brown sugar, and you’ll want to make sure both are organic in order to keep the recipe vegan. Coconut sugar can be substituted for brown sugar if you’d like.
Canola oil. Feel free to substitute another baking oil, like vegetable oil, melted coconut oil, or even olive oil. I don’t recommend using vegan butter in this particular recipe.
Vanilla extract.
Flour. The recipe calls for all-purpose wheat flour, which is the only type I’ve tested it with. I’ve had a few readers that had success with various gluten-free flours though. Check out the comments below the recipe to read about their results. I suspect that whole wheat pastry flour or a mix of white and whole wheat flour would also work.
Baking soda.
Cinnamon. You can leave this out if you insist, but it adds a wonderful flavor to the loaf.
Salt.
Walnuts. You’re welcome to substitute another type of nut such as pecans or hazelnuts, or use your favorite banana bread stir-in, such as chocolate chips.

Tip: If you have overripe bananas but aren’t ready to make banana bread, just freeze them! Peel them, seal them up in freezer bags, then thaw when you’re ready to bake

How to Make Vegan Banana Bread

The following is a detailed photo tutorial on how to make this dish. Scroll all the way down if you’d like to skip right to the recipe!

The great thing about veganizing banana bread is that you don’t have to fuss over figuring out the right egg substitute. Bananas do the job! I use bananas as an egg substitutes in all kinds of vegan baked goods, but when it comes to banana bread, they’re already an integral part of the recipe.

Mash your bananas up in a large bowl using a fork or potato masher.
Add some oil, sugar, brown sugar, and vanilla to your mashed banana, then stir everything up.

Spoon stirring wet banana bread ingredients together in a bowl.

When your wet ingredients are mixed you can add the dry ingredients: flour, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt.
Fold the nuts into you batter, being careful not to overmix it.

Tip: You want to stir just until the ingredients are combined. Mixing too much will overdevelop the gluten, making your vegan banana bread tough. This rule applies with pretty much all wheat flour-based muffins and quick breads.

Hands stirring walnuts into Vegan Banana Bread batter in a bowl.

Pour the batter into a prepared loaf pan, smooth out the top, and sprinkle with brown sugar. This will give you an awesome crust on top!

Hand sprinkling brown sugar over Vegan Banana Bread batter in a pan.

Bake your loaf for 50 minutes at 350°.
Let the bread cool on a cooling rack for a few minutes before slicing.

Hands holding a loaf of Vegan Banana Bread in a pan.

Tip: As with all baked goods recipes, make sure your ingredients are at room temperature before you begin baking.

Leftovers & Storage

Store your leftover vegan banana bread in it’s original loaf pan, tightly covered in plastic wrap. It will keep at room temperature for 2 to 3 days, or in the fridge for about 1 week.

You can also seal the loaf up in a freezer bag or airtight container and freeze it for up to 3 months.

You can optionally warm the individual slices in the microwave or oven heated to 350°F for a few minutes.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why didn’t my banana bread rise?

Usually old baking soda is the culprit. Test yours by sprinkling it in some vinegar. It should fizz. If not, toss and replace it.

Why doesn’t this recipe include any flax eggs?

They’re not necessary! Bananas serve the same function.

Wooden surface set with a sliced loaf of banana bread and striped napkin.

More Vegan Quickbreads

Like this recipe? If so, please stop back and leave me a review and rating below if you try it! Also be sure to follow me on Facebook, Pinterest or Instagram, or subscribe to my newsletter for more recipes like this one!