This deliciously moist vegan banana bread will become a favorite in no time! Its easy to make and has just the right banana flavor.
Everyone needs a good banana bread recipe. And if youre trying to eat more plant-based foods, heres the good news: its easily made vegan. Yes, this vegan banana bread tastes just as good as a standard loaf (or better?). Just like our vegan cornbread and vegan apple muffins, people will say, Id never think this was vegan! Because baking without eggs and butter is just as delicious. Promise! Heres how to do it.
For gluten free, go to Healthy Banana Bread.
Whats in this vegan banana bread?
There are a few tricks to vegan baking, but no weird ingredients or tricks. It results in a loaf thats perfectly moist, lightly caramel flavored, and bursting with banana flavor. In fact, this might be my favorite banana bread recipe (though I do enjoy this Healthy Banana Bread quite a bit). Heres whats in this vegan banana bread:
- Flax seed (for flax eggs, see below)
- All purpose flour
- Rolled oats
- Bananas
- Neutral oil
- Brown sugar (or substitute coconut sugar)
- Baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and salt
Its a simple recipe but it results in a truly beautiful loaf that works every time! Its full of banana flavor because it uses a load of bananas (about 4 to 6, whatever makes 2 cups mashed). This also helps to make it very moist.
Whats a flax egg?
Flax egg can sound odd if youve never worked with them before. What is a flax egg? A flax egg is a mixture of ground flax seed and water that can be used as a substitute for an egg in baked goods. When the flax seeds are mixed with water, they become thick and gooey and work as a binder in baking.
This egg substitute is all natural and fits into virtually any diet (gluten-free, Paleo, Whole 30, vegetarian, vegan, and dairy-free). How do you do it? Simply combine ground flax seed and water for 15 minutes: the flax egg ratio is 1 tablespoon ground flax seed to 2 1/2 tablespoons water. For more, go to How to Make Flax Egg.
Where to find flax seed? You can find flax seeds at any major grocery, whole or ground (you can grind it yourself in a blender or coffee grinder). We keep our ground flax seed in the refrigerator and have it onhand any time we need to bake.
Overripe bananas are key!
This is a non-negotiable! We know that its hard to wait for bananas to ripen. Its a variable process, so you never quite know when theyll be ready. BUT! Its very important to have overripe bananas fort his vegan banana bread. You must wait for the bananas to be overripe to get that lovely banana flavor and the beautifully moist texture.
Note: This recipe also calls for more bananas than youd normally have in a banana bread recipe. Youll need to have 4 medium or 6 small on hand, enough to make 2 cups mashed.
Do you have a gluten-free version? Or a natural sweetener?
We do! Our Healthy Banana Bread recipe uses only rolled oats and is made in a blender to make a light and moist dough. That recipe also uses maple syrup as the sweetener. For this recipe, we wanted to make it like a standard banana bread (including sugar!), but a vegan version of that. So head over to our healthy version for those tweaks.
A few variations: muffins! Pancakes!
Banana muffins anyone? Or pancakes? Were big banana fans around here, so we have a few other ways you can make use of your bananas:
- Healthy Banana Bread Muffins Theyre made simply in a blender with oats and bananas! Use the flax egg option for vegan.
- Banana Blueberry Muffins Again using the oat and banana trick, but with blueberries! Use flax eggs for vegan.
- Banana Oatmeal Pancakes These deliciously easy banana oatmeal pancakes are made in a blender using oats and bananas: no flour! Use flax eggs for vegan.
This recipe is
Vegetarian, vegan, plant-based, and dairy-free.
PrintVegan Banana Bread
(5 votes, average: 5.00 out of 5)
- Author: Sonja Overhiser
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 60 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour 20 minutes
- Yield: 12 to 14 slices
Description
This deliciously moist vegan banana bread will become a favorite in no time! Its easy to make and has just the right banana flavor.
Ingredients
- 2 flax eggs (2 tablespoons ground flax seed + 5 tablespoons water)
- 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
- 1/2 cup rolled oats
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 tablespoon cinnamon
- 2 cups mashed overripe bananas (about 4 large or 5 to 6 medium bananas)
- 1/3 cup neutral oil (grapeseed, sunflower, vegetable)
- 1/2 cup brown sugar (or coconut sugar)*
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- Coconut oil, for greasing the pan
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Start the flax eggs and allow them to sit while preparing the ingredients.
- Grease an 8 or 9-inch loaf pan with coconut oil.
- In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, oats, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon.
- In a medium bowl, mash the bananas with a fork. Whisk in the oil, brown sugar, vanilla, and flax eggs with a fork. Stir in the dry ingredients, just until the dough comes together.
- Pour the dough into the prepared bread pan. Sprinkle the top with brown sugar.
- Bake 60 to 65 minutes until a toothpick comes out clean (if you have a thermometer, the interior temperature should be 200 degrees Fahrenheit). The exact bake time depends on your oven and the size of your loaf pan. Cool completely before slicing.
Notes
*You can increase to 2/3 cup if you prefer sweetener bread. We preferred the flavor lightly sweet with 1/2 cup. The sweetness also depends on the ripeness of the bananas.
- Category: Bread
- Method: Baked
- Cuisine: Quick Bread
Keywords: Vegan Banana Bread
More vegan baked goods
There are so many tasty vegan baked goods to try! Here are some of our favorite recipes:
- Vegan Bread Recipe A homemade vegan bread recipe thats easy to make and totally versatile: use it for sandwiches, toast, and more. Youll never buy store bought again!
- Best Vegan Biscuits The best ever vegan biscuits recipe! Theyre easy to make and come out perfectly tender and flaky, with lots of layers and buttery flavor.
- Vegan Zucchini Bread A perfectly moist vegan zucchini bread recipe that is so darn good, everyone will be hooked and no one will believe its vegan.