I’m squeaking in before our Canadian Thanksgiving weekend to share this gem of a banana bread recipe with you all. I figured it would make the perfect addition to your weekend breakfast table! We’ve been making this banana bread for weeks and weeks (you may have seen this recipe added to the app last month, too!), and it’s become nothing short of an obsession. (Truth be told, I have to hide it from Adriana some days because it’s all she wants to eat. Okay, okay, I have to hide it from myself, too.) I’ve had some great feedback from kids and adults outside the Liddon household as well.
Over the years, I’ve tested oodles of vegan banana bread recipes and never settled on one that I thought was “it”. Too dense, too dry, too moist, lacking banana flavour, too sweet, not sweet enough, etc. It drove me nuts. Each time, I would tweak my recipe a bit more. But this is The One, my friends. It’s crazy to think that, in 8 years, this is my very first vegan banana bread recipe on the blog. Well, enough is enough, I say!
The prep time is incredibly fast and involves just one bowl—you can have it baking away in the oven in only 10 to 15 minutes! It freezes well too, so it’s a great recipe to make in advance before the holidays. I made a loaf for the freezer a couple weeks ago, forgot about it (hello, preggo brain), and found it yesterday as I was rooting through the freezer looking for treats. “OMG, Eric, I found a loaf of banana bread in the freezer!!” It was like Christmas morning. And since we don’t have a microwave and I’m not patient enough to thaw it in the oven, I ate a slice completely frozen. Sad, but true.
I don’t think I’m alone in my obsession, though. See what blog reader, Laurie, wrote about it:
“Everyone raves about my banana bread but I’ve always hated it because it’s made with white flour and sugar. My kids (daughter about a year ago and son just this week) went vegan. I’ve been making vegan BB for a while but nothing to write home about…until now! This is better than my regular banana bread – I’ll never go back!”
Thank you Laurie!!
To freeze the banana bread, I simply allow it to cool completely, then wrap it in plastic wrap, followed by a layer of tinfoil. If you plan to store it for more than a week, I’d recommend popping the wrapped loaf into a freezer bag, too. My mom made us a couple loaves while she was here, and we enjoyed a slice (or two) every day until they were both gone! I can’t think of a better comfort food right now.
I’ve tested this loaf using whole spelt flour, light/white spelt flour, and regular all-purpose flour. My favourite was light/white spelt flour and second favourite was whole spelt flour. The regular all-purpose flour version worked too, but it wasn’t quite as flavourful. There’s just something I love about the nutty, wholesome flavour of spelt. I expect that other flours, such as whole wheat pastry flour, should work, but I have yet to test any more out. I suspect that 100% whole wheat flour might be too drying since it’s quite dense/hearty, but maybe a 50/50 all-purpose/whole wheat flour split might be okay. In terms of a gluten-free version, I’ll be sure to share the recipe if I land on a combo of gluten-free flours that I love. If you try anything out, please let us know how it goes in the comments!
And finally, on a non-banana-bread-related note, here’s a roundup of the latest #osgeveryday blog tour posts, which include some great giveaways and recipe sneak peeks. Thanks to all of these wonderful bloggers for their support!
Fettle Vegan
One Bowl Vegan Banana Bread
Yield
1 (9x5-inch) loaf
Prep time
Cook time
Total time
This vegan banana bread is delicious, wholesome, naturally sweetened, and takes 10 minutes to throw together. What could be better when you have some overripe bananas to use up? Nothing, my friends, absolutely nothing! Whip this into the oven before guests arrive to fill the house with a delectable banana bread aroma. For a fun twist, try adding cinnamon and nutmeg into the dough before baking, or even stir in some chocolate chips or chopped dark chocolate for a more decadent loaf. I love it topped with both sliced banana (which enhances the sweetness and banana flavour) and crunchy walnuts. This recipe is adapted from my Blissful Banana Blueberry Muffins.
Ingredients
For the wet ingredients:
- 1 1/3 cups (320 g) mashed very ripe banana (about 4 medium or 3 large)
- 2 tablespoons (15 g) ground flaxseed
- 1/3 cup (80 mL) plant-based milk (I like almond milk)
- 1/3 cup (80 mL) coconut oil, melted*
- 2 tablespoons (30 mL) pure maple syrup**
- 2 teaspoons (10 mL) pure vanilla extract
For the dry ingredients:
- 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons (60 g) coconut sugar***
- 1/2 cup (50 g) rolled oats
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 1 1/2 cups (210 g) light/white spelt flour or whole-grain spelt flour****
- Sliced banana, chopped walnuts, and/or chocolate chips, for topping (optional)
Directions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C). Lightly spray a 9x5-inch loaf pan with oil and set aside.
- In a large bowl, mash the banana until almost smooth, and make sure you have 1 1/3 cups.
- Stir the wet ingredients (ground flax, milk, melted oil, maple syrup, and vanilla) into the banana until combined.
- Stir the dry ingredients (sugar, oats, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and flour) into the wet mixture, one by one, in the order listed. Stop stirring when there are no flour patches at the bottom of the bowl.
- Spoon the dough into the loaf pan and spread out evenly. Add your desired toppings and gently press them into the dough to adhere.
- Bake the loaf, uncovered, for 45 to 55 minutes (I bake for 47 to 48 minutes, but your time may vary), until lightly golden and firm on top. The top of the loaf should slowly spring back when touched.
- Place the loaf pan on a cooling rack for 30 minutes. Then, slide a knife around the loaf to loosen it and gently remove it from the pan, placing it directly onto the cooling rack until completely cooled (or to hasten the cooling process, transfer to the fridge for 45 minutes).
- Slice the loaf once cooled. I love to spread it with vegan butter or coconut oil. The loaf will keep in the fridge tightly wrapped for 3 to 4 days, or it can be frozen for 4 to 6 weeks.
Tip:
- * I have not tried it yet, but you can probably swap melted vegan butter for the coconut oil.
- ** If you don’t have any maple syrup on hand, feel free to swap in another 2 tablespoons of coconut sugar. The loaf won’t be quite as moist, but it’ll still work.
- *** Coconut sugar can probably be swapped for natural cane sugar.
- **** I tried this recipe with light/white spelt flour, all-purpose white flour, and whole-grain spelt flour. My preference is light/white spelt flour because it lends a great flavour while still feeling quite light in texture. The whole-grain spelt flour version is my second favourite; it is heartier in texture than the light/white spelt flour version (and cracks more on the top of the loaf), with a slightly earthier flavour. It doesn’t rise as much, though, and is more dense. If your whole-grain spelt flour is quite coarse, I recommend sifting it prior to use for the best results.
Nutrition Information
(click to expand)Last but not least, thank you so much for Arlo’s warm welcome and congrats! We’re all settling in well and soaking up these newborn days.
Came here to say I loved this recipe! I could not find spelt flour so used all-purpose & it still tasted great. Didn’t have coconut sugar on hand so substituted with organic cane sugar. I oiled the pan with coconut oil as well.
Just wanted to say the substitutions worked fine for me. The bread was moist but not too oily. Just perfect.
Can’t wait to try it with spelt flour and walnuts at a later date!
Is it okay to make the batter the night before then cook it in the morning?
5 stars!!!! This banana bread is so delicious. It turns out perfectly every time after 45 minutes in the oven. Light and perfectly sweet. I add chocolate chips on top and sprinkle some cinnamon. I also love it’s not extremely heavy like other banana breads I have made. Plus it’s vegan! Thanks for the recipe!
Oh my goodness! I have my favorite banana bread recipe that I have been using for years. However, my daughter is now enjoying a vegan diet and I needed to find something that would be just as good. I have to say, that I may never go back to my old recipe again! I did have to make a few substitutions as I was missing a few ingredients. I used 2T chia seeds that I ground in my spice grinder which just made just a little under 2T after grinding. I used a plant based butter instead of coconut oil. And I used APF instead of spelt. It was so moist. I think I will add a little cinnamon next time. I will definitely try it with the coconut oil and toasted coconut on top as others have suggested. Thank you for the recipe and congrats on the new addition to your family. I am enjoying your website and actually planning on another recipe of yours for dinner tonight!
This is my favorite recipe! I use 1/4c coconut oil when the bananas are very ripe and moist. I use 1 1/2c spelt flour and 1/2c balanced almond flour which gives it a rich cake like texture and also coconut sugar.
I just tried this recipe. Very moist and DELICIOUS. This was my one of my first egg-free bakes. Great. I toasted pecans and swapped them for the walnuts. I put the pecans in the batter and on top and also added dates to the batter. I swirled some date syrup on top as well. Really nice.
Always consistently great recipes from you. I have recommended your website to many of my therapy students to learn better how to eat a healthy vegan diet. Thanks!
This was my first vegan banana bread recipe (to eat or bake) and I think it’s better than any of the non-vegan loafs I’ve ranked as “the best”. The recipe is super easy to follow. I want to try these as muffins, so we don’t eat the whole thing in one day, by freezing and devouring in a more respectable pace.
Thank you for making my vegan adventure more yummy!
This is one of the best banana breads I’ve had, you wouldn’t know it was vegan. This recipe is for anyone who wants to eat good AND healthy. Thanks so much for this amazing recipe. I’ve eaten two pieces and it just came out of the oven!
Thank you so much, Stephanie! I’m so glad to hear how much you adore this bread. :)
I made the banana bread gluten free with Flour Farm’s organic all purpose gluten free flour and gluten free rolled oats.
I even had to make some substitution bc of what we had available (chia for flax, oat milk for almond milk)…
Turned out great!!
thank you ❤️
Wow, this recipe rocks! I don’t usually even buy bananas so they were going bad and I had never made banana bread myself before but your recipe and photos looked so good so we tried it! SO good! My bf can’t even believe it’s vegan. He’s humming away as he happily chomps away on a huge slice right now! We especially love that it is a one bowl recipe so very minimal clean up. We will be trying out more of your recipes soon! Thank YOU!
I have tried a lot of vegan banana bread recipes, and this one by FAR is the best!!
I am NOT a baker/cooker/pro in the kitchen. I’m not Vegan, my cousin is. This cake was absolutely amazing. Loved it and didn’t burn the kitchen down. Definitely make again
This is the best banana bread recipe I have ever tried. So flexible too – I generally cut the coconut sugar in half, as I find the loaf sufficiently sweetened by the bananas and a chocolate chip/walnut topping. If you are looking to go low oil, I also usually reduce the oil and it turns out great. I generally bake mine for 55-58 minutes. The quickest recipe to whip up – usually takes me about 10 minutes and then into the oven!
Made this last night as a treat for hubby and me, and oh my it is SOOO delicious!! I used avocado oil instead of coconut oil, and date sugar instead of coconut sugar. I also used 1/2 a cup of all purpose flour and 1 cup of sprouted whole grain spelt flour. This was to reduce the risk of it being too dense, and it turned out perfectly! This is now my official banana bread recipe!
One of our favorites! So easy and delicious
This is the best banana bread I’ve ever had! I will definitely be making it again!
This is. not the best banana bread I have ever eaten but it is the best HEALTHY banana bread for sure. I followed the recipe exactly and I really like it. I will make this again for sure.
Fantastic! This is a favourite in my house!
We had a whole bunch of black bananas because suddenly everyone stopped eating bananas this week. This came out SO good!!
I’ve now made this recipe 3 times and it has not failed me. I too used half AP and half whole wheat flour. So good! Thank you.