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.
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 veganizing 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 version is actually better.
How to Make Vegan Banana Bread
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.
Make sure your bananas are medium-sized and overripe. You want lots of brown spots! Mash them up with a fork or potato masher, and then stir in some oil, sugar, brown sugar, and vanilla. Dry ingredients go in next: flour, baking soda, cinnamon (it works — trust me), and salt. Stir everything just until blended. Don’t overdo it!
Optionally, include some stir-ins. Walnuts are my go-to, but pecans and chocolate chips are great as well. 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!
Bake your loaf for 50 minutes at 350° and then let it cool for a few minutes before slicing.
This stuff is perfect with a cup of coffee or tea.
FAQ & Tips for Making Perfect Vegan Banana Bread
- Be sure to use overripe bananas for this. They should have lots of brown spots — the more the better!
- 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.
- Whatever you do, don’t overmix the batter! You want to stir just until the wet and dry ingredients are mixed, and no more. Mixing too much will overdevelop the gluten, making your bread tough.
- HELP! My bread didn’t 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.
- Can this bread be made gluten-free? I’m not sure! I think your best bet would be to replace the flour with an all-purpose gluten-free blend.
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The Best Vegan Banana Bread
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.
Ingredients
- 3 medium overripe bananas
- 1/3 cup organic granulated sugar
- 1/3 cup organic brown sugar
- 1/3 cup canola oil (or your favorite baking oil)
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup chopped walnuts (or pecans, vegan chocolate chips, or your favorite banana bread stir-in)
For Topping
- 1/4 cup organic brown sugar
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 350°.
Lightly oil a 9-inch loaf pan and arrange a strip of parchment paper width-wise along the center, with just a bit hanging out over each side.
Peel the bananas and place them into a large mixing bowl. Mash them well with a fork or potato masher.
Add sugar, brown sugar, oil, and vanilla to the bowl. Stir until well-mixed.
Add the flour to the bowl, then sprinkle the baking soda, cinnamon and salt on top of the flour.
Stir everything together just until mixed. Don't overmix. The batter will be thick.
Fold in the walnuts.
Spoon the batter into the prepared loaf pan and smooth out the top with the back of a spoon.
Sprinkle the top with brown sugar.
Bake for 50 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
Remove the pan from the oven and transfer it to a cooling rack. Allow the loaf to cool for at least 15 minutes before removing it from the pan.
Slice and serve.
I made this twice so far and it is by far the best recipe I’ve tried – delicious! And what’s great is it’s not as oily as other recipes either. I toast it in the morning with nut butter and coffee. YUM.
I have made this recipe twice and it is absolutely delicious! Even though I’m not vegan, I wanted to give it a try because, why not? The banana bread is perfectly moist but not too oily or greasy. The sugar coating is very yummy and adds a nice crunch to bread. It also isn’t too sweet. Overall, this is a great recipe and even my vegan friends approve!
Second time making it. So delicious. I added orange zest and 1 Tbs orange justice.
Made this and it was really good! Switched the oil for applesauce because I don’t really like oil and it turned out perfect texture and great flavor and smell
I just made this tonight, using coconut oil as my oil of choice. I am.a HUGE fan of banana bread in general (I have a whole pinterest board dedicated to it!) and I am in love with this recipe. It’s so easy to follow and it’s not asking for a bunch of funky items(ie:flaxseed egg, ect). I am also loving your whole page. Thank you, google, for leading me here!
Best and easiest banana bread I’ve had so far! Bonus that it is Vegan!!! We love adding vegan chocolate chips in ours.
Love this recipe and it works gluten-free :) Had a happy accident where I didn’t have enough flour after everything else was measured out and ready so I frantically blitzed up some rolled oats in the food processor to make up the difference… AMAZING! Every time I’ve made this banana bread since, I’ve used half 1-for-1 gluten-free flour and half oats. Its a huge hit with my family, friends, and coworkers.
Yes, this is the best banana bread ever! I thought the ATK Vegan Banana Bread was the best but your recipe really is better and so much easier. I had leftover walnuts so I crushed them and sprinkled them on the top along with the brown sugar and it came out so good.
I made this 2 days ago and my husband really loved it. I’m going to make another one today. I’ve tried other recipes, but this is the best vegan banana bread I’ve made so far. Thank you for sharing the recipe! I’ll definitely try your other variations of vegan banana bread recipes 💖🌱
I’ve made this a few times and it’s been great! My only issue is that I like to eye how much flour goes in as I stir, but I don’t want to overstir as I’m doing so. That’s a general problem though; this recipe is a winner! The brown sugar crust is ingenious.
Best vegan banana bread recipe . I made this with my 2 girls and they absolutely loved it. The bread came out moist and not dry. Great way to skip the apple sauce. We will make more banana bread.
Is there anything I can do to make this work with only 2 bananas?
Your best bet would be to scale the recipe down by a third. Just make sure to start checking it early while it bakes – it might be done quicker! Other options you could try are subbing 1/4 cup of pumpkin puree or non-dairy yogurt. I haven’t tried either of these, but they’re my best guesses as to what you could sub for a banana. I’d love to hear how it turns out!
Made this recipe today, outstanding!! My first attempt at vegan baking.😋
I made this recipe with Gluten Free all purpose flour and actually didn’t end up having 2 cups so made up the difference with almond flour (it ended up being alittle less than half almond flour), it still turned out great!! Big hit with my husband who has Celiac and my Mom who is usually not a fan of gluten free baked goods. It is super moist and yummy!
I was looking for a new vegan banana bread recipe and this is it! So easy to make and so delicious! Thank you for the recipe! This will be my new go-to when I have overripe bananas!
I’m gonna make this but was wondering if I can substitute spelt flour instead of the all purpose flour? I’m also planning on using applesauce instead of the oil.
I think that would be fine! I substitute spelt flour in lots of baked good recipes and have never had a problem. Enjoy!
I’ve made this recipe about 8 times and everytime I’m shocked at how good it is. I’ve been making banana bread almost all of my life and nothing compares to this recipe!
I was disappointed. I followed the recipe, exact measurements. And my batter turned into a crumbly mess. It wasn’t a wet batter, very, very dry. I don’t know what I did wrong. I still tried to bake it and it tastes awful. Everyone else here had great reviews, so I thought I’d try it. Any advice would be great…