The Best Vegan Banana Bread
The Best Vegan Banana Bread
This banana bread is so comforting and so easy to make!
I love banana bread, it reminds me of autumn on a rainy day. In this recipe, I put my own special twist on banana bread, and it is now my favourite one I have ever made! I added chopped hazelnuts, almonds, and vegan chocolate chunks. In every bite you get a little chocolate chunk and a crunchy nut. This recipe still works perfectly without the nuts and chocolate, if you prefer it a little more plain. I love both, but I like to add in some extra add-ins.
The typical banana bread texture is slightly fluffy, and more dense than a normal cake sponge. I find banana bread to be the easiest vegan sponge recipe, since it doesn't require much fluffiness which you would usually get from eggs. To be fully honest, I'm not a huge banana lover, but this banana bread is heavenly to me. My family also really enjoyed it, and I'm sure you will too!
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You can taste the banana a lot, yet the flavour is still not too strong. The trick for making the best banana bread is to use over-ripe bananas. This way, your bananas don't go to waste, and you get an extra delicious banana bread! On my Instagram page you can find all my tutorial videos for my recipes, my photos, and my stories. Feel free to message me if you have any questions, or comment here on my blog :).
Equipment and Ingredient notes
Equipment needed:
- A large mixing bowl
- A fork / masher
- Wooden spoon / spatula
- Sharp knife
- Loaf pan
- Kitchen scales / measuring cups
- Measuring spoons
Ingredients:
- Bananas. I get these from a fruit and veg market since their produce is usually better, but you can get it from anywhere accessible to you.
- Chopped nuts. I used chopped hazelnuts and almonds. This ingredient is fully optional, but I think it makes this banana bread so much more flavourful and delicious. You can buy these in almost any supermarket.
- Oil. I use sunflower oil but you can also use any other neutral tasting oil like canola or vegetable oil. I do not recommend using oils like olive, coconut, and sesame because they have very strong flavours which will come out in your loaf.
- Sugar. I use caster sugar in all of my baking recipes, because it is finer and easier to work with in baking. Granulated sugar will also work well.
- Plant milk. I always use oat milk in anything I'm baking other than recipes including coconut, where I will use coconut milk. I like Alpro's oat whole milk as I find it the closest tasting vegan milk to ordinary milk. You can use any plant milk though.
- Vanilla. I use vanilla paste rather than extract, although extract will still work fine. I prefer paste as it has a more authentic vanilla flavour. It is good to invest a little money into buying a good vanilla paste / extract, as it makes a pretty big difference in the flavour of your bakes.
- Flour. In all of my sponge recipes I use self-raising flour. A lot of people substitute this for plain or all-purpose flour, but if you do this your sponge will not rise properly. Unlike plain flour, self-raising flour has a raising agent (baking powder) mixed in with it. However, plain flour requires you to add your own raising agent separately. Most recipes that use self-raising flour will still add extra raising agents to give it a better rise.
- Baking powder. This creates a level bake and inflates the loaf creating bubbles to stop it from becoming dense and chewy. Baking powder contains baking soda and an acidic substance so it does not require you to activate it with your own separate acidic solution. It also contains a small amount of corn-starch, that keeps it from activating while it is in storage. I don't have a specific brand that I buy this from, I usually just go for the no-plastic option.
- Baking soda. This is also known as bicarbonate of soda. Again, I don't buy this from any particular brand, as it doesn't make much of a difference where you buy it from. Baking soda does not contain an acid so it does require you to add in your own acidic solution, unlike baking powder. Baking soda is used for creating a light and fluffy sponge.
- Vegan chocolate chunks. My favourite vegan-chocolate is Moser Roth vegan cocoa bar which can be found in Aldi. It also comes in two different flavours, dark and blond. These can also be found in Aldi. I love the creamy texture of this chocolate, and it melts in your mouth, unlike many vegan chocolates.
Step-by-step instructions:
Step one (the batter):
Place the bananas in a large mixing bowl. Mash with a fork or a masher until the texture reaches a slightly chunky puree.
Add the oil, sugar, milk and vanilla to the mashed bananas and whisk together with a whisk or a fork.
Once fully combined, the mixture will be slightly foamy. Now add your dry ingredients; flour, baking powder, baking soda, vegan choc chunks, and a sprinkle of salt.
Fold in the shape of the letter 'J' carefully and slowly until the flour is fully hydrated. Try your best to not overmix the batter but still make sure there are no lumps of flour left.
Step two (baking):
Grease an average size loaf pan with vegan butter / parchment paper.
Preheat oven to 180c (conventional oven) or 160c (fan assisted oven).
Place the banana bread mixture into your greased loaf tin and smooth out with the back of a spoon or a spatula.
You can add some extra vegan chocolate chips and chopped nuts on the top before baking to make it look a little nicer.
Bang the loaf pan down on a flat surface to smooth the top for an even rise. This will also let out any extra bubbles.
Place on the top shelf of a conventional oven or the middle shelf on a fan assisted oven. Bake for 50 minutes until golden and crispy on top. You can insert a toothpick into the centre of the loaf and if it comes out clean, then the banana bread is cooked all the way through.
Once fully cooled, you can cut it into slices, and enjoy for breakfast, a snack, or dessert.
Storage: This can be kept covered at room temp on a counter for up to 3 days, or refrigerated for 1 week. It can also be frozen for up to 1 and a half months.
The History of Banana Bread
Alexandra the Great, the former kind of Macedonia, conquered parts of India in 327 BCE and it is said that he ''discovered'' bananas. However, Archaeological records indicate that the banana had been cultivated a long time before that but this was the first written record of any trace of them.
Banana bread first started to become popular in America and made its way into many American cookbooks in the 1930s. It began gaining popularity after the popularization of baking powder and baking soda in 1930. The origin of the first banana bread made is unknown, but many believe that it was created by housewives in the 18th century that were experimenting with pearlash. Home baking became popular again in the 1960s and many people realised how simple the banana bread recipe was, and the recipe began to blow up in popularity.
Banana bread was a very common recipe during the Great Depression (1929 - 1939) since it costs very little to make and uses very common ingredients.
In 2020 as the covid-19 lockdown began, the popularity of banana bread increased by 525% in the UK. Since people were very bored during the lockdown, there was a baking craze from 2020-2021. Most people were getting stocked up on food and they found themselves with many leftover bananas and flour. This is why it became extremely popular, once again.
Tips and tricks
- Measuring ingredients. For most of my recipes, I use and recommend you to use kitchen scales to measure out your ingredients. It is the most accurate way to measure but in this recipe I used measuring cups instead. This is because my scales would not work at the time so I decided to use cups instead. You can use either though.
- Bananas. I recommend using over-ripe bananas in banana bread because it gives it a softer texture and is much easier to work with. You preferably want them to be a nice yellow colour with many brown spots on and they feel quite soft. This will also save you from throwing any un-used bananas out! I often make this recipe when our weekly bananas are running low and there are only a couple ones left, which are too ripe to eat, but absolutely perfect for a delicious banana bread.
- Add-ins. I add in vegan chocolate and chopped hazelnuts and almonds, because that is my ultimate favourite banana bread combo, but you can add in whatever you like, or what you have on hand. Some other delicious add-ins are; peanut butter, walnuts, dried fruit and mixed seeds.
- Refined sugar free. If you would like to make this recipe without the caster sugar, you can replace it with chopped dates or your own non-refined sugar like coconut sugar.
- Gluten free. I do not use gluten free flour in any of my recipes, but you can substitute the flour for your own gluten free option like almond flour, if you like.
- Overmixing the batter. You really want to try your best to not overwork your batter, because it will lead to your loaf being chewy and dense rather than soft, light and fluffy. When you mix a batter too much, it overworks the gluten and crushes any air bubbles leaving you with a dense loaf.
~ Deliciously fluffy vegan banana bread ~
Prep time: 20 mins Serves: 8 slices Cook time: 50 mins
Ingredients:
- 3 large / 4 small over-ripe bananas
- 1/3 cup sunflower oil / or other neutral tasting oils (75g)
- 1/4 cup oat milk / any other plant milk (60ml)
- 1/3 cup caster sugar / or granulated (67g)
- 1 tsp vanilla bean paste / extract
- 1 + 3/4 cups self-raising flour (216g)
- 1 + 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 cup vegan chocolate chunks / optional (140g)
- 1/2 cup chopped nuts / optional (110g)
Method:
Preheat your oven to 180c (conventional oven) / 160c (fan assisted oven).
Grease your loaf pan with vegan butter / oil.
In a large bowl, mash your bananas. Once mashed, add your oil, sugar, vanilla and plant milk. Whisk together until fully combined.
Now, add in your dry ingredients: flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, vegan chocolate and nuts.
Fold in the shape of a 'J' with a wooden spoon / spatula until fully combined. Making sure that there are no lumps of flour without overmixing the batter.
Once the batter is ready, pour it into your greased loaf pan and smooth the top out with the back of a spoon / spatula.
You can sprinkle some extra vegan choc chunks and nuts on the top for a nice finish if you like.
Place on the top shelf of a conventional oven / middle shelf of a fan oven and bake for 50mins.
Once the banana bread is ready, it should be golden and slightly crispy on the top.
Let cool in its own pan to let it set fully.
Once cool, enjoy with a hot coco, coffee, tea or by itself!
Notes:
You may need to adjust the cooking time depending on your oven. I have made this recipe in both a conventional oven and a fan assisted oven, and they both turned out the same after 50 minutes.
I hope you all enjoy this recipe, if you have any questions or feedback, comment or message me on Instagram :).
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