This vegan banana bread tastes amazing, slices beautifully, and it's loaded with so many goodies, including five bananas and lots of crunchy walnuts. It's healthy, it's versatile, and it's the banana dessert I make most often for my family.
A family favorite banana bread recipe
This one-bowl vegan banana bread has long been one of our most cherished family recipes, and I am so excited to share it with you. What I love about it is that it is so easy to make, and it makes a great breakfast (because it's so healthy) or a great dessert (because it's so scrumptious!). There are so many delicious elements that go into this bread, including the walnuts, bananas and applesauce, and you can make it with whole wheat flour with no loss in flavor or texture! But don't just take my word for it -- scroll through the comments below for five-star reader reviews like this one:
I have used this recipe for banana bread countless times. It's just the perfect one. I have also tried other recipes in the beginning with eggs with butter etc. but every single time family verdict is your recipe is better. - Hemi
Table of Contents
Recipe FAQs
You can divide the batter into 8-10 muffin cups and bake them up for 18 minutes. I do have a scrumptious vegan banana muffins recipe on the blog and you might just want to follow that instead.
You can store the banana bread for up to six days in the fridge. To freeze the bread, wrap the loaf tightly in plastic wrap or place in an airtight container for up to four months. You can also freeze individual slices. Thaw before eating.
As ripe as possible. I use bananas that are simply too soft to eat with skins that are covered in dark spots. This is when they have the most sugar in them, and they taste fabulous in the banana bread. For the top use a banana that's still firm so you can slice it easily.
With lots of fruit and flax meal, this is a healthy banana bread and you can make it even healthier by using whole wheat flour or whole wheat pastry flour. There are 191 calories in one hearty slice with three grams of protein and one gram of fiber.
Recipe card
Vegan Banana Bread
Ingredients
- 1 â…“ cups flour (all purpose flour, a 50-50 mix of whole wheat flour and all purpose flour, or whole wheat pastry flour are all fine)
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- â…” cup sugar
- 2 tablespoons flax meal
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 4 tablespoons avocado oil or any neutral oil (I use avocado oil. You can also substitute vegan butter)
- 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
- ¼ cup applesauce
- 4 very ripe bananas (mashed or blended until smooth with few or no lumps, You will need one more banana for the optional decorative top)
- ¾ cup walnuts (or pecans, lightly toasted, then chopped)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F/175 degrees C. Oil an 8 ½-inch by 4 ½-inch loaf pan.
- Whisk the flour, salt, baking soda, baking powder, sugar and flax meal in a bowl.
- Add apple cider vinegar, applesauce and mashed bananas to the flour mixture. Mix until just combined and there's no dry flour in the bowl.
- Fold in the chopped walnuts.
- Pour the batter into the loaf pan and spread evenly with a spoon or spatula. If using a banana to decorate the top slice it lengthwise into three slices, then halve each slice. Arrange on top of the loaf.
- Bake the banana loaf about 50-55 minutes until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
- Place the banana bread on a cooling rack for about 10 minutes, then unmold and let cool completely on the rack.
Notes
- Stir in pecans instead of walnuts into the batter.
- Add ¾ cup vegan chocolate chips to the batter instead of the nuts for a delicious vegan chocolate chip banana bread.
- If you like some warmth in the banana bread loaf add a teaspoon of ginger or cinnamon or a 50-50 mix of both.
- Stir in a teaspoon of pure vanilla extract for a nice boost of sweetness. Use no more than a teaspoon.
Nutrition Information
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Gail says
I really like your recipes and want to try this one, but I'm having problems with the amount of bananas. Where I come from, bananas range from small to extra large, and I never know what will be available. I've had problems before with quick breads being overly moist or underdone--having a compacted layer towards the bottom. Could you give the banana amount by weight or in cups?
Vaishali says
Hi Gail, two cups of mashed banana.
Gail says
Thanks. It turned out great. Surprisingly 4 pretty large bananas turned out to be 2 cups mashed.