This easy vegan banana bread is the best ever! It’s moist, packed with flavor and comes out perfectly every time. Made with simple, easy to find ingredients, this is truly the only banana bread recipe you’ll ever need.
This vegan banana bread is our classic, tried and tested recipe and it truly comes out perfectly every time.
Something that I truly love about baking banana bread is how good the house smells! Cinnamon and banana and caramelized sugar all mixed in with the smell of baking bread. Mmmmm!
And there’s nothing quite like a slice of banana bread served freshly baked and warm from the oven.
And if you love baking quick breads then also check out our recipes for vegan pumpkin bread and vegan zucchini bread.
What You Need To Make It:
Ingredient Notes
- Ripe spotty bananas: Ripe and spotty bananas are crucial because they are packed with natural sugars.
- Coconut Oil: This can be swapped for vegan butter (in the same quantity) or you can use applesauce instead for an oil-free version.
- Soy Milk: You can use soy milk as we did, or swap it for any other non-dairy milk.
- Walnuts: These are entirely optional. You can omit them or swap them out for a different nut such as pecans. Or replace them with chocolate chips.
How To Make Vegan Banana Bread
Full instructions and measurements can always be found in the recipe card at the bottom of the post. This is just a summary of the process.
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C). Prepare a 9 x 5 inch loaf pan by spraying it with non-stick spray and lining the bottom with parchment paper. Set aside.
- Sift all purpose flour into a mixing bowl and add white and brown sugar, baking powder, salt and cinnamon. Mix together.
- Measure the correct amount of banana and add it to your blender along with soy milk and coconut oil and blend until smooth.
- Pour the blended mix over your dry ingredients in the mixing bowl and mix it into a smooth batter.
- Add chopped walnuts (optional) and fold in.
- Transfer the batter to your prepared 9×5 loaf pan and smooth down. Add a few more chopped walnuts on top and place into the oven to bake.
- Bake for 60 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the loaf comes out clean.
- Let it cool in the pan for 10 minutes before removing it from the pan and placing it onto a wire cooling rack to cool completely.
Recipe Tips
Mash or blend. We love blending up the banana, coconut oil and non-dairy milk in this recipe as it results in a very smooth batter and even distribution of that banana flavor. However, if you prefer not to get your blender involved, you can simply melt the coconut oil, mash it in with your banana and add to the mixing bowl along with the non-dairy milk.
Measure the banana correctly. If you have a food scale, then you can just weigh the peeled banana to get the correct amount. If you don’t have a scale then the best way to measure would be to mash the banana and measure it out in cups. This recipe uses 1 and ½ cups mashed banana or 337g.
Spoon and level the flour. The correct way to measure flour is to use the spoon and level method, which is to spoon the flour into your measuring cup and then level off the top with a knife. Don’t scoop it and don’t pack it into the cup. Alternatively, weigh it on a food scale.
Don’t overmix the batter. Once you add the wet ingredients in with the dry you just want to mix it until just mixed. Don’t over-mix the batter or the texture and/or rise of your loaf may be impacted.
Recipe Q&A
With some small adjustments this works great for gluten-free, check out our vegan gluten free banana bread recipe.
Yes you can. Simply replace the coconut oil with applesauce (in the same quantity) for an oil-free version.
Yes! We’re mad about the muffins. Check out our recipes for vegan banana muffins and vegan chocolate chip banana muffins.
Store it covered at room temperature where it will stay good for a few (3-4) days. If you want it to last longer, then keep it covered in the fridge where it will last for up to a week.
Yes you can. It’s freezer friendly for up to 2 months. When you’re ready for it, let it thaw overnight in the fridge.
More Vegan Banana Recipes
- Vegan Banana Pancakes
- Vegan Banana Cake
- Vegan Banana Cookies
- Vegan Banana Ice Cream
- Vegan Banoffee Pie
- Vegan Banana Cream Pie
Did you make this recipe? Be sure to leave a comment and rating below!
Vegan Banana Bread
Ingredients
- 2 cups All-Purpose Flour (250g)
- ½ cup White Granulated Sugar (100g)
- ½ cup Light Brown Sugar (100g)
- 3 teaspoons Baking Powder
- ¼ teaspoon Salt
- 1 teaspoon Ground Cinnamon
- 1 ½ cups Mashed Ripe Banana (or 337g peeled weight)*
- ½ cup Soy Milk (120ml) or other non-dairy milk
- ¼ cup Coconut Oil (55g) or Vegan Butter*
- 1 cup Walnuts (100g) Chopped, plus more to place on top before baking)*
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C). Prepare a 9 x 5 inch loaf pan by spraying it with non-stick spray and lining the bottom with parchment paper. Set aside.
- Sift all purpose flour into a mixing bowl and add white and brown sugar, baking powder, salt and cinnamon. Mix together.
- Measure the correct amount of banana and add it to your blender jug along with the soy milk and coconut oil (or vegan butter) and blend until smooth.
- Pour the blended mix over your dry ingredients in the mixing bowl and mix it into a smooth batter.
- Add chopped walnuts (optional) and fold in.
- Transfer the batter to your prepared 9×5 loaf pan and smooth down. Add a few more chopped walnuts on top and place into the oven to bake.
- Bake for 60 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the loaf comes out clean.
- Let it cool in the pan for 10 minutes before removing it from the pan and placing it onto a wire cooling rack to cool completely.
Notes
- Spoon and level the flour. The correct way to measure flour is to use the spoon and level method, which is to spoon the flour into your measuring cup and then level off the top with a knife. Don’t scoop it and don’t pack it into the cup. Alternatively, weigh it on a food scale.
- Measure the banana correctly. If you have a food scale, then you can just weigh the peeled banana to get the correct amount. If you don’t have a scale then the best way to measure would be to mash the banana and measure it out in cups. This recipe uses 1 and ½ cups mashed banana or 337g.
- Mash or blend. We love blending up the banana, coconut oil and non-dairy milk in this recipe as it results in a very smooth batter and even distribution of that banana flavor. However, if you prefer not to get your blender involved, you can simply melt the coconut oil, mash it in with your banana and add to the mixing bowl along with the non-dairy milk.
- Don’t overmix the batter. Once you add the wet ingredients in with the dry you just want to mix it until just mixed. Don’t over-mix the batter or the texture and/or rise of your loaf may be impacted.
- Make it oil-free: If you’d like this banana bread to be oil-free then you can replace the coconut oil with applesauce in the same quantity (¼ cup).
- Make it gluten-free: For a gluten-free version of this recipe, please see our recipe for gluten-free banana bread.
- Storing and Freezing: Store it covered at room temperature where it will stay good for a few (3-4) days. If you want it to last longer, then keep it covered in the fridge where it will last for up to a week. It’s freezer friendly for up to 2 months. When you’re ready for it, let it thaw overnight in the fridge.
- This recipe was first published in September 2015. It has been updated with new photos and lots more tips. The recipe itself has also been very slightly updated. The original recipe used a flax egg, we have updated the recipe to use more banana so a flax egg is not required.
Hello Alison,
Thank you for sharing such a wonderful recipe. I have made it multiple times and it is just great!
You’re so welcome Sherrizan!
Thank you so much for an amazing recipe. Just made it for the first time and wow. Used canola oil because I’m too lazy to handle coconut oil and it is great.
So happy to hear Aya! Thanks so much!
I’m no cook, but my friends and family have been really impressed with this banana bread. It’s easy, quick and very satisfying. I’ve made it eight times with no flops. Thanks Alison. You make me look good!!
Yay! So happy to hear that Phil! Thanks for the awesome review!
Hello Alison and thank you for the PERFECT BANANA BREAD recipe! This is the 3rd one I’ve made and I can say it comes out PERFECT each time! I find myself keeping a few bananas from each bunch, just in case the baking mood strikes! I’ve never used gram measurements until I started following you and I think it makes a difference! Thank you for LOVING IT VEGAN💚
Thanks so much Lynda! And I’m so happy you’re using the gram measures now as well, it definitely makes baking so much more accurate. Thanks for the amazing review!
This is a fabulous recipe. It’s so good, in fact, that sometimes I buy bananas just to let them get over-ripe so I can make it. I’m not a brilliant baker, but even I can make this one. I use canola oil in place of vegan butter or coconut oil. And pecans. I don’t like pecans by themselves, but they are terrific with this. And once made and cooled, a slice spread with a vegan butter is the best morning tea – or afternoon tea – or midnight snack ….
Thank you so much for this awesome comment! And that’s exactly what I do with bananas too! Hahaha! Thanks so much for the wonderful review.
Hi! Just a quick one. Did you use 2 cups (500g) or 250g which it states next to the ingredient for the flour
Hi Chelsea, the gram weight of a single cup of flour is 125 grams. So 2 cups is 250 grams. You’re thinking of volume, not weight.
This is the best banana bread I’ve ever had and it was so easy! Thank you so much for the recipe 🙂 we did ours with half walnuts and half dark chocolate chunks. Our cake tin was larger than stated in the recipe so we just cooked it for 45 mins and it came out perfect!
That’s wonderful! Thanks so much Josie!
Any suggestions on adjusting this for altitude?
Hi Jay, I haven’t ever baked at high altitude so I don’t have any personal experience but this article on high altitude baking should help. 🙂
Thank you so much! The article is quite specific, can’t wait to try it out again and see how it improves 🙂
I have made many banana breads over the years in search of the perfect recipe. At last I have found it! Thank you Alison. I too cannot stop eating it. Try to cut back on the amount of sugar.
The name is correct. This is the BEST vegan banana nut bread ever. Even better than my mothers was. Super recipe!
Yay! Thanks so much Jim!
This really is the only banana recipe you’ll ever need as it seems to be foolproof! It became a staple for my family during the first lockdown when I made it with various variations (plain, choc chip, chopped dates) and every loaf was a winner. The first couple of times I couldn’t get hold of any baking powder so I used a mix of baking soda and citric acid (which was all I had) and added a flax egg for good measure – it was still perfect & I’ve carried on adding the flax egg each time I make it ‘just in case’ but it probably doesn’t need it!
So happy to hear that Charli! Thanks a million for the wonderful review.
My daughter and I made this today and it’s the best banana bread we’ve ever had!!! Any tips on how not to eat it all at once?????????
Yay! Thanks so much Janet! Hahahaa, no tips for that unfortunately, it’s a problem we have too! 🙂
Is the coconut oil or faux butter blend supposed to be melted or solid?
It’s solid, and it gets blended with the other ingredients.
This loaf is fabulous. I used half the amount of banana called for and topped the other half up with apple sauce as I don’t like it too “banana-y”. I also added chocolate chips to the batter and on top. Alison, I love your recipes. They’re flexible enough that I can play with them a little and they still work for me.
Thanks so much for sharing Debra! 🙂
Delish! I did half coconut oil and half Apple sauce, I also replaced some walnuts with choc chips! Was super yum, will be making again, thank you!!
Wonderful! Thanks for the great review Hannah!
This recipe is by far the best and easiest vegan banana bread recipe I’ve ever made, thank you so much. I’m about to make a double batch, one for now and one for the freezer, I have lots of bananas.
Thanks so much Maryanne!
I can’t eat bananas because they give me migraines, so I have never made banana bread. This was my first ever banana bread that I made for my fiancé and it is delicious. I only had 2 ripe bananas so I adapted the ingredients accordingly and I also made little mini loafs instead of one big one. They came out perfectly. THIS is why I always trust the Loving it Vegan recipes!
Thanks so much Cindy! I really appreciate the trust and I’m so glad this was a success! 🙂