Vegan Chocolate Chunk Banana Bread that’s 100% whole grain, perfectly sweet and moist, and takes less than 10 minutes to whip up! A healthy and super yummy banana bread recipe that will quickly become a favorite.
THOSE CHUNKS THOOOOOO.
I’ve always been a gigantic banana bread girl. But who in their right mind doesn’t like banana bread? I don’t get you.
This weekend was kind of wild. Not like I went out and had one drink too many kind of wild, although that sounds quite lovely. It was just super busy and ya girl is TIRED. As I’m writing this its 9:06pm on Sunday and I’ve never been more pumped to melt into my bed. I worked at Alchemy all day on Saturday and spent the majority of yesterday in the kitchen cooking, photographing, and writing a bunch of recipes. Buttttt it was all worth it once my tastebuds met this tender, yumtastical, chocolatey bread sent from the banana gods!
Now when chocolate chips are an option, I’m always there. I never saw the point of chocolate-less banana bread when it’s such a stupendous vehicle for it. I chopped up a 72% dark chocolate bar from Trader Joe’s for this banana bread (and also put some on top post-bake) but you could also use your favorite semi-sweet chocolate chips. If you’re one of those interesting souls born with the chocolate lover gene, you can swap them out for yummy crunchy walnuts or pecans or simply leave them out.
So here we are today with a stupid easy, insanely moist, incredibly delish, 100% whole grain and vegan recipe for AMAZING healthy banana bread. It’s a big day for us!!
This baby literally comes together in like nine minutes, which is splendid since it has to bake for over an hour and then cool. Bottom line—make this in the morning so you can munch on it by lunch time.
This recipe is banana heavy because it’s BANANA BREAD. I used organic cane sugar to sweeten it because I wanted to keep this recipe affordable and accessible for everyone and maple syrup ain’t cheap. You can also use good old white sugar or coconut sugar if you don’t have organic cane sugar. I used 1/2 cup which is just sweet enough for us. If you’re used to sweeter, more “classic” banana bread, go for 3/4 cup. I did try this recipe with 1/3 cup maple syrup and while it was shockingly delicious, I did have to cook it for an hour and 15 minutes.
Whole wheat pastry flour adds filling fiber and antioxidants while keeping the texture light and fluffy. It also makes the flavor less “wheaty,” but regular whole wheat flour and of course all purpose flour work totally fine, too. I would recommend this flour to make it gluten-free. So many options! Honestly I recommend not changing a damn thing so you’re guaranteed to end up with the most gorgeously wondrous chocolate chunk banana bread you’ve ever laid mouth on.
YOUR HOUSE IS ABOUT TO SMELL SOOOOOO GOOOOOOOD!
- ¼ cup unsweetened vanilla almond milk
- 1 tsp apple cider vinegar
- 1½ cups very overripe bananas, mashed (3 medium bananas)
- ½ cup organic cane sugar (or ⅓ cup maple syrup)
- ¼ cup avocado oil (or melted coconut oil)
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 cups whole wheat pastry flour*
- 1 tsp baking soda
- ½ tsp sea salt
- ½ tsp cinnamon
- ½ cup chocolate chunks or chips, plus more for topping
- Preheat oven to 350F. Spray a 9x5in loaf pan with cooking spray.
- Place almond milk and apple cider vinegar in a small bowl. Stir and set aside.
- Place bananas in a large mixing bowl. Use a potato masher or fork to mash them well. Add sugar or syrup, oil, and vanilla, stirring to combine. Stir in almond milk.
- Add flour, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon. Stir just until just barely combined (a few flour clumps are okay!). Fold in chocolate chunks, being careful not to over-mix.
- Pour into loaf pan. Bake for an 1 hour and 10 minutes (1 hour and 15 minutes for maple syrup version), or until a knife comes out clean. If your loaf looks like it's getting too browned, quickly slide a piece of tin foil on top after 50 minutes. Once done, carefully remove from pan and place on a wire rack to cool before slicing. I topped mine with more chocolate as it was cooling! Store leftovers on the counter wrapped in foil or in a sealed container for up to three days before refrigerating/freezing.
Mmm, who doesn’t love banana bread? Will give this recipe a go, sounds delicious! 🙂
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http://charmainenyw.com
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Yay!! Hope you LOVE it!!
Girl, this looks amazing!!! I have at last 1 c of GF all purpose flour, & I read that fine almond meal could be used in place of some. I know you can’t advise since you haven’t tried it that way, but to your knowledge, would it work? I may make a special trip to the store for more flour anyway since it’s needed to keep on hand. 😉 Thank you for the recipe!!
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Hmmm I think it’s worth a shot! Let me know how it goes 🙂 I get almond meal will make it extra moist.
Making this IMMEDIATELY. Dreamy!!!
Let me know how you like it!!
Could maple syrup or coconut palm syrup be used in place of organic cane sugar
I haven’t tried it with either sweetener as I wanted this to be like traditional banana bread but I’ll try with coconut sugar for my next batch and let you know!
Do you have nutritional value for this ?
And can you sub almond flour for the whole wheat?
I don’t calculate nutrition info for a number of reasons but feel free to enter the recipe into an online calculate like my fitness pal. I haven’t tried it with almond flour so I can’t verify the results but let me know if you try it!
Need. To. Make. Honestly, I’ve tried “healthy” banana breads in the past and I SO appreciate that this is the real deal and has chocolate chips (critical IMO). Thank you for sharing!
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I’m a banana bread girl too 🙂 Love this recipe!
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This looks absolutely incredible! I can’t wait to try it!
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Intrigued by the use of avocado oil. I’ve never used it in baking, only in cooking, and I’ve been wondering how it holds up. I never really like the way coconut oil works out in baked goods, but avo oil seems like it should be a more straightforward sub. I’m excited to try this!
Hi there! Avocado oil is a high heat oil similar to canola oil in its neutral flavor making it great for baking. Coconut oil tastes coconutty unless it’s refined plus I’m too lazy to melt it and clean another bowl–that’s pretty much why I use avocado oil in addition to it being so heart-healthy 😉
this bread is so yummy. I substituted oat and almond flour for whole wheat and coconut sugar for cane sugar and avocado oil and it turned out great. It didn’t rise as much as normal bread but tastes great!
Less than 10 minutes? Your recipes always make me go dizzy for more Alexis! I am in love with this moist vegan sweet bread! Thank you for the recipe xoxo
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Of course! So glad!
Alexis…. this banana bread is AMAZING!! Noah (my five year-old) and I made it this afternoon and he ate two pieces! Even my husband commented that it was the best banana bread we’ve ever made. Thanks for the recipe!! XOXO
Awwwww you made me day!! Thanks so much Christen!!
I made this yesterday. So easy and very delicious! I was surprised how well it held together without eggs or flax eggs. It is really yummy. Plus, the smell of it baking drove me crazy waiting for it to be done. Now I cannot wait to make your new brownie recipe.
Oh, and tonight we are having your black bean-avocado burgers.
It’s officially the most glorious smelling baked good EVER! Thrilled you loved it 🙂 You’re gonna die over the brownies!
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I made this tonight with a few substitutions (applesauce for oil, honey to sweeten, and soymilk instead of almond) and it’s AMAZING! Thank you!
That’s AWESOME that the substitutions worked out perfectly for you, Michelle!
this looks so delicious! plus i love recipes where i already have all of the ingredients on hand! 🙂
Made it and girl, it is SO. GOOD.
Am an insane chocoholic but actually left them out on the first go-around bc I wanted to see how the banana flavor stood out on its own… was seriously delish. New fave BB recipe! Can’t wait to try w choc chips (bc let’s be honest, that only makes everything more amazing…). That will be followed promptly by brownies 🤗
This recipe is so freaking good.
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You’re the sweetest! If you’d be so kind as to leave a star rating, I’d be so grateful! 🙂
Best banana bread EVERRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR. My goodness. So easy, too! Whole family-approved.
Yess girl, yesss! I need this recipe in my life! so glad I found your page!
I substituted chopped walnuts for the chocolate. I used a half cup of maple syrup for the sweetening instead of sugar (cut sugar by half). Added good cinnamon. Best banana bread I ever had. Kathy took some to work and her co-workers raved. I love the way it looks too. Rustic and home-made.
I love that! So you used 1/2 cup maple syrup instead of the 1/2 cup cane sugar? Glad that worked well!
I baked this bread today and the mix was super thick I added a little more milk and 1 egg . I know it’s vegan sorry . I added clove ginger and more cinnamon and sliced almonds . I only had unsweetened almond milk reduced to 1/3 cup organic cane sugar I don’t like my breakfast bread too sweet and I baked it 40 Minutes in my convection oven . Next time i will bake it for 35 minutes my oven is super fast. The texture was amazing next time i will use 1/2 cup almond milk and skip the egg . This bread was awsome it’s super hard to find a banana bread with a nice texture and this one is very nice. Thanks
Hi there! Were your bananas super ripe? Glad it still worked out!
Just made this last night! It came out AMAZING! So easy and delicious, will definitely be making again! (pretty sure half the loaf is gone already…) Thank you for sharing!! I love all your recipes 🙂
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Yesssss it’s impossible to not eat half the loaf in one sitting, hehe 🙂
You made my night! Thanks so much, Hannah!
Hi – I made this last night and am wondering where I went wrong with the recipe. I followed it exactly and the batter was extremely thick, almost like a cookie crumble. I’m wondering if anyone else had this problem? Really wanted to try this – it sounds amazing!
Oh no! Did you measure the flour properly? It should be spooned and leveled, not packed in. Did you use very ripe brownish bananas?
Yes – the bananas were very ripe! I used 2 cups of almond flour but did not pack it. Wondering if I should try to add more than just 1/4 cup of the almond milk?
Interesting. The recipe calls for whole wheat pastry flour—I have no idea about the results with almond meal. I’d need to do some tinkering. Sorry!
This looks like moist perfection! Thank you for sharing Alexis.
A warm slice of homemade banana bread is definetly comfort food🙂
Hi Alexis – thank you for this beautiful recipe. I used 1.5 cups wholemeal spelt flour and 0.5 cup rolled oats and the result was absolutely divine. Thanks again. Much appreciated 🙂
This was the best banana bread! Got so many compliments from coworkers. They couldn’t believe it was vegan.
I’m so glad!!
Ive tried this Banana Loaf for breakfast. And it really is good. Can this be baked without the banana? Im looking for a recipe for regular loaf could this recipe suffice? Thanks
Mariel
I have no idea how it would work without bananas, sorry! You could try applesauce?
Hello Alexis,
Thanks a lot for your recipe, I did it yesterday, we tasted it this morning with my partner and we loved it!
I used spelt flour that was the only one available in my kitchen and that was great.
I would need to bake another one gluten-free for his aunt and I was thinking of using rice flour and I was curious about your opinion.
Do you think it could work??
Thanks for your help Alexis!
Best,
Sabrina
Hey Sabrina! I’d use a 1:1 all purpose gluten-free flour. I had success with Namaste brand. I heads Trader Joe’s didn’t work—might be because it doesn’t have xantham gun.
Gum*
I can’t find whole wheat pastry flour anywhere! I can only find white pastry flour. Would normal flour work?
White whole wheat flour or all purpose works for sure!
I want to clarify that if I use while all purpose flour I use the same measurements as the flour you posted?
Correct!
Oh. My. God. Alexis
This is heaven on a plate. I’m cutting out sugar for a month, and I was craving banana bread so I decided to make your recipe. I was worried about how it would turn out but it was warm, flavourful, subtly sweet, crunchy (I used walnuts instead of chocolate) and dripping with banana goodness! I made it today, and two thirds of the banana bread is already GONE. My parents, usually massive health freaks and super frugal with desserts asked for seconds. If that’s not a good sign, I don’t know what is!! I’ve posted about how amazing this is on my story (@sreyaway) and I’m pretty sure that this will become a staple in our household! It’s even better than normal banana bread. Direct quote from Dad: “Why should we buy bread when what you make tastes this amazing!” Wish I could chuck a 6 star rating on this!
Keep on creating! I’ll definitely look at more of your delish recipes in the future!
Thank you so much,
Sreya (@sreyaway)
You’re so sweet, thank you so much!!
This banana bread looks absolutely beautiful, and I’m very excited to make it! I know this is crazy since chocolate is a major part of the recipe, but I don’t eat chocolate. I’ve looked at other banana bread recipes and I like yours the best. If I do leave the chocolate out, might you suggest a specific modification in regard to the baking of it? Longer time to cook? More of another ingredient instead, such as sugar? Looking forward to your reply.
You can simply leave the chocolate chips out—it won’t really effect anything. Enjoy!
I just made the recipe and it is delicious. I could not tell it was not traditional banana bread. I made a couple of alterations. I used 1 1/2 cups wheat flour and 1/2 cup garbanzo bean flour. I also ran out of oil so I used 1/8 cup of safflower oil and 1/8 cup water. I also did not have almond milk so I just used water. The bread was amazing. I replaced my old recipe with this one.
Made this today using the GF flour blend suggestion (1.5c GF flour, .5c almond meal) and it worked out great. I skipped the chocolate to keep it traditional but think I will try the chocolate version next time.
The only issue was that there was a slight bi-carb taste left after baking. I guess I just used too much? It’s definitely supposed to be baking soda, not baking powder?
Yep, baking soda. Glad you enjoyed it!
I used coconut sugar and coconut oil and it turned out well texture-wise. I also skipped the choc chips and used walnuts instead. But I got a slightly salty taste in my loaf. I’m guessing this is due to the fact that the walnuts don’t help to neutralize the baking soda as chocolate would. Next time I will try with the choc chips or scale back the soda.
This came out soooooo good! For anyone avoiding added sugars, I used Lakanto monkfruit sweetener in place of the sugar, and Lily’s chocolate chips (vegan & sweetened with stevia). Since ripe bananas are already so sweet on their own, no one could tell a difference!
I’m so glad you liked it!!
I baked this banana bread yesterday, and let me tell you it was the best banana bread recipe ever! Very moist, and we all loved it…can’t wait to bake more.
I replace the almond milk for soy milk because didn’t have almond milk😊
Wahoo!!! Time for me to bake another batch 🙂
I made this yesterday with regular flour and took it out or the oven after 1hr and 5 minutes. It was very dark and not that moist. Any ideas?
No idea—I’ve never got that feedback before! Did the batter seem dry? Were the bananas really ripe?
The batter seemed fine! And the bananas were turning black. You don’t think it was the flour? I’going to attempt to make it again, maybe cover with foil?
You don’t think it was the flour? The bananas were turning black. And the batter seemed fine. I’m going to try to make it again, maybe cover it with foil? Maybe it was my oven
Could def be the oven! I always use a fork to test if it’s done.
Hey! I love this recipe. I added walnuts and chocolate chunks and dubbed it Chunky Monkey Banana Bread!! So darn good with some vanilla fro yo. Since I didn’t have avo oil on hand, I subbed equal parts applesauce and vanilla almond milk. Also, I used whole oats in place of the flour, and agave nectar as the sweetener. Love to know that I’m feeling my body REAL food and also eating a yummy slice or two of nanner bread while curled up on the couch next to my hubs and kids 😍😍 Love ALL your recipes,
Yours,
An aspiring intuitive eater named Donna (pronounced dough-na like donut haha)
Amazing. I love walnuts!!! Thanks so much, Donna 🙂
I made this last night and it is already halfway gone! It is so delicious and it was so easy to make. I used spelt flour and added two extra tablespoons of milk (I used unsweetened vanilla flax milk to keep it but free). I also swirled a cinnamon, sugar and melted butter combination throughout the bread, in place of using chocolate chips. I baked it for 50 minutes and it was done! I like the rustic look of the bread and the entire house smelled so amazing!
*nut free
I’m so glad!! Thank you for the feedback!
Thanks for sharing its really yummy
Made it last night, OMG, so easy and – so yummy. Really stupid question – I followed the recipe exactly – was I supposed to melt the coconut oil or just use it straight out of the jar in it’s “hard” form (that’s what I did). Just want to make sure I get it perfect!
Amazing news. I’m so glad you liked it, Lynn! Per the recipe, it’s melted refined coconut oil. Unrefined coconut oil will lend a more “coconutty” flavor. Hope that helps!
Amazing news. I’m so glad you liked it, Lynn! Per the recipe, it’s melted refined coconut oil. Unrefined coconut oil will lend a more “coconutty” flavor. Hope that helps!