Tested and perfected, best ever Vegan Banana Bread that's naturally sweetened with maple syrup, perfectly moist, and comes together in 10 minutes. Readers are obsessed with this crowd-pleasing recipe (100 five-star ratings!) because it tastes JUST like classic fluffy banana bread and comes out perfect every time. Your search for easy vegan banana bread all your friends will adore ends here!
I've always been a huuuuge banana bread gal. But one with zero dairy or eggs that still has that incredible texture and super satisfying, not overly sweet, banana-forward flavor? Quite a challenge, right? Wrong!
Making vegan banana bread is actually simpler than I thought. A few simple tricks we'll chat about below make it the foolproof, stand-out recipe it is. Non-vegans are equally as obsessed!
P.S. Don't miss the chocolatey, hidden veggie sister of this recipe--my beloved Vegan Chocolate Zucchini Banana Bread. I'm drooling just thinking about it.
5-Star Reader Reviews ★★★★★
"I make this bread all the time. My family and friends love it and I think it is by far my favorite recipe. Turns out incredible 100% of the time. It brings me so much joy making it, especially not having to make any concessions for vegan friends." --Rena
"I've made this so many times and brought to lots of parties and holidays! People love it, it is always a crowd pleaser! Great if you or people you are having have allergies or are vegan!" Lindsey
"I made this for my boyfriend's parents (not vegans) and they liked it so much they asked me for the recipe 😄 not bad for first time meeting them!" --Melissa
Tested until it was 110% perfect!
- You've got flour options. I designed this recipe to be whole grain because the dietitian in me loves the extra fiber. My favorite flour to use is white whole wheat flour since it's less wheaty, but regular whole wheat flour is easier to come by these days and I've made it with that more times than I can count. I've also tested this with half all purpose and half whole wheat and it works perfectly!
- Use maple syrup or good old sugar! I use maple syrup to sweeten nearly all my baked goods so you can imagine my shock when a slightly larger amount of granulated sugar worked just as well. I found the maple version needs 5 more minutes in the oven.
- Vegan buttermilk is magic. It's so cool how combining non-dairy milk with a splash of vinegar creates that classic "buttermilk" effect-- it activates the baking soda for extra fluff factor (no eggs needed). The acid also helps breaks down the gluten to create a light, delicate crumb.
- Chocolate chips: I must got on the record saying banana bread sans chocolate chips is a crime. To me, they are as essential as overripe bananas LOL.
Let's make it together
Please let me know how this vegan banana bread recipe turns out for you by leaving a star rating and/or comment!
Print
Perfect Vegan Banana Bread (lower sugar!)
- Prep Time: 10 mins
- Cook Time: 1 hour 10 mins
- Total Time: 1 hour 20 mins
- Yield: 12 slices 1x
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Oven
- Cuisine: American
- Diet: Vegan
Description
Fluffy Vegan Banana Bread that's naturally sweetened, perfectly moist and comes together in 10 minutes. With 80+ 5-star ratings, the Hummusapien community adores this recipe! It tastes just like classic banana bread mom used to make but it's 100% whole grain and has far less sugar. The only banana bread recipe you'll ever need. Freezer friendly!
Ingredients
- ¼ cup non-dairy milk (I use unsweetened vanilla almond)
- 1 tsp apple cider vinegar
- 1 ½ cups very overripe mashed bananas*
- ⅓ cup pure maple syrup**
- ¼ cup oil (I use avocado oil)
- 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 2 cups whole wheat flour, spooned and leveled
- 1 tsp baking soda
- ½ tsp fine sea salt
- ½ tsp cinnamon
- ½ cup chocolate chips, plus more for topping
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F. Spray a 9x5in loaf pan with cooking spray. I like to line with parchment paper.
- Place milk and apple cider vinegar in a small bowl (this is our vegan "buttermilk." Stir and set aside.
- Place bananas in large mixing bowl and mash well with a fork. Measure to ensure you have 1 ½ cups. Add maple syrup or sugar, oil, vanilla, and milk mixture. Whisk well to combine.
- Add flour, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon. Stir with a wooden spoon until barely combined (you should still see some streaks of flour). Fold in chocolate chips, mixing just a few more times until combined. Over-mixing causing the bread to be more dense.
- Pour into prepared pan. Bake for about 1 hour and 15 minutes for maple syrup version (1 hour 10 minutes for sugar version), or until a knife comes out clean. When about 25 minutes remain on the cooking time, quickly cover the bread with a piece of tin foil to avoid too much browning.
- Once done, cool pan on a wire rack for 10 minutes before carefully remove from pan to cool completely. Store on the counter in an air-tight container for up to 3 days.
Notes
*This equals 3-4 medium bananas, but be sure to measure since size varies!
**You can substitute ½ cup cane sugar.
TO MAKE GLUTEN FREE: Do not substitute almond flour or coconut flour for the whole wheat flour; they are not even substitutes and your banana bread will not turn out. For a gluten-free version, readers have had success with 2 cups of 1:1 GF baking flour OR 1 ½ GF baking flour + ½ cup almond flour. Or try my Best Gluten Free Banana Bread!
Freeze: Wrap the loaf tightly in foil then in a plastic bag with the air squeezed out. It will stay fresh for up to 4 months.
Cristina says
So easy and yummy! It was my first time making banana bread and I’m so happy I decided on hummusapien’s recipe.
Can’t wait to make it again!
Alexis Joseph says
Awww yay! I'm so thrilled you loved the banana bread, Cristina!
Carla says
THE BEST! Tastes like bakery style banana bread. 🙌👍
Alexis Joseph says
The ultimate compliment 🙂 Thanks, Carla!
Avneet says
Makes the fluffiest muffins ever!! My 8 year old son loves helping me make these:)
Alexis Joseph says
Love these as muffins!!
Sydney says
My daughter and I made this recipe as muffins and they are
amazing! My husband love them too! Couldn't tell they were vegan.
Great on a rainy day here in So Cal.
Alexis Joseph says
How fun!! Love that 🙂
Sri says
This turned out so so good. Just like the authentic banana bread that is served in bakeries and restaurants. Thank you for sharing the recipe!
Alexis Joseph says
Wonderful, thanks for letting me know! If you'd be so kind as to leave a star rating next time, I'd be so grateful. Enjoy!
sara says
absolutely fabulous!! perfect in every way. I used a different plant milk and white wine vinegar and it still turned out great!
Alexis Joseph says
I'm so glad to hear it worked out for you! Enjoy 🙂
Eliana says
Hello!!! I wanted to ask if I don’t use any sweetener at all do you think it would be ok? I want to make it for my baby but don’t want it to be too sweet... will it be ok because of the sweet bananas? Plus, if I use oat flour instead of whole wheat? Will that be ok?
Thanks so much for replying! Greetings from Cyprus!
Alexis Joseph says
Hi there! I would not recommend using oat flour as I haven't tested it with that flour and it can be very dense! I also haven't tried it without sweetener...but it should be fine, just less sweet of course 🙂 Enjoy!
Eliana says
Hello!!! I wanted to ask if I don’t use any sweetener at all do you think it would be ok? I want to make it for my baby but don’t want it to be too sweet... will it be ok because of the sweet bananas?
Thanks so much for replying! Greetings from Cyprus!
Natalia Lee says
My boyfriend just tried this recipe and now it will be our staple go to for banana bread! It came out so moist and delicious!! We are not bakers, but this recipe was very easy to follow. Thank you!!
Alexis says
SO glad to hear that, Natalie! Now I need to go make another batch.
Sydney says
This was my first time ever making banana bread and I wasn’t sure was to expect but I couldn’t have been happier with this recipe! So easy to follow and the bread turned out PERFECT! Thank you!
Alexis says
Best news ever! Thanks a ton, Sydney!
Raquel says
This is the BEST banana bread I’ve ever made! My favorite recipe growing up was one loaded with butter and eggs and tons of sugar... and this much healthier and vegan version is RIDICULOUS! So moist, perfectly sweet, and satisfying. Thank you so much!
Alexis says
You made my day! Thanks so much!
kelly uman says
I used oat milk, cane sugar and half whole wheat AP flour/half white flour but the batter was too dry so I had to add some extra oat milk. It came out great. Thanks for the recipe.
Alexis says
Interesting! Did you spoon and level the flour versus packing it in? Glad it still came out great for ya!
Alex says
Loved it!
For anyone interested:
If followed strictly in 50 grams there are: 151kcal of which: 3.3 g protein, 21.8g carbs, 5g fat.
Alexis says
Yesss peanut butter is the BEST!
Alexandra says
Holy smokes, looks so good. You're totally right...THOSE CHUNKS THO. I'll bet this would be an even better vehicle for peanut butter than regular banana bread. I don't usually add chocolate to my banana bread, but topped with peanut butter? It just makes sense.
Alexis says
Yesss peanut butter is the BEST!
Rosalyn says
I didn’t have all the ingredients on hand, so I subbed canola oil instead of avocado. (I’m also glad to finally use my apple cider vigegar for something other than fruit flies - lol.)
So good. This is definitely bookmarked as my favourite banana bread recipe. I’ve always subbed out egg in other recipes with something else (apple sauce, flax seed, extra oil, more banana, etc...) and I was definitely missing out. Mine rose so much, it’s the fluffiest banana bread I’ve ever made.
Alexis says
Awww yay! Yes the egg totally helps with fluffy factor 🙂 Thanks, Rosalyn.
Erin says
Soooooo delicious! Our new go-to recipe.
Geoff says
I made this last night and it was so good! The recipe is super easy and delicious. The bread has a wonderful banana flavor. My husband said it was the best banana bread he's ever had.
I normally try to make recipes eat least once before I start subbing things out, but I didn't have whole wheat flour so I used organic unbleached all-purpose, and I used organic canola instead of coconut. It was still amazing, the hallmark of a strong recipe.
This will be our go-to banana bread recipe from now on. Thank you!
Kerri says
Didn’t have an hour to wait for baking and cooling so I decided to make them as muffins! Smelled amazing while baking and 20-22min in oven they came out perfect and delish! Can’t wait to share with my friends!
Sara says
So easy and delicious I couldn't even wait for them to cool completely before sharing them with our neighbors! The neighbors say thanks for sharing this recipe with me so I can make it for them LOL ?
Alexis says
Hahaha you're the best neighbor, Sara!
Gerri says
Hi Alexis,
Thank you for the recipe. Super simple and delish. I made mini loaf pans and have been eating them all week.(Not sure if that's a good thing). Anywho, thanks again! Definitely will make this again the next time i don't eat all my over-priced organic bananas.
Alexis says
Mmmm spelt flour is so light and fluffy!
Maria-Alexandra says
finally an easy recipe which doesn't require 1000 fancy & expensive ingredients. came out moist and yummy. I have used whole spelt flour and it came out amazing
Alexis says
Awww thank you SO much, Lynn! Thrilled those subs worked for you.
Lynn says
Insanely good. I read a lot of recipes and appreciate when they’re well researched and tested. I made mine with 1 c Manini’s Allpurposed GF Flour, 3/4 c Manini’s Multigrain GF bead flour and 1/4 c fine hazelnut flour (I wasn’t trying to be complicated but had a bunch of leftover flours to use up).
Alexis says
Wow that sounds SO good! I love the hazelnut flour addition.
Stjepan Lukic says
Great recipe!
Izzy says
It was amazing, but I feel like it was heavier than most of the banana bread recipes I’ve tried. It had more of a cake-like feel, and I think it works better as a dessert than as a breakfast. Either way, it was delicious and my family loved it too!
Alexis says
Sure! Lemon juice also works.
Emily says
Hi there, can I use regular white vinegar instead of apple cider?
Jessica says
Made this today & I’m definitely a fan!! Also, I love the blueberry oatmeal breakfast bars!! Picky husband approved as well! Thanks for the wonderful recipes ?
Alexis says
Thanks so much, Jessica!
Alexis says
Yumm!!!! Thanks, Mikayla 🙂
Eman says
This was by far the best banana bread I've ever made AND Eaten! It had all disappeared within 2 hours of leaving the oven!!! Such a bonus that the ingredients are all yummy and healthy so that means you can just eat it all in one go right? 😀 No but seriously I'm about to go make 10 loaves and freeze them so I don't have to go without ever again haha! Thank you for this. Also, I opted to use coconut oil and maple syrup.
Alexis says
Yay!! Thank you so much!! Freeze away 🙂
Mikayla says
Just made this and subbed in coconut sugar, SO good! So moist and delicious, my house does indeed smell AMAZING!!!
Kate McCurrach says
I baked this today and it is delicious. I didn't have almond milk so I used cashew milk. I also used half and half wholemeal flour with self raising flour as I'm in the UK and I wasn't sure what would be a good substitute. I added some chopped pecans and walnuts and used Green and Blacks dark organic chocolate cut into chunks. It worked so well. It's very simple and I highly recommend it.
Alexis says
I’m so glad to hear it!
Valerie Cotsalas says
Thanks for this delicious recipe! I used the maple syrup. It was perfect. My son and husband both loved it. I like your ingredients; they work together beautifully.
Jeffrey says
Made them as muffins. Used 4 bananas and baked for about 23 minutes. Best muffins EVER!!! I’d leave 10 stars if I could!!
Elsa Rafter says
Hi I just made this yesterday and it was soooooo good!!! We used maple syrup for sweetener and it worked great (although your right we did have to bake it for 70 mins - totally worth it though). Im thinking of making this again for Christmas day and i'm wondering if you think I could use almond butter instead of coconut oil. Its pretty different, but I think the flavor could be really good.
Alexis says
Yay! I would say you could swirl in almond butter but maybe not replace since it doesn’t have as much fat. Enjoy!
Regina Phalange says
Just made this and it's AMAZING! I used 4 bananas instead of 3, did the maple syrup version and used a mixture of plain white flour and self raising flour instead of the pastry flour (it was all I had) but it turned out perfect, so moist (sorry to people to hate that word?) and delicious! First banana loaf I've made and by far the best I've tasted!
Thank you for the recipe 😀
Alexis says
You made my day! I’m so happy you liked it, Regina!
Alexis says
Thanks you so much for the feedback, Autumn!
Autumn E. says
Love this recipe so much! I usually make it in muffin form (bakes for about 15-18 min), and I used white whole-wheat flour this last time and it was perfect.
m says
from montreal; made this twice. excellent recipe. moist!
Julie says
Amazing recipe! I probably make it 1-2 times a month - always having leftover ripe bananas to use. I like to make the recipe into muffins (bake 15 or so minutes) because waiting for the loaf is hard for me 🙂 Thanks for the amazing recipe as always!
Sam Vander Wielen says
Absolutely Loved this banana bread! So simple to throw together and so delicious. I made it as is, with maple syrup : )
Alexis says
Thank you so much, Sam! It's one of my favorite baked good recipes EVER!
Sam Vander Wielen says
Loved this banana bread! So simple to throw together and so delicious. I made it as is, with maple syrup : )
Alexis says
Thank you so much! If you could leave a star rating I’d be so grateful!
Stephanie says
I just made this recipe and it is off the charts good, I used spelt flour instead and made muffins since they are easier to freeze. New go to staple for sure!!!
Natalie Gaudino says
Hi Alexis,
Just came across this recipe and can't wait to make this today. Would all-purpose flour work with with this recipe?
Alexis says
Hi! Definitely! Enjoy 🙂
Alexis says
I’m so glad!! Thank you for the feedback!