Tall, Fluffy, Flavorful Vegan Banana Bread 

Amazing vegan banana bread that is super tall, fluffy, moist, and flavorful! Easy to make in one bowl and endlessly customizable. And yes, it’s gluten free friendly!!

This is the BEST vegan banana bread. I know everyone thinks they have the best but I’ll tell you why this one deserves consideration:

1. It’s super tall and fluffy. No short breads here. This banana bread is bursting at the seams.
2. Super flavorful. With tons of bananas, a generous splash of vanilla, and just enough cinnamon to bring some warmth, this bread needs nothing but says everything. 
3. Easy to make. Nothing fancy, no weird ingredients, and you make it in one bowl. How easy is that?! 

This recipe has been made so many times throughout my 13+ years being vegetarian and vegan that it’s basically a foolproof recipe that just works every time. 

So the next time you have a bunch of bananas that you let get too ripe, make this bread!! 

Ingredients

• Bananas: The more ripe the better! Tons of freckles are the right amount. 
• Flour: Just all purpose here, nothing fancy. 
• Sugars: Both brown sugar and white sugar combine for the perfect sweet flavor. 
• Plant Milk: I prefer unsweetened and unflavored soymilk but any plant-based milk works here. 
• Oil: Use a neutral flavored oil like canola or refined coconut oil so that the other delicate flavors don’t get covered up.
• Vanilla: Vanilla in banana bread is a love story that you don’t want to break up. 
• Flaxseed: This is the “egg” in the recipe to help bring it all together. 
• Cinnamon, Baking Soda, Baking Powder, Salt 

Instructions 

Prep Step: Line the Pan 

Grab an 8×5-inch or 9×4-inch baking pan. Lightly spray and line with parchment paper. Set this aside. I like to use some clips to help hold the paper in place so it doesn’t move while I pour the batter in – just be sure to remove them before baking!! 

Step One: Mash the Bananas + Flax Egg

Into a large bowl, using a potato masher or a big fork, mash the bananas. If you have super ripe bananas this should be easy. If your bananas are not quite ripe, add a splash of the oil to the bananas to help them mash down. 

In a small mug, add the flaxseeds and hot water. Let it gel together for 5 minutes. I do this in the microwave because it’s easy. 

Step Two: Mix the Wet Ingredients

To the mashed bananas, add in all the wet ingredients all at once. The sugar, brown sugar, plant based milk, oil, vanilla, flax seed egg, and bananas all get mixed together. You can use a whisk to help bring it all together. 

Step Three: Add the Dry Ingredients 

Now into the same bowl add all the dry ingredients. I like to add the flour first and then sprinkle the baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon over top of it. Switch to a spatula to make sure you can scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl easier. 

Step Four: Bake! 

Carefully pour the banana batter into the prepared loaf pan. Bake for 65 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the bread pulls out clean. This shouldn’t take much longer than 70 minutes. If the top of the bread is browning too quickly, after 45 minutes you can add a tent of aluminum foil on top. 

Step Five: Cool! 

Allow it to cool before slicing. This really is the most difficult part of making this banana bread is waiting for it to cool. Let it rest for a good hour in the hot pan on the countertop and then another 30 minutes or so outside of the pan on a cutting board. Then you can slice it and serve. If you slice it too soon after baking, you can squish the bread.

Tips 

Need to ripen up some bananas to make this? 

• To ripen in a few days: Place the bananas in the sunlight in a window or another warm spot. 
• To ripen within 24-48 hours: Store the bananas in a paper bag with an apple. 
• To ripen right now: Preheat the oven to 300F/150C. Place the bananas still inside the peel on a baking sheet and bake for 15 minutes. The peel will turn black. Remove the bananas from the oven and let them cool. This will give them the texture of a ripe banana but they won’t be as sweet as a ripe banana. 

When serving banana bread, enjoy it by the slice (easy enough), top it with some vegan butter, almond butter, peanut butter, or add a scoop of vanilla vegan ice cream and drizzle with chocolate sauce for a twist on a banana split!! 

How to Store 

Countertop: Store the banana bread covered at room temperature for up to 2 days. 

Fridge: Store the banana bread covered in the fridge for up to 5 days. 

Freezer: Store the sliced banana bread in the freezer with sheets of parchment paper in between each slice for easy removal. Store in a freezer safe container for up to 3 months. Allow it to come to room temperature before enjoying it after freezing. 

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