Everyone needs a basic banana bread up their sleeves! This simple 5 ingredient vegan banana bread comes together in just one bowl, and can be easily customised to your tastes! It's quick, delicious and perfect for slicing up and serving for breakfast or tea!
This recipe is the basic Vegan Banana bread that I turn to time & time again. It's endlessly adaptable. (yay) It can be made gluten-free (double yay) and obviously, as it is vegan uses no butter or eggs. So you don't have to worry about them not being to hand!
In fact this recipe is adaptable it's been turned into a number of other recipes on my site, such as the tangy and fragrant Easy Rhubarb Banana Bread. Not only that, if you don't have a loaf pan, it can be turned into muffins too. Why not try this Banana Raspberry Muffins with Choc Chips method to switch it up!
Jump to:
🍌Ingredients
This simple vegan recipe comes together really quickly All you need is a couple of overripe bananas, a bowl, a few ingredients and your vegan banana bread is nearly done!
5 Key ingredients come together so easily to make this Banana Bread!
- Overripe Bananas: The blacker the better, as they are sweeter and mash up better.
- All Purpose Flour: Choose spelt, wholewheat, gluten free or just plain flour.
- Plant Milk : I always use oat milk, but any unsweetened plant based milk will work.
- Nuetral Oil: An unflavoured oil such as sunflower or ground nut oil works best.
- Brown Sugar: For sweetness and a touch of the delicious caramel notes it brings.
- Also needed are Baking Powder and a pinch of Salt (You can omit the baking powder if you use Self Raising Flour!)
- Optional, but I love to add, are Cinnamon and Vanilla.
👩🍳Instructions
- Mash the bananas in a large bowl thoroughly.
2. Add the sugar, oil and milk, plus optional vanilla and cinnamon. Mix until the sugar is dissolved.
4. Mix in flour and baking powder to combine.
4. Line a loaf tin, (28cm/11" x 10cm/4") and spread out the batter into it. Bake for 35 minutes at 190C/375F or until cooked in the middle so that a skewer comes out clean when poked into it.
❗TOP TIP: Really old, black bananas work best. I sometimes freeze mine if I know I won't have time to make banana bread, they unfreeze ready to mash and use quite quickly.
🍓Substitutions and Variations
This 5 main ingredient banana bread recipe is endlessly adaptable, as I discovered in our Covid era when flour was suddenly difficult to come by.
- Gluten Free- Gluten Free flour works perfectly in this recipe. Choose your favourite brand.
- Whole Wheat Flour- Again whole wheat flour is very good. It will be a little more dense than plain flour, but still delicious.
- A mixture of spelt and oat flour (i ground up oats in the food processor) Times were desperate and baking was needed. Worked well but was quite dense.
- Other fruits in with the banana. Remove one banana and substitute with the same weight in berries, pear or apples.
- Nutty: Add 50g chopped nuts into the batter and scatter more on top.
- Chocolate chip: Add 100g chocolate chips or nuts into the batter before baking.
🔪Equipment
I usually bake my banana loaf cakes in a 28cm/11" x 10cm/4" tin, which I line with greaseproof paper. A smaller tin will take longer to bake in the oven, so be sure to take that into account when baking. (The tin in the top photo is a smaller tin, and took a little longer to bake.
🌧Trouble Shooting
If using a smaller loaf tin, cover the top with foil in the last stages of baking to prevent the top from catching and burning.
🥫Storage
Keep the banana bread in an airtight container for up to 7 days. Alternatively, freeze for up to 3 months. You can put it back in the oven once thawed for 5 minutes to 'refresh' the freshly baked flavor.
❗Top tip
Remove the banana bread from it's tin while it cools down. This stops it from getting soggy and claggy.
❓FAQ
You might have used a too-small tin. Be sure to use a larger loaf tin to ensure an evenly baked bread. Also check your oven temperature!
I do not suggest storing banana bread in the fridge. The cold air can make the banana bread dry. Instead, wrap it in greaseproof paper and store in an airtight container. It should last for up to 5-7 days.
🍰Cakes and Sweets
Why not try some of these other sweet treats?
📖 Recipe
Easy 5 Ingredient Vegan Banana Bread
Equipment
- oven
- Baking Tin 28cm/11" x 10cm/4"
Ingredients Note:
For accuracy, I measure all ingredients in metric as standard, then convert and test the recipe for American cup measurements etc.
(Heads up Aussie and UK readers- your measurements in cups are sometimes different, so please use metric or check you have the correct cup and spoon type!!)
Ingredients
- 320 g (2 cups) bananas (Extra ripe! This is roughly 4 medium bananas. Measured without their skins on. )
- 60 ml (¼ cups) vegetable oil (I use sunflower usually.)
- 60 ml (¼ cups) plant milk
- 100 g (½ cups) light brown sugar
- 240 g (⅞ cups) flour (You can use any kind of flour. If using self raising, omit the baking powder. )
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
Optional Extras
- 2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract (optional)
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon (optional)
- nuts to top
- 50 g choc chips or chunks
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 190C°/375℉
- Line a loaf tin with baking paper or parchment. Leave some over the edges, you will use this to pull the cake out of the tin later.
- Roughly mash the bananas in a large mixing bowl320 g bananas
- Add the sugar, oil, vanilla, and plant milk, and give it a good stir. You want the sugar to start to dissolve.60 ml vegetable oil, 60 ml plant milk, 100 g light brown sugar, 2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract, 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- Sift in the flour, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon, and mix.240 g flour, 1 teaspoon baking powder, ½ teaspoon salt
- Transfer the banana cake mix to the lined tin.
- Add the nuts or any extra bits of sliced banana on top & pop in the oven.nuts to top
- Bake for about 35 mins. Then test the cake with a skewer. If it comes out clean, then the cake is done. If not, put it back in your oven for another 5-10 mins.
- Let the cake cool & use the paper you cleverly left hanging over the edges to remove it from the tin.
- This banana bread will keep for around a week in an airtight container. It also freezes well!
Sadieloux says
This is my new go-to banana bread recipe.
It was so easy and it's absolutely delicious - I've just had two pieces whilst waiting for it to cool.
Blummin lush with Flora on.
Moist and gorgeous - thankyou!
Louise-Claire Cayzer says
I'm so glad you like this banana bread!Thank you for the lovely feedback xx