This vegan banana bread gives you a soft, moist, perfectly sweet loaf with simple pantry staples—no butter, eggs, or specialty vegan ingredients needed.
If you have more ripe bananas to use up, try our banana muffins, banana baked oatmeal with Greek yogurt, or banana nut bread next.
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Why you’ll love our vegan banana bread!
There’s almost always something homemade and sweet in our kitchen, and this banana bread is one of our favorites 🍌. It’s soft, moist, full of banana flavor, and made with simple pantry staples—no butter, no eggs, and no unusual egg substitutes.
Louise and I love a slice with coffee in the afternoon ☕, but as we get older, we’re also more mindful of the ingredients we use every day. So when we can make a delicious banana bread without butter and naturally low in saturated fat, we happily do.
The secret is getting the proportions right. After testing hundreds of cakes over the years, we’ve learned how to balance ripe bananas, flour, vegetable oil, and plant milk for a tender crumb that’s moist without being heavy or gummy.
🌱 It’s simple, comforting, and made for everyday life. Just really good banana bread that happens to be vegan.
P.S: If you enjoy simple homemade baking, try our banana zucchini bread, vegan pumpkin bread, or apple bread next.
Ingredients
Full ingredients and substitutions are in the recipe box below.
- Bananas: use very ripe, spotty bananas for sweetness, moisture, and the best flavor. Frozen bananas work too; thaw them first and drain excess liquid.
- Non-dairy milk: almond, soy, oat, or any plant milk works.
- Vegetable oil: keeps the crumb soft and tender without adding much flavor. Substitute avocado, sunflower, canola, or mild olive oil.
- Sugar: use white or brown sugar. Brown sugar adds a slightly deeper, caramel-like flavor. Coconut sugar also works but changes the color and flavor.
- Vanilla extract: adds warmth and rounds out the banana flavor. Substitute vanilla bean paste or omit it.
- All-purpose flour: gives the most reliable, tender texture. You can replace up to half with whole wheat flour for a heartier loaf.
- Baking powder: helps the banana bread rise and keeps the crumb light. Make sure yours is fresh.
- Baking soda: works with the baking powder for good rise and browning. Don’t substitute one for the other.
- Salt: balances the sweetness and brings out the banana flavor. Omit if needed.
- Add-ins (optional): make it your own with chocolate chips, chopped walnuts, pecans, almonds, raisins, dried cranberries, shredded coconut, blueberries, chopped dates, cacao nibs, or a swirl of peanut butter, almond butter, or tahini. For extra warmth, add cinnamon, pumpkin spice, or a pinch of nutmeg.
How to Make Vegan Banana Bread
Step 1. Mash the bananas
Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C). Line a loaf pan with parchment paper.
Add the ripe bananas to a large bowl and mash them well with a fork until mostly smooth.
Step 2. Mix the wet ingredients
Add the non-dairy milk, vegetable oil, sugar, and vanilla.
Stir with the same fork or a whisk until everything is well combined.
This simple method is one reason we love this eggless banana bread—no mixer or special equipment needed.
Step 3. Add the dry ingredients
Sift in the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
Stir gently until the flour is just incorporated. Don’t overmix. A few small lumps are perfectly fine and help keep the loaf soft.
Step 4. Bake and cool
Pour the batter into the prepared loaf pan and smooth the top.
Bake for 40 to 50 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out mostly clean.
Let the loaf cool in the pan for 15 minutes, then transfer it to a wire rack. Cool completely for about 1 hour before slicing with a bread knife.
Tips
- Use very ripe bananas: Look for soft bananas covered in brown spots. They give you better banana flavor, sweetness, and moisture.
- Use the right pan: We prefer an 8 × 4-inch loaf pan for a taller, domed loaf. A larger pan works too, but the loaf will be wider, shorter, and may bake faster.
- Don’t overmix: Once the flour goes in, stir only until you no longer see dry flour. A few lumps are fine; too much mixing can make banana bread dense and gummy.
- Bake right away: Once the baking powder and baking soda meet the wet ingredients, get the batter into the pan and oven without letting it sit around.
- Check the center: Start checking around 40 minutes. Insert a toothpick into the thickest part; it should come out mostly clean or with a few moist crumbs, but no wet batter.
- Watch the top: If the loaf is nicely browned but the center still needs time, loosely cover the top with foil and continue baking.
- Let it cool completely: Give it 15 minutes in the pan, then transfer it to a wire rack for about 1 hour. The crumb continues to set as it cools, so slicing too early can make the center seem gummy.
- Add extras gently: Fold chocolate chips, walnuts, pecans, or other add-ins in at the very end so you don’t overwork the batter.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes. Thaw them completely, then drain off excess liquid before mashing and measuring. You need about 1⅓ cups (330 g) mashed banana.
Too much banana, overmixing, underbaking, or slicing while still warm can make the center gummy. Measure the banana carefully, mix just until combined, and let the loaf cool completely before slicing.
Yes, although sugar contributes to both sweetness and texture. You can reduce it slightly, but a large reduction may make the loaf less moist and tender.
You can experiment with replacing the oil with applesauce, but the texture will be softer and less rich. For the most reliable result, we recommend making the recipe as written.
Absolutely. Fold in ½ to ¾ cup of chocolate chips, chopped walnuts, or pecans after mixing the batter.
For chocolate and nuts together, use about ½ cup chocolate chips and ½ cup chopped nuts. Fold them in gently, then sprinkle a few on top before baking if you like.
Yes. Fold chopped walnuts or pecans into the batter just before baking. You can also sprinkle a handful on top for extra crunch.
Let it cool completely, then keep it well wrapped or in an airtight container at room temperature for a few days. For longer storage, refrigerate it.
You can also freeze individual slices in a freezer-safe container or bag, then thaw only what you need.
More Easy Baking Recipes
- Chocolate Banana Bread
- Protein Banana Bread
- Banana Oatmeal Muffins
- Healthy Banana Nut Muffins
- Banana Chocolate Muffins
- Vegan Blueberry Muffins
- Vegan Apple Muffins
- Zucchini Muffins
If you try this Vegan Banana Bread Recipe please leave a 🌟 star rating and let us know how it turned out in the comments—we love hearing from you.
Vegan Banana Bread (Simple Pantry Staples)
Video
Equipment
- 8 × 4-inch loaf pan for a taller, domed loaf, or an 8.5 × 4.5-inch or 9 × 5-inch loaf pan.
Ingredients
- 3 ripe bananas about 1½ cups mashed
- ⅓ cup non-dairy milk any
- ⅓ cup vegetable oil
- ¾ cup sugar white or brown
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 pinch salt
Instructions
- Mash the bananas: Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C) and line a loaf pan with parchment paper.Mash 3 ripe bananas in a large bowl with a fork until mostly smooth.
- Mix the wet ingredients: Add ⅓ cup non-dairy milk, ⅓ cup vegetable oil, ¾ cup sugar, and 1 tablespoon vanilla extract. Whisk until well combined.
- Add the dry ingredients: Sift in 2 cups all-purpose flour, 2 teaspoons baking powder, 1 teaspoon baking soda, and 1 pinch salt.Stir gently until just combined. Don’t overmix; a few small lumps are okay.
- Bake and cool: Pour the batter into the prepared loaf pan and smooth the top.Bake at 350°F (180°C) for 40 to 50 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out mostly clean.Cool in the pan for 15 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack and cool completely for about 1 hour before slicing.
Notes
- Bananas → Frozen bananas, thawed and drained.
- Non-dairy milk → Almond, soy, oat, or any plant milk.
- Vegetable oil → Avocado, sunflower, canola, or mild olive oil.
- Sugar → White, brown, or coconut sugar.
- Vanilla extract → Vanilla bean paste, or omit.
- All-purpose flour → Replace up to half with whole wheat flour.
- Baking powder → No substitution; use fresh baking powder.
- Baking soda → No substitution; don’t swap with baking powder.
- Salt → Omit if needed.
- Add-ins → Chocolate chips, nuts, dried fruit, coconut, blueberries, dates, cacao nibs, nut butter, tahini, cinnamon, pumpkin spice, or nutmeg.
- Use spotty bananas: Very ripe bananas give the best sweetness, moisture, and flavor.
- Choose the right pan: An 8 × 4-inch pan makes a taller, domed loaf; larger pans make a shorter loaf and may bake faster.
- Don’t overmix: Stir just until the flour disappears; a few lumps are fine.
- Bake right away: Once mixed, get the batter into the oven promptly.
- Check the center: It’s done when a toothpick comes out clean or with a few moist crumbs.
- Cover if needed: If the top browns too quickly, loosely cover it with foil.
- Cool completely: Cool 15 minutes in the pan, then about 1 hour on a wire rack before slicing.
- Fold add-ins gently: Add chocolate chips or nuts at the very end.
- Store it well: Once completely cool, keep the loaf well wrapped or in an airtight container.
Nutrition
Don’t Lose This Recipe
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Hi! We are Nico & Louise
We're here to share easy, healthy, and delicious recipes 🌿✨.
Welcome to our blog, we are glad you are here.
I have made this delicious vegan banana bread, really easy to follow, baked exactly as pictured.
I reduced the sugar to 80 grams as I don’t like baked goods too sweet.
I also mixed all ingredients in order as per the recipe using a food processor, pulse function.
As always, beautifully written, simple and never fail on any of your great recipes, thank you Nico and Louise.
Fantastic, Fran, I’m so happy to hear. Great idea on reducing the sugar, we tried that once while incresing the banana amount with one whole banana, and that was also wonderful 🙂
Thank you for the kind words, we are very happy to have you here!
I cannot wait to try this recipe! Looks delicious and I DO have all of t he e ingredients in my pantry. Easy? Yes!
I’ve never dropped a comment here but I try a lot of your recipes guys, all of them are amazing but this one, what a nice surprise! It was super easy and the outcome was superb. I didn’t have vanilla extract but added cinnamon instead following your suggestions. Now I can’t wait to bake it again to share with my friends. Thanks a lot for your awesome ideas and huge variety of recipes.
Fantastic, Antonio, I’m delighted that you enjoyed the bread 🙂
We’re so happy you are here, thanks for sharing your love of cooking with us. Kindest,
Louise
Super! Best banana bread recipe ever! Everyone raves when they eat it.
Yay, that’s wonderful to hear, Isabella 🤗 Thank you for leaving a comment here.
This is my go to banana bread recipe. So good!
Hi
Has anybody tried gluten free flour for this Vegan Banana Bread?
Well THAT was easy! Thanks – came out great! I dry-fried diced pecans in a skillet to mix in.
That sounds fantastic, Sam. Great idea with pecans, yum!
Thank you for taking the time to leave a comment.
Hello Nico!
What’s the difference between the recipes “Banana Nut Bread” and “Vegan Banana Bread”?
Except put nut inside and plant milk different. Are the other ingredients any different?
Thank you！
Hi JY,
thanks for your message 🙂
The recipes are very similar, Banana Nut Bread has a little less sugar than Banana Bread and of course nuts in it.
I hope this helps.
Nico
Any tips on substituting yogurt for oil? Also, use oat or almond flour instead of all purpose flour? Thanks.
Hi Sona!
Yes, to make this banana bread oil-free, you can substitute yogurt, apple sauce, or milk for oil, use a 1:1 ratio.
As for almond and oat flour, we haven’t experimented with these just yet. These flours would change the moisture level of the cake, so it would require some testing that we haven’t had time to do yet.
I hope this clarifies the variations a little 🙂 Have a great week ahead!
Kindest,
Louise
Thank you Nico, another delicious recipe from Plant Based School:)
Hi Holly, thanks so much for coming back to leave a comment – I’m delighted you liked it!! Have a great Sunday. Cheers, Nico
Dear Nico,
Thank you for taking the time to explain the recipe so clearly. I followed your exact instructions and it came out exactly as you have described it. It’s the best banana loaf I have ever tasted or made. Very tasty, quite light, sliceable, manageable, even toastable! I must admit that I added almond essence instead of vanilla, by error because I got the bottles mixed up, but it’s worth a try. The taste is really lovely.
thank you….
Hi Dipti, thank you for your kind comment. Wow, I’m so happy you like the loaf (despite the almond essence, actually quite a good idea!). Have an amazing day! Cheers, Nico
Thank you this looks amazing. Do you think applesauce would work in place of the oil?
Hi there! Yes you can. To be honest, we haven’t tried with the banana bread but with the zucchini bread and it worked very well! Cheers, Nico