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 🌿✨.
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Made this today & omg it’s so good!!! I added walnuts & mini chocolate chips. It’s moist with a crusty top & so delicious! I used safflower oil, brown sugar & soy milk. TJs on you for this amazing vegan recipe! I look forward to more! 💚🌱
Can I use applesauce to reduce the sugar even more?
Or, could I sub in honey?
PS— thanks for all of your great recipes!
Hi Cindy! Thank you so much 😊
If your goal is simply to reduce the sugar, I’d recommend using less sugar rather than replacing it with applesauce. Applesauce adds quite a bit of moisture, so substituting it for the sugar could change the texture of the bread. You could try reducing the sugar to about **1/2 cup**, keeping in mind that the banana bread will be less sweet.
I haven’t tested this recipe with honey, so I can’t give you an exact substitution with confidence. Since honey is a liquid sweetener, it would also change the balance of the batter, and of course it would no longer be vegan.
If you’d like to use applesauce, it works better as a replacement for the **oil** in this recipe. You could then also reduce the sugar to 1/2 cup if you’d like to make the bread lighter overall. Hope that helps! 😊
Way too much sugar for some of us. What can we do??
You can definitely reduce the sugar! 😊 Try using 1/2 cup instead, keeping in mind that the banana bread will be less sweet and the flavor may change slightly. You could also use a sugar alternative that works for your dietary needs. Hope that helps!
Very delicious and love that it doesn’t need eggs which i have a problem with.
Hello Louise n Nico
Question please do you prefer glass baking pans over the metal?
I’m going to make this banana bread looks like a easy bake
Thankyou
Best, Donna
Hi Donna! I use a glass baking pan simply because I like the size of the one I have 😊 A metal pan works well too, so feel free to use whichever you have on hand. Hope you enjoy the banana bread! ❤️
Love your recipes!
Any chance that this could be made with almond flour or an alternative flour to avoid the all-purpose or wheat flour?
Hi Carol! Thank you so much 😊 Unfortunately, I haven’t tested this banana bread with almond flour or another wheat-free flour, so I can’t say for sure how it would turn out. Almond flour behaves quite differently from all-purpose flour, so it might require some other adjustments too. We’ll definitely keep your request in mind when developing future recipes! ❤️
Can I substitute unsweetened applesauce for the oils?
Hi Steffi! I haven’t tested this recipe with applesauce instead of oil, so I can’t guarantee the result. It should be possible, but keep in mind that the oil adds richness, flavor, and helps give the banana bread its soft, tender texture, so replacing it completely with applesauce will likely change both the flavor and texture. If you give it a try, let us know how it turns out 😊