A healthy vegan banana bread recipe that is naturally gluten-free, moist and so easy to make. Pair with a little nut butter and a cup of coffee for the best morning breakfast.
This vegan banana bread is so moist and fluffy that you honestly won’t even believe it is made without eggs or dairy. Trust me on that one. We shared this loaf with several members of our family who claim they don’t like vegan food and the feedback was incredible.
‘It’s so moist!’ ‘This is one of the best banana breads I’ve ever had!’ ‘I can’t believe this is gluten-free!’
So what is vegan banana bread you ask? Well it’s actually a delicious bread made with no eggs, dairy, or animal products at all, making it completely safe for vegan eaters. But don’t let that scare you.
This recipe is full of ingredients that you probably already have at home and are already familiar with like oatmeal and almond butter. It has been tested several times with a variety of ratios and we’ve finally made it absolutely perfect. Like so perfect you’re going to want to eat it for every meal, okay?
Let’s dive on in and make some really good vegan banana bread.
Ingredients in vegan banana bread
The ingredients in vegan banana bread are simple and basic because no body has time for fancy flours or ingredients that are hard to come by.
- bananas – the riper the better! mash these up and enjoy the natural sweetness that comes from your bananas.
- oat flour – make homemade oat flour by blending oats in the blender for 15 seconds! It’s so very easy. Be sure to measure your oat flour after you’ve blended your oats, not before!
- almond butter – the glue that holds this recipe together and gives extra moisture. You can also use peanut butter or any seed butter!
- flax egg – the other glue that holds this recipe together. Make flax eggs by combining flaxmeal with water and letting ‘gel’ for ten minutes.
- coconut sugar – helps give this bread a little more natural sweetness! Can also replace with brown sugar.
- apple cider vinegar – when making vegan baked goods, apple cider vinegar reacts with the baking soda and baking powder to help add lifting power. Don’t skip this step or else your baked goods will be flat!
Make vegan banana bread
Start by making the flax egg. I used to be so intimidated by flax eggs, but its actually such a simple thing to make. You just mix together your flax meal (which is just ground flax seed) and water, and then just let it sit for about ten minutes. Here is a great tutorial if you’re interested in learning more!
While the flax egg is setting, mash your bananas. Using a potato masher for this is one of my favorite tricks – it totally mashes up the bananas perfectly!
Mix together your mashed bananas, almond butter, coconut sugar, oil, vanilla, and apple cider vinegar.
In a separate bowl, mix together your oat flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt.
Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and stir till combined. You’ll then add in your flax eggs and any other mix-ins that you want! I love to use chocolate chips or nuts.
Pour into greased or parchment lined loaf pan and top with banana slices if desired. Then bake and voila, you’ve got yourself an easy vegan banana bread ready for eating.
How to store banana bread
Vegan banana bread will last on the counter for up to five days. Just make sure you wrap it up in aluminium foil or place it into a sealed tupperware container. You can also store it in the fridge to maximize freshness for up to one week.
This banana bread can also be frozen! To store in the freezer, I like to slice it into individual pieces and then store them individual wrapped in parchment paper. Then take out slices as needed and let defrost on counter! You can also freeze the entire loaf as is.
If you make this recipe, be sure to comment below and let me know how it was! Also tag @erinliveswhole on Instagram and use the hashtag #erinliveswhole so I can see it and feature you!
Here are some other similar recipes that you may also like!
Vegan Banana Bread (Gluten Free)
- Prep Time: 15
- Cook Time: 50
- Total Time: 1 hour 5 minutes
- Yield: 1 loaf 1x
Print Recipe
Pin RecipeDescription
A healthy vegan banana bread recipe that is naturally gluten-free, moist and so easy to make. Pair with a little nut butter and a cup of coffee for the best morning breakfast.
Ingredients
- 2 flax eggs (2 tbsp flax meal mixed with 5 tbsp water, whisked and let sit for ten minutes)
- 3 medium bananas (1 1/4 cup mashed)
- 1/3 cup almond butter (or other nut/seed butter)
- 1/3 cup coconut sugar
- 1 tbsp coconut oilÂ
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 2 tsp apple cider vinegar
- 1 3/4 cups oat flour (homemade from certified gluten-free oats, measured after grinding. make this by blending in a high speed blender)
- 1.5 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp cinnamonÂ
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 3/4 cup chocolate chips or nuts
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F and line a loaf pan with parchment paper or nonstick spray. My loaf pan was 8.5 x 4.5.
- In a small bowl, make your flax egg by whisking together 2 tbsp flax meal with 5 tbsp water and letting it sit for ten minutes.
- Meanwhile, mash your ripe bananas in a large bowl.
- Once completely mashed, stir in your almond butter, coconut sugar, oil, vanilla, and apple cider vinegar.
- In a separate bowl, mix together your oat flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt.
- Add the dry ingredients to the wet and stir till combined.
- Stir in your flax eggs, then add in any other mix-ins that you want. I added chocolate chips.
- Pour into prepared loaf pan and top with more chocolate, nuts, or banana slices.
- Bake for 45-55 minutes or until toothpick inserted comes out clean. Cover with foil halfway through baking.
Notes
*you can use tahini or another seed butter in place of almond butter if trying to keep this nut-free
*to make pumpkin version, replace banana with 1 cup pumpkin puree, replace coconut sugar with 1/2 cup maple syrup, use 2 cups oat flour instead of 1 3/4 cups oat flour, and 1 tbsp pumpkin pie spice instead of cinnamon. Make the bread as instructed with those swaps and you will have a vegan delicious pumpkin bread.
- Category: baking, vegan, gluten-free
Keywords: vegan banana bread, banana bread, gluten free banana bread, healthy banana bread, vegan baking
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Hi Erin! I did this bread and Im in love! I would to give a tried adding cocoa to make it “chocolat” What would be your advise on quantity? Thanks!
★★★★★
I’m so glad to love it! I would try adding 1/2 cup cocoa powder but maybe up the coconut oil to 1/4 cup.
Hi Erin! Can I use regular eggs instead of flax eggs for this? If so how many do you recommend?
Thanks!
I haven’t tested this! But I think two regular eggs should work.
I have tried 2 eggs instead of flax eggs and it was perfect! Love this recipe!
Thanks for sharing, Stephanie!! So glad it worked with two eggs.
★★★★★
Should the coconut oil be melted or solid?
melted!
I can’t even tell you how many times I’ve made this bread in the last month! It is the perfect texture! I did use 2 regular eggs instead of flax eggs and it turned out amazing as well. By switching the nut butters and mix ins the possibilities are endless! Thank you!
★★★★★
Thank you so much!!!! You should try the pumpkin version too 🙂 I love that you love it.
Has anyone tried to sub the oat flour for white whole wheat flour? If so, same quantity of flour?
I’m always looking for vegan options and this one did not disappoint! It was also the first (and won’t be the last) time I made oat flour! Yummy!😊
★★★★★
Oat flour is the best and I’m so glad you made it!! Now you can do so many things with it 🙂