Healthy Vegan Banana Bread

My delicious Healthy Vegan Banana Bread recipe is simply the best! It's not only wholesome but also really easy to make with simple ingredients, foolproof and really moist too! Customise it to your liking with different nuts or chocolate and enjoy for breakfast, as a healthy snack or even dessert!

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Banana Bread must be one of the most popular bakes of recent years. There are countless recipes for this lovely sweet banana loaf out there, different variations and adaptations. By now I have tried and tested dozens of recipes and despite that I keep coming back to my own which I like the best (what can I say).

I have recently veganised my original recipe to make it fit with our now predominantly plant based diet.  However, if you don't need or want for it to be vegan then please do read on as this recipe is extremely easy to adapt!

Why is this Healthy Vegan Banana Bread the best?

Ok, I might be tooting my own horn a bit here but please indulge me. This loaf is all that is should be:

Moist 

Wholesome 

Easy to adapt 

One-bowl & super easy to make

Foolproof

Freezer friendly

I could go on...

Serving Healthy Vegan Banana Bread

I must say this loaf is supper versatile. We eat it for breakfast, I often add it to my kids' lunch boxes or they have it as a snack after school. Oftentimes it also works as a nice dessert served with a scoop or two of your favourite ice cream and a drizzle of maple syrup, sooo good...

I usually drizzle our banana bread with melted dark chocolate as it makes it that bit more indulgent yet not overly sweet and of course think about all antioxidants you are consuming.

If you are looking for reasonably priced vegan chocolate that is great for baking I can highly recommend Dr. Oetker Extra Dark Chocolate (72%) (not sponsored) which you can easily get in any supermarket in the UK.

Tips for making the best Healthy Vegan Banana Bread

1. Make sure you use really overripe bananas as they will act as natural sweetener.
2. Don't overmix the batter. All you need is to make sure that all the ingredients are incorporated and there is no visible flour. Your batter will be quite lumpy but that's how it should be.
3. Make sure you've got your loaf tin greased, lined and ready for your batter and your oven is preheated. As soon as you mixed your dry and wet ingredients together, it's time to pop them into the tin and bake. Baking soda reacts with the acid in yogurt straight away so you need to go with the flow.
4. Don't open your oven too early. Banana bread will take 50-55 minutes to bake. Check it after 50 minutes and if the skewer inserted into centre comes out clean, take it out. If not, pop it back in the oven for another 5 minutes.

How can I adapt this Vegan Banana Bread?

This recipe is vegan so already egg and dairy free which is perfect if you're on restricted diet. If you'd like to make it gluten-free as well, feel free to use your favourite gluten-free flour. This loaf works well with naturally gluten free buckwheat flour but you need to make sure that the one you buy hasn't been contaminated. For those of you in the UK I highly recommend Freee Foods Gluten Free Buckwheat Flour (not sponsored).

My recipe calls for half white and half wholemeal flour but you could make it fully white or fully wholewheat if you wish. If you go for fully wholewheat it will be a bit denser but still delicious. I like using wholegrain spelt & white spelt flour but any mix will do.

Swap walnuts for any other nuts of your choice. You can also add chocolate chips instead or together with nuts if that's what you fancy. Sultanas or dried cranberries would also go well here.

I've used plant based yogurt in my banana bread but if you are consuming dairy you can use regular plain dairy yogurt instead.

There is very little fat in this recipe but you could make it completely fat free if you substituted 2 tablespoon of oil with apple puree/applesauce or extra yogurt.

How do you make banana bread without eggs?

It's actually really easy and there is no need for egg substitutes in my vegan banana bread as it already uses one and lots of it. Do you know what ingredient I'm referring to? Of course, banana! It is well known in vegan baking and does its job really well here. My egg and dairy free, vegan banana bread has been devoured by non-vegans on many occasions and they were none the wiser.

How do you make vegan banana bread healthy?

Main reasons why this Vegan Banana Bread is healthy is of course the use of wholemeal flour, reduced amount of sugar and very little oil too which you can eliminate completely if you're oil free but I like to keep it in. Addition of nuts and bananas themselves also play a huge part.

Can you freeze banana bread?

Definitely! It freezes really well for up to 3 months.

I like to freeze two slices at a time and find these paper bags* perfect for it.  I usually pop two slices in one bag and then put the bag in a large reusable and freezer friendly plastic bag to further protect these from freezer burn. When ready to defrost I simply take them out of the freezer and onto kitchen counter and they're ready to eat in couple of hours. You can also defrost them in the fridge overnight.

If you don't want to freeze your banana bread, it will keep in the airtight container for up to 4 days. There is no need to refrigerate it.

How do you make Healthy Vegan Banana Bread?

As mentioned above it is a really easy one bowl recipe so a large bowl* and kitchen scales* are what you'll need here.

• Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/Gas Mark 4.
• Prepare  your loaf tin (I use this silicone loaf tin 2lb /24 x 10cm* and love it) by greasing it gently with some oil and lining it with baking paper. Set aside.

• Put all your dry ingredients (flour(s), sugar, baking powder, baking, soda, cinnamon, mixed spice & chopped walnuts) in a large bowl and give them a mix with a spoon or a whisk.
• Add all your wet ingredients (mashed bananas, yogurt and oil) and mix until incorporated and there is no visible flour. Your batter will be lumpy and thick which is as it should be.

• Transfer your batter to prepared loaf tin and bake in the preheated oven for 50-55min until the skewer inserted into centre comes out clean.

• Once baked, let it rest in a loaf tin for 10 minutes before turning it out and transferring onto cooling rack to cool completely.
• Drizzle with some melted chocolate if you wish.
• Enjoy!

📋 Recipe

Update Notes: This post was originally published in July 2017 and republished in April 2020 with updated recipe card, new photos, useful info and better layout improving user experience. Recipe itself has been revised to be plant based with adaptations offered.

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Cook Blog Share with Easy Peasy Foodie and Recipes Made Easy, Cook Once Eat Twice, Bake of the Week by Helen at CasaCostello