This 5-Ingredient Vegan Banana Bread is light, fluffy, and loaded with banana flavor! It's easy to make and comes together in just 1 bowl!
I know that making vegan banana bread can be tricky, but this one has it all, it's moist, tender, and has a golden crispy edge. You'll love this 5-ingredient vegan banana bread for its simplicity, rich flavor, and great texture!
This easy vegan banana bread recipe is customizable and you can add anything from vegan chocolate chips to dried fruits, to nuts. It requires just 10 minutes of work, with no mixer or fancy equipment needed.
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Why You'll Love This Recipe
- Made with simple ingredients
- Super easy to whip up even for beginners at vegan baking
- It's a great recipe for meal prep and a perfect breakfast
- Egg-free, dairy-free, and nut-free
Ingredients and Substitutions
- Self-rising flour. Make sure that your self-rising flour consists only of flour, salt, and baking powder. Otherwise, results may turn out differently.
- Milk. We use soy milk, but you can use any unsweetened plant-based milk you like such as oat milk or almond milk.
- Coconut oil. Make sure to use refined coconut oil if you don't want your banana bread to taste like coconut. You can also use any natural vegetable oil, olive oil, or melted vegan butter if you have it on hand.
- Sugar. I use brown sugar, but coconut sugar will also work.
- Bananas. You'll need 3-4 very ripe bananas. They add sweetness to the recipe and help us use less sugar.
How to Make 5-ingredient Vegan Banana Bread
Step 1: Mix dry ingredients
Grease a 5-inch loaf pan and preheat the oven to 350ºF (180ºC).
In a large bowl, mash the bananas with a fork or a potato masher until they turn into puree.
Then, add coconut oil, and brown sugar and stir until it's well mixed. Add plant-based milk and mix once again.
Step 2: Mix wet ingredients
Then, add self-rising flour and use a spoon or a spatula to mix it in a few times just until combined.
Step 3: Bake the bread
Pour the banana bread batter into the prepared loaf tin, layered with parchment paper, and bake for 50-55 minutes, or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean.
Step 4: Cool completely
Let the bread rest in the pan for 5 more minutes, then remove it. If you leave it for longer, it will get soggy, so make sure to set a timer. Lastly, let it cool completely before slicing.
Expert Tips
- Use overripe bananas. The riper the bananas, the more banana flavor you get. You don't want just spotty bananas, you want them to be overripe (the peel will come out very easily and the skin has big dark spots).
- Measure the mashed bananas using a measuring cup. Be sure to measure out exactly 1 ⅓ cups. Adding more extra banana puree will change the texture which you don't want.
- Measure the flour correctly using the spoon and leveling method. If you don't know how to do that, we suggest reading this guide.
- Don't overmix the batter. If you mix too much, the bread will turn out tough and dense. Stop mixing the moment you see that everything is combined and there are no big chunks of flour.
- Cover the bread with foil in the last 10 minutes if needed. I've found that it tends to get pretty brown toward the end, so keep an eye on it.
FAQ
No. Oil is what gives moisture to the bread and brings it all together. You can substitute it with another neutral oil like canola oil, sunflower oil, etc.
I would guess that you could use the same amount of gluten-free all-purpose flour. I haven't tried it though so can't guarantee results.
Quick breads like banana bread rely on baking powder or baking soda to rise and get fluffy. That's why it's important to make sure your leavening agent is fresh and active, and that you bake the bread right away. The batter needs to go into the oven no later than 5 minutes after making it. Otherwise, it won't rise as well.
If you don't have self-rising flour on hand you can make your own by mixing 2 cups of all-purpose flour with 2 teaspoon baking powder and 1 teaspoon salt.
Gluten-free flours such as coconut flour, oat flour, or almond flour won't work, since they absorb liquid differently from all-purpose flour.
Yes! You can freeze it either whole or cut it into slices. It will keep well for 2 months in the freezer.
Optional add-ins
This is the kind of recipe you can use as a base and add any fix-ins you like.
- Vegan chocolate chips. ½ cup is ideal, but if you are crazy about chocolate, you can add up to 1 cup.
- Spices like cinnamon, nutmeg, clove, or allspice. Add ½-1 tsp, depending on how strong you want the flavor to be.
- Vanilla extract. Add 1 tsp.
- Dried fruits such as raisins, dried cherries, or dates. Add ⅓-1/2 cup.
- Nuts and seeds such as walnuts, pumpkin seeds, pecans, etc. Make sure to chop your nuts before adding them. Add up to ½ cup.
- Orange zest. 1 tablespoon of orange zest can brighten up this recipe.
- Fresh fruits such as blueberries, strawberries, cranberries, etc. Add up to 1 cup of fresh fruit.
- White chocolate chunks. Add up to ½ cup.
Storage
Store in an airtight container at room temperature for 2-3 days, or in the fridge for 4-5 days.
I like to serve this easy banana bread with a spoonful of almond butter and some honey or maple syrup.
More Vegan Baked Goods
Vegan Chocolate Chip Mug Cookies
Zucchini Brownies with Matcha Frosting
Healthier Double Chocolate Cookies
📖 Recipe
5-Ingredient Vegan Banana Bread Recipe
Equipment
- Oven
Ingredients
- 1 ⅓ cups overripe bananas (~3 large bananas)
- ½ cup coconut oil, melted
- ½ cup brown sugar, vegan
- ¼ cup non-dairy milk (we use soy milk)
- 2 cups self-rising flour, spooned and leveled (*see notes for substitutions)
Instructions
- Pre-heat oven to 350ºF (180ºC). Grease a 10x5 bread pan and line a piece of parchment paper in the center for easier removal (see photos in the blog post above).
- To a medium mixing bowl, add the bananas and mash until pureed. Measure out exactly 1 ⅓ cup.
- To the bananas, add melted coconut oil and brown sugar and mix until well combined. Add the plant-based milk and mix again.
- Gently fold in the self-rising flour using a spoon or a spatula. Stop mixing the moment you see that there are no big chunks of flour and the batter is just combined!
- Pour the batter into the greased bread pan and bake for 40 minutes. After that, check the bread to see if it's getting too brown on top and needs to be covered with foil. Cover with aluminum foil if needed and continue baking for 10-15 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.
- Let the banana bread rest in the pan for exactly 5 minutes, then remove. Let it cool completely before slicing (about 1-2 hours).
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is a rough estimate calculated with third-party calculations without including the optional ingredients.
Sophia says
I have been searching for a simple banana bread recipe and this one was perfect! Very fluffy and not too sweet.
Petranka says
Glad you liked it! It's definitely one of my favorite recipes!