This classic vegan banana bread is simple and sweet. No excessive and over complicated toppings – just ripe bananas in a fluffy, moist quick bread – the way banana bread should be.
Going into this blog, I always told myself banana bread was off limits. Why? Because…
Every blog has the best banana bread.
Every cafe serves the best banana bread.
Every grandmother makes the best banana bread.
How could I compete?
On top of that, how could I ruin a classic for friends and family by removing butter and eggs?
So, I turned to some of my favorite, trusty bloggers, oh she glows and nina & cam to recreate the classic for friends and family. Not to my surprise, they were always a hit and gone within minutes.
People loved the cinnamon and allspice punch in nina & cam’s and the nuttiness from the spelt flour in oh she glows’. But after making these quick breads on rotation, friends and family asked if I could just make banana bread. Simple, no spiced, pure banana bread.
Then it clicked. With so many things in life, people try to overcomplicate. I, myself, am a victim to this as I used to associate classic and simple with boring. Now I realize, it’s rather the opposite. The reason why they’re classics is because they’re usually fail-proof.
This recipe is the ultimate classic vegan banana bread. Just sweet, ripe bananas in a fluffy, moist quick bread – a fail-proof combination. Because there are no spices, chocolate or nuts, I added more bananas than other recipes to accentuate the banana flavor. The extra banana is the perfect addition as it decreases the need for alternative sugars, provides moisture and helps bind the structure together.
Feel free to dress it up by adding chocolate chips or blueberries. But sometimes, the classic is undeniably the best.
Looking for other breakfast options? Try my Oil-Free Vegan Blueberry muffins or my fluffy Vegan Lemon Cardamom Pancakes! Or liberally spread my Sugar-free Nutella on a warm slice!
quick notes
- Make sure bananas are spotty and ripe. Alternatively, you can bake unripened bananas on a parchment lined baking sheet at 350 degrees F for 10-15 minutes, or until they’re blackened. Make sure they are cool before mixing them in.
- Flax egg is a natural egg substitute typically used in vegan baking. Similar to eggs, flax egg helps bind ingredients together by forming a gel-like substance when combining ground flaxseed with water.
- Make sure to purchase ground flaxseed, or flaxseed meal. If you only have whole flaxseeds on hand, you can ground them in a coffee grinder or blender.
CLASSIC VEGAN BANANA BREAD
serves 1 loaf in 9″ x 5″ loaf pan
Flax egg
- 2 tbsp (12g) ground flaxseed, or flaxseed meal
- 4 tbsp water
Combine and mix flax egg ingredients and set aside to thicken. (Pop in refrigerator to speed up the thickening processing.)
Dry ingredients
- 2 cups (285g) all purpose flour
- 1 ¼ tsp baking soda
- ¾ tsp baking powder
- ¼ tsp salt
- ½ cup (60g) almond meal
- ⅓ cup (40g) coconut sugar
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F and lightly oil loaf tin.
Create a parchment paper sling (optional but helpful when transferring cooked loaf to cooling rack): Cut a piece of parchment paper as wide as the bottom of your loaf pan and long enough to hang off the edges by about 2 inches. Place parchment paper sling into the lightly-oil loaf tin and coat bottom and sides of parchment paper with oil.
Sift flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt together. Add almond meal and coconut sugar and mix. Set aside.
Wet ingredients
- 1 cup (263g) ripe bananas, mashed
- ¼ cup (50g) neutral tasting oil (I used grape seed oil)
- 1 cup nondairy milk (I used homemade soy milk)
- 1 tsp vanilla
- ¾ tsp apple cider vinegar
Combine wet ingredients and flax egg together.
Create a well in your dry ingredients and pour in wet ingredients. Combine until incorporated. Pour batter into your loaf pan and bake for 55-60 minutes. To check if baked, insert a toothpick in the center of the loaf. If the toothpick comes out clean, it’s ready. If the toothpick comes out wet, the loaf needs a few more minutes.
p.s. If you like this recipe, click the icons below to share and leave a comment below! Make sure to tag me @girlmeetsradish & #girlmeetsradish so I can see what you are making!
