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This Vegan Banana Bread is fluffy, soft, and bakes up into an absolutely delicious treat. Plus, it’s actually healthy — you only need 9 whole food plant-based ingredients to make it! Gluten-Free, Refined-Sugar Free, Oil-Free, Nut-Free Option.
This Vegan Banana Bread really does check all the marks for a delicious loaf. It’s light, fluffy, perfectly sweet, has a tender crumb and makes for a good breakfast, snack, and dessert. What’s not to love?
Table of Contents
A Loaf That’s Good and Good For You
I have always had a love for banana bread (who hasn’t!?). However, when I adopted a plant-based diet in 2015, I did have one small problem – Vegan Banana Bread always seemed to fall flat. There are a plethora of vegan recipes out there, but none of them have ever seemed to knock my socks off.
Luckily, after months (and yes, I really do mean months) of testing, I think I’ve finally done it! This banana bread is tall, fluffy, not gummy whatsoever, and made from healthy, good-for-you ingredients!
What You Need for Vegan Banana Bread
In addition to ripe, spotty bananas, you’ll need just 8 other ingredients. Let’s go over what each ingredient is doing here:
- Rolled oats: We’re using a combination of both rolled oats and oat flour to make the perfect textured gluten-free, vegan banana bread.
- Coconut sugar: One of my favorite go-to ingredients to add sweetness, yet keep a recipe refined sugar-free. As a bonus, it is always vegan!
- Ground flax: The binder that holds this loaf together and gives it structure.
- Nut butter: In the spirit of keeping this recipe good for you, I’ve used nut butter in place of refined oil. Don’t worry, it still bakes up soft and fluffy.
- Baking powder + Baking soda: Essential to giving this banana bread a lift in the oven and keeping it from falling flat.
- Apple cider vinegar: Activates the baking soda and helps the loaf brown beautifully.
How to Make Vegan & Gluten-Free Banana Bread
- Blend the rolled oats using a food processor or blender until a fine flour.
- In a medium sized bowl, mix the oat flour, baking powder, baking soda, remaining rolled oats, and salt until combined.
- Mash the bananas in a separate large bowl until even and runny in texture. Add the nut butter, sugar, apple cider vinegar, vanilla, and flax egg. Mix to combine.
- Slowly add the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients. Stir to combine until all clumps have dissolved. Fold in chocolate chips or nuts, if using.
- Pour the banana bread batter into the bread pan and spread smooth using a spatula.
- Bake for 60 to 70 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean.
- Cool for 10 minutes in the pan, then transfer the loaf to a cooling rack to cool completely.
- Slice and serve at room temperature with nut butter or vegan butter.
Caitlin’s Cooking Tips
- Use overripe bananas. As bananas ripen, the starches in the fruit break down and increases the overall sweetness. For best, sweet vegan banana bread, use ripe, spotty bananas!
- Check your baking powder’s expiration date. Baking powder’s leavening powers greatly diminish after the container has been open for a few months. If you’ve had the same tin of baking powder for over 4-6 months, it is best to discard and purchase a new one.
Serving Suggestions
Like my favorite vegan muffins, my favorite way to enjoy a slice of banana bread is with a spread of nut butter or soft vegan butter. It makes the perfect snack or easy vegan breakfast. Serve alongside a drink like my Beet Latte or Iced Chamomile Matcha Latte for the ultimate bakery-inspired experience.
If you’re looking for more Vegan Bread Recipes, you’ll also love this Vegan Zucchini Bread, Vegan Pumpkin Bread, Sweet Potato Bread and this Cranberry Orange Bread!
If you’re looking for more Vegan Bread Recipes, you’ll also love this Vegan Zucchini Bread, Vegan Pumpkin Bread, Sweet Potato Bread and this Cranberry Orange Bread!
How to Store Vegan Banana Bread
As with most of my quick breads and loaves, this vegan banana bread keeps best at room temperature covered with a loose fitting lid. Individual slices of banana bread will also freeze well for up to 2 months.
For best results, wrap individual slices of banana bread in plastic wrap to help prevent sticking and freezer burn.
Thaw frozen banana bread slices at room temperature until soft again, then heat as desired.
Substitutions and Variations
- Coconut sugar substitution: Use light brown sugar or dark brown sugar. Dark brown sugar has a higher moisture content and will make the banana bread slightly more moist.
- Oat flour substitutions? As I have tested this recipe multiple times to ensure it’s deliciousness, I would strongly advise no flour substitutions. If you do decide to live life on the edge and experiment (and it works for you), please let me know in the comments below and I can update the recipe notes.
- Nut butter options: Any nut or seed butter will work, but I’d recommend using a neutral nut butter for the best flavor. A strong tasting nut butter such as peanut butter will greatly change the flavor. Some readers have also shared success replacing the nut butter with oil.
Recipe FAQs
This egg-free banana bread uses ground flaxseed as an egg replacer.
Oats in and of themselves are gluten-free, but they are often grown near wheat and can be cross contaminated. If you cannot tolerate gluten, make sure to use certified gluten-free oats.
Yes! A few brands such as Bob’s Red Mill and Arrowhead Mills sell a pre-made oat flour for purchase.
Absolutely. The best loaves of banana bread should be moist, but not wet. If you were to insert a toothpick into the center of the loaf it should come out fairly clean, with just a few crumbs.
Enjoy! If you make this recipe and decide to share it on Facebook or Instagram, don’t forget to tag me @FromMyBowl + #FromMyBowl! I would also love it if you could leave a comment below with a recipe rating! Thank you for the support 😊
Fluffy Vegan Banana Bread
Ingredients
- 3 Medium Bananas make sure they are very brown and spotty!
- 2 1/2 cup Rolled Oats divided (not Instant)
- 1/2 cup Coconut Sugar
- 1/4 cup Nut or Seed Butter*
- 2 tbsp Ground Flax OR Ground Chia Seeds + 6 tbsp Water
- 2 tsp Baking Powder
- 1 tsp Baking Soda
- 2 tsp Apple Cider Vinegar
- 1 tsp Vanilla Extract Optional, but recommended
- 1/2 tsp Salt
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350F.
- In a small bowl, combine the Ground Flax OR Ground Chia seeds with 6 tbsp water to form an “egg.” Stir and set aside for 5-10 minutes.
- Add 2 cups of the Rolled Oats into a blender or food processor and blend until they form a fine flour, about 45-60 seconds.
- Place the Oat Flour into a medium sized bowl and add the Baking Powder, Baking Soda, remaining 1/2 cup of Rolled Oats, and Salt. Mix well and set aside.
- Add your ripe Bananas to a separate, large bowl, and mash with a fork until they form an even, runny texture. Add the Nut Butter, Coconut Sugar, Apple Cider Vinegar, Vanilla Extract, and Flax or Chia Egg to the bowl. Mix well.
- Slowly incorporate the dry flour mixture into the wet Banana mixture, stirring well and until all clumps have dissolved.
- Pour the batter into a parchment paper-lined or greased 8″ bread pan, smoothing the top off with a spatula.
- Bake at 350F for 60-70 minutes, or until the top is golden brown, and a toothpick comes out cleanly or with minimal crumbs. Remove from the oven and let cool for 10 minutes in the pan, then remove from the pan and allow to cool completely before slicing.
- Store in a container at room temperature for up to one week.
Recipe Notes
- Coconut Sugar may be substituted with Brown Sugar or Cane Sugar.
- You can use any Nut/Seed Butter that you’d like for this recipe, but this will affect the final taste. I prefer to use either Almond Butter or Peanut Butter, but you can also use Tahini, Cashew Butter, or Sunflower Seed Butter!
Does this recipe work at high altitude? If not, do you have any suggestions? I’m trying to get into baking at it’s really hard at 8,000 ft especially for gluten free!
Hi Melissa, I live at sea level (Miami, haha), so I cannot say for certain!
I am in Banana Bread heaven!! I haven’t made any Banana Bread in probably 10 years. I am now WFPB and gluten free, so I never attempted to bake it. This recipe is absolutely delicious. I couldn’t wait for the bread to cool before eating a slice. I will be making this again soon!!!!
Tried this yesterday and it’s absolutely perfect. I agree with you that regular banana bread can be too soggy, but this was perfect. The second batch I added some coconut shavings and some walnuts and I thought it was even better. Thank you!
IT WAS SO FREAKING DELICOUS!! I didn’t have almond butter so I used peanut and I also decided to blended all the oats, and I decided to make banana muffins instead of bread. This is by far the best banana bread I’ve ever eaten ( especially since it’s so healthy compared to some others). Thank you so much for sharing this delicious recipie I hope you can make more!
How long did you bake the muffins?
Thanks for sharing this recipe!!!! Mine came out a bit dry and very burnt looking. I did modify the recipe a little by adding 1 teaspoon of cinnamon & 1 teaspoon of nutmeg. Plus less sugar. Not sure why it came out so dry (edible). Next time I will only put in for 45mins. We’ll see how that goes. Too bad I can’t upload a pix here to show you how mine turned out.
Can I used whole chia seeds to make the egg or do I need to ground it up?
They will work better if ground, but you can use whole seeds – they will give the bread more of a crunch though in the final texture
Hi thanks for this recipe! I’m allergic to most seeds and can’t do flax or chia. What do you recommend I substitute with?
Also can I just use bob’s red mill oat flour instead of grinding my own? Is there a benefit to the self ground flour?
Yes, you can use store bought oat flour! It’s just less expensive for me to make my own, as I already buy the oats.
You can substitute another vegan egg replacer for the flax and chia, or just leave it out. The bread may be a little more dense, but it should still be fine!
Bomb.Com! Thanks so much for sharing~I used stevia instead of coconut sugar and added one extra med size banana ? moist and delious clean eats ?
Hi Caitlin! I am wondering can I subs baking powder to baking soda? Will it be any different?
Hi Cynthia, it will be different if you use baking soda! See why here: https://sallysbakingaddiction.com/2015/06/11/baking-powder-vs-baking-soda/
This banana bread was DELICIOUS. Seriously, it is absolutely perfect all around. Thank you so much for sharing your amazing recipes, they’ve really made going vegan a lot more enjoyable!
Go funky with that. Add clove, cinnamon, some rasins, dice sliced apple .You can put on top some stuff like peanuts, grains etc.
Wow! This was the BEST banana bread I have ever eaten and my husband said the same thing!
You and your husband have great taste, Jill! 😉
Hello,
Love this recipe!!! I tried it with Spelt Flour because I ran out of oats and it works pretty well – little more bread like than cake but still pretty good. (Don’t know if someone has already tried it with Spelt or not)
I should add I’ve made it twice now with spelt flour and the only really difference is that the outer layer is almost crust like but not quite – still soft and spongy on the inside. However, it does alter the taste to a less sweet Banana bread and so would probably add more sugar to combat this. I haven’t had any complaints from my family and they usually hate my vegan baking.
But great recipe and I can’t wait to try it with Oat flour next time ?
Glad to hear it worked for you, Sara! I love cooking with Spelt 🙂
I am obsessed. Absolutely, 100% obsessed. I made two loaves three days ago and they’re both gone! Thank you sooooo much!!!
Haha! That’s about how long it lasts here too 🙂
Hi Caitlin
Just wanted to let you know that I make this recipe almost weekly by in muffin form! My kids and husband love it. I stick a couple raspberries in the center of the muffins before baking and wow! Love ya!!!!!
I’m so glad you all enjoy it, Rebecca! Raspberries sound like a great idea!
This is my favourite banana Loaf recipe & I ate it for bf everyday & teabreak as well. The healthiest and most yummy Banana Loaf! I made some changes. I omitted sugar as 3 fat M size ripe banana (brown spots) is sweet enough for my family. I used 1C Almond flour, 1C oat flour & 1/2C Oat bran (soaked in wet ingredients for a few hrs. Sometimes I soaked overnight & then add in e dry ingredients in e morn & baked). I reduced to 2tbsp of almond butter (AB is expensive) and it still taste very good though 4tbsp is even yummier. I use 1tsp B.P & 1 tsp B.S, the bread rises well too. The rest I keep e same. Very versatile recipe.
Looks like you’ve totally got your routine down for the recipe! Happy to hear you’ve been enjoying it with your family!
Hi Caitlin! I was wondering if I could replace the oat flour with buckwheat flour? Also what can I use instead of apple cider vinegar? I don’t have any at home
Hi Alicia, you can sub the ACV for lemon juice.
Oat flour can be substituted for Buckwheat Flour but I would not recommend it. The bread will not be as fluffy and will turn a very dark brown color.
Yum! I made this today and waited for it to cool to cut a slice. So good! I used about 2 1/4 cups (as suggested above) of Bob’s oat flour instead of making my own oat flour. I also topped it with chocolate chips and pecan pieces. Will definitely make it again!
Do you think I can replace some of the oat flour with cacao powder (like 1/2 cup or more???) to make a chocolate banana bread? Would it affect the texture?
Thanks so much again for the delicious recipe!
Hi Sherry, I have not tried to make a chocolate version, but I think you could do 2 cups of oat flour and 1/2 cup of cacao powder, as it does not absorb as much liquid as the oat flour. Let me know if it works for you! 🙂
Wow – this is so, so delicious! I made it with what I had available – subbed peanut butter for the almond, and dates that I processed in the food processor for the sugar. I also added a bit of cinnamon and maple extract. They are incredibly delicious! Thank you so much! I’ll definitely make these again!
So glad you enjoyed it, Cara!
LOve this….Can I leave the coconut sugar out and replace it with maple syrup and/or date syrup?
No, I would not recommend that. You can replace the coconut sugar with another form of dry sweeter though x
Could I freeze slices of this bread and then thaw them? Also, I don’t have any apple coder vinegar so I was thinking if maybe I could use lemon juice instead? I’m making this today and I can’t wait to see how it turns out!
Yes and yes, Nusa! Hope you enjoy 🙂