Mash very ripe bananas and measure out 1 1/2 cups before you begin. That amount gives this vegan loaf its banana flavor and soft crumb, while chopped nuts add a little crunch to each slice. A simple banana bread made without eggs or dairy comes together in one bowl and needs no mixer.
This vegan banana bread with nuts bakes in a standard loaf pan and makes about 10 slices. Allow time for it to cool before cutting: the wait helps the center set and keeps those tempting slices from crumbling in your hands.
Simple Vegan Banana Bread: Ingredients and Equipment
For one 9-by-5-inch loaf, gather:
- 1 1/2 cups mashed ripe banana, about 3 large bananas
- 1/3 cup neutral vegetable oil, plus a little for the pan
- 1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
- 1/4 cup unsweetened plant milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 cups all-purpose flour, spooned into the measuring cup and leveled
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon fine salt
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 3/4 cup chopped walnuts or pecans
Use a large bowl, a fork or potato masher, a whisk, a flexible spatula, and a light-colored metal loaf pan. Parchment paper makes lifting the loaf out easier. If you weigh ingredients, use approximately 240 grams of flour and 340 grams of mashed banana. Bananas vary in size, and extra mash adds moisture, so measure the fruit.
For vegan banana nut bread, choose an unsweetened plant milk with a mild flavor, such as oat or soy. Check that the sugar suits your dietary preferences if the way it was processed matters to you. Brown sugar adds a gentle molasses note and helps keep the crumb moist; the cinnamon is a supporting player, not a requirement.
Choose and prepare the bananas
Look for yellow peels generously covered with brown spots, or mostly brown peels with fruit that still smells sweet. The flesh should be soft enough to mash easily. As bananas ripen, their flavor becomes more pronounced and their texture softer, making them a good match for a quick bread batter.
Avoid fruit with mold, an alcoholic or otherwise unpleasant smell, or leaking, spoiled flesh. A dark peel alone is not the same thing as spoilage. Peel the bananas into a bowl, mash until mostly smooth, then measure. Large chunks can leave wet pockets in the loaf.
Frozen ripe bananas work well too. Thaw them in a bowl, add their liquid back to the fruit, and mash before measuring. If you have only firm yellow bananas, leave them at room temperature until they soften and spot. A paper bag can help concentrate the ethylene they naturally release; check them daily. Refrigeration slows ripening, so wait until the fruit is ripe before chilling it.
Prepare the nuts
Chop walnuts or pecans into pieces about the size of a pea. Small pieces spread through the batter more evenly than whole halves and make the finished loaf easier to slice. If the nuts taste stale or bitter, replace them: baking will not make old oils taste fresh.
For deeper flavor, toast the chopped nuts in a dry skillet over medium-low heat for 3 to 5 minutes, stirring often. Watch closely once they smell fragrant; their oils can take them from toasted to scorched quickly. Transfer to a plate and let them cool before folding into the batter. Toasting adds a pleasant roasted note to vegan nut and banana bread.
Mix and bake
- Heat and prepare. Set a rack in the center of the oven and heat to 350°F. Lightly oil a 9-by-5-inch metal loaf pan. Line the bottom and two long sides with parchment, leaving a little overhang for lifting, and lightly oil any exposed ends.
- Combine the wet ingredients. In a large bowl, mash the bananas and measure the mash. Return 1 1/2 cups to the bowl. Whisk in the oil, brown sugar, plant milk, and vanilla until evenly combined and no large clumps of sugar remain.
- Add the dry ingredients. Sprinkle the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon over the wet mixture. Whisk the dry ingredients together lightly on the surface first, then fold everything with a spatula just until most of the flour disappears. Scrape the bottom of the bowl as you fold.
- Fold in the nuts. Add the cooled nuts and fold a few more times, stopping when no dry streaks remain. The batter should be thick and scoopable. A few small banana lumps are fine. Transfer it to the pan and level the top gently.
- Bake. Bake for 55 to 70 minutes. Begin checking at 55 minutes: insert a thin skewer into the center, avoiding a nut if you can. It should come out clean or with a few moist crumbs, with no shiny wet batter. The top should feel set and spring back lightly. If the top browns before the middle is done, cover it loosely with foil and continue baking.
- Cool. Leave the loaf in its pan for 15 minutes. Run a thin knife around the ends if needed, lift it out using the parchment, and place it on a wire rack. Cool completely, about 2 hours, before slicing.
Ovens and pans vary, so use the time as a guide and the center as the deciding test. A thermometer provides another clue: aim for about 200°F to 205°F, along with a clean or crumb-coated skewer. A top crack is normal as the batter rises and sets.
How to keep the crumb tender
Measure flour by spooning it into the cup and sweeping off the excess with a straight edge. Scooping directly from the bag can pack in extra flour, making a denser loaf. Weighing is especially helpful if your measuring cups tend to collect a small mountain on top.
Once flour meets liquid, mix gently and only as long as needed. Vigorous or prolonged stirring develops more gluten and can make quick bread tough. This simple vegan banana bread gets its rise from the baking soda and baking powder, so have the pan ready and put the batter into the oven promptly after mixing.
The batter should hold soft ridges when moved with a spatula, rather than pour like pancake batter. If it seems unusually dry because the flour was packed, fold in plant milk a teaspoon at a time until all flour is moistened. If it looks very loose, check that you measured the banana rather than adding another whole fruit. A measured batch of easy vegan banana bread is more predictable than one made by guessing at banana size.
Small variations with clear results
For a warmer flavor, add 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg along with the cinnamon. It changes the aroma without changing the basic texture. You can also use pecans in place of walnuts for a milder, buttery-tasting crunch. Keep the total amount of nuts at 3/4 cup so the loaf still holds together neatly.
For chocolate, replace 1/4 cup of the nuts in vegan banana nut bread with dairy-free chocolate chips. The little pockets of melted chocolate will make each slice sweeter, while the remaining nuts preserve some crunch. Check the label if avoiding milk ingredients is important. Adding a full cup of extras on top of the nuts can weigh down the batter and make slices more crumbly.
For a heartier plant-based banana loaf with nuts, replace 1/2 cup of the all-purpose flour with an equal volume of whole wheat flour. Expect a firmer crumb and a nuttier flavor. Keep the rest of the recipe the same for your first batch, and watch the center for doneness rather than relying on color alone. Among banana recipes, vegan versions benefit from careful measuring, as do other vegan recipes with bananas.
Store, freeze, and serve
Once completely cool, wrap the loaf well or place slices in an airtight container. Keep at room temperature for up to 2 days; in a hot or humid kitchen, refrigerate it instead. For longer storage of your vegan banana and nut loaf, wrap individual slices and freeze in a freezer-safe bag for up to 3 months. Label the bag with the date.
Thaw a slice at room temperature or warm it briefly in a toaster oven. A little vegan butter or nut butter tops this straightforward plant-based banana bread nicely. Make vegan banana bread easy to pack by letting it cool fully before wrapping each slice: trapped steam can make the surface sticky.
If the center seems too wet
If a skewer comes out coated in glossy batter while the top is already brown, the center needs more time. Loosely tent the pan with foil, return it to the oven, and check again after 5 to 10 minutes. If a simple banana loaf made without animal products still has a gummy stripe when cool, measure the banana and flour carefully next time and give the center a full skewer test before removing it. A tender vegan banana loaf with nuts should hold its shape when sliced, with moist crumbs rather than a wet, compressed layer.
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