I have figured that banana bread is a lifesaver!
Very often, I end up having a couple of spotted bananas that are just too ripe for my morning cereal or even to go in with my smoothies. I have either had to discard them or bury them in my planters to work as a natural fertilizer. But off-late, ever since the pandemic and stay at home orders have been in place, I have been doing my best to minimize wastage while preparing more healthier meals at home.
It is then that I realized, I could use the extras banans in my fruit basket by baking some banana bread. Now, if you are not familiar (chances of which is rare), banana bread is not a banana-flavored typical bread, but rather a flavourful and sweet banana flavored cake. I guess it gets its name from the loaf pan or tin which is used for making this recipe. Please correct me if I’m wrong.
Over the past few months, I have baked a banana bread quite a few times, but this time, I feel I have nailed the best and easiest banana bread recipe ever! Also I am sure that you would agree that this is one recipe that is easy to prepare with readily available ingredients at home and is a healthy snack alternative even for unwanted sugar cravings. Moreover, I love the fact there is so much scope in preparing this cake. You can either keep it simple or boost the recipe with cinnamon powder, chocolate chips, or even your favorite nuts. I’d say treat your batter like a canvas but with care. 😉
This banana bread recipe is a one-bowl recipe, healthy and conveniently vegan. Also, since I had some extra bananas I was able to make two versions of it – one with just chocolate chips and the other with some cinnamon, chocolate chips and left over chopped walnuts. Conclusion – both of them turned out to be amazing!
Vegan Banana Bread Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 cup of all purpose flour
- 1 cup of whole wheat flour
- 2 ripe bananas mashed
- 1 cup of brown sugar
- 1 tsp of baking powder
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 3 tbsp of flax seed powder
- 1/4tsp salt
- 1 tbsp of apple cider vinegar
- 1 tsp of vanilla essence
- 1/4 cup of dark chocolate chips
- 1/4 cup of any flavorless oil, I used canola oil
- 1 cup of non-dairy /plant based milk. I have used oat milk for this recipe.
Directions
- Pre-heat your oven to 350 F or 180 C
- In a large mixing bowl, mix in the all-purpose and whole wheat flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, flax seeds and sugar.
- In separate bowl mash the riped bananas and to the same bowl add in the remaining liquid ingredients such as vinegar, plant-based milk, oil, vanilla essence.
- Now pour and mix in the above ingredients with the dry mixture either using a spatula or a stand mixer. I don’t have a stand mixer yet so I completely rely on my spatula. 😉
- At this point add in the chocolate chips and gently fold it in the batter without overmixing it. If you’d like, you can also get creative and add chopped nuts, raisins and even cinnamon powder. This is purely optional
- Line a loaf pan with parchment paper and pour the batter into it.
- Place the pan in the oven for 35 mins and when done, stick a skewer or a toothpick in the middle to ensure it is well baked. That’s it!
My Tips:
- I am huge fan of using parchment paper while baking as it reduces the pain of scrubbing and cleaning a baking tray.
- Always tap the baking tray on your counter before popping it in the oven. Doing this helps the batter get rid of any extra bubbles.
- Never cut a cake while its warm. A cake that has been allowed to cool properly makes perfect slices and helps bring out the right flavors of the cake.
In case you’d like to add some chopped nuts, chocolate chips and raisins, make sure you add them at the end and fold the mixture gently without overmixing the batter. For cinnamon flavor lovers, adding about a tsp of cinnamon powder would do the trick. And if you like the flavors to be a little stronger, go ahead with a total of 2 tsps of cinnamon powder to the dry mixture. This will substantially enhance the flavor of the banana cake without an overpowering taste of the cinnamon.
Here is the banana bread with nuts, chocolate and a tsp of cinnamon powder with the rest of the ingredients being the same as mentioned in the recipe above. ❤
Enjoyed the recipe?
Did you try this recipe out? If you have and you loved it as much as I did, please drop in a comment, share and help spread the love by sharing a picture on Instagram and tagging me @frommyvegandiary.
I’d love to know what you think. ❤
Nabomita ❤
From My Vegan Diary 
I rechecked the recipe and I forgot baking soda! Either way it was really good!
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Yay! Awesome.. Thank you for the feedback. ❤
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Can I use all purpose flour through the whole thing instead of whole wheat?
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Yes you may use all purpose flour for this recipe..😊👍🏻
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I just made your recipe and added coconut flakes. Here is what I changed: I used chia seeds in place of flax. I used only all purpose flour and I added cinnamon. Great recipe thank you!
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WoW! that sounds delicous with the cinnamon in there.. 😀 I haven’t tried chia but you just have me some great ideas. Thanks so much. ❤
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Fabulous looking banana bread! I have been searching for the Altima best vegan banana bread. This may be it!
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Aww thank you.. please let me know how it turned out or tag me on insta.. I’d love to know what you think. ❤️
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