My Easy Vegan Banana Bread Recipe

This is a simple vegan banana bread muffin (or loaf) recipe that’s pretty flexible. I will use what I have on hand, so feel free to swap out one type of flour for another or try adding dry fruits instead of nuts. The end result is a slightly crispy exterior with a fluffy interior featuring bursts of banana chunks and soft walnut pieces. Our household always has bananas, due to the obscene amount of smoothies we make. So when I notice a few going brown, I pop them in the fridge and make these easy vegan banana bread muffins on the weekend.

PREP TIME: 15 MINUTES | COOK TIME: 30 – 45 MINUTES

Vegan Banana Bread Muffin Ingredients

Wet Ingredients:

2 ripe bananas
½ cup granulated raw sugar (or brown sugar)
½ cup olive (or vegetable) oil; plus a little more to grease the muffin or loaf pan.
½ cup oat (or almond, soy, etc.) milk
1 tablespoon lemon juice

Dry Ingredients:

1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup almond flour*
⅓ cup chopped walnuts (or almonds, cashews, etc.)
1 tablespoon ground flaxseed
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt

*if you’re don’t have almond flour, regular all-purpose flour is fine too. So instead of 1 cup almond and 1 cup regular, you would then use 2 cups of regular all-purpose flour total.

Instructions for Making Vegan Banana Bread Muffins (or Loaf)

Time needed: 30 minutes

This recipe is adapted from The Buddhist Chef (Jean-Philippe Cyr).

Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C)
Grease muffin tins (or a 5 x 9-inch/13 x 23 cm loaf pan.)
Set aside.
In a bowl, mash the bananas and leave some medium-sized chunks. Add the brown sugar, oil, plant milk, and lemon juice and beat until fully combined.
Set aside.
In a second bowl, whisk together the flours, walnuts, flaxseed meal, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
Pour the dry ingredients over the wet ingredients and mix to combine.
Use a large spoon or soup ladle to transfer the batter into the greased muffin tins (or loaf pan.)
For muffins: Bake for about 30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the muffins comes out clean.
For a loaf: Bake for about 45 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the loaf comes out clean.
Let the banana bread cool for 10 minutes. Remove from the pan, and let cool completely on a plate or wire rack.

Make Banana Bread Muffins or a Bread Loaf

I’m partial to muffins since I have this adorable rose-shaped muffin tray. (Just look how cute they turn out!) But this recipe works great for a standard small loaf pan too. Just make sure you increase the baking time for a loaf since there’s more dough to bake through. Not sure if your treats need more time in the oven? A toothpick or fork should come out pretty clean, not goopy, when inserted into the bread.

Adding a little extra oil in the pan before you spoon in the batter will create a crunchy top layer, as you see in the photos below. I personally loooove that little bit of crispiness. But you can reduce or omit the oil in the pan if you want a more traditional texture. Just be sure to grease the pan if it’s metal or your bread will get stuck.

Enjoy!