Vegan Banana Bread for Nonbelievers

I’ve made so many horrible vegan banana breads. After every failed attempt, I hid my shame by cutting up the flat and gummy loaf into slices and toasting them for 30 minutes to make banana bread biscotti. No biscotti for this one.

One key is using coconut oil, which solidifies at room temperature. I theorize this results in a less mushy bread, but it also adds great flavor. I’ve eliminated the goopy flax “egg”, which fails miserably at doing what eggs are supposed to do. It also make bread taste like grass. Finally, I got rid of added plant milk, which many recipes call for for some reason.

It’s a good feeling when making a recipe simpler also makes it better.

Ingredients

Servings: 1 loaf or 12 muffins

Wet

3 large ripe bananas (330ml)

1 tbs (15ml) vinegar

1/3 cup (80ml) melted coconut oil

2/3 cup (135g) coconut sugar or dark brown sugar – 1/2 cup (105g) if you like it less sweet.

1 tsp vanilla, real or imitation

Dry

1.5 cups (190g) white whole wheat flour

1 tsp baking powder

3/4 tsp baking soda

1/4 heaping tsp table salt or 1/2 heaping tsp kosher salt

1/2 tsp cinnamon

Optional: 1/2 cup walnuts, chopped

Step-by-step Instructions

Step 1 - prepare equipment

Preheat oven to 350F/180C.
Line the bottom of a loaf pan with parchment paper cut to fit, or spray with nonstick spray.

Step 2 - prepare ingredients

In a medium bowl, combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon. Whisk together thoroughly.
Mash bananas and sugar in a large microwave-safe bowl. Warm for 20-30 seconds in the microwave. This prevents the coconut oil from solidifying when you pour it in.
Add vinegar, vanilla extract, and coconut oil to warmed banana mash. Stir to combine.

Step 3 - combine and bake

4. Gently mix dry ingredients into wet ingredients. Do not over-mix, lumps and a few dry spots of flour are okay.
5. Pour batter into prepared loaf pan
5. Thinly slice banana and arrange in two rows on top, slightly overlapping slices
7. Bake for 55-60 minutes until deep golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

click images to enlarge