This Vegan Banana Bread can be baked With or Without Chocolate Chips and is adapted from old-fashioned and vintage banana bread recipes with the results being the best banana bread that is soft as a cake yet firm enough to be toasted for a delicious breakfast or snack.Each bite is packed with tasty sweet banana flavours with a hint of warm spiced cinnamon and tasty little nuggets of dark chocolate. As the banana cake bakes your kitchen will smell divine, with sweet banana toffee cake aromas escaping out of your oven!
electric hand mixer optional, as can just use a mixing spoon
sieve
1 kg/ 2Ib loaf pan Plus parchment [baking paper] or a baking paper loaf pan insert
Ingredients
60gramsvegan margarineor vegan butter
115gramssoft brown sugarlight brown sugar
340gramsmashed bananasor 3 medium very ripe bananas (weight is after skin removed)
230gramsself-raising flour
2teaspoonbaking powder
1teaspooncinnamon powder
1pinchsalt
4tablespoonsplant-based milksuch as soya or oat milk or your usual milk
100gramsdark chocolate chips (vegan-friendly)Or a block of vegan chocolate cut into chip size pieces.
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 150 Fan, 170 Celsius, 338 Fahrenheit, Gas 3.
Prepare the loaf pan by grease it with vegan margarine or butter, and lining it with baking parchment or pop in a paper case insert.
With a cutlery fork or potato masher mash the bananas until smoothish, they do not have to be completely smooth as some small lumps of banana are fine.
340 grams mashed bananas
Add the sugar and margarine to a bowl and beat or mix well with a mixing spoon or an electric hand mixer until they are both thoroughly creamed together. This should take a minute or two with a hand mixer, but add an extra few minutes if mixing with a spoon by hand.
60 grams vegan margarine, 115 grams soft brown sugar
Add the mashed bananas and stir through the creamed mixture.Don't worry if the mixture looks split. Its fine.
Pour in the plant-based milk and mix.
4 tablespoons plant-based milk
Sift in the flour, baking powder, and cinnamon and sprinkle in the salt.
Stir with a mixing spoon until everything is just combined. Don't beat the mix or stir too fast.Pop in the chocolate drops and mix through the batter.
100 grams dark chocolate chips (vegan-friendly)
Scoop the batter into the loaf pan and smooth out the surface with the back of a cutlery spoon or similar.
Bake for 45-60 minutes on the middle shelf until risen, golden, and a skewer or toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean. If the toothpick has smudges of melted chocolate just test a different area.Check the banana bread to see if it has baked after 45 minutes, as ovens vary in their baking times especially fan ovens which tend to bake quicker.
Leave the banana bread to cool in the loaf pan for at least 30 minutes.Carefully tip out and place on a wire rack to cool, and peel away the parchment paper from the sides. Or just sit the banana bread on a cutting board or similar to cool if no wire rack is available.
Notes
Nutritional data is provided for guidance only and is not a strict calculation as ingredients vary.
Store banana bread for up to 5 days within a cake tin or airtight container. Wrapping the bread in an extra layer of greaseproof paper will help preserve the freshness and moistness for longer.
Banana bread can also be stored wrapped in the refrigerator which is especially recommended if you live in a hot area or your house is extra warm. The chocolate chips will go hard in the fridge which is very tasty. Banana bread may keep for an extra few days if stored in the fridge.
Banana bread can be frozen for up to 3-4 months. Wrap up the whole banana bread or portion out slices. A small piece of parchment paper between each slice or few slices allows for easier retrieval of 1 or 2 slices at a time.
Thaw to room temperature before enjoying.
Chocolate chips or drops can be replaced with a broken bar of vegan chocolate, cacao nibs, chopped walnuts, flaked almonds, sunflower or pumpkin seeds, shredded coconut shards, etc.
Or simply omit the chocolate chips or drops.
Stork baking margarine was used for this banana bread.
For a gluten-free banana bread replace the flour with gluten-free self-raising or self-rising flour, gluten-free baking powder, and add ¼ teaspoon of xanthum gum. An extra 1 tablespoon of plant-based milk may be required to mix through the batter as gluten-free bakes can be extra thirsty!
Banana bread flavours improve as each day passes. If you can bear it leave your bread until the next day! On day three it will taste similar to those little individual Banana Soreen Malt Cakes you can purchase from the supermarket. So tasty!
Check out our recipe notes and FAQ section above for more useful information.