Outrageous Vegan Banana Bread

Fun fact: vegan banana bread was one of the first ever vegan recipes I tried way before I turned vegan. I was craving something home baked but had no eggs in the house and Google suggested I make egg-less banana bread. So I chose a random recipe and it turned out fine. But fine isn’t what I strive for in baking so I have since developed a recipe that’s better than fine: it’s top-notch. It’s outrageous!

This vegan banana bread is moist and sweet and chocolatey and, if you ask me, best enjoyed with a cup of tea or coffee. It’s a fantastic breakfast, a great afternoon snack and also makes a wonderful dessert when toasted and served with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.

Ingredients

400g overripe bananas, peeled (= around 5 large bananas)

50g sunflower oil

130g oat milk

100g smooth peanut butter

1 tbsp lemon juice or apple cider vinegar

2 tbsp linseed meal (blitzed linseeds)

350g white bread flour

130g soft brown sugar

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

1/8 tsp table salt

100g semisweet chocolate chips

10g margarine or vegan butter

20g granulated sugar

1 additional banana, ideally not overripe (optional)

Method

Step 1 Before you do anything else, make a linseed “egg” by mixing 2 tbsp of flaxseed meal with 5 tbsp of water and set aside for later.

Step 2 Now, coat the inside of a 2lb loaf tin (like this) with some vegan butter and around 20g of granulated sugar — this will keep the banana bread from sticking to the tin and give it a nice sugary crust.

Step 3 If you want to give your banana bread a cute finish, thinly slice one additional (ideally not overripe) banana and set aside for later. This step is optional but will keep your banana bread fresh for longer.

Step 4 Pre heat your oven to 160°C on fan setting.

Step 5 In a large bowl add all your dry ingredients (flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt) and mix well with a wire whisk.

Step 6 Mash up your old bananas in a stand mixer fitted with a standard flat-beater (or by hand with a fork) until there are no chunks left.

Step 7 Add the peanut butter, oil, oat milk, lemon juice (or vinegar) as well as your linseed “egg” to the banana mash and mix on medium speed until smooth.

Step 8 Add the mix of dry ingredients to the wet mix and beat on medium to high speed just long enough to make a thick batter — it’s important not to over-mix the batter or the banana bread will turn out dense.

Step 9 Fold in the chocolate chips quickly.

Step 10 Pour the batter into your prepared loaf tin and drop the tin onto the kitchen counter to get rid of any air bubbles. Decorate the top with rows of banana slices if you like.

Step 11 In my oven the sweet spot for this banana bread is a bake time of 70 minutes and turning it halfway through to ensure an even bake. Start checking the cake after 60 minutes. If it looks nicely browned insert a skewer to make sure it’s ready. If it comes out clean and dry your banana bread is done. If the skewer comes out wet give your banana bread another 5 or 10 minutes. Don’t worry if your baking time differs as every oven is different! However, if in doubt, I recommend undercooking this cake rather than overdoing it.

Step 12 Once done take the banana bread out of the oven and let it cool in the cake tin. This banana bread tastes best after a night’s — or at least a few hours’ — rest, cut into chunky slices. It keeps up to four days in an airtight container (or tightly wrapped in cling film).

Notes on Ingredients

Bananas

Use overripe bananas for best results. The older and mushier they are, the sweeter and moister your banana bread will turn out. For the slices on top, use a regular ripe banana and cut into very thin slices.

Chocolate Chips

I tend to use semi-sweet or dark chocolate in my cake and cookie recipes because it creates a nice contrast to the various sweet ingredients like the brown sugar and ripe bananas used in this recipe. My favourite vegan chocolate chips are Callebaut 811 chocolate chips with 54.5% cocoa, which are also certified halal and gluten-free. They are super smooth and melt in your mouth and make a real difference compared to anything you get at the supermarket. However, my tried and recommended alternatives you’ll find at many supermarkets in the UK are Dr Oetker Jumbo Choc Chips Dark and Dr Oetker 54% Dark Chocolate For Bakers, which you can chop into chunks for this recipe.

Flour

As for many of my other cake recipes, I use Tesco Organic Plain White Flour in this recipe. This flour has a higher protein content than other plain white flour and helps to give the bake structure. If you can’t get this specific one, I recommend opting for any white bread flour.

Peanut Butter

My go-to peanut butter is Meridian Smooth Peanut Butter because it has zero palm oil and tastes incredible. Another great brand you can get in the UK is Pip and Nut Smooth Peanut Butter, which is also free from palm oil, as is the smooth peanut butter you can get at Lidl. If you eat a lot of peanut butter, it’s worth buying these in bulk as they have great shelf life and come up cheaper that way. Whatever brand you choose, make sure you use smooth, sugar-free peanut butter from roasted peanuts.