This is the only recipe that you’ll ever need for vegan chocolate chip banana bread! A staple in our home that we bake every week, you will love how easy it is. Simple ingredients and just 1 hour to achieve the perfect slice of deliciousness.
Ingredients and Substitutions
This is a vegan recipe and I am using plant based butter and milk in it. Bananas are the PERFECT binding agent and we’re using apple sauce for extra moisture. Check out my ingredient substitutions to see how you can swap out ingredients to suit your own dietary requirements.
I always weigh my ingredients rather than use cup measures. This ensures accuracy for every recipe and perfect results every time.
Dry Ingredients
Flour: I am using all purpose flour in the banana bread. All Purpose Flour has a higher lower protein content which helps with both the structure and texture of this bread. I haven鈥檛 tried this with gluten-free flour but would recommend using a 1-to-1 GF flour substitute if you want to experiment.
Brown Sugar: I like to create a caramelly undertone in my banana bread. If you don’t have brown sugar, you could sub with golden or white sugar. You can also substitute with coconut sugar. I like to sprinkle extra sugar on top of this bread to add an extra crunch.
Baking Powder and Salt: Baking powder helps the bread rise. Remember that baking powder adds PUFF to a recipe which is exactly what we want here. Salt is added to enhance the flavours.
Chocolate Chips: you can use any type of chocolate in this bread. I use vegan chocolate chips but chunks or even sliced-up pieces will work equally as well. I use 50 grams but you can add as much or as little as you like.
Wet ingredients
Bananas: we like to leave our bananas to ripen until the skins are fully brown. This creates a sweeter taste. Bananas are a wonderful binding agent and if you like even more chunks in your bread, throw in an extra banana.
Apple Sauce: this adds moisture and also replaces egg in our recipe. If you prefer to use egg instead of apple sauce, sub with 2 eggs if you are not vegan.
Plant Based Butter: I use room temperature unsalted butter. You can sub with dairy butter if you prefer.
Plant Based Milk: my go-to milk in all of my baked goods is almond milk, as it adds extra creaminess. Feel free to sub with whichever milk you prefer, plant based or dairy. The milk is needed for additional moisture. You can sub with water if you do not have milk available.
How to Make Chocolate Chip Banana Bread
This banana bread is so easy to make with basic ingredients that you’ll most likely already have in your pantry. It takes just a few minutes to make the batter so I recommend using a hand mixer for this. You can also use a stand mixer if you prefer or mix with a spatula. The key to great banana bread is that you don’t want to overmix any of the ingredients. This can cause the bread to toughen, which we want to avoid. By mixing only until combined, we will retain a nice light, fluffy texture. Perfect!
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit then let’s start mashing up our ripe bananas. It is entirely up to you whether you mash them until they are completely smooth. Our kids love having a few chunks of banana so I just soften them up a little bit with the mixer.
Next, let’s add our wet ingredients. Add 100g apple sauce, 75g of room temperature butter and 60ml milk to the bananas and mix to combine.
Now on to our dry ingredients. Add 240g all purpose flour, 1 tsp baking powder, 0.5 tsp salt and 140g brown sugar and mix until just combined. Remember that we don’t want to overactive the gluten in the batter so mix lightly here.
And finally, let’s add our chocolate chips. You can use chunks instead if you prefer.
I add roughly 50g chocolate chips and stir them into the batter. Add more or less depending on your personal preference.
Baking the vegan chocolate chip banana bread
Grease then line a loaf pan with parchment paper, so that the parchment overhangs the sides. This makes it easier to remove the banana bread once it is baked. You could use a baking spray if you prefer.
Pour in the batter and spread out evenly with a spatula.
Sprinkle additional brown sugar on top, if desired. This is actually one of my favourite parts about this recipe. The additional sugar creates the most wonderful topping and added crunch to the banana bread.
Bake at 350掳F for 55 minutes until well risen and lightly golden. The banana bread will feel slightly firm with a spring to it.
Allow to cool in the pan for 10 minutes before transferring to a serving board or plate. Serve warm and enjoy!
Storage
This easy vegan chocolate chip banana bread will store well at room temperature for 2-3 days. I suggest wrapping it in foil to retain all of that lovely moisture. Feel free to slice it up and toast it for breakfast with some butter on it. So good!
Banana Bread FAQs
For sure! This recipe will make 6 large banana muffins. Reduce the baking time to 20-25 minutes. No amendments are needed to the ingredients.
Yes! We often store overripe bananas in the freezer for baking and also juicing. It’s a great way to keep them until you’re ready to use them. Allow them to soften before using in this recipe.
This is a personal choice. I love to use them when there are dark spots on them and they feel slightly mushy inside. At this stage of ripeness, they will be sweeter and, in my opinion, perfect to use in banana bread.
More Fruity Options
If you love fruity desserts, check out these family favourites:
- Wake up your tastebuds with our tangy lemon drizzle muffins (vegan)
- Bake some blueberry burst muffins for the perfect grab and go breakfast (dairy free)
- You can’t go wrong with our classic apple blackberry pie (vegan)
Easy Vegan Chocolate Chip Banana Bread
Ingredients
- 2 Banana
- 100 grams Apple Sauce
- 75 grams Plant Based Butter (unsalted)
- 60 ml Plant Based Milk
- 240 grams All Purpose Flour
- 1 tsp Baking Powder
- 0.5 tsp Salt
- 140 grams Brown Sugar
- 50 grams Vegan Chocolate Chips
- Additional butter for greasing
- Additional sugar for topping
Instructions
Prep:
- Preheat oven to 350掳F and gather all equipment and ingredients.
To Make the Batter:
- Add two bananas to the mixing bowl and beat lightly with the hand mixer until softened.2 Banana
- Add 100g apple sauce, 75g room temperature butter and 60ml milk. Mix to combine.100 grams Apple Sauce, 75 grams Plant Based Butter (unsalted), 60 ml Plant Based Milk
- Add 240g all purpose flour, 1 tsp baking powder, 0.5 tsp salt and 140g brown sugar and mix to combine.240 grams All Purpose Flour, 1 tsp Baking Powder, 0.5 tsp Salt, 140 grams Brown Sugar
- Add 50g chocolate chips and stir in to the batter.50 grams Vegan Chocolate Chips
Let's Bake:
- Grease then line a loaf pan with parchment paper, so that the parchment overhangs the sides. This makes it easier to remove the banana bread once it is baked.Additional butter for greasing
- Pour in the batter and spread out evenly with a spatula.
- Sprinkle additional brown sugar on top, if desired.Additional sugar for topping
- Bake at 350掳F for 55 minutes until well risen and lightly golden. The banana bread will feel slightly firm with a spring to it.
- Allow to cool in the pan for 10 minutes before transferring to a serving board or plate. Serve warm and enjoy!
Video
Notes
- For accuracy, I always weigh my ingredients rather than use cup measurements. This ensures that my bakes turn out exactly the same every time.聽
- Prefer muffins? This recipe bakes 6 large muffins. Reduce baking time to 20-25 minutes.聽
- Best enjoyed while still warm. Once completely cool, store at room temperature wrapped in foil for 2-3 days.聽I suggest wrapping the bread in foil to retain all of that lovely moisture. Feel free to slice it up and toast it for breakfast with some butter on it.
- Frozen Bananas? We often store overripe bananas in the freezer for baking and also juicing. It’s a great way to keep them until you’re ready to use them. Allow them to soften before using in this recipe.
- How ripe should bananas be for the perfect banana bread? This is a personal choice. I love to use them when there are dark spots on them and they feel slightly mushy inside. At this stage of ripeness, they will be sweeter and, in my opinion, perfect to use in banana bread.
This is a staple in our home. We’ve made this recipe so many times and absolutely love it. Thank you.
I’m so happy to hear that Chloe. We bake it weekly and love it too!
This recipe sounds wonderful. Do you know if I can sub maple syrup or honey for the brown sugar? Refined sugar makes my joints ache. Thank you
I have never tried that but it might work – it will most likely make the batter a bit runnier but I’m sure it’ll still taste good. Let me know if you do try it.
Love the simplicity of this recipe. I make it often and it’s delicious every time.