Vegan Chocolate Chip Banana Bread

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The best vegan chocolate chip banana bread! So moist, incredibly delicious, sweet, chocolaty, yet healthy, egg-free, dairy-free, and refined sugar-free!

Table of Contents

• Which Bananas To Use
• Instructions
• Substitutions
• Variations
• Storage
• More Vegan Baking Recipes You’ll Love
• 📖 Recipe
• 💬 Comments

It’s super easy to make vegan banana bread. Mashed bananas bind the batter together beautifully and are a popular vegan egg substitute in baking. You hardly notice any difference to banana bread baked with eggs. This is because it’s such a moist and delicious loaf everybody likes to devour for breakfast or afternoon tea time. 

What makes vegan banana bread even better? Chocolate Chips! It’s no secret that bananas and chocolate go hand in hand together. Add in a handful of dairy-free chocolate chips, and you have a wonderful sweet loaf that can be served as a healthy-ish dessert.

Besides, this one is a healthy vegan banana bread recipe! It’s refined sugar-free, thus baked with maple syrup. You only need a little maple syrup, as ripe bananas contain a large amount of fruit sugar, sweetening this loaf naturally.

As a vegan butter substitute, I love to use virgin coconut oil. You can also go for regular coconut oil, which can add a touch of coconut flavor to your banana bread. Olive oil or dairy-free butter will work too.

Which Bananas To Use

Speaking of bananas, it’s best to use very ripe (almost overripe) bananas to make banana bread. Why? Because overripe bananas contain much more fruit sugar than unripe ones, resulting in a sweeter loaf. Plus, it’s a noble way to give your overripe bananas another life! 😉

If you aren’t that lucky and have no overripe bananas lying around waiting to be mashed for this incredible loaf, buy them 1-2 days in advance. I count towards those people who can develop a spontaneous craving for vegan chocolate chip banana bread. In this case, I forgo a crime and use very firm bananas, which works too in an emergency! 😉

Instructions

This visual step-by-step instruction will help you along the way – definitely recommended if you’re a baking beginner! The exact quantities and everything else you need to know for the recipe can be found in the recipe card below.

• Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C). Line an 8×5 inch loaf pan with parchment paper.
• Mash 3 bananas in a large mixing bowl using the back of a fork. Add coconut oil, maple syrup, and vanilla extract, whisk until combined.
• Stir in all-purpose flour, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt. Fold in chocolate chips.

• Pour the batter into the prepared pan.
• Optional: Slice one banana lengthwise in half and place it on top of the batter. Sprinkle with extra chocolate chips.

• Bake for 50-60 minutes in the preheated oven. → The bread is done when a toothpick inserted in the center comes out mostly clean.
• Remove the bread from the oven and let it cool in the pan on a wire rack for 10 minutes. Remove from the pan and let it cool completely before slicing.

Substitutions

• Coconut Oil – instead of coconut oil, you can use olive oil or melted dairy-free butter.
• All-Purpose Flour – substitute with spelt flour. → If using whole wheat flour, reduce the amount slightly as whole wheat flour binds more liquid and thus makes your banana bread drier.
• Maple Syrup – can be replaced with agave nectar or date syrup. → Feel free to use white or brown sugar (not refined sugar-free). 
• Vanilla Extract – use the scrapped-out seed of one vanilla bean. You can also omit vanilla extract altogether.

Variations

• Nuts – stir ½ cup chopped walnuts into the batter instead of chocolate chips. Sprinkle the batter with one tablespoon of rolled oats before baking.
• Deluxe – toast baked slices of banana bread in a toaster oven until crispy and spread with dairy-free butter or tahini.

See this paleo chocolate chip banana bread recipe or this paleo banana bread with nuts on my website for a gluten-free or paleo variation (both recipes are dairy-free but not egg-free).

Storage

Store leftovers packed in aluminum foil or plastic wrap in the refrigerator. Keeps good for 5 days. Eat cold or reheat single slices in a toaster.

Freeze single slices in a freezer bag for up to 3 months. Then, allow to thaw at room temperature or defrost in a toaster. Banana bread can also be frozen as a whole loaf. Allow to thaw overnight in the refrigerator or for a few minutes in the preheated oven at 350°F (180°C).

More Vegan Baking Recipes You’ll Love

• Vegan Chocolate Pie
• Vegan Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Bread
• Vegan Cinnamon Rolls
• Vegan Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

📖 Recipe