Vegan Banana Bread with Chocolate Chunks is super moist, delicious, and full of chocolate chunks. It’s irresistible. This is also an easy-to-make recipe that uses easy-to-find ingredients that can be found in most local groceries. You won’t believe how tasty this is. It also uses a lot of bananas so goes a little lighter on the sugar. This recipe is also gluten-free but you can use whatever flour you like.
Vegan Banana Bread is Delicious with Chocolate!
Moist, delicious, and full of chocolate!
Perfect Recipe To Use Up Ripe Bananas!
Do you have a bunch of ripe bananas on your counter? That’s what inspired this recipe. I had about a dozen perfectly ripe bananas just sitting there begging to be made into something tasty. I always have ripe bananas on hand to put in the freezer for things like this Chocolate Sweet Potato Smoothie. But I had a LOT and needed to use them for other things, too!
Perfectly ripe bananas!
How Ripe Should Bananas Be For Vegan Banana Bread?
To be perfect for banana bread, ripe bananas should be speckled with brown spots and just barely starting to soften. They don’t need to be all brown or squishy … just soft enough to mash. I personally like bananas at this speckled stage for just about everything, including fresh eating. Any less ripe and they’re starchy but if they get much riper they start to taste a little bit off to me. Your experience may be different from mine, though!
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How Many Bananas Go in Vegan Banana Bread?
I used 5 medium bananas in this banana bread recipe which adds up to approximately 2 cups of mashed banana. That added just the right amount of banana flavor and moistness.
A sprinkle of coarse salt on top!
Other Ingredients in Banana Bread
In addition to bananas, this recipe uses these ingredients:
- Vanilla Instant Pudding Mix I used a box of vanilla pudding mix to add flavor and moisture. Straight out of the box, this ingredient doesn’t contain animals products.
- Chocolate Mega Chunks from Enjoy Life I wanted this banana bread to be full of chocolate so I used an entire bag of Chocolate Mega Chunks from Enjoy Life. The chunks are pretty big and added good-sized dollops of chocolate throughout.
- Vanilla To add even more flavor, vanilla is used here. You can use your favorite vanilla extract here. I like to use this absolutely delicious and fresh vanilla powder when I have it.
- Just Egg Are you wondering, can you bake with Just Egg? Yes! You can! I love baking with Just Egg. It’s been something of a game-changer when making vegan baked goods. Since I also stay gluten-free, Just Egg adds a lot of the structure and texture in my baked goods.
- Apple Sauce This ingredient always adds moisture and sweetness!
- Baking Powder, Baking Soda, and Vinegar If you’re using gluten-free flour, getting enough of a rise in breads can be a challenge. I’ve used a generous amount of baking powder and baking soda to get some lift and added just a bit of vinegar to help activate the baking soda.
- Coarse Salt I sprinkled some coarse salt on top to finish this. Salt and chocolate go together so well.
Prepare a Baking Pan
Preheat an oven to 350 degrees F and prepare an 8 in x 5 in baking pan. I like to generously use plant-based butter to grease the sides and bottom of the pan. Then I put a piece of parchment in the bottom and grease that as well. Then I flour it all lightly. So far, this has been a foolproof method to prevent any sticking.
Prepare a pan to prevent sticking!
How to Make Vegan Banana Bread, It’s Easy
To make this banana bread, simply place the wet ingredients into a medium-sized mixing bowl. The wet ingredients are bananas, apple sauce, sugar, Just Egg, vanilla extract, vinegar, and oil. Mash the bananas with a fork and stir everything together. The bananas just need to be mashed and can remain in small, squishy chunks.
Mash bananas with a fork.
Add the Wet Ingredients to the Dry Ingredients
Whisk together the dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl. Make sure they’re mixed and evenly distributed. The dry ingredients are flour, pudding mix, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Then make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and mix in the wet ingredients. Stir until well combined.
Mix the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients.
Fold in the Chocolate Chunks!
Gently fold in the chocolate chunks and pour the batter into your prepared pan. I added some brown sugar to the top before baking.
Pour the batter into your prepared pan.
Baking the Banana Bread
One challenge in gluten-free baking is preventing the dreaded gumminess. Usually, this is caused by either too much starch in the recipe or not enough baking time. I’ve found it just takes longer to bake gluten-free to make sure the center gets done.
I baked this at 350 degrees F for about an hour and fifteen minutes. The top starts to brown after about a half-hour so I loosely covered the loaf pan with foil to prevent that.
When the banana bread is done the center will be firm and not squishy. Remove from the oven and allow to cool before slicing. Serve cool or warm. Store any leftovers wrapped in plastic wrap in the refrigerator.
Bake until the center is firm. Cover with foil for the last half of baking to prevent over-browning!
Can Banana Bread Be Frozen?
Yes! This banana bread freezes beautifully. Wrap the entire loaf or individual slices in plastic wrap and freeze for up to a few months. To use, simply remove from the freezer and allow to thaw. It can also be heated in the oven or microwave if desired.
Vegan Banana Bread with Chocolate Chunks GF
Vegan Banana Bread with Chocolate Chunks is super moist, delicious, and full of chocolate chunks. It's irresistible. This is also an easy-to-make recipe that uses easy-to-find ingredients that can be found in most local groceries.
Ingredients
- plant-based butter and flour for pan
- 2 cups ripe bananas, lightly mashed (about 5 medium)
- 1/4 cup Just Egg
- 1/4 cup applesauce
- 2 tablespoons oil
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract (or 1 teaspoon vanilla powder)
- 1/3 cup white granulated sugar
- 1/3 cup brown sugar (light or dark)
- 1 tablespoon white vinegar
- 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (gluten-free or regular)
- 4 oz vanilla pudding mix
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 2 teaspoons baking soda
- 1 tablespoon cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon ginger
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 12 oz package of vegan chocolate chunks
- brown sugar for sprinkling
- coarse salt
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
- Use plant-based butter to grease the bottom and sides of a 9" by 5" loaf pan. Line the bottom with parchment paper to fit. The butter should help it stick to the bottom. Grease the top of the parchment paper as well, then flour the inside of the bottom and sides of the pan.
- In a small mixing bowl, mash the bananas with a fork and add in the Just Egg, applesauce, white and brown sugar, oil, vanilla, and vinegar. Stir well until creamed and combined. The bananas can still be a little chunky.
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, pudding mix, cinnamon, ginger, and salt until well combined. make a well in the center and pour in the wet ingredients. Stir to combine well.
- Fold in the chocolate chunks gently until evenly distributed.
- Pour the batter into the prepared baking pan and the pan on a cooking sheet in the center of the oven. Bake at 350 degrees F for about 75 minutes, or until the center is firm and not squishy.
- Let cool and serve. Can be stored in the fridge for a few days or up to a few months in the freezer if wrapped in plastic wrap.
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Nutrition Information:
Yield:
12Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 295Total Fat: 10gSaturated Fat: 6gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 3gCholesterol: 0mgSodium: 644mgCarbohydrates: 65gFiber: 3gSugar: 39gProtein: 6g
XO Lisa
Hello! I’m Lisa, a vegan artist, photographer, author, Vegan Life Coach Educator, and RYT 200 yoga teacher. I love showing others how simple and delicious a plant-based diet can be. I draw and paint, cook, write, take lots of pics, eat lots of chocolate, and practice gratitude daily.