Vegan Banana Bread with Walnuts
A moist, tender vegan banana bread sweetened with maple syrup and coconut oil, packed with toasted walnuts and finished with a crackly sugar-crusted top.
- Prep
- 26 min
- Cook
- 1 hr 8 min
- Wait
- 1 hr
- Total
- 2 hr 34 min
- Makes
- 1 loaf (10 slices)
Steps
Before you start
- Use bananas with heavily speckled or mostly black peels; they are sweeter and mash more easily. If yours are still yellow, bake them unpeeled on a tray at 300°F (150°C) for 15–20 minutes until blackened and soft, then cool.
- Take the plant milk out of the fridge 20–30 minutes ahead. Cold milk can make melted coconut oil clump into little solid bits.
- Position an oven rack in the center and have a 9×5-inch loaf pan, parchment paper and a cooling rack ready.
- Plan on about 2½ hours start to finish, including 1 hour of cooling before slicing.
Preheat and toast walnutsOven 350°F / 175°C
- Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 350°F (175°C).
- Spread all the chopped walnuts (both the batter and topping portions) on a rimmed baking sheet and toast for 8 minutes, stirring once halfway.
- Slide them onto a plate to cool.
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Ready when: Walnuts smell nutty and look a shade darker, with lightly golden edges.
Tip: Walnuts go from toasted to bitter quickly; set a timer and move them to a cool plate right away, since the hot pan keeps cooking them.
Prepare the pan
- Lightly brush the inside of a 9×5-inch (23×13 cm) loaf pan with a little melted coconut oil.
- Line it with a strip of parchment paper cut to fit the bottom and overhang the two long sides by 2 inches (5 cm) to make a lifting sling.
- Lightly oil the parchment too.
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Ready when: Pan bottom and long sides are fully covered with parchment.
Mash the bananas
- In a large bowl, mash the peeled bananas with a fork or potato masher until mostly smooth with a few small lumps remaining.
- You should have about 1½ cups (350 g).
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Ready when: Mashed bananas look like a thick, loose puree with only small bits remaining.
Tip: Measure the mashed bananas. Too much banana makes a gummy loaf, too little makes it dry.
Whisk the wet ingredients
- Add the maple syrup, brown sugar, plant milk and vanilla to the mashed bananas and whisk well for 30 seconds.
- Slowly pour in the melted coconut oil while whisking constantly until the mixture looks glossy and uniform.
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Ready when: No streaks of oil on the surface and no visible clumps of sugar or solid oil.
Tip: If the oil firms into specks because the liquids were cold, set the bowl over warm water for a minute and whisk again.
Mix the dry ingredients
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon and salt for about 20 seconds, so the leaveners and salt are evenly spread.
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Ready when: Mixture is uniformly pale beige with no clumps of baking soda.
Fold batter together
- Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients in two additions.
- Fold with a rubber spatula, scraping the bottom of the bowl, just until most of the flour disappears.
- Add the ¾ cup (85 g) cooled walnuts and fold 3 or 4 more strokes.
- The batter will be thick and slightly lumpy.
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Ready when: No dry flour pockets remain and the batter is thick, scoopable and still a bit lumpy.
Tip: Stop mixing as soon as the flour is incorporated. Overmixing develops gluten and makes the bread tough and tunneled.
Fill pan and add topping
- Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and spread it level, pushing it into the corners.
- Scatter the remaining ¼ cup (28 g) walnuts over the top and sprinkle with the turbinado sugar, if using.
- Tap the pan once on the counter to settle the batter.
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Ready when: Batter fills the pan about two-thirds full with an even surface.
Tip: Bake right away; the baking soda starts working as soon as it meets the wet ingredients.
Bake the loafOven 350°F / 175°C
- Bake on the center rack at 350°F (175°C) for 55–65 minutes.
- After 40 minutes, loosely tent the top with foil if the walnuts are browning too fast.
- The loaf is done when the top is deep golden and domed with a cracked center, and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean or with a few dry crumbs.
- Do not open the oven before the 40-minute mark.
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Ready when: Toothpick in the center comes out clean or with a few dry crumbs; top springs back lightly when pressed. Internal temperature is about 205°F (96°C).
Tip: If the toothpick has wet batter on it, bake 5 more minutes and test again. Very ripe bananas can leave a moist streak that is just banana, not raw batter, so check for batter-like clumps.
Cool in the pan
- Set the pan on a wire rack and let the loaf rest for 15 minutes.
- This lets the structure set so it doesn't break when lifted.
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Ready when: Pan is warm, not hot, to the touch and the edges have pulled slightly from the sides.
Cool completely
- Use the parchment overhang to lift the loaf out of the pan and set it on the wire rack.
- Let it cool for at least 45 minutes until fully room temperature before slicing.
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Ready when: The bottom of the loaf feels completely cool, with no warmth.
Tip: Vegan loaves are especially tender when warm; slicing too early gives a gummy, crumbly texture.
Slice and serve
- Peel off the parchment and, using a serrated knife and a gentle sawing motion, cut the loaf into 10 slices about ¾ inch (2 cm) thick.
- Serve plain or with a smear of coconut oil or vegan butter.
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Ready when: Slices hold together with a moist, tender crumb and visible walnut pieces.
Good to know
Tips
- Ripeness matters most: spotty-black bananas deliver sweetness and moisture, and the bread will taste noticeably more banana-forward.
- Measure flour by spooning it into the cup and leveling, or weigh it (250 g). Scooping straight from the bag packs in extra flour and dries out the loaf.
- Toasting the walnuts is worth the few extra minutes; it keeps them crisp inside the moist loaf and adds depth.
- Ovens vary. Use an oven thermometer if your loaves tend to brown too fast or bake unevenly, and check at 50 minutes.
Make ahead
"Bake the loaf up to 2 days ahead, cool completely and wrap tightly. The flavor deepens overnight. You can also mash the bananas and toast the walnuts the day before; store the bananas covered in the fridge and bring to room temperature before mixing."
Storage & reheating
Room temperature: wrap tightly or keep in an airtight container for up to 3 days. Fridge: up to 6 days (bring to room temperature or warm slices for best texture). Freezer: wrap whole or sliced loaf in plastic wrap, then foil, for up to 3 months; thaw overnight at room temperature. To reheat, warm slices in a 350°F (175°C) oven or toaster oven for 5–8 minutes, or toast for 1–2 minutes.
Substitutions
- refined coconut oil → Neutral oil such as avocado or light olive oil, same volume (⅓ cup / 80 ml). Gives an equally moist crumb without any coconut flavor; no need to melt or worry about clumping.
- walnut halves → Pecans or vegan chocolate chips, same amount. Pecans are toasted the same way; chocolate chips need no toasting and should be folded in with the flour.
- all-purpose flour → Half whole wheat flour (125 g) and half all-purpose (125 g). Produces a nuttier, slightly denser loaf. Add 1 extra tablespoon of plant milk if the batter seems very stiff.
- pure maple syrup → Agave nectar or date syrup, same volume (½ cup / 120 ml). Flavor will be slightly different but sweetness and moisture are comparable.
