Banana Bread
A moist, gently spiced loaf that turns overripe bananas into something worth waiting for. The riper the bananas, the sweeter and more fragrant the bread, so this is the place for the speckled, almost black ones in the fruit bowl. Walnuts are an optional extra for anyone who likes a little crunch.
By Vegan Cook. Published 1 November 2026
Ingredients
Serves 10.
- 3large, very ripe bananas, about 350 g once peeled
- 75 mlneutral oil, such as sunflower
- 120 gsoft light brown sugar
- 80 mloat milk or other plant milk
- 1 tspvanilla extract
- 1 tsplemon juice or cider vinegar
- 220 gplain flour (all-purpose flour)
- 1 tspbaking powder
- 1/2 tspbicarbonate of soda (baking soda)
- 1 tspground cinnamon
- 1/4 tspsalt
- 75 gwalnuts, roughly chopped, optional
Cookware
- 900 g (2 lb) loaf tin lined with baking paper
- Large mixing bowl
- Fork
- Sieve
- Wooden spoon
- Wire cooling rack
Method
Read each step end-to-end before starting.
- 01
Heat the oven
Heat the oven to 180°C (160°C fan, 350°F). Line the loaf tin with baking paper, leaving some overhanging at the sides so that you can lift the bread out later.
- 02
Mix the wet ingredients
Mash the bananas in a large bowl with a fork until mostly smooth, leaving a few small lumps for texture. Whisk in the oil, sugar, oat milk, vanilla and lemon juice. The lemon juice reacts with the bicarbonate of soda to release bubbles of gas, which help the loaf rise and stay light.
- 03
Fold in the dry ingredients
Sift the flour, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda, cinnamon and salt over the banana mixture, then fold everything together gently with a wooden spoon until no streaks of flour remain. A few lumps are fine, since stirring too much makes the loaf dense and rubbery. Fold in the walnuts now, if you are using them.
- 04
Bake
Pour the batter into the tin and smooth the top. Bake for 50 to 60 minutes, until the loaf is risen and deep golden and a skewer pushed into the centre comes out clean or with just a few moist crumbs. If the top is browning too quickly before the middle is cooked, cover it loosely with foil for the last 15 minutes.
- 05
Cool and slice
Leave the bread in the tin for 15 minutes, then lift it out and let it cool completely on a wire rack before slicing, because a warm loaf is still setting inside and will crumble under the knife. Wrapped well, it keeps for 3 days at room temperature, and it freezes well in slices.
Allergen profile
Every recipe here is fully plant-based. Cross-contamination risk depends on your kitchen, so check all packaging.
Swap note
Wheat flour contains gluten, though a 1:1 gluten-free flour blend works with no other changes. Made without the walnuts, the loaf is free of nuts and soy. Adding walnuts introduces the Tree Nuts allergen, so leave them out if you are baking for someone with a nut allergy.