After I baked this banana bread in muffin form for a group of very picky friends, one of them told her mom, “Amelia makes the best banana muffins. I have no idea what she puts in them.” The truth is, I really don’t put much in them. Not only is this simple banana bread vegan, it is also nut free, oil free, and easily made gluten free. Now, you’re probably thinking that there’s no way it’s any good, considering it is essentially everything free, but let me tell you that it is my go to recipe for sharing and every person I’ve ever made it for has enjoyed it.
Due to the fact that it has little sugar (at least for banana bread) and is oil free, it doesn’t have the cake-like sweetness or texture that most sweet breads and muffins have. Instead, it is more like regular bread: it has a lovely crust on the outside, light and airy crumb inside, with just the right amount of sweetness and banana flavor coming through. If you prefer it sweeter, use sweetened soy milk.
Prep time: 20 min. Bake time: 15 min. for mini-muffins, 20 min. for regular muffins, and 45 min. for an 8×4 loaf. Makes: One 8×4 loaf or enough muffins to make you and your friends happy
Ingredients:
1¼ cup mashed banana (about 2-3 bananas)
¼ cup plus 2 tablespoons unsweetened soy milk
½ cup plus 2 tablespoons unsweetened soy yogurt (or substitute ½ cup plus 2 tablespoons soy milk and 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar—note, this is in addition to the soy milk above)
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 tablespoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon salt
1 cup all purpose flour (or sub oat flour to make gluten free)
1 cup white whole wheat flour (or sub oat flour to make gluten free)
½ cup sugar
Can add a generous handful of nuts and/or chocolate chips if desired
- Preheat oven to 350 F. Grease an 8 x 4 baking pan or use a nonstick pan (or make muffins).
- Mix together the mashed banana, soy yogurt, vanilla extract, and soy milk in a small bowl and set aside.
- Mix together the baking powder, salt, both flours, and sugar in a large mixing bowl. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and fold in the wet ingredients. Then add and gently mix in nuts and/or chocolate chips if using.
- Bake for 40-45 minutes for 8×4 loaf or time specified above for muffins. A toothpick inserted in the center should come out with just a few tasty little crumbs when it’s done.
- Let cool before removing from pan and slicing.
Bumblebee Cooks 
This looks delicious. We must have been on the same wave length or had enough ripening bananas, because I made banana bread today, too! I didn’t have your recipe, but I’ll try it next time. My recipe doesn’t call for oil either, but it does call for eggs. So, maybe I’ll try soy or almond milk next time around. True confession- I like adding cinnamon, nutmeg and cacao to the dry mixture (and pecans). Try it! And let me know if you think the soy or almond milk would be a good substitute for eggs.
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Thanks for the comment! Adding cinnamon, nutmeg, and cacao sounds really good. Soy and almond milk can’t usually replace eggs because they don’t have the same leavening qualities, but soy yogurt usually works reasonably well as an egg replacement. Not knowing your whole recipe, it’s hard to say more. You could also try my recipe (with the addition of cinnamon, nutmeg, and cacao) if you are interested in making it egg free.
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Yoghurt! Of course! Thank you for that recommendation. I’ve found that yoghurt replaces lots of things very well…in terms of taste. I didn’t know about it’s leavening qualities. I especially like plain yoghurt on sweet potato. Thank you for teaching me!
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