About a year and a half ago I shared a picture of my double vegan chocolate banana bread on Instagram and received many requests for the recipe. I’m fiiinally sharing it now.
Has this been a theme lately? I feel like it’s been a theme lately. Anyway, practicing banana bread recipes is unexpectedly difficult because it requires the confluence of perfectly overripe bananas and sufficient time and motivation to bake and cool the bread.
Despite the fancy looking marbled chocolate swirl design, it’s actually quite easy to make this delectable eggless loaf. As you can probably tell from the sorry state of my cake decorating skills, making intricate desserts is not my forte, but this banana bread doesn’t mind. As long as you drag around a toothpick in the batter a little bit, it will bake up into something gorgeous.
Allow me to expound on the reasons that make this vegan chocolate swirl banana bread awesome:
- It’s 100% whole grain, made with whole wheat pastry flour; but can be substituted with plain flour based on pantry availability
- Similarly it can be made either oil-free or using vegetable oil
- Despite being fluffy and moist, baking this dairy-free chocolate banana bread doesn’t require opening a jar of applesauce that will then fester in the back of the fridge for weeks
I’m partial to this vegan chocolate banana bread made with simple ingredients. Bake it this weekend, then slice it and enjoy it throughout the week. Frost it like a cake, or serve it with jam or vegan butter (pictured is my favorite Miyoko’s). The choice is yours 🙂
Marbled Vegan Chocolate Banana Bread
Ingredients
- 1 cup mashed ripe banana (about 3 medium bananas)
- 3/4 cup coconut sugar (or use regular sugar)
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 tbsp vegetable oil of choice (I use grapeseed oil)
- 1/3 cup plain, unsweetened non-dairy milk
- 1 and 1/2 cup whole wheat pastry flour (or use all-purpose flour) (measure by scooping)
- 3/4 tsp baking soda
- 3/4 tsp salt
- 3 tbsp cocoa powder
- 6 tbsp hot water divided
- 1/2 cup dairy-free chocolate chips (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Lightly grease an 8-by-4-inch loaf pan.
- In a mixing bowl, mash the banana until smooth. Add the sugar, vanilla extract, oil, and non-dairy milk. Whisk together until smooth. Add the flour, baking soda, and salt, and stir together just until combined (lumps are OK).
- Scoop 1 cup of the batter into a second mixing bowl. Stir together the cocoa powder with 3 tablespoons of the hot water until smooth, and add it into the second bowl of batter, stirring just until combined. Stir the other 3 tablespoons of hot water into the first bowl of batter, also until just combined.
- Grab your prepared loaf pan. Alternate scooping scant 1/2 cup scoops of the chocolate and regular batter into the pan until all of it is used. Then, take a toothpick, a wooden skewer or a knife, stick it into the batter, and swirl it around a few times to marble the different batter together.
- Bake the vegan chocolate banana bread uncovered for approximately 60 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out crumby rather than gooey. Let the bread cool completely before removing it from the pan and slicing into it (at least 30 minutes).
Notes
Nutrition
Recipe adapted from Isa Does It.
I'm Shannon, the writer and photographer of Yup, it's Vegan! I'm a morning person based in Baltimore, USA. My mission is to create healthy plant-based recipes that anyone would enjoy, using seasonal produce with inspiration from global flavors.
Alicia says
I was a little nervous to try this recipe since there is no typical “binder” in it (flax egg, aquafaba, etc) but gave it a go. It’s delicious! Unlike someone else who said their bread was not-yet-baked for them at an hour, my bread had split and browned by 35 minutes of cooking so I put foil over the top and left it in the oven to bake. At 50 minutes in, I took it out and tested it with a toothpick and it was fully done. I probably should have checked a few minutes earlier, but nonetheless it’s a beautiful and delicious loaf. Excited to share this with my family; thank you!
Julia Roubin says
Simply delicious! Thanks for this amazing recipe
Lynds says
I followed the recipe exactly and what I have is a very sunken loaf! It ended up in the oven well over the hour because the mixture was so runny everytime I stuck a cocktail stick in it, it came out coated in goo. I gave up on it in the end as it was looking burnt on top and I favoured a lower gas bill.
Shannon @ Yup, it's Vegan says
Hi Lynds, Sorry to hear that this happened. I would guess based on what you are describing that either the flour measurement or the measurements for the hot water or non-dairy milk were not right. It’s not quite possible for me to tell what specifically went wrong without being there in the kitchen, but I can tell you that I have made this recipe as written a couple dozen times and readers have made it with success as well. All the same, I apologize if any ambiguity in the instructions led to your experience.
Natalie says
I think Lynds might be right. The recipe says 3/4 tsp baking soda but I figured it was just a misprint and its supposed to say baking powder. Baking soda needs something acidic like distilled vinegar to activate it so it will rise.
Anyway I tried it with baking powder and it came out delicious, thank you for the recipe.
Shannon @ Yup, it's Vegan says
Cocoa powder is an acidic ingredient that reacts with the baking soda, the ingredients are not a misprint. Glad it still worked with the baking powder!
Julia says
Hello Shannon, what kind of non-wheat flour can I use for this recipe? Thanks
Shannon @ Yup, it's Vegan says
Hey Julia, I’m thinking gluten-free all-purpose flour would be the best substitute to get the right texture for this. I did test it with 100% oat flour and it tasted good but came out a little dense. My favorite GF flour blend as of late is the one made by King Arthur Flour. If you give it a try, let me know how it goes!
Polly says
Lol. I have a jar of applesauce I need to use! Can it be substituted effectively for the oil?
Megan says
So how would the recipe be adjusted for muffins? I assume only the bake time and temperature would change.
Shannon @ Yup, it's Vegan says
My friend Lauren raised the baking temp to 375 and shortened the baking time and they came out amazing! https://www.instagram.com/p/BdnNcJhFTOm/?taken-by=livefullbaltimore Not sure how long she cooked them for exactly. Hope this helps.
Carly Sears says
Can I use date paste or a liquid sweetner in place of the sugar?
Shannon @ Yup, it's Vegan says
I believe this recipe is one that could potentially be flexible to that, but I’m not sure what other changes (i.e. reducing the amount of liquid) might be needed to accommodate it. Will try with maple syrup next time (I make this very frequently) and update here with findings. Please also let me know if you try it.
Lacy says
I made this using the cocoa butter option (we are trying to eliminate oil) and it was really something. I think the cocoa butter made it firmer but also melt in your mouth. Liked it a lot and will make it again. Thanks for the recipe. Do you think coconut oil would work instead of the vegetable oil?
Shannon @ Yup, it's Vegan says
Hey Lacy, softened or melted coconut oil will give a similar texture to what you had with the cocoa butter.