Well, maybe it’s not certified “world’s best” nor has it won awards or honors…..
But it’s a recipe I’ve tried multiple ways, dozens of times, and it never fails to be something I want to share with everyone. To share with THE WORLD. Because it’s so good.
I found this recipe a little over a year ago, the first time I made VEGAN banana bread, and I basically hit the jackpot right away. It’s a keeper for sure! I’ve turned it into chocolate chip banana bars (recipe way back on my Insta), peanut butter banana bread, choco chip banana bread, and now blueberry walnut banana bread (the taste test winner by a long shot).
Let me tell you a little story about kindness…
We were out buying supplies for our old farmhouse renovation and the kind cashier at the store we were shopping gave us a free calendar and entire bag of walnuts he collected from his house. How sweet is that?! A perfect stranger, knowing he’ll probably never see us again, giving us an entire bag of the fruit of his hard work. They taste that much better knowing where they came from (and knowing it wasn’t a plastic bag of old processed nuts from the store).
Now let me tell you a story about getting the job done…
I have nothing to crack these nuts open with. My grandparents have a cute plate of nuts and a nutcracker on their coffee table 24/7 (they’re the best entertainers in the universe) and here I am, never having owned a nutcracker in my life.
So Griffin, who can crack them in his hand, was at work today and I really wanted these for this recipe and couldn’t wait for him to get home to help. I had the bright idea to smash them with a hammer LOL and when I went to grab the hammer out of Griffin’s tool closet in the mudroom where the dogs sleep, I got the funniest face from Marble. She’s an extremely expressive dog, which you know already if you’ve spent any time with her. When I grabbed the hammer from Griffin’s cabinet marble literally gave me a look of “Ooooooh mom you should really wait til dad gets home…… this does not look like a good idea at all…”. She hung her head slightly and looked at me out of the top corner of her eyes and she slowly walked away from me.
I smashed about 5 walnuts before I got really tired of the mess a hammer + a walnut makes hahaha
BUT I just did it. I got the job done, figured it out, moved on. Now let’s hope a jar of pasta sauce doesn’t need opening when Griffin’s gone, because no matter how many lessons he gives me on “use the palm of your hand not your fingers” or “run it under warm water and use a cloth over the lid” I just cannot get it. My hands are entirely too small and weak. Lol
Back to the recipe:
This treasure is from a super valuable vegan food blog, Hell Yeah It’s Vegan. Posted back in 2015, pretty sure it’s been pinned a zillion times. Rightfully so, it’s truly the best vegan banana bread. It’s definitely the best among the entire banana bread family, vegan or not.
I used homemade hazelnut milk as the plant milk in the recipe and it turned out amazing. Skip the added crap and make it a liiiitle extra “homemade” by using your own plant milk! I share the secret to perfect homemade nut milk on this blog post from yesterday!
To honor Hell Yeah It’s Vegan‘s original recipe’s blog post… I won’t move forward without telling you to buy only local/ethically produced bananas. This goes for everything you buy… Just pay attention to company morals and ensure they align with yours. I really hate to see human saints innocently nurturing their families with dead bodies or immorally/unethically produced foods. It hurts me to the core. I know I’m oblivious to so many company practices and I know there’s things taking place I’ll never know about. But I can assure you as soon as I know better, I do better. I hold each of you to the same standard.
Now, side note: I’ve adapted the recipe slightly but I’ll of course give you the original recipe to try for yourself here!
*THE BEST* Vegan Banana Bread
Ingredients
Wet Mixture
- 1/4 Cup Unsweetened plant milk
- 1/2 Tsp Apple cider vinegar
- 1/2 Cup Melted coconut oil
- 3 Mashed ripe bananas
- 1 Tsp Vanilla extract
- 1/2 Tsp Almond extract
- 1 Cup Light brown sugar Coconut sugar has worked well for me in the past!
Dry Mixture
- 2 Cups All-purpose or whole wheat flour Gluten free flour may work but has not been tested.
- 1 Tsp Baking powder
- 1/2 Tsp Baking soda
- 1 Pinch Salt
- 1 Tsp Cinnamon
- 1/2 Tsp Nutmeg
Optional add-ins
- 1 Cup Chopped walnuts
- 1 Cup Blueberries
- 1 Cup Chocolate chips/Cacao nibs
- 1 Cup Chopped strawberries
- 1 Cup Cinnamon sugar topping
Instructions
- Combine wet mixture ingredients in a large bowl.
- Combine dry mixture ingredients in a separate smaller bowl.
- Gently combine the dry mixture into the wet ingredients.
- Fold in any add-ins you may be using. Ensure they're evenly disbursed.
- Pour into a loaf pan (or I used a 7.5x5.5" baking dish-hello minimalist kitchen) and bake at 380 degrees for about 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. If you like a denser bread you can skip the toothpick trick and remove from the oven when the center feels firm.