Easy Tahini Banana Bread. Perfectly moist, full of sweet banana and rich tahini flavour, and quick to mix up with no fancy equipment. Grab your baking essentials, bananas and tahini, and let's get baking!
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If you ever find yourself staring at your mug of coffee or tea, wishing you had a slice of something to enjoy with it, then this is exactly what you are looking for.
No bells. No whistles. Just simple, gorgeous Tahini Banana Bread. Perfect for breakfast, brunch, or a snack, with or without some vegan butter and a drizzle of tahini or vegan honey.
The bitterness of the tahini balances the sweetness of the ripe bananas perfectly, and the finished bread is soft and moist with a complex, nutty, toasty flavour. I think this might be my favourite banana bread yet!
Oh, and if you feel like adding some bells and whistles, I highly recommend warming up individual slices and serving them with caramelized bananas and a dollop of vanilla ice cream for dessert!
Love banana bread? Be sure to try my Spelt Banana Bread, Chocolate Banana Bread, Choc Nut Banana Bread, and Chocolate Coconut Banana Bread. And if you love tahini, you'll love my Tahini Smoothie!
Mel x
Ingredients
Here is what you need at a glance, along with some important ingredient notes & substitution ideas:
- Bananas - These must be very ripe and spotty.
- Flour - The recipe uses all-purpose flour (plain flour in the UK) but you can use spelt flour if you prefer. If you've made my Spelt Banana Bread you'll know how well it works in banana bread!
- Sugar - A mix of brown sugar and cane (or white) sugar. The combination of the two is important in this recipe. The brown sugar adds moisture and caramel flavour, and is also acidic. It reacts with the baking soda giving the loaf a good rise. The cane sugar gives the loaf structure and a really nice crusty crust. I know that people like to reduce sugar or switch them out, or use artificial sweeteners, but for chemistry reasons, it is important that you don't in this recipe or you will not get the intended results.
- Tahini - You can use homemade tahini or store-bought tahini. I do not recommend using any other nut or seed butter in this recipe because they tend to be stiffer and will affect the texture of your batter. If you don't have tahini make this spelt banana bread or this banana bread instead.
- Dairy-free milk - Any such as cashew milk, soy milk, oat milk, or almond milk will do. I do recommend using unsweetened if possible.
- Sesame seeds - These aren't essential because they are only used to decorate the top, but they do add lovely texture, visual appeal, and extra flavour so if you can I recommend it.
Let's Make Tahini Banana Bread!
Can't wait to make it? Here's a quick visual walkthrough (see the recipe card and recipe video for the full and detailed version):
1 - Grease and line a loaf pan with a strip of parchment paper.
2 - Mash the bananas really well with a fork.
3 - Add everything else to make a thick batter.
4 - Spoon into a loaf pan and top with sesame seeds.
5 - Bake until golden, toasty, and delicious!
Then all that is required is for you to get comfy on the sofa with a cozy cuppa and a slice (or three) of your delicious Tahini Banana Bread!
Mix-In Ideas
Elevate your tahini banana bread with mix-ins like:
- chocolate chips
- chopped dates (exceptionally good in this recipe!)
- chopped walnuts
- dried fruit
- shredded coconut
Or top it with some crumbly, nubbly vegan streusel but add a couple of minutes to the bake time.
Recipe
Tahini Banana Bread
Author:WATCH HOW TO MAKE IT
Ingredients
- 3 medium very ripe bananas , 345grams or 1.5 cups when mashed
- ½ cup (120 ml) tahini
- ¼ cup (60 ml) dairy-free milk
- ½ packed cup (100 grams) brown sugar
- ¼ cup (50 grams) cane or white sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon fine sea salt
- 2¼ cups (280 grams) all-purpose flour , plain flour in the UK (spelt flour works well too)
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda (bicarb in the UK)
OPTIONAL
- 1 to 2 tablespoons sesame seeds , for sprinkling the top
RECOMMENDED EQUIPMENT
INSTRUCTIONS
- Preheat oven to 350℉ (175℃) and grease a 9 x 5-inch loaf pan. Line it with a strip of parchment paper lengthways along the bottom. Make sure there is some excess at each end so you can use it as handles to lift the loaf out once cooked.
- Peel the bananas, add them to a large mixing bowl then mash with a fork or potato masher until it becomes a pretty smooth puree.
- To the bananas add the tahini, milk, both sugars, vanilla, cinnamon, and salt. Beat well until smooth.
- Add the flour, baking powder, and baking soda to the bowl and gently stir it all together making sure to scrape right into the bottom of the bowl to catch any pockets of flour. Do not over-mix. Stop as soon as you cannot see any dry flour in the mixture.
- Pour/spoon the batter into your prepared pan. Level the top with a spatula then sprinkle very generously with sesame seeds.
- Bake in the oven for 50 to 55 minutes or until a toothpick or skewer comes out clean when inserted into the middle. Light-colored pans will take closer to 55 minutes. Darker/black pans will be ready a little quicker.
- Leave to rest in the pan for 5 minutes then lift out using the parchment paper as handles. Place on a wire rack and carefully turn on its side. Remove the strip of paper. Stand the loaf back up and allow to finish cooling.
NOTES
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Albert Simon says
Excellent recipe! Delicious flavor and texture.
Deb Goldstein says
Can this be made gluten free?
Melanie McDonald says
I haven't tried it with this recipe and can't recall any reviews from anyone who's tried either, however, most of my cake and muffin recipes work well with Bob's Red Mill 1 to 1 GF baking flour (blue bag) so I would think this one would too. If you don't have access to that brand just make sure it's a 1 to 1 replacement baking flour that contains xanthan gum. Hope that helps and good luck!
Hazel says
Tastes fabulous and such a reliable recipe, turns out perfect every time.
Allison says
Hi, I LOVE your page and I’ve been making your recipes for years. Big fan. Do you have any tips on how to change the baking time if I wanted to turn these into muffins? Specifically with a silicone muffin pan. Thank you!! (I made the bread already and it’s fantastic!)
Melanie McDonald says
Thank you Allison, and I'm so pleased you're enjoying the recipe!
I've never made this as muffins, but I just checked my pumpkin muffin recipe bake times as pumpkin and banana tend to bake up similarly.
So, that means preheating your oven to 425°F. Fill the muffin wells right to the top and bake for 5 mins, then reduce the temperature to 350°F (175 °C) WITHOUT OPENING THE DOOR and bake for another 16 to 17 minutes or until golden, well risen and a skewer, sharp knife or toothpick inserted into the middle of one comes out clean. Remove from the oven and leave for 10 minutes in the pan before gently transferring to a wire rack.
Having said that all of my recipes are tested in metal pans. I won't lie. I REALLY dislike silicone bakeware of any kind. It doesn't bake nearly as well because it doesn't have the structure of metal and it doesn't radiate the heat as well. In a metal pan my high heat trick makes muffins rise up beautifully.It probably won't work as well in silicone. Baked goods never rise as well in silicone.
If you do want to invest in metal pans in the future, I highly recommend USA Pan muffin pans/bakeware. It's fantastic. I'll never use any other. (I have no affiliation with them, although with the amount of recommendations I give them they should probably be paying me commission 🤭)
I hope that helps!
Pati says
Is it true that if you use a glass pan, you should lower the temp by 25 degrees?
Melanie McDonald says
I really don't recommend glass pans at all for (almost all) baking. Glass really affects rising, crust development, and how evenly things bake and you'll always get better results in a good quality metal pan. Cakes etc take longer to bake in glass too because it takes longer to heat than metal. That can result in an overdone outside and an underdone middle. I guess that's why it's sometimes recommended to reduce the temp. I've never experimented with reducing the temp with glass because I don't ever bake in it, so I don't really know if it works better. It probably wouldn't hurt with this recipe though. Just be aware that it will take longer to bake whether you reduce the temperature or not so you'll need to keep checking it from the 55 min to an hour mark. I hope that helps!
Nancy Gordon says
I love this recipe. Added fresh strawberries and used a mix of nut flours with the white flour to do lower carbs. Fabulous. I love all of your recipes and always look to you first for ideas and recipes. Thank you for wonderful vegan recipes. We always make the vegan ricotta, vegan “butter” and others. Gonna buy you another coffee!! Thank you.
Melanie McDonald says
Thank you Nancy! I’m so pleased you’re enjoying my recipes!
Patty says
Hi Mel
I just have to say this recipe is fantastic! I love the flavor combination of the tahini with the banana! So easy to make and the texture was perfection! Thanks for sharing all your wonderful recipes ! 😊
Melanie McDonald says
I’m so pleased you enjoyed it Patty! Thank you for your review. It’s much appreciated!
Tara says
Mel you did it again. This is absolutely delectable. Followed the recipe exactly as you wrote it and it came out perfectly! By teen and husbands request, I added chocolate chips. It honestly it didn’t need them, but it tastes fabulous with a hint of chocolate. Thank you! I am so grateful for your recipes.
Melanie McDonald says
Oh, you're so welcome, Tara! I'm really pleased you all enjoyed it! If they love tahini with chocolate I highly recommend these bars. They are so good! https://avirtualvegan.com/chocolate-tahini-crunch-bars/
Tanisha Barker says
You are my go-to site for vegan muffins/quick breads! I was nervous to try banana bread with tahini, and I am so glad I made this. The tahini adds such a nice flavor and richness to the bread--I will definitely make again (and so easy too!)
Melanie McDonald says
Doesn't it work surprisingly well? I'm so pleased you enjoyed it, Tanisha. Thank you for your review. It's much appreciated!
Surinder says
This was so easy to bake and absolutely delicious!
Melanie McDonald says
I'm so pleased you enjoyed it, Surinder, and thank you for taking the time to leave a review. It's much appreciated!