This Healthier Vegan Chocolate Banana Bread is made with whole-grain flour & contains no added butter or oil but it 100% tastes amazing! It’s super-moist, slightly fudgy & really indulgent!
Spotty bananas at the ready…. And if you don’t have spotty bananas then you’re going to have to wait a few days before trying this very indulgent, but healthier, Vegan Chocolate Banana Bread.
It’s well worth waiting for though! I should know. I’ve made it about 6 times in the last couple of weeks.
It’s an adaptation of my Healthy Banana Bread recipe, only there is no fragrant cardamom in this one. It gets a hefty dose of chocolate instead. I didn’t think it could be improved upon, but well … the moral of the story is that chocolate makes everything better. Even if it was pretty damn good to begin with.
How to make Vegan Chocolate Banana Bread
This bread is really easy to make and it can be done all in one bowl.
First up you need to puree a few bananas. They need to be really smooth. I like to throw mine in my Kitchen Aid (<<< affiliate link) and use the flat beater to beat them to a pulp. Then I add the rest of the wet ingredients to the bowl too and carry on beating until it’s all nice and smooth and fluffy, before adding the dry ingredients and mixing them in by hand. The worst thing you can do when making a cake/muffins is to over-beat. It really affects the final result and not in a good way. 
Once the batter is made, stir in some chocolate chips and pour it into a loaf tin. I like to line mine with a strip of parchment paper down the middle so that it’s really easy to lift the bread out and onto a cooling rack when it’s done and I can’t say enough good things about USA Pan Loaf Pans (<<< affiliate link).
This is why I am loving this Vegan Chocolate Banana Bread:
- um…it has chocolate in it…..
- it’s soft, fudgy & delicious
- it’s got NO added oil or butter in it
- it stays moist for days and days and days
- double up and stash one away for another day because it freezes perfectly
- it’s a great way to get some healthy whole grains and fruit in your kiddos!
This Vegan Chocolate Banana Bread can be breakfast, snack or dessert. It’s kind of healthy enough for breakfast and starting a day with chocolate is always a good idea. It’s also rich and fudgy enough to be dessert. I might have even eaten it for breakfast and dessert all in one day on more than one occasion ……. Busted!
You cannot imagine just how good this loaf of chocolatey goodness smells when it is baking. That chocolate and those bananas mingling in the air is perfection.
I had thoughts of frosting this bread, but in all honesty it doesn’t need it. It’s perfectly moist, slight fudgy and sweet enough as it is. Why mess with something so good?
All it does need is you, a comfy sofa to put your feet up on and a giant mug of steaming tea or coffee, while you enjoy it warm from the oven….Why even bother trying not to succumb to temptation? Just do it!
As with all of my baking recipes where precision is key to excellent results, I highly recommend using a kitchen scale to measure your ingredients, rather than using cup measurements. This one is cheap (under $10) and works brilliantly:
Vegan Chocolate Banana Bread
This Healthier Vegan Chocolate Banana Bread is made with whole-grain flour & contains no added butter or oil but it 100% tastes amazing! It's super-moist, slightly fudgy & really indulgent!
Ingredients
- 3 medium bananas , very ripe & spotty
- 6 tablespoons cashew butter *
- ¼ cup maple syrup **
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 115g / ½ packed cup sugar
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- 210g / 1¾ cup spelt flour ***
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- ¾ teaspoon baking soda
- 50g / ½ cup cocoa power
- 85g / ½ cup chocolate chips ****, plus a handful extra for sprinkling
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 350°F and grease and line a 1lb loaf pan with a strip of parchment paper down the middle with some extra overhanging at the end to act as handles for lifting the cooked cake out.
Puree the bananas until completely smooth. You can do this in a stand mixer or with a hand mixer, or in a blender or food processor. You can also do it by hand with a fork but make sure they are really smooth.
Add the cashew butter, maple syrup, vanilla extract, sugar and salt to the bananas and beat until smooth and light and fluffy.
Add the flour, baking powder, baking soda and cocoa powder and mix gently BY HAND (not in the stand mixer, food processor or blender) until everything is just combined. Do not over mix because it will affect the texture and rise.
Finally add the chocolate chips and stir just enough to distribute evenly.
Pour the batter into the prepared loaf pan, even out the top and sprinkle with the extra handful of chocolate chips.
Bake for around 45 - 50 minutes until the loaf is coming away from the sides of the pan and is firm with a bit of bounce when you poke the centre of it. This bread is best when very slightly under-cooked as it has maximum fudginess then. If you insert a toothpick, instead of it coming out clean like with most cakes, you want a bit of thick, sticky, chocolatey batter clinging to it. If when you put it in it feels liquidy put it back in the oven for another 5 minutes then check again.
Remove from the tin immediately once done using the parchment paper as handles and place on a cooling rack. Be sure to remove the strip of paper from it's bottom by gently turning it on its side and peeling it away.
Recipe Notes
*Be sure to use good quality nut butter without additives. I always make sure to only buy brands with nuts or nuts and salt as the ingredients and have not tested this recipe with the more processed kinds with artificial ingredients.
Cashew butter works best but almond butter makes a good substitute. Peanut butter can also be used if you don't mind the peanut taste coming through.
**Do not sub the maple syrup for regular sugar. It is what keeps this cake lovely and moist and fudgy.
***I have not tested this cake with any other flour. If you sub it for another kind you do so at your own risk. I can't recommend spelt flour enough for cakes like this. It gives excellent results.
****Any chocolate chips will work. I like to use semi-sweet ones in this recipe.
Store the Vegan Chocolate Banana Bread in a sealed container. It keeps well for 4 - 5 days but does get a little drier with time.
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DID YOU MAKE THIS RECIPE?
If you did, be a ☆ and let me know what you think by rating it and commenting below. Tag me on Instagram too. I am @avirtualvegan and my hashtag is #avirtualvegan
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Carol says
Hi, Mel… thank you so much for this recipe. It turned out great! I used peanut butter and coconut sugar and baked it in a glass loaf pan. I used cups to measure and had no problem with the results. I love the fudgy quality to it; so delicious. I was also thinking this would make a lovely hostess gift. Looking forward to making it again. Thank you for all of your efforts and for sharing! 🙂 <3
A Virtual Vegan says
You’re so welcome Carol. I’m glad you enjoyed it. And yes it would make a great hostess gift!
Lorraine Howes says
Just made this cake……absolutely gorgeous!
A Virtual Vegan says
Thank you Lorraine!
Riley says
Wow. This is tHE best baanana bread ever. I’ve made it twice in 2 days!
A Virtual Vegan says
Thank you Riley. I’m so pleased you enjoyed it!
Simone says
Just finished baking 3 loaves and …it’s perfect. Thank you for sharing this great recipe xoxo
A Virtual Vegan says
Thank you Simone. I’m so glad you are happy with the recipe and thank you for coming back to leave feedback. It’s much appreciated!
Beth says
This looks delicious and I am wanting to make it as my son’s first birthday smash cake! How long would you bake it for in a cake pan or sheet tray?
A Virtual Vegan says
Thank you. As a cake pan or sheet tray will be shallower it would probably take 25 minutes, maybe 30. Check it around then with a toothpick or knife. If it comes out clean it’s done. If it doesn’t put it back for a few more minutes. Try to make sure the pan you use has a similar volume to a loaf pan of about 9 x 5 inches or adjust the recipe to suit if not so it fits the pan ok. Good luck and I hope he enjoys it!
Dave Cavaliere says
Vegan or not… this Chocolate Banana Bread is absolutely delicious … enjoyed by the whole family
A Virtual Vegan says
Thank you Dave. I’m so glad you all enjoyed it
Sharon says
This recipe was a winner! So delicious. I’m so happy to find a spelt flour bread recipe I used raw cacao and almond butter. Also used Sukrin brown sugar instead of the white sugar. I should have checked it before 50 minutes as it was a tad dry and probably done at 45 minutes. But still so good.
Thank you for this recipe!
A Virtual Vegan says
So glad you enjoyed it Sharon! Spelt flour is my all time favourite so I always use it when I can! Thank you for coming back to leave feedback. It’s much appreciated!
Pili says
I have just made this Vegan Chocolate Banana bread and it is amazing! However even though I followed the recipe to the letter (checked and double checked the measurements) and used the exact ingredients recommended, It turned out quite dry. I didn’t get the “batter” consistency in the mix that you describe. As a result, the bread split on the side when rising and it turned out quite dry. It is still delicious and I have had no complaints from the family 🙂 Any ideas as to where I went wrong?
Thanks
A Virtual Vegan says
I’m glad you enjoyed it despite the dryness. Generally cakes get dry because they are over-baked and this one is definitely better when slightly under-baked as I mention in the directions. Maybe your oven runs a little hotter than mine? Even the tin used can make a difference. If you make it again, check it from about 40 minutes with a toothpick or skewer. Instead of coming out clean like when making most cakes, with this one you want you want it to be set (so you can poke it and it feels firm-ish and springy) but still fudgy inside so the toothpick should NOT come out clean. It should have some chocolatey fudge clinging to it. If after 40 mins it’s still underdone, cook it for another 5 minutes then check again. I think that should make all the difference for you.
This cake does have quite a thick batter because it has no milk added to it so it sounds like that was probably right.
Something else that could affect it is measuring with cups rather than weighing. It is amazing how different every cup is in weight. For accuracy I always recommend weighing. Too much flour might have made it a little drier. You might well have weighed it, but I thought it worth mentioning just in case you didn’t.
I hope that helps!
Bob Antunes says
This looks really delicious and I would love to make it for my wife who is a chocolate lover. Do you think that I could substitute brown rice flour for the spelt flour?
A Virtual Vegan says
I have no experience of baking with rice flour so I have no idea how it would turn out. Sorry. If you try it though let me know how it goes!
Tanya says
Made these for dessert tonight. Did not have any choco chips, but still delicious!! Put them in muffin cups instead of a loaf. Turned out great. This recipie is a keeper!!
A Virtual Vegan says
Thank you Tanya. I’m so glad you enjoyed them!
Mary Brown says
Made this today. SO YUMMY, did not have cashew butter so substituted almond butter, did not have spelt flour so used good old all purpose flour. Baked for 50mins. It is FABULOUS!!!!
A Virtual Vegan says
That’s awesome Mary. I’m so glad you enjoyed it and thank you so much for coming back to leave feedback. It’s much appreciated!