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 Vegan Banana Bread and my Best Vegan Banana Bread recipes. It gets a hefty dose of chocolate added. 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.
And if you don’t have a loaf tin, never fear, because you can make my Healthy Chocolate Banana Muffins version of this recipe instead.
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. 
If you don’t have a stand mixer you can use a hand mixer, or you can pop the bananas in a blender or a food processor. You can even just do it the old fashioned way with a fork but you will need to mash them really, really well.
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).
I bake all of my bread and quick breads in my USA Pan pans. They conduct heat brilliantly and nothing ever sticks.
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!
If you love banana bread flavors, why not try my Vegan Banana Pancakes too?
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:
It has a tare function which is really handy. This means you can place any bowl on the scale and reset to zero so it doesn’t include the weight in it’s calculation, plus you can reset to zero when adding multiple ingredients to the same bowl which saves on washing up. If you do a lot of baking and want optimum results a scale really is a great investment.
Vegan Chocolate Banana Bread
Ingredients
- 3 medium bananas , very ripe & spotty
- 6 tablespoons cashew butter or sunflower seed butter * (almond butter or peanut butter can also be used but their flavour will come through a little).
- 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 nut/sunflower seed 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.
Notes
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 ________________________________________________________
Estimated nutrition per serving:
Long time vegan, creator of A Virtual Vegan & author of the book 
Eleni says
January 31, 2019 at 3:14 pmReally good banana bread – I’ve made the original recipe above and it was perfect! Family loved it!
Then I’ve made it again as a last minute treat to take to a friend. Used peanut butter with coconut oil instead of cashew butter and I didn’t think it was as good. But I’m not a peanut butter lover. So it may work for some.
Kelsang Lamshe says
January 26, 2019 at 3:10 pmI just tried this tonight but the top cracked wrote badly and it’s very crumbly to cut. I used a silicon loaf tin and it spread out sideways quite a lot, could this have caused it? It tastes good though.
A Virtual Vegan says
January 26, 2019 at 4:08 pmI don’t advise using silicone bakeware. It will be why you haven’t had such a good result. It doesn’t have enough structure to support cake-y recipes as they rise, hence the reason it spread out sideways and probably also why it cracked. Silicone also doesn’t conduct heat like a metal pan does and they don’t bake as evenly or as well. I’ve tried silicone pans myself and ended up giving them to the thrift store. Use a metal loaf pan and you will be fine.
Dan says
January 25, 2019 at 12:41 amAny substitute for the sugar in this recipe? Super keen to try it looks great, but trying to cut down on sugar….
A Virtual Vegan says
January 25, 2019 at 12:45 pmSugar is important for the structure in cakes and muffins. If you remove it they likely won’t have the same texture or rise. You might get away with reducing it by a 1/3 though, although I can’t guarantee they will turn out quite so well. And I can’t recommend a substitute without testing it, as it would completely change the recipe and other things would need to be altered too.
Andrea Körn says
January 19, 2019 at 11:46 amHi Mel, I made this banana bread many times and I love it! I always use peanut butter because cashew butter is so expensive. Thank you so much for this recipe!!!
A Virtual Vegan says
January 19, 2019 at 6:53 pmI’m thrilled that you are enjoying the recipe Andrea. I think I need to do a peanut butter version for the blog one day soon!
Andrea says
January 19, 2019 at 11:17 amYummy! I actually used tahini as I had no cashew butter.I baked them for 20 minutes in my silicon muffin pan.They came out fabulous.Thank you
A Virtual Vegan says
January 19, 2019 at 6:54 pmOoo I bet tahini was lovely. It works so well with chocolate. I need to try that!
Deb says
January 11, 2019 at 4:32 amHi Mel, what brand of cashew butter do you use? My butters are difficult to stir and are dry when I reach the bottom of the jar. Thanks. Recipe looks delish, will have one in the oven by lunch.
A Virtual Vegan says
January 11, 2019 at 12:03 pmI tend to buy Nuts To You Cashew Butter. It’s one of the only brands that is widely available here. As soon as I open my nut butters, I give them a really good stir with a knife, then I store them upside down (lid down). That way by the time you get to the end of the jar it will have been flipped around enough times for the oil to continually redistribute and keep the nut butter hydrated and smooth throughout. Thats the theory anyway. It does seem to help. Oh and don’t keep it in the fridge. It stays better just in the pantry.
Denise says
January 6, 2019 at 9:33 pmMade this yesterday, superbly delicious. Going down a storm with the family. A great way to use up over ripe bananas (though actually on this occasion I bought extra bananas with a strict instruction that 3 must be left to over ripen for me to use in this recipe ????????).
A Virtual Vegan says
January 6, 2019 at 10:36 pmThank you so much Denise. I’m thrilled you are all enjoying it so much!
Pam says
December 27, 2018 at 12:39 pmThis chocolate banana bread is sooo delicious! Made it last week and it turned out fabulous. I had to chuckle at your saying it will keep for 4-5 days. As if it would last that long! My non-vegan husband gobbled it up. I used a combination of peanut butter and almond butter this time and all almond butter the previous time. Perfect each time. Gooey chocolate deliciousness! This recipe is a winner. Thanks :)
A Virtual Vegan says
December 28, 2018 at 5:56 pmI’m so pleased you are enjoying it Pam. And I’m glad it’s not just us that polishes it off in a ridiculously short time!
Michelle says
November 11, 2018 at 12:24 pmI have just made this and this is my first Vegan cake and it is absolutely beautiful.
I will definitely make again.
Yummy
A Virtual Vegan says
November 11, 2018 at 4:35 pmThat’s great Michelle. I’m so glad it turned out well for you!
Kellie says
November 10, 2018 at 11:15 amDangerously delicious! Made it with white whole wheat flour instead of spelt and used frozen bananas. Came out perfect! Will be making this soon & often. Thank you!!!
Genevieve M says
August 30, 2018 at 7:17 amThis is by far and above my family’s favorite banana bread! (and I’ve made a ton of banana bread over the years) I’ve made this at least a half dozen times in the past few months and it gets gobbled up immediately by my husband and kids. Thanks for the great recipe!
A Virtual Vegan says
August 30, 2018 at 10:15 amYay! That’s so good to hear. Thank you Genevieve. I’m thrilled you and your family are enjoying it!
Carol says
August 1, 2018 at 3:42 pmHi, 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
August 1, 2018 at 8:53 pmYou’re so welcome Carol. I’m glad you enjoyed it. And yes it would make a great hostess gift!
Lorraine Howes says
July 30, 2018 at 8:29 amJust made this cake……absolutely gorgeous!
A Virtual Vegan says
July 30, 2018 at 8:57 pmThank you Lorraine!
Riley says
July 26, 2018 at 10:29 pmWow. This is tHE best baanana bread ever. I’ve made it twice in 2 days!
A Virtual Vegan says
July 27, 2018 at 11:03 amThank you Riley. I’m so pleased you enjoyed it!
Simone says
July 26, 2018 at 10:28 pmJust finished baking 3 loaves and …it’s perfect. Thank you for sharing this great recipe xoxo
A Virtual Vegan says
July 26, 2018 at 11:37 pmThank 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
July 25, 2018 at 7:55 pmThis 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
July 25, 2018 at 8:41 pmThank 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
July 7, 2018 at 6:45 amVegan or not… this Chocolate Banana Bread is absolutely delicious … enjoyed by the whole family
A Virtual Vegan says
July 7, 2018 at 9:18 pmThank you Dave. I’m so glad you all enjoyed it
Sharon says
March 5, 2018 at 1:18 pmThis 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
March 5, 2018 at 1:45 pmSo 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
February 28, 2018 at 6:29 amI 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
March 5, 2018 at 1:39 pmI’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
February 19, 2018 at 3:38 pmThis 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
February 19, 2018 at 5:06 pmI 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
February 17, 2018 at 6:19 pmMade 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
February 17, 2018 at 8:56 pmThank you Tanya. I’m so glad you enjoyed them!
Mary Brown says
February 9, 2018 at 4:10 pmMade 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
February 11, 2018 at 11:20 amThat’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!