A thick slice of this fruity vegan banana bread is good to go for breakfast or a snack. Enjoy it on its own or with Creamy Corn Butter.

You can freeze the bread for up to three months: Allow to cool completely first. Wrap entire loaf tightly in plastic wrap and aluminum foil. Or wrap individual slices in foil and place in a large freezer-safe zip-top bag. 

Looking for more banana recipes? Give these ripe banana recipes a try.

Ingredients

  • 4 ripe bananas
  • ½ cup unsweetened, unflavored plant milk, such as almond, soy, cashew, or rice
  • 4 teaspoons apple cider vinegar
  • 4 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
  • 2 cups whole wheat flour
  • ¼ cup pure cane sugar
  • 1 tablespoon regular or sodium-free baking powder
  • ⅛ teaspoon sea salt
  • ½ cup chopped dried figs
  • ¼ cup chopped walnuts

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 350°F. Line a 9×5-inch loaf pan with parchment paper.
  • In a medium bowl mash bananas with a fork. Stir in milk, vinegar, and vanilla.
  • In a large bowl stir together flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Add banana mixture all at once to flour mixture. Stir just until moistened (batter should be lumpy). Fold in figs and walnuts.
  • Pour batter into the prepared loaf pan. Bake 1 hour or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool in pan on a wire rack 10 minutes. Remove from pan; cool completely on rack.
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Comments (54)

(5 from 19 votes)

Recipe Rating

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Ashleigh Stam

This has been my go-to banana bread recipe for a couple years now. I love the simplicity and that it uses predominantly pantry items (no applesauce, yay!!). I always switch up the mix ins depending on what I have. I've used dates, figs and sultanas. Walnuts, almonds and pecans. Choc chips and coconut shreds. You can really add anything that you fancy. I use 4-5 bananas depending on what I have and their size. I made this recipe last night again with 5 super overripe homegrown bananas and it turned out so banana-ey, moist and incredibly tasty. The 4tsp of vanilla extract seems like a lot but it really completes the flavour of the bread. In the past I've tried 2tsp vanilla extract and 2tsp almond extract and it worked out amazingly! I use either oat or soy milk for this recipe and white all purpose flour instead of whole wheat.

Carrie

I made this today with a few modifications! I only had 3 ripe bananas, I used einkorn flour, brown sugar, exchanged figs for 5 dates chopped! Taste phenomenal! Thanks

Rose Kawalec

I thought that when I made it all of my family loved it but said that when I tried making it with dairy milk it tasted better. Rose age 9.

JR

Bland, rubbery, and dry. I’m an experienced home cook and I followed the recipe to the letter, and it still turned out poorly. I’m glad it turned out well for other people, but my loaf went in the trash.

CHANA POLLACK

4 tsps of vanilla seems excessive? Please advise. Thanks.

Steph

Delicious! So glad I made this, it came out perfect.

Julie

This is my all time favorite bread! It has so much flavor. It's like a treat to have a piece.

Andrea

This is SO tasty! It’s exactly what I was hoping for, soft and flavorful. I used oat flour and coconut sugar and omitted nuts and figs, and it worked great. Next time I’ll try without the sugar because I’m pretty sure it’ll still be delish.

Shirley

I use a pampered chef 4 loaf pan (using only 3) for 35 minutes and it’s perfect. I substitute oat flour and use different dried fruit and occasional add shredded coconut- so it’s a great base recipe for any treat.

Lynde

Can I substitute applesauce for the cane sugar?

Marion

I'm not FOK but if you use applesauce I would reduce the amount of banana so it's not too wet. I see others are omitting sugar though, and I'll probably use date sugar. :)

Kim

Horrible gummy bread that never truly baked inside, even though i left it in for longer. Just a waste of my ingredients. Skip this.

Yvonne Renoult

Since cane sugar is not such a good thing, why didn’t FOK use or at least suggest an alternative?

Wendy

My bread is done but didn't brown! I double checked the recipe and I didn't forget anything. Help!8

Leslie Vassallo

I did not understand the sugar either.Is cane sugar a whole food?? A plant based food?

Megan Edwards

Hi Leslie, In some cases we recommend using a small amount of cane sugar (or white flour.) While these ingredients are processed, we think that the payoff in taste and texture is worth using them sparingly because a little really does go a long way. If you want to omit the cane sugar in this recipe, you could replace it with coconut sugar or date sugar. Let us know how it goes!

Carol Starkey

I made a mistake with my previous comment, forgot to add the word "out" to with to make the word without. I meant to say the banana bread was fine without the sugar added because of the sugar in the fruit. Carol Starkey

John Billings

Where is the nutrition information?

Lynde Paule

Can this be made without sugar? I am on Esselstyn heart diet.

Carol Starkey

I have made these breads with the sugar listed and they turned out fine! There is a lot of sugar in the fruit.

Doreen Nestell-Burt

Is there a substitute for the wheat flour that works I can not have gluten.

Karen

Use almond flour or Paleo Flour!

patti

is there a way to use fresh figs instead of dried? I have a bunch out on my fig tree right now.

Mela

I have a fig tree with a bumper crop right now. Any suggestions for changes if using fresh figs? Maybe less plant milk?

Debbie

Given that bananas vary greatly in size, why wouldn’t you give the measurement for mashed banana in cups? This is pretty basic.

Suzanna

I agree that a volume or weight measurement would have been helpful in this recipe. I had five smaller, ripe bananas that needed to be used up. I omitted the sugar. This bread was good but still too sweet for my tastes. I can't imagine adding any additional sweetener.

DocDO

4 medium bananas is approximately 2 cups of mashed banana

K McWherte

This was delicious! I used chopped dates and substituted brown sugar for cane sugar. I used the walnuts also. It as moist and delicious. Perfectly risen and flavored. I love there is no egg and oil!

Nicole F.

Love this recipe! Easy to make and tastes delicious. Great grab and go breakfast or snack.

alecia flores

I made it GF & mostly vegan using oat half/half, & gluten free flour, but I had to use pecans since I had them. The oat half/half worked great. My gf family absolutely loved it.

Aarti Jaishankar

Figs are not vegan

Nicole

Why? They are from a tree.

Jean

Eating WFPB isn't the same being as vegan. I'm not concerned about accidentally eating the little wasps that pollinate figs.

Chris

Most figs grown in the US are self-pollinating and do not contain wasps and are therefore vegan.

Marion

I'm sure any dry fruit will work, such as raisins or dates

Stephanie D.

Great recipe, not too sweet! I'm be making it again soon, the bananas are ripening!

Regina Harris

Instead of 2 cups of whole wheat flour can I use 1 cup whole wheat and 1 cup vital wheat gluten?

Stephanie D.

Worth the try, you may need to adjust the liquid. I'm not sure if the wheat gluten absorbs more of not.

Noemi

I would not substitute a whole cup of gluten for a cup of flour. Plus, this is a "quick bread" that does not need a lot of gluten.

James

I admit I was a little doubtful at first because of the amount of baking powder and apple cider vinegar in the recipe, but I was pleasantly surprised. It has a nice crispy top crust and moist interior. The figs add a nice variety to the bread and I look forward to making more.

Asia

I've always had a problem with my banana breads not rising properly. Holy cow, this one did not disappoint. Plus its so delicious, simple and clean! Love it, will definitely make again.

Sharon

Can I use date paste instead of date sugar?I have been given some date paste and am not sure what to do with it

J

I made this yesterday and both my aunt and I love it! Added almonds instead because I didn't have walnuts and I didn't add the dates. 10/10 would make again. I'm trying to go vegan so when I saw it I ran. My only concern is when cooled it's not as moist as I'd like and the flavor of the WHF is strong. But it's not overbearing. I'm definitely heating this up with some icecream tonight!

Mary

Love this bread. It is my staple. Curbes all biscuit and sugar cravings,

Denise

This is an easy and delicious recipe. My husband loves it so I make it frequently.

Mary Grace Tejero

I would really love this for breakfast! This Peach Bread Recipe also gives the same vibe :) https://veganglobetrotter.com/delicious-peach-breakfast-bread-3-favorites/

Michele

This was nicer than what I expected. It was moist and nicely browned. I wonder if rolled oats could have been used instead, and what was the purpose of the vinegar? I used Swerve sweetner because that is what was on the shelf. I would definitely make this again.

sylvie torok-nagy

Can the figs be substituted with dates?

Shirls

No harm in trying

Cathy Jardine

This Banana-Fig Bread is very good but I was wondering if I could make muffins this time, with this receipe. Thanks, Cathy Jardine

Dawn

Overall, quite good. It rose beautifully, which was a pleasant surprise after some of the vegan loaf recipes I have tried in the past. 4/5 stars only because after baking until done based on the toothpick test and lightly browned on the outside, the inside of the loaf was still moister than what I personally prefer.

Michelle

We are not a dairy free or refined sugar free household, so I made this recipe with cow's milk and white sugar, but this was wonderfully moist and made the whole house smell delicious! The figs and walnuts added great texture and flavors!

Noesari

Can the sugar be eliminated?

Janet Hanley

Yes! Do not use pure sugar cane. Use date sugar only which is dried dates that have been pulverized. Dates in their dried state do not raise blood sugar. You can cut back the volume to 1/4 cup if you like.

About the Author

Headshot of Darshana Thacker

About the Author

Darshana Thacker Wendel

Darshana Thacker Wendel is a whole-food, plant-based chef and former culinary projects manager for Forks Over Knives. A graduate of the Natural Gourmet Institute, she is the author of Forks Over Knives: Flavor! She created the recipes for Forks Over Knives Family and was a lead recipe contributor to the New York Times bestseller The Forks Over Knives Plan. Her recipes have been published in The Prevent and Reverse Heart Disease Cookbook, Forks Over Knives—The Cookbook, Forks Over Knives: The Plant-Based Way to Health, and LA Yoga magazine online. Visit DarshanasKitchen.com and follow her on Instagram for more.
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