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Here’s another tasty variation on classic banana bread– this is vegan chocolate chip banana bread! It’s an ultra moist, banana-y breakfast bread dotted with delicious little fugdy bites of chocolate throughout it.
Vegan chocolate chip banana bread is a cinch to make- no strange ingredients or methods! We’ll walk you through how to make it and offer up loads of tips for vegan banana bread success.
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Ingredients
A quick rundown of the pantry essentials and star ingredients you’ll need to bring this beauty to life.
Bananas: This recipe is pretty flexible- as long as you have 2-4 extra ripe bananas, you’re ready to roll.
Chocolate Chips: Here’s the magic in this recipe! Little chocolatey, fudgy pockets scattered across the loaf 🙂 Use regular vegan chocolate chips, mini-chips, or a finely chopped bakers bar.
Flour: This recipe has only been tested with all-purpose flour, although we have made other banana bread variations with 1:1 GF flour and oat flour.
Sugar: We used cane sugar in this recipe however, brown sugar, white sugar, or coconut sugar should all work out.
Baking Soda & Baking Powder: Baking soda is activated in this recipe by the banana to provide lift. Baking powder helps as well as this vegan loaf doesn’t have eggs. Baking soda assists with browning– most banana baked goods have an ultra-golden brown exterior thanks to baking soda!
Butter or Oil: Melted vegan butter has a better flavor and texture in our opinion but use oil if you prefer.
Vanilla: Chocolate and vanilla are BFFs for life, right? Definitely add some vanilla extract here and go for the good stuff when using vanilla, it makes a huge difference!
How To Make Vegan Chocolate Chip Banana Bread
This chocolate chip banana bread is made and baked like all our other banana breads! Classic vegan banana bread, chocolate banana bread, and even peanut butter banana bread.
For the wet ingredients: Peel and mash the bananas very thoroughly. Add the melted butter and vanilla extract and mix together.
For the dry: Sprinkle flour, sugar, salt, baking powder, and baking soda across the top of the wet ingredients and stir gently until just combined. Fold in the chocolate chips and your batter is ready!
Baking: We like to line the loaf pan with parchment for easy removal and bake in the center rack of a 350* oven.
Leave the loaf to cool for 15-20 minutes for it to firm up and make slicing easier. Vegan banana bread doesn’t have eggs (which provide structure) so it is a bit more delicate.
How To Tell When Banana Bread Is Done
The classic ‘toothpick test’ can be a bit more involved in baked goods with chocolate chips. If you stick the toothpick right into a melty chocolate chip it can look a little like wet batter. If this happens, try a toothpick in a few different areas of the center of the loaf. When an inserted toothpick is removed with no batter, it’s ready!
Banana bread can take anywhere from 45-70 minutes to fully bake! Many factors are at play.
Additional things to note on checking doneness:
#1 Look at the edges of the loaf, they should have pulled inward from the pan a bit and feel firm/set.
#2 Banana bread always gets a crack down the center as air escapes, the area around this crack is usually last to cook up as the crack runs through the center. If this area is still doughy, it’s not ready.
#3 The amount of bananas you use plays a part here! More mashed banana = a wetter dough and more moisture to cook out. This is ok, just keep in mind banana bread can take anywhere from 45-70 minutes!
#4 The size of the loaf pan you bake in. There are two very common loaf pan sizes: 8×4 and 9×5. The 9×5 pans create shorter, wider loaves that cook up a bit quicker. An 8×4 pan takes longer as it’s a taller loaf! (which we prefer)
#5 The material of the pan! A light-colored metal pan is ideal for all your baking projects as light-colored metal evenly distributes heat and cooks things most evenly. For dark metal or glass pans, the heat transfer is more intense- meaning the edges will cook up faster than the center. If using a metal or glass pan you may need to kick down the temp by 25* or tent the loaf with aluminum foil for the last 10-20 minutes if you notice the edges becoming too dark or dry.
Storing Chocolate Chip Banana Bread
Vegan chocolate chip banana bread will stay good for up to 4 days at room temp. The loaf’s taste and texture are best the first 2 days. We recommend storing the loaf in a Tupperware with the lid slightly ajar so the top doesn’t get sticky. Or you can store it in a sealed tupperware in the fridge.
Banana bread freezes excellently and is such a lifesaver to have breakfast ready in the freezer! Wait for loaves to come completely to room temperature (4-6 hours) then wrap them several times with plastic wrap and store them in a plastic bag in the freezer to prevent freezer burn.
To reheat, remove the plastic wrap and place the frozen loaf on a sheet pan (or loaf pan) and tent with foil. Bake in a 325* oven for about 30 minutes, until the center is warm. BOOM!
In recipe testing many loaves of banana bread, we had frozen banana bread for WEEKS and always used this method to reheat it. (think: marbled banana bread, oatmeal banana bread, and 2-banana banana bread)
Vegan Chocolate Chip Banana Bread FAQs
- How to make sure chocolate chips are evenly mixed? If you fold the chocolate chips into the batter, they should mix right in! You can also sprinkle chocolate chips on top of the loaf.
- Can I use a chocolate bar cut into big chunks? Chocolate chunks work. As this recipe is vegan and doesn’t have eggs, the structure is a little more delicate. Chocolate chunks and the big melty pockets they create can make slices of banana bread more crumbly, for fork eating vs. hand holding.
- What’s the difference between using butter and using oil? While you can use either interchangeably, oil makes a moister banana bread that has a shorter shelf life. It could be a bit gummier as vegan banana bread recipes don’t have eggs. Using melted butter adds better flavor and still provides moisture, but just the right amount. Banana bread using melted butter holds up better being stored.
Vegan Chocolate Chip Banana Bread
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 55 minutes
- Total Time: 65 minutes
- Yield: 1 loaf 1x
- Category: Vegan Recipes
- Method: Oven
- Cuisine: American
- Diet: Vegan
Description
Vegan chocolate chip banana bread is a simply delish vegan breakfast, snack, or dessert! We’ll walk you through all the tips and tricks on how to make a perfect loaf of chocolate chip banana bread.
Ingredients
Wet Ingredients:
- 3–4 peeled bananas* note
- 1/3 cup melted butter or neutral flavored oil* note
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Dry Ingredients:
- 1.5 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup cane sugar (white, brown, or coconut sugar also works)
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup chocolate chips
Instructions
- Mix the wet ingredients. Add peeled bananas to a medium-sized mixing bowl and mash very well. Add vanilla extract and melted butter and mix to incorporate.
- Sprinkle dry ingredients across the top of the wet. Mix until just combined. Fold chocolate chips into the batter.
- Line a loaf pan with parchment paper and pour the batter in. Bake in a pre-heated 350* oven for 55-65 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the middle removes clean and has no wet batter.
- If using a 9×5 loaf pan, the loaf will take less time to cook. Begin to check at the 45-minute mark.
- If using a dark metal or glass pan, you may need to dial back the temp 25* as these pans tend to cook up the edges faster than the center.
- If using a large amount of bananas, the loaf will take longer to cook! Banana bread can take up to 70 minutes to complete cooking.
- Leave the loaf to cool in the pan for 15-20 minutes before removing and slicing for best results. The loaf will firm up a bit as it cools.
Notes
There are two very common loaf pan sizes: 8×4 and 9×5. The 9×5 pans create shorter, wider loaves that cook up a bit quicker. An 8×4 pan takes longer as it’s a taller loaf!
On Bananas: If using 4 large bananas, the loaf may take a bit longer to cook. If using smaller or fewer bananas, you may need to add a small splash of milk to help the batter come together appropriately. Splash meaning 1-2 tablespoons! The batter should be thick but not resistant to incorporating all dry spots of flour in.
Oil vs Butter: Melted butter makes banana bread with a better flavor and texture. Using oil creates a very moist banana bread but it may have a gummier consistency.
Keywords: Vegan Chocolate Chip Banana Bread
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