Moist Vegan Aquafaba Banana Bread

This easy moist vegan aquafaba banana bread is not your everyday light and airy bland variety. It is dark, spiced, rich, moist, and dairy-free, but with a perfect crumb, and super easy to make.

Why you’ll love it

• It’s vegan.
• It uses simple economical ingredients, like aquafaba!
• It has a moist tender crumb.
• It’s dark and spiced and a little sticky and just not your average banana bread.
• It’s incredibly easy to make.

For those of us who like our banana bread with a side of double chocolate, I suggest this equally easy vegan chocolate banana bread. For those who like a fruitier lighter touch, vegan strawberry bread might be right up your alley.

Ingredients

You’ll need just ten easy-to-find ingredients for this recipe. Have a quick glance at the image below to check what you need, and scroll on down to see whether any substitutions can be made.

Cinnamon: I use dried ground cinnamon in this recipe. If you don’t like cinnamon you can omit it or substitute it with dried ground ginger which will pair nicely with the nutmeg.

Nutmeg: I use dried ground nutmeg, if you use freshly ground halve the amount, and make sure it’s ground not grated. You can omit if you don’t have any or don’t like it, or substitute it with dried ground ginger.

Oil: Any plain flavorless oil such as sunflower, corn, or canola will do.

Salt: I don’t recommend omitting this as it adds firmness and balances the flavors.

Baking soda: Also known as bicarbonate of soda, make sure it’s reasonably fresh and hasn’t been sitting in your cupboard for over a year. If you don’t have any to hand you can use triple the amount of baking powder instead (so three teaspoons).

Brown sugar: Use any type of brown sugar you prefer, light, dark, demerara, or turbinado. I don’t recommend using muscovado as it can be quite overpowering in baked goods. White sugar can be used as a last resort but your banana bread won’t be as dark and moist.

Bananas: Use medium or large bananas, small ones won’t cut it. Spotted brown overripe bananas are best for making this banana bread but if you’re like me and never have them to hand, you can microwave or bake (I baked the ones in the photo) slightly underripe bananas (see more in my expert tips section below).

Vanilla extract: Lovely with the molasses note from the brown sugar but can be omitted or substituted with rum extract or banana extract.

Aquafaba: This is the starchy viscous water that cooked chickpeas are stored in. You can find it in canned chickpeas, jarred chickpeas, or cooked chickpeas. Note that if you used a lot of liquid for cooking your chickpeas, the aquafaba won’t be strong enough. A necessity for this recipe, it really helps denser quickbreads hold together.

All-purpose flour: Plain white all-purpose flour is the best blank canvas for all the tastiness going on here. If you really must have some wholemeal flour, you can use it but only half the amount – quickbreads like banana bread are not as firm as yeast bread and the more wholemeal you use, the crumblier your bread will be.

How to make it

1. Preheat the oven to 350F (180C). Grab a large mixing bowl. Peel and add the three ripe bananas to the bowl along with the vanilla extract, oil, and aquafaba.
2. Either mash very well and mix the ingredients or use a handheld blender to blend them. I prefer using a blender as it emulsifiers everything really well and gets rid of any lumps.

3. Get another mixing bowl, and add all the dry ingredients to it (the salt flour, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, and brown sugar).
4. Grab a wooden spoon and mix the dry ingredients very well.
5. Make a well in the dry ingredients and pour the wet ingredients into it. Mix well until just combined, making sure to scrape the bottom of the bowl for any dry patches. Do not overmix the batter as this toughens quickbreads.

6. Grease a 1½ pound loaf tin (10 x 5 x 3 inches) with some margarine or a little oil. Tip the banana bread mix in and smooth the top with a wooden spoon or your hand dampened with a little water. Place the tin on a shelf in the lower half of the oven and bake for one hour, covering it with tented aluminum foil for the last fifteen minutes.

Once done, take out the bread and pierce with a wooden skewer or cocktail stick in the middle. If it comes blackout coated with batter you’ll need to return the banana bread to the oven until done. If it comes out clean, your banana bread is done.

Allow your banana bread to cool in the tin, covered with a slightly damp tea towel. While it’s yummy to eat warm, be aware that your banana bread will be easier to slice if you allow it to cool completely. Then just use a bread knife to loosen the sides of the tin and gently tip it out.

Eat straight away or tightly wrap with aluminum foil and store in the fridge for up to five days. Enjoy!

Equipment notes

To make this recipe you’ll only need a few things:

• Two medium or large mixing bowls.
• A wooden spoon or spatula for mixing.
• Measuring cups and teaspoons.
• A handheld blender (optional, can mash the wet ingredients together with a fork instead).
• A 1½ pound loaf tin (10 x 5 x 3 inches). A slightly smaller 1¼ tin will do in a pinch. You can use a larger tin but the top of your loaf will be somewhat flat.

Expert tips

• Unripe bananas? Browned bananas are the best for making banana bread, as they’re much softer and sweeter, but you CAN make it with unripe bananas. Either bake your bananas whole at 300ºF for 30-40 minutes, or peel them, break them into chunks, and microwave uncovered on high for two minutes.
• Covering quickbreads with a damp tea towel while they are cooling keeps the crust from stiffening too much and results in a softer moister bread.
• Tenting this aquafaba banana bread with foil is necessary to stop the sticky crust from burning or over-browning, but make sure the foil doesn’t touch the top of your bread or it will affect the rounded shape.
• Banana bread is yummy all by itself but you can also warm it up or toast it and serve it topped with vegan custard, a pat of vegan butter, or ice cream.

Frequently Asked Questions

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