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    Home » Recipes » Breakfast

    Easy Dairy-Free Banana Bread

    Published: Jan 20, 2023 by Kristi · This post may contain affiliate links

    Jump to Recipe Print Recipe

    Let me show you how to make this incredibly flavorful and moist dairy-free banana bread with just one bowl and simple ingredients, like white whole wheat flour and maple syrup. This will be your new 'go to' for a quick breakfast or after school snack because it's so easy and (delicious!).

    One loaf of banana bread in a loaf pan. Half of the banana bread is topped with walnut pieces and chocolate chips.
    Half with and half without chocolate chips and walnuts pieces!

    Just like my whole wheat pumpkin bread, this pumpkin bread is made with white whole wheat flour. Sorry, not sorry;)

    Am I the only one who buys way more bananas than we can eat just so I can be sure I'll have some extra ripe bananas to bake with, or freeze? If I am, then there's a tip for you!

    In fact, I've heard that some people actually hide bananas in a cupboard just so they know they'll have bananas that are too ripe to eat as is. A cost saving tip here would be to check out the discount produce section in your grocery store first. Oftentimes ripe bananas are placed with outdated produce at a discounted price.

    Either way, thankfully bananas are inexpensive, and there's little food waste as long as you know what to do with them once they are too ripe. I either whip up this easy banana bread recipe, make muffins (like my banana carrot muffins), or freeze over-ripe bananas so I can use them to make a smoothie with banana or a strawberry-banana smoothie bowl.

    There are so many possibilities that I decided to write a post that rounds up over twenty ripe banana recipes. But I digress. Let's get to this recipe!

    Jump to:
    • Why You'll Love This Recipe
    • Ingredient Notes
    • How to Make Dairy-Free Banana Bread
    • Expert Tips
    • Dietitian Mom Tips
    • Questions You May Have
    • More Recipes That Use Overripe Bananas
    • Easy Dairy-Free Banana Bread

    Why You'll Love This Recipe

    • One bowl.
    • Quick and easy recipe.
    • Dairy-Free (no milk, butter, or sour cream like many traditional recipes call for).
    • Easy way to use overripe bananas.
    • Naturally sweetened with ripe bananas and maple syrup.
    • High in fiber which will help you feel full longer.
    • Classic banana bread without refined sugar.

    Ingredient Notes

    Dairy-Free Banana Bread Ingredients labeled. One bunch of ripe bananas, water, maple syrup, flour, and olive oil in separate white measuring cups, vanilla in a small white prep container, baking soda and salt in a small white prep container, and two brown eggs.

    This whole wheat and dairy-free banana bread is made with basic ingredients that can be found in most pantries. Here are a few notes about some of the ingredients.

    • Bananas Use very ripe or overripe bananas to add natural sweetness and to give the bread extra moisture.
    • White Whole Wheat Flour Light in texture, mild in flavor, and it has a similar nutrition profile to traditional whole wheat flour.
    • Maple syrup Used in place of refined sugar to give this quick bread the sweetness everyone expects from classic banana bread.

    How to Make Dairy-Free Banana Bread

    Collage with four process shots. Top left: mashed bananas with a food masher in a white bowl. Top right: batter all mixed together. Bottom left: banana bread batter in a loaf pan. Bottom right: Banana bread batter topped with walnut pieces and chocolate chips in a loaf pan.
    1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit.
    2. In a medium or large mixing bowl, mash the overripe banana with a fork or food masher.
    3. Add all other ingredients to the mashed banana and mix well.
    4. Pour batter into a lightly greased loaf pan.
    5. Optional: top with walnut pieces and/or chocolate chips.
    6. Bake for 55-60 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the banana bread comes out clean.

    Expert Tips

    • Do not pack the flour into the measuring cup. Use the 'scoop and sweep' method for measuring flour. To do this, use a spoon to place flour into the measuring cup and then level it with a knife.
    • If you are using a convection oven, either reduce the baking time by 25% (so, check it at 42 minutes) or bake it at 300 degrees (instead of 325).
    • You may use milk instead of water if you really want to.
    • If you don't have white whole wheat flour, you can use all-purpose flour instead.
    • To make this a vegan recipe, just leave the egg out. The banana bread won't rise as much, but it will still form a nice loaf and taste just as good.

    Dietitian Mom Tips

    I'm not the only one who finds it hard to please everyone, right? Lol. And it's especially hard to keep thinking of ideas of what to keep on hand that will make a quick and nourishing breakfast or after school snack that tweens and teens will actually eat (and not complain about;).

    That's where quick breads, like this banana bread, come in handy. Most quick bread recipes are low in fiber and loaded with sugar, but they don't have to be.

    Using whole grain flour in place of some or all of the flour in a recipe is an easy way to increase the amount of fiber in a recipe. And using sweet and smooth fruit (like mashed bananas or applesauce) is an easy way to increase the amount of sweetness without having to add loads of sugar.

    As for trying to please everyone... in our family we've got one that doesn't like "anything" in their banana bread, they just want it plain. The rest of us (yep, even me:) prefer if it has even just a hint of chocolate. Here are a few tips on how to navigate this:

    • If some, but not all, of your family members likes nuts and or chocolate chips in their banana bread, top half with walnut pieces and chocolate chips and leave the other half plain.
    • For even more chocolate chips and crunch in only half of the loaf, top a portion of the batter with nuts or chocolate chips and press them down into the batter using a knife, fork, or spoon. Then top the same portion with even more.
    One loaf of banana bread with three slices to the right of the unsliced portion on a white rectangle plate. A paring knife with a blue  handle is shown slicing the piece closest to the rest of the unsliced loaf.

    Questions You May Have

    Is this recipe vegan?

    No, this recipe is not vegan as written because it contains egg. Still, I have accidentally left egg out of this and my whole wheat pumpkin bread recipe, and they both still turned out great.

    Can this recipe be made with gluten-free flour?

    That's a great question. I have not tried making this with a gluten-free flour. If you give it a try, please let me know how it turns out!

    Why is my banana bread not moist?

    You may have mismeasured one of the ingredients or, perhaps you packed the measuring cups with flour instead of using the 'scoop and sweep' method as described in the note section.

    How do you store banana bread?

    This banana bread can be stored at room temperature for up to three days or refrigerated for up to five days. It can also be stored in the freezer. Let it cool completely and place it in a freezer-safe and air-tight resealable bag before freezing.

    Did you or your teenager make this recipe and love it? If so, please give this a 5-star rating and/or comment. It's the biggest compliment!

    And I'd love it if you'd take a picture of your delicious banana bread and tag me on Instagram so I can see it!

    More Recipes That Use Overripe Bananas

    • Banana Carrot Muffins with Raisins
    • Strawberry Peanut Butter Smoothie for Kids
    • Zucchini Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins
    • Strawberry-Banana Baked Oatmeal
    One loaf of banana bread topped with walnut pieces and chocolate chips, partially sliced with a paring knife that has a blue handle.

    Easy Dairy-Free Banana Bread

    Kristi
    This easy and delicious dairy-free banana bread is made with simple, easy to find ingredients like white whole wheat flour and maple syrup and requires just one bowl for mixing. It's so good, you'll want to serve it with breakfast and as an after-school snack!
    5 from 2 votes
    Print Recipe Pin Recipe
    Prep Time 10 mins
    Cook Time 1 hr
    Total Time 1 hr 10 mins
    Course Breakfast, Snack
    Cuisine American
    Servings 12
    Calories 172 kcal

    Equipment

    • 1 Mixing bowl
    • measuring cups and spoons
    • 1 Loaf pan
    • 1 Food masher

    Ingredients
      

    • 3 Bananas Very ripe and medium in size.
    • 1¾ cup white whole wheat flour I use King Arthur flour
    • ½ cup maple syrup pure maple syrup
    • ¼ cup olive oil extra virgin
    • ⅓ cup water
    • 2 eggs lightly whisked.
    • 1 teaspoon vanilla
    • 1 teaspoon baking soda
    • ½ teaspoon salt

    Instructions
     

    • Preheat oven to 325° Fahrenheit.
    • Line a loaf pan with parchment paper or lightly coat it with oil.
    • Mash the bananas in a mixing bowl, using a fork or food masher.
    • Add the rest of the ingredients to the mashed bananas. Mix well. The batter will be lumpy.
    • Pour batter into the loaf pan.
    • Optional: top with walnut pieces and / or chocolate chips.
    • Bake in the oven at 325°F for one hour. This bread may need an additional five minutes in the oven. It is done when a toothpick comes out clean.
    • Let cool completely before slicing to serve.

    Notes

    Use the back side of a fork or food masher to mash the bananas well. There will still be some lumps when you are done mashing.
    You do not have to add the ingredients in any particular order in order for the recipe to turn out well. However, adding the wet ingredients first makes mixing in the dry ingredients easier.
    Use the 'scoop and sweep' method for measuring flour for this recipe. Do not use a packed cup of flour. Use a spoon to put flour in a measuring cup then level it off with the flat side of a knife.
    If some of your family members like nuts and / or chocolate in their banana bread, but others do not, just top half of the loaf with walnut pieces and / or chocolate chips and either press them into the batter or leave them on top and bake it as is. 
    White whole wheat flour can be substituted for all-purpose flour or whole wheat flour (traditional or einkorn). The texture of the bread will change if the flour is substituted, but the flavor will still be great.
    To make this vegan (egg-free), just leave the eggs out. I've made it this way, and although it didn't rise as much, it still tasted fantastic!

    Nutrition

    Calories: 172kcalCarbohydrates: 28gProtein: 4gFat: 6gSaturated Fat: 1gPolyunsaturated Fat: 1gMonounsaturated Fat: 4gTrans Fat: 0.003gCholesterol: 27mgSodium: 200mgPotassium: 166mgFiber: 3gSugar: 12gVitamin A: 58IUVitamin C: 3mgCalcium: 32mgIron: 1mg
    Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!

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    Kristi Ruth wearing a green long sleeved blouse and jeans, holding tri-colored carrots plated on a white oval platter with one hand and leaning on the counter with the other hand in a kitchen.
    Welcome! Kristi is a Registered Dietitian and busy mom of three, ages 7-15. After being displaced from a housefire in 2021, Kristi decided to say 'goodbye' to her long commute so she could turn her passion for sharing easy recipes and tips to help you learn what it means to feed your family well with less stress into a reality. Let's get cooking!

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