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Vegan Peanut Butter banana bread is a super tasty spin on banana bread! If you love peanut butter, this recipe is sure to win you over. The smell of this loaf baking fills the house with delicious roasty toasty peanut butter smells =]
You can use up to 3/4 cup of peanut butter if you’re a PB superfan! We tested this recipe with both creamy peanut butter and crunchy peanut butter and you may use either. Let’s do it.
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Ingredients For Peanut Butter Banana Bread
Making a loaf of vegan peanut Butter Banana Bread is super simple! This is a beginner-friendly recipe that anyone can make. There are no flax eggs. No vegan buttermilk. No strange ingredients to stress about. Just simple whole foods that happen to be vegan =]
- Bananas: This recipe is pretty flexible- as long as you have 3-4 extra ripe bananas, you’re ready to roll. The more bananas you use, the more banana flavor you’ll get! You can even use as little as 2 bananas to make banana bread.
- Peanut Butter: Use between 1/2-3/4 cup peanut butter in the batter. You can swirl some peanut butter on top as well if you’d like. Crunchy or creamy variations of peanut butter both work!
- 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 to allow the peanut butter flavor to shine through in a big way. 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!
- Melted Butter: Melted vegan butter has the best flavor and texture in baked goods. Alternatively, you can use oil if you prefer.
- Vanilla Extract: Takes most baked goods to an elevated level! The flavor compliments the peanut butter and the banana. Use a great quality vanilla extract, it really makes a difference in baked goods.
How To Make Vegan Peanut Butter Banana Bread
This vegan peanut butter banana bread is made and baked like all our other banana breads! Classic vegan banana bread, vegan chocolate banana bread, and even vegan banana coffee cake 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!
For 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.
Mix-Ins To Add To This Loaf
You can take this loaf to another level by incorporating more flavor and texture into your loaf of banana bread. Here are some of our favorite inclusions to mix into a loaf of banana bread =]
Chocolate: Use 3/4 cup. Chocolate chips or mini chips work great!
Nuts: 3/4 cup finely chopped nuts. Walnuts, pecans, or macadamia nuts.
Oats: 1/2 cup oats. Whole oats can be mixed right in for a toothy bite.
Coconut: 1/2 cup shredded coconut. Finely shredded coconut takes things to a tropical level.
When using a mix-in, get the batter all mixed up then gently fold in the additional ingredients with a spatula. If adding mix-ins it can take the loaf a few minutes longer to bake up. We also recommend letting the loaf cool for 15-20 minutes before cutting as the mix-ins can make the loaf a bit more crumbly.
When Is Banana Bread Done Baking?
The classic ‘toothpick test’ works perfectly for checking to see if your banana bread is done baking. Simply poke the middle of the loaf with a toothpick down a couple of inches and remove it. If the toothpick has wet batter on it, the loaf needs to bake for another 5 minutes or more.
Banana bread can take anywhere from 45-70 minutes to fully bake! Don’t fret if your loaf isn’t done on the earlier end of this range. (more below)
Additional things to note on checking doneness:
#1 In recipe testing we found that banana bread with peanut butter creates a thicker batter that tends to bake up faster than other banana bread variations! Begin checking this loaf on the earlier end of the spectrum to ensure you don’t overbake it.
#2 Look at the edges of the loaf, they should have pulled inward from the pan a bit and feel firm/set.
#3 Banana bread usually 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.
#4 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!
#5 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)
Storing Peanut Butter Banana Bread
Vegan peanut butter banana bread will stay good for up to 3 days at room temp. The loaf’s taste and texture are best the first 2 days. We recommend storing this banana bread in a container with the lid slightly ajar so the top doesn’t get sticky. If you’d like to store it for longer- keep it in the fridge or freezer.
Banana bread freezes and thaws very well! 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 back into a loaf pan and tent with foil. Bake in a 300* oven for about 30 minutes until the center is warm. We’ve used this method to thaw and reheat many loaves of banana bread and it works wonders!
Vegan Peanut Butter Banana Bread FAQs
- Is crunchy or creamy peanut butter best to use? Both work well! If you like more texture in your baked goods and a little toothy bite, reach for chunky instead of creamy.
- What’s the best way to mix in peanut butter? If you’re using natural peanut butter (or peanut butter that separates into a thick, dry layer and an oily top layer in the jar)– it’s best to stir the peanut butter in the jar thoroughly before measuring and adding to the wet ingredients. The peanut butter will be thick but will whisk into the wet ingredients with no problem!
- Can you swap peanut butter for other nut butters? You can, but you’ll need to play with it and we can’t guarantee results. Different types of nut butter have different flavor profiles and consistencies that will affect the outcome. For example, sunflower seed butter and tahini are both pretty bitter; almond or coconut butter can be quite runny and liquid.
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Description
Use creamy or crunchy peanut butter to make this cozy loaf of vegan peanut butter banana bread! This is a simple recipe that tastes great and is packed with peanut butter flavor.
Wet Ingredients:
- 3–4 peeled bananas* note
- 1/2–3/4 cup peanut butter* 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
- 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. Add peanut butter and mix well with the liquid ingredients.
- If using natural peanut butter (or one that separates into an oily top layer and dry bottom layer, be sure to mix the PB in the jar first, then measure and add to the batter).
- Sprinkle dry ingredients across the top of the wet. Mix until just combined.
- Line a loaf pan with parchment paper and pour the batter in. Bake in a pre-heated 350* oven for 50-60 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 40-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.
- We have many, many banana bread recipes on this site, and in our recipe testing, we found that peanut butter banana bread tends to bake up quicker than most styles of banana bread. This is due to the batter being quite thick from the addition of peanut butter. Give it a check sooner than you would for a regular banana bread =]
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.
Oil vs Butter: Melted butter makes banana bread with a better flavor and texture. Using oil creates a very moist banan
