Eggless banana bread (dairy-free, vegan, less sugar)

This eggless banana bread recipe is dairy-free, vegan, and a little lower in sugar than most banana breads and to make it, you don't need any mixers or special equipment, just measuring cups and spoons, two bowls, and a whisk!

 

This recipe comes from my mother's recipe box and my grandmother used to make it a lot because we have a relative who was allergic to eggs. And this recipe is also perfect if you want to do some vegan baking or need a dairy-free recipe.

Baking without eggs: mashed banana as an egg replacer

It turns out, you can bake banana bread without eggs. Mashed banana is actually a lesser known egg replacer, so in banana bread, the eggs are actually optional. Mashed banana adds moisture to baked goods, but also water (producing steam as the cake bakes, which is a leavening agent, as are eggs).

Mashed bananas also help bind batters, which helps replace the emulsifying properties of eggs in cake batters. Bananas can also act as a partial fat substitute, meaning that you can replace a little fat with them, but not all of it. Since eggs are also a partial fat substitute (specifically the yolks), you can see how bananas as an egg replacer actually makes perfect sense!

This is, by far, the easiest banana bread recipe you can make and it follows the muffin mixing method, also known as the two-bowl method:

1. in one bowl, you whisk together all the dry ingredients really well (flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon). 
2. in a separate bowl, you whisk together all the wet ingredients (mashed bananas, sugar, and oil).
3. pour the dry ingredients over the wet, and fold them in to form a thick batter

Ways to modify this vegan banana bread recipe

This banana bread recipe leaves a lot of room for tweaking and modifying it to suit your tastes. Here are some ideas of what you can change:

• for a richer banana bread:
  • use melted butter for more flavour
  • double the fat because most banana breads with this amount of flour have up to ½ cup of fat, so you can make this recipe with:
    • 125 mL (½ cup) of canola oil OR
    • 60 mL (¼ cup) of canola oil PLUS 58 grams (¼ cup) of melted butter
• for a sweeter banana bread:
  • increase the sugar to 200 grams (1 cup)
• for a more flavourful banana bread:
  • change the sugar:
    • use light brown sugar or dark brown sugar, replacing a portion or all of the granulated sugar with either one
  • add spices: 
    • add 1–2 tsp ground cinnamon and/or
    • add ½ tsp ground nutmeg and/or
    • add 2 tsp ground cardamom
  • add vanilla extract: I'd add 1 to 2 teaspoons
• if you like nuts and such in your banana bread:
  • add up to 250 mL (1 cup) chopped nuts (I like walnuts)
  • add up to 125 mL (½ cup) shredded coconut (unsweetened)
  • add up to 250 mL (1 cup) dark chocolate chips
  • add 125 mL (½ cup) of Sultana raisins or golden raisins

Remember that banana bread improves in flavour and matures as it rests. Be sure to let the cake cool completely, then wrap it and let it sit at room temperature overnight before slicing and serving. This gives time for the flavours to develop. Trust me: it's worth the wait.

If you are planning to use frozen bananas, make sure to place them in a bowl and defrost overnight in the fridge before peeling. Peel the defrosted bananas and place in a fine mesh sieve fitted over a bowl to collect the banana juice. Either discard that liquid OR boil it down to a very thick syrup (makes just a couple tablespoons of banana concentrate). Add this syrup to the mashed bananas and proceed with the recipe.

If you need help making banana bread and some troubleshooting suggestions, head over to my best banana bread post where you'll find tips and tricks. And if you notice holes in your cake, they might form because the batter is thick and so gaps in the batter will occur as you fill the loaf pan, but if you overmix the batter, this could also cause larger holes in your cake, so please be sure to mix just enough to form a cohesive, even batter, but not so much that you develop too much gluten.