This Vegan Apricot Almond Banana Bread is divinely soft, moist and sweet - featuring the natural sweetness of ripe bananas, the nuttiness of almond flour, and the wonderful burst of tanginess from the dried apricots. Savor a slice of this exquisite banana bread alongside your favorite tea or coffee to brighten your day!
Perfect for breakfast and dessert, this recipe is eggless and dairy free, too! The addition of almond flour and cornstarch is my secret for making a tender moist homemade vegan loaf without eggs, dairy or butter.
Step by step recipe is below, so keep reading and learn how to make your day a little sweeter.
Ingredients Used to Make This Vegan Almond Banana Bread
**I've linked some of these ingredients to amazon.com. They are also affiliate links, which means that I earn a commission as an Amazon Associate if you decide to purchase the items. The price will be the same for you, link or no link 🙂
Banana Bread Ingredients
- All-Purpose Flour - You can use any brand of All-Purpose Flour. I haven't tried this recipe with whole wheat flour, oat flour or other gluten-free flour blends, so substitute at your own risk!
- Almond Flour - Almond flour contributes to a softer, more tender texture in this banana bread recipe. Because it's naturally gluten-free, the almond flour helps reduce overmixing and minimizes gluten-formation in the bread.
- Cornstarch - the addition of cornstarch is NOT REQUIRED, but it acts as a binding agent (it's sometimes used as a vegan alternative to eggs) and makes a softer, more tender textured bread that retains more moisture. Fun fact: cornstarch is the main ingredient in pudding mixes 🙂
- Salt - any kind. I used Pink Himalayan Salt
- Baking Powder - many banana bread recipes use baking soda, but I like using baking powder in my eggless bread recipes because the results are more consistent (baking soda is activated by acid while baking powder does not). If you want to use baking soda instead: 3 tsp of baking powder is approximately equate to 1 tsp of baking soda plus 1 tsp of apple cider vinegar.
- Sugar of choice – You can use any sugar you have at home. If you want a low-sugar and low carb option, I recommend this monk fruit sweetener.
- Mashed Bananas - mash ripe, peeled bananas with a fork until it reaches a smooth and creamy consistency.
- Light Olive Oil - I like using light olive oil since it has a neutral flavor, but you can also any cooking oil of your choice like coconut oil, or avocado oil instead
- Milk of Choice – I used unsweetened almond milk, but any milk (dairy or dairy free) works in this recipe.
- Almond Extract - for extra flavor. you're welcome to use vanilla extract instead.
Filling Ingredients (Optional)
- Dried apricots
Topping Ingredients (Optional)
- Sliced almonds
Banana Bread Add In & Filling Variations:
- Banana bread can be wonderfully versatile, and I've gathered some add in and filling ideas to take your baking to the next level. Here's the FULL POST
Step by Step Guide
How to Make Vegan Almond Banana Bread
STEP 1
Preheat your oven to 350°F (175°C). Grease and flour a standard loaf pan or line it with parchment paper for easy removal.
STEP 2
In a large mixing bowl, combine the dry ingredients
STEP 3
In a separate bowl, combine the wet ingredients
STEP 4
Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients all at once. Stir gently until the batter comes together.
STEP 5
The batter will be thick, but if there are still dry ingredients remaining, you can add 1-2 Tbsp more almond milk.
STEP 6
Fold in the chopped dried apricots into the batter.
STEP 7
Pour the batter into the prepared loaf pan and spread it evenly.
STEP 8
Sprinkle the sliced almonds on top.
STEP 9
Bake the Banana Bread in the preheated oven for about 50-60 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
Once cooled, dust with powdered sugar or sugar-free powdered sugar. Just make sure you use a sieve to sift the sugar on top!
STEP 10
Enjoy!
What are some ways you can eat Banana Bread?
- Plain and warm, served with apricot jam or vegan butter
- Frosted with my Simple 2-Ingredient Vegan Cream Cheese Frosting, or this 2-Ingredient Almond Butter Frosting
- Toasted in the Air Fryer, and drizzled with honey or maple syrup
How to Store Vegan Almond Banana Bread
- You can store any leftover banana bread covered at room temperature for up to 3 days. For longer storage, you can place them in a plastic freezer bag or airtight container to store in the fridge for up to 5-7 days, or freeze up to 4 months.
More Frosting & Glaze Ideas for Banana Bread
Get creative with these scrumptious glaze and frosting ideas to upgrade your banana bread to the next level! Here's a List of Topping Ideas to Try
Final Tips
- Use batter right away after prep. The batter will deflate over time, so I've found that you don’t want the batter sitting out on the counter for too long.
- Prevent Over-browning - Depending on your oven or where your bread is placed inside the oven, the top of your bread may start to brown. Check 40 minutes into baking to see if this is the case, and gently cover the top of the bread with aluminum foil. This helps prevent excessive browning while the bread continues to bake.
- Turn them into muffins! You can also bake this in a muffin pan instead of a cake pan. To adjust, reduce the cooking time from 50-60 minutes to 30-40 minutes.
Soft and Tender Almond Banana Bread with Apricots
Equipment
Ingredients
Bread Ingredients:
- 1 ½ cup all-purpose flour 180g
- ½ cup almond flour 60g
- 2 Tbsp cornstarch *
- ½ tsp salt
- 2 ½ tsp baking powder
- ½ cup sugar of choice 100g, use monk fruit sweetener for lower sugar option
- 1 ½ cup mashed bananas 337g, about 3 medium fully ripened bananas
- ½ cup light olive oil
- ¼ unsweetened almond milk
- 1 tsp almond extract
Add-ins:
- 1 cup dried apricots roughly diced
Topping:
- 3 Tbsp Sliced almonds
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350°F (175°C). Grease and flour a standard loaf pan or line it with parchment paper for easy removal.
- In a large mixing bowl, combine the all-purpose flour, almond flour, cornstarch, salt, and baking powder.
- In another bowl, whisk together the sugar, mashed bananas, olive oil, almond milk, and almond extract until well combined.
- Gradually add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients. Stir gently until you have a smooth batter. The batter will be thick
- Carefully fold in the diced dried apricots into the batter until evenly distributed.
- Pour the batter into the prepared loaf pan, spreading it evenly. Sprinkle the sliced almonds over the top of the batter
- Bake the banana bread in the preheated oven for about 50-60 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
- Once baked, remove the loaf from the oven and allow it to cool in the pan for approximately 10 minutes. Then, transfer it to a wire rack to cool completely.
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