Marbled Vegan Chocolate Banana Bread

Tuck into this Vegan Chocolate Banana Bread made with a simple dairy-free and egg-free batter swirled together into a beautiful marbled pattern. Topped with plenty of vegan chocolate chips this loaf makes for a decadent sweet breakfast treat! Oil-free option included. Jump to Recipe

If you like Banana Bread in general and the chocolatey kind in particular, then I have a treat for you today! Marbled Vegan Chocolate Banana Bread, ladies and gents! Doesn’t marbling just make everything look better? And honestly, the looks DO matter, especially when we’re talking sweet and decadent vegan treats! This gorgeous Chocolate Banana Loaf combines the goodness of dark chocolate and ripe bananas to form a loaf of sliceable banana bliss.

This Marbled Vegan Chocolate Banana Bread is so rich and decadent. Despite the fancy marbled swirl design, it’s actually quite easy to make. I am not a fan of making intricate, layered cakes and fancy desserts – I am not a pastry chef and my time is limited and I am pretty sure some of you can identify here! But I still want my baked goods to look pretty and this vegan chocolate banana bread is the kind of minimum-effort -> maximum-effect recipe I LOVE.

So how do I turn this humble vegan banana bread in a fancy marbled loaf? Well, you simply layer the dark and bright batter in your loaf pan, drag around a toothpick in the batter, and it will bake up into something gorgeous and coffee shop-worthy.

This vegan chocolate banana bread recipe seriously feels like you’re eating an actual slice of cake, it’s that moist and decadent.

Despite being fluffy and moist, baking this dairy-free chocolate banana bread doesn’t require opening a jar of applesauce that will then be forgotten in the back of the fridge for weeks. Also – no flax eggs needed!

Ingredients for making Vegan Marbled Chocolate Banana Bread:

mashed banana – we use it both for flavor and sweetness so the bananas should be ripe. Use 2 large or 3 medium ones. They are great egg replacers so for this recipe, there’s no need for adding flax eggs.
additional sweetness is added by mixing in either 1/3 cup of light brown sugar or coconut sugar as well as 1/4 cup of maple syrup.
For some extra flavor, I like adding vanilla extract and cinnamon or both. You could also add some nutmeg or chai spice.
Adding 2 tbsp of oil to the batter makes for additional moisture.
We are using 1/3 cup almond milk and 1 tsp vinegar instead of cow milk or buttermilk! You’ll see it works like a charm.
I use a mix of all-purpose and whole wheat or spelt flour to make this loaf a bit more wholesome and add 1/4 cup of almond flour for additional moistness
The gorgeous rise in this vegan banana bread is achieved by mixing baking powder and baking soda
To achieve that gorgeous marbled effect, we “dye” part of the vegan banana bread batter with cocoa powder. I use unsweetened all-natural cocoa powder for this recipe to make this loaf extra chocolatey.

Tips for making this recipe:

To make this refined sugar-free, use coconut sugar.
Want to make this loaf oil-free? You can omit the oil and add a tbsp of unsweetened shredded coconut instead.
This loaf makes a great gift, and leftover slices can also be frozen for a rainy day when you need something sweet.
I decided to add some vegan chocolate chips to the top both for presentation and because in my book there’s absolutely no such thing as too much chocolate. Feel free to skip them. You can also use chopped up bars of vegan chocolate instead of chocolate chips.
To make this banana chocolate loaf extra fancy, you could frost it with vegan chocolate frosting like a cake, or serve it with jam or vegan butter. If you frost it, you can skip the chocolate chips.

How to make Vegan Chocolate Banana Bread:

Preheat the oven to 365F (185 C) and line 9×5 inch pan with parchment. In a bowl mix all the wet ingredients until well combined

In another bowl mix the flours, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Mix well. Add 1 3/4 cup of the dry flour mixture to the wet ingredient bowl and mix in, making sure not to overmix. Add the rest of the dry flour mix 1 tbsp at a time, until batter is stiff like a muffin batter.

Divide the batter into two bowls.

For the chocolate layer, mix the cocoa in a small bowl with 3 tbsp of boiling water, mix this into the first bowl.

In the second bowl, add 1-2 tbsp of boiling water and mix in so that mixture is not that thick.

Now you can assemble the loaf as you like with whatever pattern. I usually alternate the batters and spread them out for a marble effect.

Once all of the batter is finished, top with the mini chocolate chips.

Bake for 55-60 minutes. Check for doneness by inserting a toothpick in the center of the loaf. Cool the chocolate banana loaf for 10 minutes before taking it out of the pan, cool completely before slicing.

How to store Vegan Banana Bread:

You can store this vegan chocolate banana bread on the counter for a day in a covered container or refrigerate for up to 5 days. Single slices can be frozen.

More Vegan Breakfast Bakes from the blog

Vegan Marbled Chocolate Banana Bread

Tuck into this Vegan Marbled Chocolate Banana Bread made with a simple dairy-free and egg-free batter swirled together into a beautiful marbled pattern. Topped with plenty of vegan chocolate chips this loaf makes for a decadent sweet breakfast treat! Oil-free option included.

Prep Time15 mins

Cook Time1 hr

Total Time1 hr 15 mins

Course: Dessert, Snack

Cuisine: American

Keyword: chocolate banana bread, chocolate chips banana bread, vegan banana bread

Servings: 12 slices

Calories: 218.39kcal

Author: Vegan Richa

Ingredients

Wet ingredients:

1 scant cup (150 g) mashed banana Use scant cup, 2 large or 3 medium (if your bread tends to bake gummy use 3/4 cup)
1/3 cup (66.67 g) sugar such as light brown sugar or coconut sugar
1/4 cup (59.15 ml) maple syrup
1 tsp vanilla extract or 1/2 tsp cinnamon or both
2 tbsp oil omit to make oil-free, add a tbsp of shredded coconut for additional moisture
1/3 cup (78.86 ml) almond milk or use other non dairy milk such as light coconut or soy
1 tsp vinegar

Dry ingredients

1 3/4 cups (218.75 g) all-purpose flour I usually use 1 1/2 all-purpose and 1/4 cup of whole wheat or spelt or all 1 3/4 cup all purpose
1/4 cup (28 g) almond flour , or use more flour for Nutfree
1.5 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
3 tbsp cocoa powder
1/3 cup (78.86 ml) boiling water

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 365F (185 C) and line 9×5 inch pan with parchment.
In a bowl mix all the wet ingredients until well combined
In another bowl mix the flours, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Mix well.
Add 1 3/4 cup of the dry mixture to the wet ingredient bowl and mix it in. Add the rest of the dry flour mix 1 tbsp at a time, until batter is stiff like a muffin batter.
Divide the batter into two bowls.
For the chocolate layer, mix the cocoa in a small bowl with 3 tbsp of boiling water, mix this into the first bowl.
In the second bowl, add 1-2 tbsp of boiling water and mix in so that mixture is not that thick.
Now you can assemble the loaf as you like with whatever pattern. I usually alternate the batters and spread them out for a marble effect. Once all of the batter is finished, top with the mini chocolate chips.
Bake for 55-60 minutes. Check with a toothpick from the center of the loaf
Cool the loaf for 10 minutes before taking it out of the pan, cool completely before slicing.

Notes

To make this refined sugar-free, use coconut sugar.
Want to make this loaf oil-free? You can omit the oil and add a tbsp of unsweetened shredded coconut instead.
This loaf makes a great gift, and leftover slices can also be frozen for a rainy day when you need something sweet.
I decided to add some vegan chocolate chips to the top both for presentation and because in my book there’s absolutely no such thing as too much chocolate. Feel free to skip them. You can also use chopped up bars of vegan chocolate instead of chocolate chips. Or walnuts.
To make this banana chocolate loaf extra fancy, you could frost it with vegan chocolate frosting like a cake, or serve it with jam or vegan butter. If you frost it, you can skip the chocolate chips.
muffins: bake for 25-30 mins
Glutenfree: try these Glutenfree banana breads from the blog.
Or use this blend and bake into marbles muffins for 25 mins. Mix 3/4 cup white rice flour, 1 1/4 cup almond flour, 1/3 cup potato starch, 1/2 tsp citric acid and 1 tbsp chia seeds/flax seed meal. Use 1 3/4 cup of the flour mix and add more as needed.

Troubleshoot: – bananas and similar thick purées such as Pumpkin, Can sometimes be tricky in terms of moisture the add to the baked good. The inherently have a lot of moisture that they will release during baking. But there are thick so when you mix them with flower it feels like the batter is thick enough. Depending on the flour used(diff brands and types) and the flour measurement errors, One would tend to stop adding flour to the mix as the batter is thick, but you want to err on the side of stiffer batter. As if there is lesser flour than the moisture in the batter the bread will tend to be gummy (it will rise and then fall. Edges will feel done but it will be gummy or dense.
– another reason for banana breads not rising or being too dense is baking powder. Old baking powders tend to not be able to help the bread rise enough.
– ovens also differ in their heating so if the bread is gummy at the bottom, it might have needed extra bake time.