Vegan cinnamon crumb banana bread is soft, sweet, full of spiced cinnamon flavor, and topped with an addictive oat cinnamon crumb. Made with just 5 ingredients, gluten free, and totally banana sweetened!
Happy Friday, babes!! With fall weather finally in full swing around here (we’ve had like, 4 days in a row that the high has been in the 50s!), it’s time for all the warming, cozy baked goods. This vegan cinnamon crumb banana bread is seriously the BEST way to welcome in this chilly time of year, when we’re all craving something warm and comforting.
This vegan cinnamon crumb banana bread is made with just 5 ingredients, and I’d bet you already have them in your kitchen.
Ingredients for vegan cinnamon crumb banana bread
- Rolled oats: you’ll blend some of the oats to flour consistency, which will hold the banana bread together. Because it’s the only grain in the recipe, the oat flour will give the bread quite a dense, rich texture – it’s not light like a cake, but hearty and satisfying. You’ll also use some oats whole for the crumb topping.
- Cinnamon: cinnamon pairs so well with the sweet banana, and it goes in the batter and the crumb topping.
- Banana: as always with banana baked goods, make sure the bananas are super ripe and spotty. They’re the only sweetener in this recipe, so they need to be really ripe for optimal banana flavor and sweetness. You’ll use some in the batter and in the crumb topping.
- Ground flaxseed: you’ll make flax eggs by putting the ground flax in a bowl with water in the fridge for 20 minutes, until it gels up a bit. This helps hold the banana bread together and provides some great nutrition, too.
- Nondairy milk: a bit of milk brings the batter together. I use unsweetened almond milk for neutral flavor, but any nondairy milk should work.
Tips for making vegan cinnamon crumb banana bread
- Measure the rolled oats before blending into flour. I always list the amount of oats used BEFORE they’re blended for flour. So in this case, you’ll measure out 2 cups of whole, rolled oats, then put those 2 cups into your blender to make flour.
- Make sure to use a nonstick or parchment-lined pan. Use a nonstick or parchment-lined pan so that the bread doesn’t stick after baking.
- Let it cool completely. Let the banana bread cool for at least 20 minutes before flipping it out of the pan, then let it sit and cool completely before slicing. It is pretty soft and gooey as is, but will firm up during the cooling process, and if you slice it too early, it may be a gooey mess.
- Add some fun toppings. This banana bread is great on its own, but even better with whatever toppings you love! My favorites are almond butter or vegan yogurt.
This vegan cinnamon crumb banana bread is so soft and sweet, but also perfectly dense and satisfying. I know cinnamon + apple gets a lot of attention, and for good reason. But honestly, I prefer banana + cinnamon any day, especially after a taste of this sweet loaf. There is powerful spice flavor going on here, and that crumb topping?! I literally couldn’t stop picking it off the top of the bread. Like, can’t get enough. Hope you guys love this one as much as I did!
Xo,
Sara
Vegan Cinnamon Crumb Banana Bread
Ingredients
Banana bread
- 2 cups rolled oats, blended into flour
- 2 tbsp cinnamon
- 1 1/2 cups mashed super ripe banana – I used about 4 medium size bananas to get this amount
- 2 flax eggs – 2 tbsp ground flaxseed in a bowl with 6 tbsp water, set in the fridge for 15 minutes
- 1/2 cup nondairy milk – I used unsweetened almond milk
Cinnamon crumb topping
- 1/2 cup rolled oats
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1/2 cup mashed banana
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
- In a large bowl, mix the oat flour, cinnamon.
- Mash the bananas with a fork, then add it to the oat cinnamon mixture with the flax eggs, and nondairy milk until totally combined into a thick batter.
- Pour the batter into a parchment-lined or nonstick loaf pan.
- To make the crumb topping, mix the oats and cinnamon, then add the mashed banana and stir to combine. Sprinkle evenly over the batter in the loaf pan.
- Bake the banana bread for 30 minutes, and allow it to cool in the pan for 20-30 minutes before turning it out to cool completely before slicing.
- Store leftovers in the refrigerator.
