Name: Vegan Banana Bread
Total time: 4 h 45 min
Ingredients: 2 cups (10 ounces/283 grams) all-purpose flour; ¾ cup (5¼ ounces/149 grams) organic sugar; ¾ teaspoon baking soda; ½ teaspoon salt; ½ cup walnuts , toasted and chopped coarse (optional); 3 ripe but firm large bananas (1¼ pounds), peeled; 6 tablespoons vegetable oil; ⅓ cup plain almond milk yogurt; 1 tablespoon lemon juice; 2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Why This Recipe Works

Baking banana bread is often the project of thrifty cooks; recipes call for those overripe, darkly speckled bananas you forgot in the fruit bowl because of their moisture and high sugar content. (When left to sit, most of the starches in bananas convert to sugars.) But while developing a vegan version of this beloved treat, we found ourselves turning out loaf after loaf of dense, wet, and sticky banana breads—not the kind of moisture we had in mind. That's how we discovered something surprising: Ripe but firm bananas—those that look good enough to eat—are the best for vegan banana bread. Because just-ripe bananas are starchier, they contributed to a banana bread with a more open crumb and a structure so sturdy on its own that it didn't even require the addition of an egg substitute. And the just-ripe fruit still lent the requisite banana flavor in spades. The best part: You don't need to plan ahead by letting bananas sit on the counter for days before baking in order to prepare this stellar vegan quick bread.

Before You Begin

The test kitchen's preferred loaf pan measures 8½ by 4½ inches; if you use a 9 by 5-inch loaf pan, start checking for doneness 5 minutes earlier than advised in the recipe.

Instructions

Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position and heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease 8½ by 4½-inch loaf pan. Whisk flour, sugar, baking soda, and salt together in large bowl. Stir in walnuts, if using; set aside.

Pulse bananas in food processor until mostly smooth, with some ½-inch lumps remaining, about 10 pulses. Add oil, almond milk yogurt, lemon juice, and vanilla and continue to pulse until well combined and only pea-size lumps of banana remain, about 4 pulses.

Gently fold milk mixture into flour mixture until just combined. Transfer batter to prepared pan and smooth top. Bake until top is firm and deep golden, about 1 hour, rotating pan halfway through baking.

Let bread cool in pan for 10 minutes. Remove bread from pan and let cool completely on wire rack, about 3 hours, before serving.