This vegan sourdough banana bread has been my go to for using up sourdough discard. So simple, all in one bowl, and not too sweet!
I’ve been baking up a lot more often than I expected these days, especially with trying to figure out new ways to use up my sourdough discard. If you’ve been following along on Instagram, you’ll have seen me baking up a ton of sourdough, but it turns out that maintaining a sourdough starter (even at the micro-feeds I’ve been doing) still yields quite a bit of discard.
I’ve tried making English muffins, crackers, and pizza dough, but Eddie’s favourite sourdough discard use has been this banana bread! With Eddie going back to work almost normally again (a lot of things have changed and he’s not working with anywhere near the same amount of people before), Eddie’s been finding snacky foods like banana bread and muffins to be very handy, especially for breakfast.
We had a bit of a debate on whether or not plain banana bread is better than banana bread with nuts and/or chocolate chips, and he insisted that plain banana bread is superior.
Personally I like some embedded texture or pops of bittersweet chocolate, but as this bread was mostly for Eddie, I left it out. But feel free to add it in! My loaf pan still had a bit of room at the top, so adding in chocolate chips or nuts works fine here! Even though you’re using sourdough discard, this bread isn’t left to proof long enough for the sourdough to actually rise, so you need the help of baking powder and baking soda to lighten up the mixture and aerate the bread when baking. As you pour it into the loaf pan, the mixture should be light and fluffy!
I’ve also seen people add halved bananas to the top to decorate, but I wasn’t really up for that. You could add a smattering of chopped nuts, slivered almonds, seeds, or a vegan cream cheese swirl on top if you want, but sometimes, simplicity is best! And Eddie is a plain Jane kinda guy it seems when it comes to most of his baked goods. His old man tendencies coming out strong XD
Anyway, life has been a little hectic and I have yet again, bitten off more than I can chew, but so it goes! I’ve been trying to shift my energy to more chill, computer work (like this recipe) when I burn myself out of recipe testing, food photograhpy and video editing, and it has been nice. I haven’t really been able to write much on here about feelings and life itself, mostly because as I get older, I frankly just have less stuff happening that I can talk about. More personal/family things, but I’ve learned over the years that some things are best left private.
Of course, I’m always open about myself and my own struggles, but these days, what’s been happening intertwines with people in my life, and their stories are not really mine to tell.
Vegan Sourdough Banana Bread
Ingredients
- 3 small bananas/2 medium bananas 220 g, mashed well
- 1 cup 250 g sourdough starter discard (either room temp or from the fridge)
- 3 tbsp 30 g vegetable oil
- 1/2 cup packed (100 g) brown sugar
- 1 cup flour 130 g
- 1 tsp 4 g baking powder
- 1/2 tsp 3 g baking soda
- pinch of salt
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F (180 C)
- In a large bowl, mash your bananas with a potato masher or a fork until you have as little chunks as possible.
- Stir in sourdough discard, vegetable oil, and brown sugar and mix well to incorporate.
- Sift in flour, baking powder, and baking soda, and a pinch of salt. Mix until just incorporated (try not to overmix, it'll be gummy otherwise). It should have the texture of a light and fluffy cake batter
- Grease a loaf pan with either oil or vegan butter. Pour batter into the greased pan, then bake for 60 minutes (or until a cake tester comes out clean). I usually can tell its ready once the sides start to pull away from the pan.
- Cool for about 10 minutes in the pan, then transfer onto a wire rack to cool (set it right side up or you'll get weird grid marks on top haha).
- Enjoy!
Notes
Janmarie says
This is delicious! It was my first time making a discard banana bread, and am VERY happy with the results! I realized only after it was in the pan that there were no spices in it (usually I add at least cinnamon to banana bread) so I put a little cinnamon sugar on the top before I baked. I also mixed in walnuts. Gave a couple slices to friends and they are enjoying it as well. This recipe is a keeper, thank you!
Tammy Correa says
This is my new go-to vegan banana bread recipe!
RNI says
I added some cinnamon & nutmeg and this got a very positive reaction from my husband. I made it as mini cakes. Definitely a keeper recipe.
Quinn says
I LOVE this recipe, super easy to make, so I make it every 2 days cause I can eat the whole loaf in one day 😅. Also fantastic that you can’t eat the raw dough cause that sourdough is def gonna turn you off 😉. So amazing, I have gifted loaves to almost everyone I know and they all love it!!
Cat says
Any recommendation for a gluten free flour that will work the best in this recipe please?
Lisa Le says
Hmmm I feel like any GF all purpose flour blend would work here, but sourdough discard is typically made with gluten flours (unless you’re using a GF sourdough starter). I haven’t tested this recipe without any gluten, so you’ll have to report back!
Nancy says
I have an AP gluten free starter that works well.
Paula says
I just pulled my loaf out of the oven! I used your method and ratios to make the loaf with 350g flour, which is way better for my 2 person household. I have really leaned into simplifying sourdough and not looking for those perfect instagram loaves and I loved that you talk about that on your video.
Next up your discard banana bread!
Lisa Le says
Yay!! I’m so happy for you! Yes the 350g loaf is great for a 2 person household for sure.
Paula says
Wow this is the perfect banana bread!! I love it. I’m going to have to make more sourdough so I can save up discard faster. Or feed my starter just to make this?
Lisa Le says
hahaha the perpetual dilemma
Elyse says
Newbie to sourdough and this is the first recipe I’ve done using my starter. Was feeling sad that I don’t have a good handle on my guy after 2+ weeks of feeding, but this recipe turning out so perfectly lifts my spirits. My new go to banana bread recipe!
Uma Vinay Kumar says
This is the best go-to recipe for sourdough discard. I am just starting out with sourdough and I do accumulate quite a lot of discard.. this is a delicious bread. Making it the 2nd time now already… love it. Thank you for a delicious recipe.
Denise says
Oh wow! I’ve been looking for more vegan options to use up my sourdough discard. No going back now. This recipe is amazing, so simple and the results perfect. I threw in choc chips (that’s the way we like banana loaf in our house) and also some chopped walnuts. It’s sooooooo nice d actually not as sweet as the one I normally bake so probably won’t last very long as I think it’s even healthier 😉
Lisa Le says
I’m so happy you like it! yes the addition of chocolate chips and walnuts would be extra delicious :D
Trish says
Thank you, thank you for this easy to make recipe. I searched and searched for one that didn’t include lots of oil, sugar and eggs. This was just what I was looking for and came out perfect!
Karen E says
This is the best banana bread I’ve made! Love the crunch of the crust with the fluffy interior. I’ve made this recipe multiple times now and started adjusting it a bit for my liking.
I use half whole wheat flour – still light and fluffy!
I subbed unsweetened applesauce for the oil with no issues.
I’ve also made a pumpkin loaf by subbing pumpkin puree for the bananas (equal weight) and adding cinnamon and nutmeg. Perfect!
Tracy Wujack says
I only have one banana, can you add blueberries as a substitute? Or mix blueberries and bananas?
Lisa Le says
I haven’t tested it with blueberries but you might try? It could be a bit wetter than bananas though. So maybe use a mix of banana and blueberry?
Jamie says
Excellent recipe and what a relief to put all of that discard to good use. Thanks for sharing with us!
Faith says
This is my go to banana bread, I’ve tried many and I love this one, especially because it’s low in oil but you don’t taste the difference. I often add chocolate chips to mine
Sita says
I have made this recipe at lease 5x now. My family loves it so much! It is very forgiving and easy to add things too. I’ve added chia seeds, hemp hearts, used whole wheat flour, chocolate chips, nuts etc. It turns out amazing every time.
Jordan says
Thank you so much for this wonderful recipe. I’ve been looking for new vegan sourdough discard recipes to try out and I just made this one this morning. It came out fantastic and is so delicious (especially with coffee) it also made the house smell amazing while it baked in the oven.
Have a happy day 🌻