Tahini banana bread

This well-loved vegan tahini banana bread is a real crowd favourite- and for good reason. Beautifully moist, crunchy and not-too-sweet, it is flavoured with tahini, maple syrup, olive oil and dark chocolate and is absolutely gorgeous served warm with slathering of butter. 

We eat a lot of banana bread. There are a lot of really delicious vegan banana breads on the internet and I have to wonder- does the world really need another one? It turns out it does. You see, I have tried various healthy chocolate chip banana bread recipes and there is always one thing missing: tahini. The worlds another vegan banana bread recipe because the world needs THIS tahini banana bread (and maple syrup, sesame seeds and olive oil, to be precise).

Why?

Because TAHINI and dark chocolate and banana and maple syrup is a thing that should be celebrated and banana bread is a great way to celebrate. The texture here is just perfect- it is moist with that much loved banana-bread crumb, the toasted seeds on top provide a delightful crunch and chew and the little speckles of dark chocolate add just the nicest variety. This is the banana bread atet we love the most, and while it is not gluten free, or sugar free or anything else free is it a recipe that you’ll come back to time and again.

Vegan chocolate chunk banana loaf with tahini

Vegan chocolate chunk banana loaf with tahini

Tahini banana bread ingredient list:

Ripe bananas

Of course. To make the most flavoursome loaf you want this extra ripe bananas that are soft, squishy and starting to brown. The ones that you don’t enjoy eating because they are too sweet. Using under-ripe (or firm) bananas will mean the loaf has less flavour and sweetness, as at this stage bananas and more starch that sugar.

Milk of choice.

I like to use this almond milk, but it really does not matter which milk you chose. I would avoid coconut milk as the flavour might be too strong.

Hulled tahini.

Tahini is a sesame seed paste that hails from many middle eastern countries. It has a natural nutty flavour that pairs just beautifully with banana, but not all tahini is equal! To find good quality tahini look for one that is runny, does not have the oil separated on top, and is IN date. Like all nut or seed butters tahini does go rancid, so ensure you are using fresh tahini. 

Note- there are 3 types of tahini on the market. Hulled (my personal favourite), unhulled (this is darker in colour and thicker in consistency) and black tahini (made from black sesame seeds). You could use any of these however both unhulled and black tahini have a more overbearing flavour so I 100% recommend using hulled tahini for the best tahini banana bread ever. 

Pure maple syrup

I added pure maple syrup for 2 reasons. Firstly, I love the way it pairs with tahini. The two together create the more delicious flavour combination, and the sesame seeds drizzled with maple on top of the loaf really make the loaf sing. Secondly, while I wanted to keep the loaf absolutely delicious, I prefer to keep the sugar on the lower side- so we have. mixture of pure maple syrup and coconut sugar to sweeten.

Coconut sugar

The thing about baking with sugar is more than just adding sweetness to a recipe- it also aids in creating a desirable texture. I prefer to use coconut sugar (but please note- coconut sugar is not any healthier than cane sugar) as it has a beautiful, natural camel flavour and doesn’t add too much moistness unlike brown sugar.

Tip: If you want a LOW SUGAR version you can bake this loaf without any coconut sugar at all- I have done this many times when I want to make snacks for etc girls that are free from refined sugar. Expect the taste and texture to be flatter, though. Using monk fruit sweetener like this one is a great option too if you want less sugar but still the sweeter taste and fluffier texture.

Cold pressed light olive oil

You could actually use any olive oil, but I prefer a light olive oil for this vegan chocolate chunk banana loaf so the rich flavour or virgin or extra virgin olive oil doesn’t take over the flavour profile.

Health tip: Cold pressed oils are always the healthiest option as they really on pressure to extract oils from plants rather than harsh chemicals.

Plain flour

Just the original. You could use spelt flour(although I would recommend sticking to 1 cup plain flour flour, 1 cup spelt) or wholemeal (again, stick to a half half ratio), to. I have not tried any gluten free substitutes but use a 1:1 substitute with a good all-purpose GF flour mix like this one and I think it will be fine.

Baking power and baking soda

Both varieties are used for leavening, and I would not recommend skipping on the baking power. the maple syrup in the recipe require a little more baking soda that a vegan banana bread recipe that uses only sugar as the sweetener. I tested the recipe without baking soda and it was too clay.

Salt and ground cinnamon

Because, flavour. I like to use Australian salt- at the most that is pink lake salt from the Source, who work in collaboration with the Barengi Gadjin Land Council, who represents the Wimmera’s traditional landowners. Every year they harvest a small amount of salt from the lake, sinfully avoid impact to the ecosystem there. If you buy exotic salt from a foreign county I highly recommend seeing what is local (and harvested ethically ) to you.

Chocolate chips

I love this brand here and this brand here for the best healthy baking choc chips (or choc drops), or you can just chop up your favourite block of chocolate. 

WHERE I SOURCE INGREDIENTS ONLINE

You can click here for the part&parcel store that stocks all of these ingredients for 20% off, and JADE10 gets you and extra discount on your first order. They stock the best healthy baking choc chips here, tahini here, maple syrup here and monk fruit sweetener here. 

Vegan chocolate chunk banana loaf with tahini

Frequently asked questions

1. Can I make a sugar free tahini banana bread?

There are 2 options. Firstly, you can simply omit the coconut sugar. The loaf is still delicious without the added sugar, but not it won’t be as sweet, moist and perfectly fluffy.

The second option is swapping the coconut sugar with a sugar-free granulated alternative. My preference is lakanto, made from ethically sourced Monk fruit. I have also tried this loaf with the Monk fruit sweetener and it works well.

2. Can I make this loaf gluten free?

Yes. There have been many remakes using a variety of gluten free options, I would mostly recommend a gluten free baking mix like this one but note I have not tried any of these versions. Instead I created this peanut butter, banana oat loaf for you, and you can substitute the peanut butter for tahini if you prefer.

Here are some other delicious vegan snacks recipes you might like:

We cannot wait to hear from you if you try this recipe- we just love this tahini banana bread so much and we hope you do too, and as always we love feedback, reviews or comments below.

Vegan chocolate chunk banana loaf with tahiniVegan chocolate chunk banana loaf with tahini

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Vegan banana bread

Tahini banana bread (vegan)

  • Author: Jade Woodd
  • Prep Time: 10 mins
  • Cook Time: 55 mins
  • Total Time: 1 hour 5 minutes
  • Yield: 12 slices 1x
  • Category: Snacks, desserts
  • Method: Baking
  • Cuisine: Australian
  • Diet: Vegan

Description

This tahini banana bread is the perfect banana bread! It is the perfect mix of sweet, comforting, chewy, spiced, nutty and moist and can be made with or with our refined sugar. Best baked on a cold morning and enjoyed with a cup of tea and a good book.


Ingredients

Scale

312g (1 1/4 cups) ripe banana, mashed

125ml (1/2 cup) almond milk

70g (1/4 cup) pure maple syrup

75g (1/4 cup) hulled tahini

55g (1/4 cup) light, cold-pressed olive oil

4285g (1/4 – 1/2 cup) coconut sugar (optional)

300g (2 cups) plan flour

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1/2 tsp fine salt 

1 1/2 tsp baking power

1/2 tsp baking soda

50g (1/2 standard block) 70% dark chocolate, chopped

2 Tbsp sesame seeds

2 tsp maple syrup, extra


Instructions

  1. I highly recommend using kitchen scales for this recipe- it will give you a level of accuracy that cannot be matched. If you use cups please follow the spoon and level method. I used Australian standard cups. To measure the banana with cups, please mash FIRST and then measure.
  2. Preheat the oven to 180 C. Grease a line a standard loaf tin and line with baking paper. Set aside.
  3. In a large mixing bowl add banana, milk, maple syrup, tahini, olive oil and coconut sugar. Using a hand whisk or stick/immersion blender whisk until smooth. A stick blender will remove any lumps, however you can expect to see many small lumps if you use a hand whisk (this is just chinks of banana).
  4. 3. Sift in flour, cinnamon, baking soda and baking powder. Add in salt. Using a wooden spoon gently mix the wet and dry ingredients together until just uniform. A few dry spots of flour is ok, but do not over mix the batter- this is the main cause of a gummy banana bread. Add chopped chocolate and gently fold through 3-4 times.
  5. Using a rubber spatula scare the vegan chocolate chunk banana loaf batter into the prepared loaf.
  6. Use a spoon to flatten out, then top with sesame seeds and the 2 tsp maple syrup. Bake for 50-55 minutes or until cooked through. To test insert a skewer into the middle of the cake (ideally though one of the natural cracks tahini this formed). take the skewer out- there should be no wet batter on the stick, but ideally quite a few moist crumbs. The top should be slightly golden brown and springy when gently pressed.

Cool for 10 minutes in the pan before gently removing to cool completely on a wire rack. Th loaf is best enjoyed once fully cooled (the cake settles during this time).

Storage

Store in an airtight container in the pantry for up to 5 days. The vegan chocolate chunk banana loaf is also be stored in the fridge and is freezer friendly.


Keywords: Banana bread, tahini, chocolate banana bread, egg free, dairy free, refined sugar free

80 Comments
  1. Absolutely delicious, I have a soft spot for tahini and this recipe turned out perfectly and was so simple to put together! I only had 2 bananas and that was just under a cup, next time I’ll use 3 although I’m still so happy with the results! Thank you!

  2. I’ve tried this recipe and Even if I have mixed all ingredients in a very small bowl thinking it will fail, it turned out great ! I love the texture and the taste ?
    Thank you for sharing this !

  3. If there were, I would give more stars!!!
    Excellent recipe! Delicious with the tahini twist, good crumb, moist for days…what else could you need?? I put black sesame on top! Perfect!! Going to try some more recipes and come back! ✔✔✔

    1. Hi Alexandra,

      Thank you for the beautiful feedback, I’m so glad you enjoyed this recipe. It’s a favourite of ours, too.

    1. Spelt tends to work a little differently than plain flour in a recipe like this. The best option would be 50% dorky, 50% plain. If you do want to try 100% spelt you will need to add a little extra milk.

    1. I think an all purpose GF would be fine, otherwise 50/50 spelt and white (or it might be too dry). If you use spelt and rye, you’d need to add extra milk. I have not tried it though, so can’t give an exact amount sorry!

  4. I made this today and they were 100% YUM!
    We just moved and couldn’t find the loaf tin so I made them as mini muffins which still worked out beautifully. I dropped the time down to 12 mins and it made approximately 36.
    Will definitely be making these again. My 2 1/2 year old kept going back for more too.

  5. This was soft inside and crunchy on top. We really liked the tahini flavour. I’m not a fan of strong banana flavour, so this is perfect for me.
    P.s. loving all your recipes, so good to have Australian as I can find the products in my supermarket and wholefoods stores. Living in regional Victoria ?

    1. Thanks so much Ruth- I’m glad to offer Aussie recipes too (and I know exactly what you mean!).

  6. I made this yesterday and half the loaf is already gone!
    I’ve baked countless banana breads in my time and this one is definitely up there as one of my favourites. I blended the wet ingredients, something I hadn’t tried before, and recommend for a lovely smooth consistency. I used honey because I didn’t have any maple syrup on hand, also tasty! My loaf needed 60 minutes because our oven is quite large. Next time I’ll add something for crunch, but all in all it is one very tasty loaf and I’m already thinking about my next slice 😉

    1. Hi Stef,

      Thanks for you feedback and letting us know the adaptions you made- I must try it with honey next! Great to know a larger oven added 5-10 minutes- we do have a smaller oven.

  7. Loved this recipe! Followed the recipe quite closely though with some liberties (extra 1/3 of a banana, extra 8g of tahini cause it’s the bottle of the jar etc) nothing too dramatic but good to know the recipe still holds out! I did add the optional sugar – used about 55g of shaved palm sugar and the sweetness was perfect.
    Do not skip the sesame seed and maple syrup topping – it elevated the loaf to another level!! It was such a textural enhancement that I will try that trick on other things in future, maybe a muffin or something.
    This recipe will stay around, thanks jade!!

    1. What a beautiful review, thank you so much! Loved that you just used up the last of that tahini too 😉 and you’re right- the sesame topping should not be skipped!

  8. Oh My Gosh !! This is absolutely the best banana bread I have ever made/tasted. Thank you Jade. Its very moist and yummy.

    I love following you on insta, I totally wait for your story/enlightenment everyday. Keep them coming.

  9. This is our new favourite banana bread. We added the coconut sugar and It’s not too sweet. I love the addition of the tahini and the chocolate too. And the kids both love it!!
    So yummy! And as always, so simple to follow.

  10. Just made this tahini banana bread, i replaced the flour with oat flour(made the flour myself, so it was a bit chunky), it came out very good, moist and sweet. My grandma who is very picky and doesn’t like vegan baking, loved that bread, said its better than cake with butter :-))

    1. Hi Julia. I love that you made this with oat flour, I have been thinking of doing the same. Your grandma is very sweet 🙂

  11. This recipe is so delicious and easy. I didn’t have a loaf pan so just used a square cake tin and baked for about 35mins and came out perfect. The maple and sesame drizzle is such a yummy surprise, the crust and subtle sweetness just makes it- I used a mix of white and black sesame seeds. Such a good lunchbox treat ?

    1. Hi Andrea,

      Thank you for the lovely feedback and letting us know about the pan- so helpful! I love using a mix of sesame seeds too.

  12. Hi Jade, I finally made it (after it filling my feed for a fortnight ?). I’m GF and used 1 3/4 cups buckwheat and 1/4 cup tapioca flours. It is GREAT! I’ve not ever made such a fab GF cake!! Crunchy crust but spongy crumb. Amazing! Truly!!! Thank you! The middle sunk under the weight of the seeds and syrup but that just means we have sesame seeds from the top of the cake marbled throughout which is a bit spesh. Thanks and just wanted you to know in case other GF followers are interested

  13. Turned out beautifully! Everyone in the house enjoyed it. Will definitely be a regular favourite from now on.

    1. Hi Ayesha,

      Yes you can, just melt it first and allow to cool before using it. I’ve not tried it with coconut oil so do let me know how the taste holds up!

  14. Delicious !!!! I used 1 cup spelt and 1 cup almond meal for a GF version and it’s perfect , thank you for a great recipe

  15. This recipe is amazing n delicious. I shared half of loaf to my friend who don’t want to take white sugar . She was excited:) and I will make it again soon . Thank you

  16. Folks, look no further for any vegan banana bread! This is the BEST, incredibly moist, healthy and delicious banana bread. I used half spelt and half plain flour, and everything else exactly as listed measured on weighing scale. End result is tender and flavorful loaf, we eat it warmed up few seconds and slather some butter on top with cup of coffee in the morning!

  17. Folks, your search for vegan banana bread ends here! This turned out extremely moist, flavorful and perfect. I used half spelt flour and half plain flour – end result was delicious banana bread thats a keeper. We eat it warmed up with some butter on top with our morning cup of coffee.

  18. This recipe had been sitting in a tab on my browser for a week – I finally made it yesterday and I’m so happy I did! It is delicious and the earthy hint of tahini is perfect to balance out the banana. I topped mine with the chocolate, plus some cinnamon sugar that was hanging around on the bench and mixed sesame seeds. What a winner! Thank you.

    1. Hi Joanne. I’m glad you finally made it, and especially glad you enjoyed it. Tahini is the hidden superstar in here 🙂

  19. Made this today and it’s now my favourite vegan banana bread! I am very loose when it comes to following recipes, I had eyeballed all the wet ingredients and only measured the dry. Still came out perfect! Moist, great texture, and no gumminess. Replaced the plain white flour with whole spelt flour, almond milk with water, and coconut oil instead of olive oil. Feels like the perfect winter snack 🙂

    1. Hi Irene. Thank you for such a lovely review- I’ve always wondered how coconut oil would go in this recipe so it’s great to know it’s a success.

  20. One of my personal favourites that I always come back to. I love making this recipe with black tahini for an added depth of flavour. Such a beautiful combination and fresh take on banana bread x

  21. I made this banana bread and it turned out great! Really the best cake I made in taste, texture and wholesomeness. As it was mentioned i used gram measurements. Besides i used half spelt and half whole wheat flours, for the rest followed exact description. It came out so beautifully with roasted sesame on top…Tahini, chocolate, maple syrup, banana,… made the magic with your recipe Jade! Thank you! 🌹🌹🌹

    1. Hi Asfan. Thank you for the gorgeous review- I loved seeing your creation over on Instagram. I LOVE the recipe too.

  22. ..and today i made 12 muffins with this recipe! again so beautiful and delicious…🌹🌹🌹

  23. This recipe is the freakin bomb! I make it fortnightly and it lasts for up to five days in an airtight container. The tahini gives it amazing flavour. I do half plain half spelt flour. The topping is non-negotiable, really, really good. Thank you!

    1. Thank you Joanne! I’m glad you love it as much as we do- it’s our favourite. Happy baking 🙂

  24. Would it be possible to halve this recipe, would the cooking time need to be changed? Or could you make into muffins? Also I have US measuring cups, is it fine to use those as the proportions are still the same? Thanks for your time!

    1. Yes you could make it into muffins, though be not done this myself so I can advise how long they’ll need to bake. I have similar recipes on my blog though that are for muffins, so perhaps you’d like to try those first? Absolutely fine to use US cups- you’re correct, it’s really just about proportions.

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