Bananas and chocolate chips are a dream team, but add a few swirls of black tahini to the batter and you've got next-level banana bread. This Vegan Chocolate Tahini Banana Bread bakes up tender, rich, and nutty with melty pockets of chocolate chips throughout. Who could resist? And here's some good news: it makes two loaves, because trust me, one won't last.
I say banana bread, but it's more like cake! It's delicious and fudgy, and the organic black sesame butter adds a rich and unique note to this delicious recipe. Another quick bread recipe that we love is this Vegan Cranberry Orange Bread around the holidays.
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This vegan chocolate tahini banana bread recipe is decadent, satisfying, and brimming with chocolate chips! Refined sugar-free and whole grain, this vegan version is perfect for a snack or indulgent breakfast. In fact, it's like eating chocolate cake that has bananas in it! You may also like this Vegan Chocolate Blood Orange Cake and Vegan Chocolate Fig Cupcakes with Irish Cream Frosting.
Making this delicious banana bread with melty chocolate chips is a great way to use up spotty bananas. Ripe large bananas have a natural sweetness which is perfect for making a lot of banana bread. Whether served warm from the oven spread generously with sweetened whipped coconut cream or enjoyed on its own as an anytime snack, what more could you want?
Got lots of bananas ripening on your kitchen counter? Try my Easy Vegan Banana Oat Pancakes, Vegan Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins, or these Vegan Buckwheat Banana Waffles.
Ingredients
Here are the simple ingredients you need to make this recipe:
- Very ripe bananas - brown and spotty, so they are sweet enough for this recipe. They are the key ingredient! I leave bananas on the counter until they ripen enough to make banana bread.
- Applesauce - for an egg replacement (not pictured).
- Organic cacao powder - I used the Navitas Organics brand (not pictured).
- Arrowroot powder - for additional tenderness and softness to the flour. If you do not have it, you can use organic cornstarch, or you can omit it.
- Black tahini - a good quality tahini with a more liquid consistency is better. I like Eden brand's black sesame butter. Some brands of tahini are stiffer than others. If yours is stiff, mix it with water to thin it.
- Apple cider vinegar - this is added to the soy milk to create a "buttermilk" (not pictured).
A complete ingredient list with exact amounts can be found in the recipe card below.
This chocolate banana bread is delicious! Just the right amount of spices and the additional of tahini is such a great idea. Definitely a keeper!
- Sandra
What is Tahini?
It is ground sesame paste, if you haven't baked or cooked with tahini before. The texture is like a smooth paste. If you cannot find black tahini, ground black sesame seeds, you can use regular tahini.
Tahini is made from untoasted and sometimes lightly toasted white sesame seeds and has a nutty, slightly bitter flavor.
The black tahini gives this banana bread a slight nuttiness and depth of flavor. This banana bread will not be as dark if you use regular tahini. Whichever tahini you use, the runnier it is, the better.
Substitutions and Variations
- Spelt flour - use whole wheat pastry flour or organic all-purpose flour.
- Arrowroot powder - use organic cornstarch instead.
- Apple cider vinegar - use fresh lemon juice instead.
- Black tahini - use regular tahini instead. If it is too thick, thin it with a small amount of water so it pours easily.
- Soy milk - use cashew milk or oat milk instead. The texture of the banana bread may change slightly. Soy milk reacts with apple cider vinegar or lemon juice the best to create a vegan version of buttermilk. If you use almond milk, it will not curdle as much. You can also mix plant-based yogurt with a small amount of plant-based milk, giving this banana bread a brownie-like texture.
- Organic cane sugar - may be substituted with coconut sugar or brown sugar, or a mix. I don't recommend a liquid sweetener because that will change this recipe's liquid/solid ratio. The amount of organic cane sugar balances the flavor of the tahini.
- Vegan chocolate chips - use walnuts or pecans instead.
- Organic cane sugar - use organic brown sugar instead or a combination.
- Applesauce - use canned pumpkin instead.
How to Make Vegan Chocolate Tahini Banana Bread
Grab your mixing bowl and maybe a cup of coffee, because this vegan chocolate tahini banana bread is about to become your favorite bake!
- Step 1: Preheat the oven to 375°F. Grease two 5x9 baking dishes with coconut oil or avocado oil. Line the baking dishes with parchment paper to make it easier to remove the banana bread.
- Step 2: Add the apple cider vinegar and vanilla to the soy milk and let rest for ten minutes while you prepare the rest of the ingredients.
- Step 3: Sift the dry ingredients into a medium bowl. In this image, the cacao powder hadn't been added yet.
- Step 4: Mash the ripe bananas in a large bowl with a large fork or potato masher.
- Step 5: Add soy milk with apple cider vinegar, applesauce, and black sesame butter. Stir together well with a spatula.
- Step 6: Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients. Stir and fold the mixture until combined.
- Step 7: Stir in a cup of chocolate chips.
- Step 8: Pour the mixture into the two baking dishes and top with the rest of the chocolate chips.
- Step 9: Bake for fifty to sixty minutes, checking at fifty minutes if the bread is done. See my tips below. Depending on your oven, you might need an extra five or ten minutes. Remove the banana bread from the oven and let it cool for at least twenty minutes on a wire rack before serving.
How to Tell When the Vegan Chocolate Tahini Banana Bread is Done
- Press the top of the bread gently, and it should spring back. Another way of checking is to put a wooden toothpick into the middle of each loaf.
- The edges of the cake will start browning and pulling away from the edges of the pan.
- If raw batter comes out with the toothpick, keep baking and check it every five minutes. I usually turn off the oven at this point. The heat inside the oven will continue baking the banana bread for the next five or ten additional minutes if needed.
Expert Tip
Be sure to use the ripest bananas you can find, the spottier and darker, the better. At this point, the bananas will start to soften inside. Sweet, overripe bananas are perfect for this banana bread. It's worth the wait to set some bananas aside until they ripen fully. Once your bananas are ripe, please keep them in the fridge while waiting for them to turn dark.
Recipe FAQs
Store this cake, wrapped well, at room temperature for three days. It can be refrigerated for up to five days, or frozen (airtight) for one month. I refrigerate this moist leftover cake; it does not dry out in the fridge. The two loaves are gone in our household within four or five days!
Cool the vegan chocolate tahini bread completely. Wrap it tightly in plastic wrap and in aluminum foil before placing it in a freezer-safe Ziploc bag. If you're not using a Ziploc bag, wrap it again with aluminum foil. Store it in the freezer for up to four months. Freeze individual slices for a ready-to-eat snack or breakfast. Double-wrap or triple the slices to avoid freezer burn and keep the bread from drying out in the freezer.
More Vegan Chocolate Recipes
If you try this recipe or any other recipe on my website, please leave a star rating and let me know how it goes in the comments below. I love hearing from you!
Recipe
Vegan Chocolate Tahini Banana Bread
EQUIPMENT
INGREDIENTS
- 1 cup soy milk or 7 oz plant-based yogurt plus ¼ cup plant-based milk
- 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 2 cups spelt flour or whole wheat pastry flour
- 1 ¼ cup organic cane sugar
- ½ cup organic cacao powder
- 2 tablespoons arrowroot powder or organic cornstarch, optional
- 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
- 1 ½ teaspoons baking soda
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
- ½ teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
- 4 very ripe medium bananas spotty are best, almost turning black
- ⅓ cup applesauce
- ½ cup black sesame butter or tahini or regular tahini, a runny type is preferred
- 1 ¾ cups dairy-free chocolate chips divided
INSTRUCTIONS
- Preheat oven to 375°F. Grease two 5x9 baking dishes with coconut oil or organic all-vegetable shortening and line the dishes with parchment paper so they hang over the edges.
- Combine soy milk, apple cider vinegar, and vanilla extract in a liquid measuring cup or small bowl.
- In a medium mixing bowl, sift together the spelt flour, organic cane sugar, cacao powder, arrowroot powder, baking powder, baking soda, sea salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg.
- In a large mixing bowl, mash the bananas with a large fork or potato masher. Add soy milk with apple cider vinegar, applesauce, and black sesame butter. Stir together well with a spatula.
- Add the flour mixture to the wet ingredients. Stir and fold the mixture until combined. Stir in 1 cup of chocolate chips.
- Pour the mixture into the two 9x5 inch loaf pans. Top with the remaining chocolate chips.
- Bake for 50 to 60 minutes, checking for doneness at 50 minutes. Insert a wooden toothpick into the middle of each bread. The bread is done when moist crumbs or no crumbs come out. If raw batter comes out with the toothpick, keep baking and checking for doneness every 5 minutes. The edges should pull away from the sides of the pan.
- Remove the baking dishes from the oven and let cool for 20 minutes on a rack. Remove with parchment paper before serving. Let cool completely before storage. Makes approximately 16 slices from 2 loaves.
NOTES
- Be sure to use the ripest bananas you can find, the spottier and darker, the better. At this point, they will start to soften inside. Perfect! Otherwise, the banana bread will not be as sweet as it could be. It's worth the wait to set some bananas aside until they ripen fully. Once your bananas are ripe, you can keep them in the fridge while you're waiting for them to turn dark.
- If you wish, you can freeze the second loaf. You can store this cake, wrapped well, at room temperature for three days. It can be refrigerated for up to five days, or frozen (airtight) for one month. Wrap tightly in plastic wrap and aluminum foil before freezing it in an airtight freezer-safe ziplock bag. Let thaw in the fridge overnight.
NUTRITION
Resplendent Kitchen offers nutritional information for recipes contained on this site as a courtesy. Although resplendentkitchen.com attempts to provide accurate nutritional information from online calculators, these figures are estimates.
Emily says
We really enjoyed this recipe! It was so easy to follow! The tahini really was a nice touch!
Emily says
Thank you so much for taking the time to review my recipe, Emily! I'm glad that you found it easy to follow and enjoyed the tahini!
Farah says
I love the flavor of tahini and it complements bananas so well! What a great recipe!
Emily says
Thank you Farah for your kind review!
Sandra says
This chocolate banana bread is delicious! Just the right amount of spices and the additional of tahini is such a great idea. Definitely a keeper!
Emily says
Thank you for the review and I'm so glad you enjoyed it! We love experimenting with new flavors and we're excited to hear that this recipe was a hit.
Danielle says
I am loving that this is made with tahini. I love the flavor of tahini and never thought to use it in banana bread. Great idea!
Emily says
Thank you for your review, Danielle! I'm glad to hear that you liked the idea of using tahini in this recipe!
Andrea says
Love this banana bread recipe. I had a jar of tahini I was trying to use and this recipe was perfect and tasty.
Emily says
Hi Andrea, thanks so much for your review! I'm glad to hear you enjoyed the recipe.
Vidya says
Addition of tahini is a masterstroke! I cannot wait to try this at home as we are fans of banana bread and I have a jar of tahini lying in my refrigerator.
Emily says
Thank you, Vidya, I hope you enjoy it!
Nancy says
That added tahini is really lovely with the chocolate!
Emily says
Thank you so much, Nancy!