Vegan Sourdough Banana Bread is a great way to use up your sourdough starter discard! This easy banana bread does not require eggs or milk, making it easy to whip up even if your pantry is a little sparse!
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Sourdough starter is really having a moment.
With everyone stuck at home, it is hard to find someone who hasn’t at least considered dabbling in sourdough.
I’ve been a fan of sourdough for a long time. For a couple of years I had a starter made using my sourdough starter tutorial.
When we got married and were gone several weeks for the wedding and honeymoon, I ended up letting my starter die off. RIP.
Several months ago I decided to get into sourdough again. This time, instead of making my own starter, I got some from a friend who works at a local bakery.
If you aren’t up for starting your own from scratch, getting some from a friend or a bakery is a great option. The older a starter is, the more flavorful it is, so you’d be ahead of the game from the jump.
Either way, one of the things I like most about sourdough is how versatile it is.
Sure, you can make a traditional sourdough boule or batard. (My current favorite being Joshua Weissman’s No Knead Beginner Sourdough Bread.)
But you can also make less-traditional breads, such as sourdough focaccia or Roasted Strawberry Sourdough Muffins, with your starter.
Hell, you can even make pancakes, waffles, or sourdough crackers.
The thing about making recipes like muffins and crackers is that you can actually make use of your starter discard – that is, the leftover starter that you would normally throw away when you feed your starter.
But one of my favorite ways to use my discard is in this Vegan Sourdough Banana Bread.
BANANA BREAD USING SOURDOUGH DISCARD
As you guys know, I’m not strictly a vegan baker, and most of the time my vegan recipes are only vegan by accident.
But the happy side-effect of this recipe being intentionally vegan is that, in addition to using up your sourdough discard, it can be made even if your pantry and fridge are looking a little sparse.
No eggs? No problem.
No milk? No problem.
No butter? No problem.
The sourdough starter provides the same moisture and tang that buttermilk would in traditional banana bread, and a “flax egg” (ground flax and water) stands in place of chicken eggs.
This recipe also has very little oil, using only 2 tablespoons of coconut oil.
If you like, you can use one large egg in place of the “flax egg” if you happen to have eggs on hand (and don’t need the bread to be vegan, of course).
HOW TO MAKE SOURDOUGH BANANA BREAD
Unlike traditional sourdough breads that require stretching and folding and long fermentation (rise) times, making Vegan Sourdough Banana Bread is not that much different from making regular banana bread.
First, combine the ground flax and the water. As that hangs out, it will thicken and take on a consistency similar to an egg. This is your “flax egg”!
Whisk together the dry ingredients.
Mix together the wet ingredients.
Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and fold in some chopped pecans.
Pour into a prepared loaf pan and bake!
I like to make this bread with some chopped pecans, but you could go for some chocolate chips if you prefer.
But what about toppings? Before baking, you can sprinkle the top with some more ground flaxseed, cinnamon sugar, or more chopped pecans!
You could even decorate the top with some slices of banana. Really, it’s all about what sounds best to you.
How you eat your banana bread? Well, that’s up to you. Although I personally suggest it warmed with some butter {or, you know, vegan margarine} and a hefty sprinkling of cinnamon sugar.
But that’s just my opinion.
Vegan Sourdough Banana Bread
Ingredients
- 1 cup sourdough starter
- 3 bananas mashed
- 1 tablespoon ground flaxseed
- 3 tablespoons water
- 2 tablespoons melted coconut oil
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup whole wheat flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 3/4 cup chopped pecans
- Optional toppings: Ground flaxseed; cinnamon sugar; chopped or whole pecans
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Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9×5-inch loaf pan; set aside.
- In a small bowl, combine the ground flaxseed with the water. Set aside for 10-15 minutes, or until thickened and the consistency of an egg.
- In a large bowl, combine the flours, baking soda, and salt.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the starter, mashed banana, flaxseed mixture (your “flax egg”), vanilla, oil, and brown sugar. Add to the dry ingredients and stir until just combined. Gently fold in the pecans.
- Pour the batter into the prepared loaf pan. If desired, sprinkle the top generously with extra ground flaxseed, cinnamon sugar, or pecans. Bake for 50-60 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Allow to cool before removing from the pan, then set on a rack to cool completely.
Notes
Nutrition
About Stephie
Stephie is the creator of Stephie Cooks, a food blog that focuses on creating memories around the food we share, with family recipes at the site’s heart. Stephie lives in Central Illinois with her husband, daughter, and a menagerie of cats and dogs. When she’s not in the kitchen or at her computer writing, you can usually find her curled up with a book or working on one of her many grandma-esque hobbies. Learn more >
Wow! This is a fantastic banana nut bread recipe! It’s a lot healthier than most on the internet and a good way to use sourdough discard. It turned out great for me! I wound up with about 1 1/2 cup of banana which worked out well. Thank you for this recipe.
So happy you enjoyed it!
Hi there, I’m wondering if regular flour can be used or even gluten free, instead of the wheat flour? Thanks so much🩷💫
Hi Cristina – I haven’t tried using gluten-free flour, but you could definitely sub the whole wheat flour for all-purpose flour. Hope this helps!
Stephie
Bananas vary so much in size.
I a curious what the ‘cup’ measurements should be for this recipe.
Anxious to make this! Yum!
Hi there! They definitely do vary a lot in size, but I have made this many, many times with bananas of varying sizes and it has always turned out great. Use what you have available and I know it’ll be great!
Stephie, I’m interested in making vegan discarded sourdough bread with the same recipe as your banana bread recipe, please help ! I’ve been going nuts looking for one. thank you for your recipes I will be trying some.
Sincerely Virginia
I love this bread! It looks so delicious and fun to do. Can’t wait to try this recipe, thanks for sharing!
This turned out so amazing and perfect. I used my sourdough discard and Pamela’s All Purpose Gluten free flour blend in place of the All Purpose flour. I did let the batter sit for 40 min to kind of activate, and then baked it. SO. GOOD! Thanks so much for this recipe! This will be my go to banana bread recipe from now on 🙂
I am so glad you enjoyed! Thank you so much for sharing!
If I wanted to bake this recipe in a cupcake pan, how much time would you recommend in the oven?
I haven’t made this recipe into muffins, but muffins typically need around 18-22 minutes to bake.
This was very good banana bread. I was surprised how “moist” it was using a lot less oil than the traditional banana bread recipe I usually use. Next time I want to try leaving it to ferment longer like Shelly did.