Strawberry Banana Bread (Vegan & GF)

Everyone loves banana bread. Myself included! And in the summer, there's nothing I love more than adapting my favorite homemade gluten-free vegan banana bread with fresh in-season strawberries. Combined with ripe mashed bananas, the strawberries add delicious sweet-tart flavor and bright pockets of juiciness. I hardly need to sweeten this bread at all. Just a little coconut sugar and maple syrup keep it refined sugar-free.

Since many of my banana bread recipes use eggs, I've been on a mission to create a vegan banana bread for you. And I've finally nailed it! I actually used my chocolate zucchini bread as a base, and tweaked the recipe slightly to end up with this beauty of a strawberry banana bread. We're talking perfectly sweet, good rise, a nice balance of banana and strawberry flavor, and also completely oil-free.

Why This Gluten-Free vegan Strawberry Banana Bread is Worth Baking

• Use up overripe bananas. I love bananas and I ALWAYS have them on hand. Sometimes, a few of them get past their prime. Too sweet and brown for eating, but ideal for baking and, you guessed it, banana bread recipes!
• Moist and tender. There are no eggs, dairy, or refined sugar, and this strawberry banana bread is as soft, flavorful, and decadent as ever.
• Swirled with strawberry jam. In addition to the fresh chopped strawberries studded throughout the bread, I'll show you how to create swirls of strawberry sauce, chocolate sauce, or peanut butter, too!
• One bowl. You can mix your ingredients separately if you prefer, but this banana bread comes together easily in one bowl.

Ingredients You'll Need

These are the ingredients needed to make this gluten-free and vegan banana bread with strawberries. See the recipe card for exact measurements.

• Mashed bananas – You'll need about two large bananas or three medium bananas to make 3/4 cup mashed.
• Flax eggs – You can buy store-bought flax eggs or learn how to make a flax egg from flaxmeal and water.
• Dairy-free milk – I use almond milk, but any dairy-free milk alternative, like oat or soy milk, will also work. I recommend unsweetened.
• Maple syrup and coconut sugar – My two sweeteners of choice. You can use only coconut sugar if you don't have maple syrup.
• Apple cider vinegar – Reacts with the baking soda to help the bread rise nice and tall. White vinegar is a good substitute.
• Oat and quinoa flour – I love this combination of gluten-free flours in baking. Oat flour makes the banana bread soft, while quinoa flour adds protein and binds the ingredients nicely. You'll find oat flour and quinoa flour from brands like Bob's Red Mill in the States, either in supermarkets or online. If you find quinoa flour has a bitter-ish taste, you can toast the quinoa flour to remove it.
• Arrowroot starch – The starch mimics the gluten in this gluten-free strawberry banana bread, giving it structure.
• Baking powder and baking soda – I use both for a light, lifted quick bread. Make sure that your leavening is as fresh as possible.
• Strawberries – Fresh or frozen. If you're using fresh strawberries, wash, dry, and hull them before you chop them. If you're using frozen strawberries, thaw them completely and use paper towels to pat them dry.
• Strawberry jam – For swirling. Optional, but so fun!

How to make This Strawberry Banana Bread Recipe

What's great about this banana and strawberry bread is that it can absolutely be made in one bowl if you want. I would recommend starting with the wet ingredients in a large bowl, then adding the dry ingredients.

• Mix the wet ingredients. Combine the wet ingredients and beat until smooth.
• Add the dry ingredients. Add the dry ingredients to make a thickish batter. Don't overmix.
• Add the strawberries. From there, you can fold in your strawberries. Pour the batter into a lined 9″ loaf pan. At this stage, you can bake right away OR give your banana bread a strawberry swirl. See below.
• Bake. Bake this strawberry banana bread at 350ºF for 60-70 minutes, until a cake tester or toothpick comes out clean. Let the bread fully cool before you slice it.

Making a Strawberry Swirl

The last step before baking, which is optional but recommended, is to add a strawberry swirl. Swirling the batter is very easy. I use strawberry jam, but you can use this same process with anything from chocolate sauce to peanut butter. Here's how to do it:

1. Dollop a few tablespoons of your swirl ingredient on top of the dough.
2. Use a chopstick and stick it in the center of the dollop.
3. Move the chopstick around in swirling motions to create the swirl. Afterward, bake the loaf as usual.

Tips for the Best Homemade Banana Bread

• Don't overmix. Even though there isn't gluten in this recipe, it's still a good idea to use a light hand when mixing your banana bread batter. Fold in the strawberries right at the end, and swirl gently when adding the jam.
• Cool before slicing. If you cut into this strawberry banana bread while it's still warm, it may crumble apart.
• Line the pan. This makes it SO much easier to remove the bread from the pan after it's cooled. Leave a little parchment paper overhanging on each side, and you can lift it right out.

Ways to Serve Strawberry Banana Bread

Now, are you ready to taste this recipe or what? It's delicious on its own, but let me give you a quick tip. If you want to take this from delicious to out-of-this-world…

• Drizzle on some melted coconut butter or homemade nut butter
• Sprinkle on some chopped strawberries
• … and top it with some cacao nibs or coconut whipped cream.

It will make this the best slice of vegan banana bread you've ever tasted. Promise.

Proper Storage

• Freeze it. If you aren't planning on eating this strawberry banana bread all at once, I'd recommend that you freeze it. Flash-freeze the slices on a baking tray, then wrap them up in plastic wrap and put them in a sealed container or bag. You can heat up or defrost slices n the toaster oven or microwave.
• Refrigerate. Alternatively, you could also refrigerate this bread, but I don't think it will stay fresh that long. I'd give it 2 – 3 days in the fridge max.

More Strawberry Recipes

• Gluten-Free & Vegan Strawberry Shortcake
• Balsamic Strawberry & Rhubarb Crisp
• Strawberry Quinoa Breakfast Bowl
• Strawberry Banana Oatmeal Muffins