Vegan Banana Cake

Name: Vegan Banana Cake
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 35 min
Total time: 50 min
Ingredients: 160 ml soy milk; 2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar; 280 g ripe bananas (approx 2 large or 3 medium); 250 g plain flour; 2 ½ teaspoons baking powder; 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon; ½ teaspoon sea salt; 100 g vegan butter (room temperature *see notes); 100 g granulated sugar (*see notes); 70 g soft brown sugar; 2 teaspoons vanilla extract; 50 g vegan Greek-style yogurt (or soy/coconut yogurt); ½ batch easy vegan frosting ((to lightly frost) or full batch to generously frost); 1 banana sliced lengthways (or dried banana coins); ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon; 1 tablespoon brown sugar

If you're a banana lover then this easy vegan banana cake will blow your mind! The texture is in between vegan banana bread and vanilla cake, light, fluffy, and sweet!

The banana and cinnamon flavors are absolutely divine paired with this easy vegan frosting (which can be whipped up in under 5 minutes). But you could also top it with non-dairy cream cheese frosting.

banana sheet cake with cream cheese frosting and banana slices on a peach surface.

📖 Recipe Overview

Moist, fFuffy, and Tender. Thanks to a combination of ripe bananas, non-dairy yogurt, and homemade buttermilk, the texture of this banana tray cake is perfection.
Easy to Make. Straight-forward and simple to put together with pantry staple ingredients. You don't need to be a skilled cake decorated either. Similar to this chai sheet cake, the frosting is best just slapped on with a spoon or spatula, no need to make it perfect!
Great for Reducing Food Waste. I often have spotty bananas lying on the kitchen counter. This, along with banana muffins, is one of my favorite ways to use them up and prevent them from going to waste.

📝 Ingredients Needed

Here's everything you need to make this easy vegan banana cake recipe from scratch:

ingredients for vegan banana cake measured out in bowls on a grey stone surface.

Ingredient Notes

Spotty bananas. Slightly overripe bananas made the best banana cake. Underripe bananas are too starchy and lack the sweetest, and flavor needed for this cake.
Vegan buttermilk adds rise to the cake, giving it a beautiful fluffy crumb.
Vegan yogurt. I love adding the to vegan cake recipes such as apple cake, and vanilla cupcakes. It acts as an egg replacer in vegan baking, I prefer using it to applesauce a lot of the time as it avoids adding additional sweetness.
Soft brown sugar and granulated or cane sugar. A combination of sugars works best, as brown sugar adds moisture and a caramelized flavor whilst white sugar provides structure.
Ground cinnamon adds a little warming spice to the cake. You can skip it if you aren't a fan, or even sprinkle extra on top of the frosting if you love it!

🥣 How To Make Vegan Banana Cake

Find the complete list of ingredients, quantities, and instructions in the recipe card at the end of this post.

This recipe won't take longer than 10 minutes to prepare, and you can also check out this Instagram Reel showing how it's made.

Making the cake batter:

(1) Mash the bananas using a fork and set them aside.
(2) Cream together the vegan butter, granulated and brown sugar until light and fluffy.
(3) Whisk in the vegan yogurt and vanilla, followed by the mashed banana.
(4) Alternate between mixing in the vegan buttermilk and dry ingredients (plain flour, cinnamon, baking powder, and sea salt) in 2 increments until just combined.

mixing banana cake ingredients in a large clear bowl with a hand mixer.

How to assemble and bake the banana cake:

(5) Pour the cake batter into a prepared rectangular pan, and smooth out the top with an offset spatula.
(6) Bake until golden brown, this will be between 35-40 minutes, depending on your oven.
(7) Prepare half a batch of vegan frosting and use a spatula or large spoon to swirl it on top of the cooled cake.
(8) Garnish the cake with fresh banana slices or dried banana coins, just before serving.

banana sheet cake on a flat surface with buttercream frosting and sliced bananas on top.

📝 Recipe Tips

Quickly ripen bananas. Don't have time to wait for your bananas to ripen and turn spotty? Simply preheat your oven to 175°C (347°F) and bake them on a lined baking sheet for 15 minutes. Allow the bananas to cool to room temperature before removing the skins.

Don't under-cream the ingredients. Beat the sugar and butter until fluffy and the sugar granules dissolve into the butter, this should take about 4-5 minutes.

Don't over-mix the dry ingredients into the batter. Instead, mix the wet and dry ingredients until just combined. Otherwise, you could overwork the gluten and end up with a dense, gummy consistency.

💬 FAQs

Can I make a vegan banana layer cake using this recipe?

Absolutely, you can divide the batter into 2x 6", 7", or 8" pans lined with parchment paper.

Note that thinner cakes will take a little less time to bake, so check them at 25-30 minutes.

Does vegan banana cake need to be refrigerated?

This banana cake is best served at room temperature to ensure it keeps its fluffy consistency.

If you don't plan on eating it on the day it's baked, seal it in an airtight container and refrigerate for up to 5 days. Then remove the cake from the fridge about 1-2 hours before serving to bring it back to room temperature.

Can I freeze banana cake?

Yes, you can freeze it either frosted or unfrosted. For unfrosted cakes, carefully wrap them in parchment paper and freeze. Frosted cakes may be better off in an airtight container to avoid squashing the buttercream.

To defrost, leave the cake in the refrigerator overnight before serving.