These healthy vegan banana brownies are a tried-and-true reader favorite! Made with oat flour, they have a light, cake-like texture, with hints of banana bread and rich chocolate flavor. Plus, they're a sweet treat you can feel 100% great about! Made without oil or refined sugar, these banana brownies are WFPB (whole-food, plant-based), gluten-free, and dare I say it, healthy enough for breakfast!
Healthy Brownies
Not long ago I was working on a different brownie recipe (these fudgy almond flour brownies) and doing some research to get ideas.
I fully admit I've been living a somewhat sheltered, healthy-ish plant-based lifestyle for a long time, and I know my tastes have changed. But looking at some of the brownie recipes online kind of blew my mind!
We're talking heaps of butter, coconut oil, sugar, and flour... not to mention the chocolate!
I honestly can't imagine the tummy ache I would have after eating something that rich, and I'm sure I'm not alone.
Lightened-up versions of classic desserts are totally my jam! And these oil-free WFPB banana brownies are just perfect. Gotta love a dessert that doesn't leave you feeling sluggish and that's healthy enough for everyday!
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Why You'll Love Banana Brownies
One cup of mashed, overripe banana provides moisture, binding, and sweetness, which means we need less sugar.
And speaking of sugar, we're not using any of the refined stuff. We're using a combination of maple syrup and coconut sugar to make these healthy brownies taste dessert-worthy.
Oat flour lends really nice texture, nut butter gives them a bit of richness, and cocoa powder brings ALL the chocolate vibes. Include chocolate chips if you like!
At only 120 calories per brownie, these are surprisingly light, so I actually want to give you a heads up on that...
If you're looking for a super dense, rich, fudgy kind of brownie, these may not be the ones for you. I highly recommend these buckwheat brownies in that case.
But if you like the sound of a delicious, wholesome, cake-like brownie married with the warm flavor of banana bread and the crunch of walnuts, you're definitely in the right place!
Ingredient Notes
- Bananas - make sure to use bananas with a lot of dark spots. They should be soft, sweet, fragrant, and moist. Since we're not using oil, a lot of the moisture in the brownies comes from the bananas.
- Oat flour - use fine oat flour, whether store-bought or homemade in a high speed blender.
- Cocoa powder - regular or Dutch process cocoa.
- Sweeteners - maple syrup contributes moisture and flavor, so I can't recommend a substitute. Brown sugar may be used instead of coconut sugar.
- Almond butter - I like to use raw, unsalted almond butter in this recipe. Use your favorite nut or seed butter. If it's salted, reduce the sea salt to ¼ teaspoon.
- Coffee - just 1 tablespoon of brewed coffee really adds to the rich chocolate flavor. Also, a little liquid is important for the overall consistency of the batter. So if you don't have coffee, use your favorite non-dairy milk instead.
- Cinnamon - adds depth and lovely banana bread vibes! But if you don't enjoy cinnamon feel free to reduce or omit it.
See the recipe card below for amounts and full instructions.
Instructions
Start by preheating the oven and lining a square, metal 8x8-inch baking pan with parchment paper.
Next, combine the dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl. Then peel and thoroughly mash the bananas in a separate bowl.
The longer you stir and mash the bananas, the softer and more moist they will become. Measure to make sure you have 1 full cup mashed banana.
Add the remaining wet ingredients to the banana and whisk well. Pour into the mixing bowl, and stir to form a batter. Fold in the chopped walnuts.
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Transfer the batter to the prepared pan, and bake for 28 to 31 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Let cool in the pan for 20-30 minutes, then move to a cooling rack.
Tips for Slicing
The only difficult part of this recipe is waiting while they cool! Between the bananas, cinnamon, maple, and cocoa, they smell totally irresistible.
Since these brownies are gluten-free and have a tender, cake-like texture, it's best to wait until they're completely cool before cutting into squares. I know it's tough, but I believe in you!
And hey, if the smell of chocolate banana brownies overtakes your will, and you cut into them a bit early, is a bit of crumbly, moist, chocolatey goodness really such a bad thing? I think not.
Serving Suggestions
For breakfast: Enjoy a banana brownie straight from the fridge for breakfast along with a hot cup of coffee. Sometimes I like to pair it with a spoonful of peanut butter to make it extra filling. They're also great with fresh berries and yogurt!
Afternoon snack: These brownies travel well and make a great on-the-go snack since they're fine at room temperature all day.
For dessert: I'm perfectly happy having one or two of these small brownies after dinner as a healthy dessert. For more indulgence, serve them with your favorite non-dairy whipped cream or vegan ganache on top!
Banana brownies taste fantastic with a scoop of any of these homemade vegan ice creams:
- Vanilla Oat Milk Ice Cream - a reader favorite!
- Banana Nice Cream
- Vegan Butter Pecan Ice Cream
- Chocolate Chickpea Ice Cream - nut-free
Substitutions
- Almond butter: Other options are tahini, sunbutter, peanut butter, or cashew butter.
- Flour: Though I haven't yet tested the recipe with other whole-grain flours, I do think it will be fairly forgiving. The key is to use the same weight in grams. For example, if you want to use whole-wheat flour instead of oat flour, use ¾ cup (approx. 90 grams) instead of 1 cup.
- Cocoa powder: For the best flavor I recommend regular cocoa powder instead of raw cacao powder – although you can definitely use cacao if that's what you have. Also, as noted in the recipe, if using Dutch process cocoa, use baking powder instead of baking soda.
How to Store
Once the brownies are cool, I like to leave them on the parchment paper and transfer them to a storage container with a tight-fitting lid.
If you need to stack them to fit inside the container, place parchment between the layers to prevent sticking.
The brownies are fine at room temperature for a day or two, or in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. I actually prefer them cool, straight from the fridge.
Banana brownies freeze well, too. They thaw fairly quickly, so just pull one from the freezer an hour or two before you'd like to eat.
Top Tip
Make sure to use very ripe bananas with plenty of dark spots on the peels. They should be sweet, fragrant, and soft since they provide a lot of the moisture in the brownies.
More Healthy Dessert Recipes
I hope you love these Vegan Banana Brownies! If you try the recipe, leave a comment below to let us know. You can also tag me on instagram with @myquietkitchen. I always love to see what you're making!
Recipe Video
Tap to play the video and see how to make banana brownies.
Recipe
Healthy Vegan Banana Brownies
Equipment
Ingredients
Dry ingredients:
- 1 cup oat flour (100 g) - Use certified gluten-free oat flour if needed
- ½ cup natural cocoa powder - If using Dutch-processed cocoa (alkalized), replace the baking soda with baking powder.
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon - reduce or omit if you like
- ½ teaspoon fine sea salt
Wet ingredients:
- 1 cup mashed overripe banana - about 2 very large bananas; should have plenty of dark spots
- ¼ cup maple syrup
- ¼ cup coconut sugar - Can sub date or brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon brewed coffee - or non-dairy milk
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- ⅓ cup runny almond butter, unsalted - Or any nut/seed butter you like; will alter flavor
Addition:
- ½ cup chopped raw walnuts
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F (177°C), and line an 8x8 metal baking pan with parchment paper.
- In a large mixing bowl whisk together the oat flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, cinnamon and salt.
- Place the bananas in a small bowl, and thoroughly mash with a fork. It's fine to have a few larger pieces remaining. Measure to make sure you have 1 cup of mashed banana. Add the maple syrup, coconut sugar, coffee, vanilla, and almond butter, and stir vigorously until smooth.
- Pour the wet mixture into the dry, and stir until fully combined. Fold in the walnuts.
- Transfer batter to the prepared pan, and bake for 28 to 31 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
- Let the banana brownies rest in the pan for 20 minutes, then lift out by the parchment paper. Allow to cool completely before cutting into 16 squares.
Notes
Estimated Nutrition (per serving)
Nutrition information is an estimate and will vary depending on the exact amounts and specific products and ingredients used.
Aubree says
These look really good, but I feel like if you're going to advertise that they're only 120 calories per brownie, you should point out that 1 brownie/serving=only 1/16 of the pan. I can't be sure how small your slices are in the photos, but they look closer to the typical 1/9 of the pan that most people would slice an 8x8in dish of brownies into (which would almost double the calories). Slicing them into 16 would be much smaller, closer to bite-sized brownies - which maybe some people are looking for, but it's not standard or expected. And yes I know you put the correct serving size in the recipe card, but in the post itself the brownies look a lot bigger than 1/16 of an 8x8in pan. It's not a big deal (just a pet peeve of mine) but it seems a bit misleading.
Lori says
Hi Aubree, actually the brownies in the photos *are* cut into 16 squares, exactly as described in the recipe card. Here is a different angle. https://myquietkitchen.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/healthy-brownies.jpg
The photos in the post were shot fairly close up because I wanted to show the texture and yummy banana bits. I suppose they look large because of that. My goal is always to provide clear, accurate information, and that's why I mentioned that these contain 120 calories per square. The chocolate looks very rich on the screen, so I wanted to make it EXTRA clear that these are light so there's no confusion. For me a serving is more like 2 or 3 squares!! But not everyone will want the same amount.
mimi says
Well.. I was expecting more..
Maybe you can call it cake, but not brownies. They were rather dry - altough I put 1 banana additionally and baked it only 30min.
too bad, my hopes were high -I usually love vegan baking
Lori says
Hi Mimi, yes these are a light, oil-free, lower calorie, healthy treat which is why I made it clear in the post that the texture is more cake-like. Sorry you were disappointed! It sounds like there’s a chance your bananas weren’t ripe enough, though, because a lot of the moisture comes from the bananas. Increasing the nut butter will also add more richness. Better luck next time!
Carolyn Shipley says
I just made these and am very pleased. They are delicious! I am unfamiliar with using oat flour in place of all-purpose flour. I did not have cocoa powder but did have cacao powder. I researched this and took their advice and used less cacao powder(1/3 cup) in place of the cocoa powder. I baked for 35 minutes and they turned out to have a moist and crumbly cake texture. Thank you!
Gayi says
Just made them in the food processor. Super easy and super tasty. Thank you for the recipe:)
Jamie says
Stellar recipe! As healthy as oatmeal bars and convincing as brownies! I prefer less sweet so I halved it (with honey 'cause it's what I've got), and they are delicious! The best part: they leave us feeling energized and well instead of heavy and lethargic like regular brownies would. Thanks, Lori!
annie says
could i use almond flour instead of the oat flour?
Lori says
Hi Annie, unfortunately I haven't tried that so it's difficult to say. I don't think a straight swap would work, but I do think you could incorporate almond flour along with another flour, maybe a gluten-free blend, or some tapioca to help it bind. If you give it a try definitely let us know how it turns out!
Alex says
Just made these. Easy and tasty!
Bella says
Made this the other day with very overripe bananas, they were delicious! Now I want more, but I have no bananas. Do you think I can substitute the banana with applesauce? Thanks!
Lori says
Hi Bella, so glad you loved them! Sadly applesauce won't produce anything similar. The bananas are critical for sweetness, flavor, and binding. Maybe time to stock up and freeze some nanas for next time!
Isa says
Baked this morning and used almond flour instead of oat. Works well! They are a tad too sweet for my taste so will half the sugar and maple syrup next time. Thanks for the quick and easy recipe!
Lori says
Thanks for the feedback, Isa! Glad you enjoyed them.
Lora says
These were quite yummy! I used a food processor for all the wet ingredients then added in the dry ones and mixed just till combined and it worked wonderfully. I used 25grams regular cocoa and 25grams dutched special dark so adjusted to 1/2 tsp b soda and 1/3 tsp b powder. and only 80grams oat flour and used peanut butter. I did forget to add the tablespoon of milk so that may be why they were a tad dry. They were still quite moist, maybe dense(in a good flavorful way) is a better way to describe. Nonetheless, they were loved by my fam, enjoyed with a glass of milk. I just wrote the recipe into my book, so it’s a keeper.:) Thank you for posting it!
Lori says
So glad you and your fam enjoyed them! Thanks for the feedback, Lora.
job says
Can another flour be substituted for oat flour in this recipe?
Lori says
Yes, other flours could certainly work, but oat is the only one I've tested. I would stick with whole-grain, fiber-rich flours that are more on the coarse side, similar to oat flour. Lighter, more refined flours might become gummy.
ShaunD says
These were very easy and delicious! I think that next time I will add some mini chocolate chips. I will also sift my dry ingreds, as I had a few lumps. These were actually better a day or 2 later. Because these reminded me of banana bread and I like to toast it, I split them, toasted them and added a little vegan butter. Ooolala!
Kim says
These are super easy to make, and taste great - the cinnamon is such a nice touch! These pair really well with So Delicious' Bananas Foster cashew ice cream ? Thanks for the recipe!
Lori says
That does sound like a delicious pairing! Thanks so much, Kim. I'm really happy you enjoyed them!
JoshR says
After making hundreds of brownies, I was a little disappointed with these. Maybe my bananas were not sweet enough, but these brownies needed some sweetness. Next time I'd either add some sugar, maple syrup or mung fruit sweetener to balance out the slight bitterness of the cocoa powder. Otherwise a great recipe.