This Banana Cake is a delicious, one-bowl vegan recipe made from mashed ripe bananas, walnuts and whole wheat flour. Tasty and a bit healthier than traditional Cakes, this quick and easy eggless Banana Cake recipe is refreshingly light, pillowy soft and incredibly moist.
Table of Contents
More on This Eggless Banana Cake
Everyone in my family enjoys this delicious, moist banana cake – especially my brother-in-law, who compares it to those he had at the well-known Vienna Bakery in Mumbai.
So if you have some ripe bananas laying around at home, then get mashing and make this quick and easy cake.
This banana cake recipe has been adapted from my very popular, tried and tested Banana Bread.
By increasing the amount of oil and bananas in that recipe, I was able to make a light and soft cake. I also reduced the amount of baking soda and added in chopped walnuts for an extra crunch.
Ingredients You Need
- Bananas: The star of the cake, you’ll need approximately 4 ripe or overripe bananas.
- Flour: Though my recipe is made with whole wheat flour, you can use all-purpose flour or pastry flour or whole wheat pastry flour.
- Leavening ingredients: The recipe has both baking powder and baking soda. For best results, I suggest to use both. Make sure that they are fresh and active.
- Oil: A neutral tasting oil works great. But you can use olive oil and coconut oil. You can also use melted butter. I have made the cake with sunflower oil.
- Nuts: While walnuts are traditionally mixed into the batter, any halved or crushed nuts can be used. Feel free to use almonds, pecans or cashews.
- Dry Fruits: Raisins, cherries, or other dried fruits add extra sweetness to the cake.
- Flavorings: My recipes simply has vanilla extract as the key flavoring ingredient. You can add ground spices for warming flavors. Ground cinnamon, cloves, allspice or pumpkin spice make the cake have a lovely aroma.
- Optional Ingredients: Coconut flakes, chocolate and other ingredients can be delicious additions to this cake recipe; however, make sure not to overload your banana bread with too many extras.
How to Make Banana Cake Recipe
Make Banana Puree
1. Mash 4 medium to large ripe or over-ripe bananas with a fork to a smooth consistency. I have used over-ripe bananas for this recipe.
TIP: The consistency should be smooth without any chunks, so if needed you can also use a blender to mash the bananas.
2. Add ½ cup of sugar, ⅔ cup of any neutral flavored oil and 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract to the mashed bananas.
3. Stir well so the oil mixes with the banana puree and the sugar dissolves completely.
Make Batter
4. Sieve 1½ cups of whole wheat flour, 1 teaspoon of baking powder, ½ teaspoon of baking soda and a pinch of salt directly in the bowl.
TIP: If you do not have a sieve, you can use a fine mesh strainer or whisk.
5. Fold the dry ingredients thoroughly into the wet ingredients. Fold using the cut and fold method.
Check my video above or in the recipe card below to see how to form the batter with the cut and fold method.
TIP: Do not mix! If the batter looks too thick, add some water, almond milk or lite coconut milk.
The amount of water to be added depends on the quality and texture of the whole wheat flour and the consistency of the batter. Only add in the extra liquids if the batter looks very thick.
6. Add 10 halved walnuts that have been finely chopped and fold again. Prep and chop the walnuts before to add to the batter.
Tip: In addition to walnuts, you can also add raisins, pistachios or any nuts and dry fruits of your choice.
Bake Eggless Banana Cake
7. Pour the batter into a greased or lined loaf pan ( 7.5 x 4 x 2.5 inches) or round cake pan (7.5 x 2 inches).
8. Bake in a preheated oven at 350 degrees F (180 degrees C) for 45 to 50 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the cake comes out clean. The timing varies from oven to oven, so keep a note of this.
Tip: If the top of the cake starts browning too much, cover the top with aluminum foil or parchment paper while baking.
Suggestion: If you do not have an oven, then bake the cake in a stove-top pressure cooker. Follow the method listed in this detailed post of Pressure Cooker Cake to make this banana cake.
Note: The orange-yellowish color in the image is due to incandescent lighting in my kitchen.
9. When warm or cooled, slice and serve Eggless Banana Cake plain with your tea or coffee.
Serving Suggestions
- Delicious all on its own with an evening cup of tea or coffee or as a sweet dessert.
- Top with homemade whipped cream
- Frost the cake with butter or cream icing, or even chocolate icing.
Storage
At room temperature, the cake stays well for 2 to 3 days. Wrap the cake in a cling film or store in an air-tight box and refrigerate. It keeps well for about 2 weeks when refrigerated. The cake also freezes well for a couple of months.
Expert Tips for Best Banana Cake
- Batter: This eggless banana cake batter has a medium-thick consistency. Depending on the quality or texture of whole wheat flour, you may require to add liquids like water or almond milk or lite coconut milk if the batter looks very thick.
- Flour: Though whole wheat flour forms the base of this cake, you can sub it with all-purpose flour in the same proportion as of whole wheat flour. Both atta (that is whole wheat flour used to make roti) as well as the whole wheat flour available in the US, Europe and other countries work well in the recipe.
- Folding: Form the batter using the cut and fold method. Do not use a whisk and mix the ingredients.
- Baking: Depending on the temperature in your oven and the size of your pan, the cake might take less or more time to bake. As the temperature varies from oven to oven so keep a note of this. The benchmark is that a tooth pick or skewer inserted in the vegan banana cake should come out clean.
- Oil: For the oils, a neutral tasting oil works best. So you can add sunflower oil or any neutral tasting oil. You can even make the cake with olive oil or coconut oil.
- Vegetarian option: Instead of oil use butter. Melt butter and use in the same proportion as that of oil.
- Flavorings: Chocolate chips or cocoa powder or cacao nibs can be included. Chopped nuts like pistachios, pecans, pine nuts, almonds and seeds like sunflower seeds, pepitas (pumpkin seeds), flax seeds and sunflower seeds can be added. Lightly toast the seeds in a skillet prior to adding.
- Spices: If you like spiced cakes, then add about ½ teaspoon of ground cinnamon or ¼ teaspoon of ground nutmeg or 1 teaspoon of pumpkin spice mix.
FAQs
Because the ingredients for this vegan banana cake recipe are so easy to customize, you can simply withhold adding in sweeter items, such as sweetened coconut flakes, chocolate, or dried fruits.
Instead of oil you can use butter to make this recipe vegetarian. Simply melt the butter and use in the same proportion as that of the oil.
Your banana cake should last 2 to 3 days if properly stored. Wrap your cake in plastic wrap and leave on the counter. If you plan to store in the fridge, then place it an air-tight box or wrap tightly in a cling film so that the cake does not dry out.
Whisking disturbs the the combined ingredients and causes the batter to lose air that helps it to rise. When using the folding method instead, you preserve more of the volume and will have a fuller vegan banana cake.
More Cake Recipes to Try
Please be sure to rate the recipe in the recipe card or leave a comment below if you have made it. For more vegetarian inspirations, Sign Up for my emails or follow me on Instagram, Youtube, Facebook, Pinterest or Twitter.
Easy Banana Cake Recipe (Eggless, Vegan & Whole Wheat)
Ingredients
- 4 bananas (medium to large ripe or overripe) – 300 grams
- 1.5 cups whole wheat flour or 180 grams whole wheat flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- 1 pinch salt
- ½ cup regular sugar or organic unrefined cane sugar or 100 grams sugar
- ⅔ cup any neutral flavored oil (I used sunflower oil)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 10 halved walnuts – finely chopped or any dry fruits or nuts of your choice (optional)
Instructions
Preparation
- Preheat your oven at 180 degrees Celsius (350 degrees Fahrenheit). If using a regular oven, heat both the top and bottom elements. For a microwave convection oven, just preheat the oven.
Making cake batter
- Peel and chop the bananas. Add them to a bowl and mash them with a fork. You can also use a blender to mash the bananas.
- Add sugar, oil and vanilla extract.
- Mix thoroughly so that the oil mixes evenly with the banana puree and the sugar dissolves.
- Sieve whole wheat flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt directly in the bowl. You can also sieve these separately and then add them to the wet ingredients.
- Fold the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients very well.
- Add the chopped walnuts and fold again. Apart from walnuts, you can also add raisins, pistachios or any nuts and dry fruits of your choice.
- Pour the batter in a greased or lined loaf pan ( 7.5 x 4 x 2.5 inches) or round cake pan (7.5 x 2 inches).
Baking banana cake
- Gently tap and shake the pan. Place the pan in the center rack if using a regular oven or otg.
- Bake in the preheated oven at 180 degrees Celsius (350 degrees Fahrenheit) for 45 to 50 mins or until a wooden skewer or tooth pick inserted in the cake comes out clean.
- If the top of the cake starts browning then cover the top with an aluminium foil or parchment paper while baking.
- When warm or cooled, gently remove the cake from the pan. Slice and serve banana cake as is with tea or coffee.
Video
Notes
- Batter: This banana cake batter has a medium-thick consistency. Depending on the quality or texture of flour, you may require to add liquids like water or almond milk or lite coconut milk if the batter looks very thick.
- Flour: In place of whole wheat flour, you can easily use all-purpose flour in the same quantity as that of whole wheat flour. Both atta (that is whole wheat flour used to make roti) as well as whole wheat flour available in the US and Europe, work well in the recipe.
- Folding: Use the cut and fold method to make the batter. Do not use a whisk and mix the ingredients.
- Baking: Depending on the temperature in your oven and the size of your pan, the cake might take less or more time to bake. As the temperature varies from oven to oven so keep a note of this. The benchmark is that a tooth pick inserted in the banana cake should come out clean.
- Oil: You can add sunflower oil or any neutral tasting oil. You can even add olive oil or coconut oil.
- Vegetarian option: Instead of oil you can use butter. Melt the butter and use in the same proportion as that of the oil.
- Flavorings: Chocolate chips or cocoa powder or cacao nibs can be added. Chopped nuts like pistachios, pecans, pine nuts, almonds and seeds like sunflower seeds, pepitas (pumpkin seeds), flax seeds and sunflower seeds can also be added. Lightly toast the seeds in a pan before adding them to the batter.
- Spices: If you like spiced cakes, you can add about ½ teaspoon of ground cinnamon or ¼ teaspoon of ground nutmeg or 1 teaspoon of pumpkin spice mix.
Nutrition Info (Approximate Values)
This Banana Cake recipe post from the archives first published in May 2014 has been republished and updated on 26 January 2022.
New to baking and I found that normal ‘Baking Powder’ has aluminium in it. Can I leave out the ‘Baking Powder’ from the eggless-banana-cake-recipe ?, because I am not getting a organic ‘Baking Powder’ in India.
in the recipe both baking powder and baking soda are required. in this case, i would suggest you to increase the baking soda to 2/3rd to 3/4 tsp if you are fine with its aroma in the cake.
Jst finished wid ds cake. N its jst amazing. Delicious. Regular reader of ur blog n tried many recipes bt sharing for d fst time. Thank u
welcome swamini. thanks for sharing positive feedback on recipes.
very easy recipe and cake is delicious. My children loved it.
thanks shweta for sharing positive feedback on banana cake.
This cake is delicious and healthy as well. I mixed brown sugar to make it more healthy. My family liked it so much. Thanks a lot.
welcome shweta. glad to know this.
Just a tip: I weighed the bananas with the skin – 500 grams, and without the skin – 300 grams. As for the cake it was light and fluffy; definitely a good healthy snack! I love making cakes and scones for my afternoon tea time. 🙂
thanks dani for the tip. good to know this.
I try dis recipe widout vanilla extract… its turned out good BT its not dark brown on upper side….. can u plz tell me y???
mansi, just bake it for few more minutes till you get brown crust from top. baking time varies from oven to oven.
Hi Dassana,
Thanks for the recipe..i have made it twice and it came out absolutely awesome.
Now, I want to double or triple the recipe because I have about 25-30 bananas that are quite ripe (got it super cheap in the farmers market and now even after giving it to all my friends, I am still left with lot of them ! :D)
I want to make lot of banana bread and give it to all my friends.. but not sure if this recipe can be doubled or tripled or quadrupled.. please let me know 🙂 and thanks again for these superb recipes !!
welcome aru. glad to know this. i never tried so can’t say whether the recipe can be doubled or tripled?. you have to give it a try.
Thanks for your reply..will try and tell you !
Welcome AC
So, I doubled the recipe and added some chopped almonds and an extra banana. It came out well, took about 1 hour to cook with an aluminium foil for the last 25 minutes coz it started cracking from the top. Thanks again!! 🙂
Welcome AC. nice to know this. thanks for letting us know.
Hello Dassana,
Today I again made this cake. Today is the 6th time of this;) n this time also it is hit in my home….
Thanks alot as now me confident enough for baking n that is also cakes n imp thing is eggless with whole wheat floor….
You are the best person I ever known without knowing….:) really mean it…
Whenever me spending time with my mobile my hubby always asking me “to kya kahati hai tumhari Dassana aaj :D” because whenever i m spending my time with mobile he knows that today some new dish will b thr to taste n he is very foody, he loves to taste new dishes everytime n ur blog is helping me to fulfil that as since last 2 yrs because of some digestion issue he can’t hav non veg food n he is very happy with U n ur blog as he doesn’t have any sad feeling that he can’t have non veg as he is getting so much variety of food because of ur blogs…
Thanks a tone dear n sorry for so much long comment n for reading my words.
Regards,
Sujata Sachin
Note: will always trouble U by sharing my success or disaster after making every dish:)
welcome sujata. i liked reading your comment. good you shared your story. feel free to share feedback or to ask any query. overall vegetarian food is good for health, delicious and very vast. i don’t think i will be able to cover even 5% of indian cuisine. its so rich.
Hey, I made the cake and it turned out amazing. Everyone in my family loved it, they were all praises about my baking skills, I think you deserve most of if. Thanks for making life tastier. love.
welcome pallavi. glad to know this. do try some more recipes. feeling good for you.
I tried the recipe today. I used only cooking soda instead of baking powder. And did not use eggs. Baked it on heated pressure cooker in low flame(sim) for 35min the cake came out superb. Better than the cakes we get in bakery. The cake is very soft and lightly moist, awesome recipe thank you
welcome jyothinath. glad to know this. thanks for sharing your variation and also letting us know that the cake can be made in pressure cooker.
Hi I tried this recipe and it came out well. Thanks for sharing it. I added cashew nuts instead of walnuts.
Regards,
Renuka.
welcome renuka. glad to know this.
Hi,
Thanks for sharing the wonderful receipe.
I have 1 quick question. What is the utensil that i have to use for baking in Microwave oven?
Will Tin Container work..as I’m doubtful if we can use metal in Oven.
I have a LG Convention oven.
Thanks for your help.
welcome saujanya. in Convection mode of microwave oven you can use Oven Safe metal pans. but don’t use the metal pan in the microwave mode. as the metal start arsing. so while purchasing ask the shopkeeper for oven safe pans.
Hi,
Thanks for your reply…i tried yesterday…the appearance was exactly the way u have posted.
Look wise it was very yummy…but the taste was little different..I think it is because of the maida i have used..tht was giving a different smell…
But yes..i have learnt baking because of you…Thank you so much..
welcome saujanya. maida will give a different texture. more softer texture than atta. i bake cakes with maida but smell never comes.
Hello mam
After surfing through the net for eggless recipes, i finally found your website. I have tried the eggless atta cakes. They came out very yummy. Also the tip u have given about covering the cake tin after about 15 minutes is very valuable. Can i use the muffin cake recipe to make a regular cake as i do not have muffin moulds? How should i bake in case i am using a silicon mould? I have a 25 lt godrej microwave with convection mode. Thanks.
thanks a lot sushma. you can use the muffin recipe to make a regular cake. i have not baked in silicon mould, so can’t say how long will it take. but on an average, 25 to 45 minutes works depending on the oven type and the temperature conditions in the oven.
I have become a big fan of your receipies, I have tried banana cake today and it was awesome
welcome madhu. glad to know this.
hi mam,
I wana try this banana cake. I hv a gas oven and dont hv clear idea how to do with it. Even the user manual is confusing. Can i cook this in a pressure cooker? If yes, wht are the changes to be made.
savitha, yes you can cook this banana cake in pressure cooker. heat the pressure cooker first. then lower the flame. add about 1 cup of salt or sand in the pressure cooker. place the cake pan and remove the gasket and whistle from the lid. close the pressure cooker tightly with the lid. bake for 30-40 minutes. if not done then bake for some more time. salt or sand can be reused.