Best-Ever Vegan Banana Cake

If you’ve been looking for an upgrade from banana bread to use up those overripe bananas, I have just the solution for you. My Vegan Banana Cake is perfectly moist, lightly sweet, and slathered with a sumptuous and tangy cream cheese frosting that you will absolutely love!

Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links.

I’m all for eating healthily, but part of my regimen most definitely includes having a little dessert to look forward to. Enter the concept of snacking cake. Fast, easy and made with pantry ingredients, these fuss free desserts are perfect for whipping up on a random weekday just because you feel like it. No piping, no layering, and no fancy frills are required.

This simple, one layer banana cake has become my current snack cake obsession. It is super moist, deeply banana flavored, soft while still maintaining a tight, stick-to-your-spoon crumb structure, and finished off with a thick swipe of cream cheese frosting.

It. Is. Perfect.

So if you need a little something to look forward to today, do yourself a favor and whip up this super easy vegan banana cake. I promise it will make your mid-afternoon break/post-dinner treat/early morning I’m-eating-cake-for-breakfast-because-I-make-the-rules that much more satisfying.

Recommended Ingredients and Equipment

Made mostly from pantry staples, this delightful vegan banana sheet cake has become a staple in our house as of late. I almost always have everything on hand to make it and it’s simple enough that even my 9-year-old can whip up a batch.

Here’s everything you’ll need:

Ingredient Notes

• Bananas – Use ripe/overripe bananas to get the most banana-y flavor out of your fruit.
• Brown and White Sugar – Check out my guide to vegan sugars and alternative sugar replacements. For a healthier sugar alternative, I recommend coconut sugar.
• Vegan Buttermilk – Don’t worry, it’s easy to make. Simply add a teaspoon of white or apple cider vinegar to your alternative milk of choice. I opted for unsweetened soy milk which curdles best.
• AP Flour – Feel free to swap out with a gluten free cup-for-cup flour substitute instead.
• Applesauce – This is the binder of the recipe. Applesauce works the best but if you don’t have access to it, check out my guide on replacing eggs. I also recommend trying a chickpea egg (equivalent to one egg) or equal amounts of non-dairy yogurt.
• Vegan Butter – Look for high-quality non-hydrogenated vegan butter. I recommend either Earth Balance or Miyoko’s.
• Vegan Cream Cheese – I recommend either Daiya or Tofutti. You can also make homemade cream cheese.

Recommended Equipment

For this recipe, you’ll need basic kitchen equipment such as a mixing bowl, utensils, food processor, and a 9×13 cake pan. For the frosting, a handheld or stand-up mixer is ideal. (<<affiliate links)

Step-by-Step Instructions

Step One – Make Buttermilk

Preheat the oven to 350º F. Generously spray a 9×13 pan and set aside.

In a small bowl combine soy milk and apple cider vinegar. Mix together and set aside for 5 minutes to allow the milk to curdle. Once curdled stir in the vanilla extract.

Step Two – Make the Batter

Begin by mashing the bananas. You can either do this in a bowl with a handheld mixer or potato masher or in a food processor. I find that a food processor is easiest, cleanest, and offers the best smooth, creamy, consistency.

In a medium bowl, stir together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt.

Pro Tip: Feel free to omit the cinnamon if you would prefer. I find that it adds a nice depth of flavor but it is not necessary.

Using a stand-up mixer with the paddle attachment or an electric handheld mixer, beat the butter until it’s light and airy. Add the brown and white sugar and mix until it’s light and fluffy. With the motor running, add the applesauce and mashed bananas scraping down the sides as necessary. The mixture will appear to have separated at this point, but don’t worry! It will come back together once you add the dry ingredients.

Alternating the flour mixture and the buttermilk, add to the mixer in three batches, scraping down the sides as needed, ending with the flour mixture. Mix until it just comes together. Do not over-mix or your batter will become dense and gummy.

Step Four – Make Frosting & Assemble

In a stand-up mixer with the paddle attachment, beat together vegan cream cheese and vegan butter until well combined, scraping down the sides as necessary. Add vanilla and combine.

With the mixer on its lowest setting, slowly add the powdered sugar one cup at a time, stopping to scrape down the sides between cups. Once all the powdered sugar is added, turn up the speed to medium and mix until smooth and creamy.

Top the cake with a thick layer of cream cheese frosting and serve.

Serving and Storing

Serving – As soon as the cake has cooled to room temperature, you can frost and eat it right away. A nice cold glass of soy milk or a hot cup of tea would be a welcome addition to this party.

Storing – Any leftovers should keep well in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. You can make the frosting up to a week in advance and keep it in the refrigerator. The cake can be made and frozen (unfrosted) for up to six weeks.

Make in advance – To do this, bake the cake according to the instructions. Once the cake is cool, wrap it tightly in plastic wrap and place it in the freezer. This cake can be frozen for up to 6 weeks. When ready to frost, let the cake thaw at room temperature for 3-4 hours. The cream cheese buttercream can be made up to a week in advance. Store it in an airtight container in the refrigerator.

Frequently Asked Questions

More Vegan Cake Recipes

• Classic Chocolate Cake
• Vegan Chocolate Zucchini Cake
• Vegan Lemon Cake
• Vegan Carrot Cake

Check out all of my vegan cake recipes for more inspiration!

Vegan Banana Cake w/ Cream Cheese Frosting

If you've been looking for an upgrade from banana bread to use up those overripe bananas, I have just the solution for you. My Vegan Banana Cake is perfectly moist, lightly sweet and slathered with a sumptuous and tangy Cream Cheese frosting that is to die for.

5 from 2 votes

Print Pin Rate

Prep Time: 30 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 20 minutes minutes

Total Time: 50 minutes minutes

Servings: 16 people

Calories: 355kcal

Author: Sarah McMinn

Ingredients

Banana Cake

• 1 1/2 cup soy milk
• 1 1/2 tsp. apple cider vinegar
• 2 tsp. vanilla extract
• 4 ripe bananas
• 3 cup all-purpose flour
• 2 tsp. baking powder
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 3/4 cup vegan butter
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 3/4 cup applesauce

Cream Cheese Frosting

• 4 oz vegan cream cheese, at room temperature
• 4 tbsp. vegan butter, at room temperature
• 2 1/2 cups powdered sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

US Customary – Metric

Instructions

• Preheat the oven to 350º F. Generously spray a 9×13 pan and set aside. 
• In a small bowl combine soy milk and apple cider vinegar. Mix together and set aside for 5 minutes to allow the milk to curdle. Once curdled stir in add vanilla extract.
• Next, peel and mash your bananas. You can either do this in a bowl with a handheld mixer or potato masher or in a food processor.
• In a medium bowl, stir together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt.
• Using a stand-up mixer with the paddle attachment or an electric handheld mixer, beat the butter until it's light and airy. Add the brown and white sugar and mix until it's light and fluffy. With the motor running, add the applesauce and mashed bananas scraping down the sides as necessary. The mixture will appear to have separated at this point, but it will come back together once you add the dry ingredients.
• Alternating the flour mixture and the buttermilk, add to the mixer in three batches, scraping down the sides as needed, ending with the flour mixture. Mix until it just comes together. Do not over-mix.
• Pour batter into the prepared pan and smooth top. Bake until the cake is golden brown (about 35 minututes), and a toothpick comes out clean when inserted in the middle. Remove from the oven and let cool for 60 minutes. Flip out onto wire racks and allow the cake to cool completely.
• To make the Cream Cheese Frosting, in a stand-up mixer with the paddle attachment, beat together vegan cream cheese and vegan butter until well combined, scraping down the sides as necessary. Add vanilla and combine.

  With the mixer on its lowest setting, slowly add the powdered sugar one cup at a time, stopping to scrape down the sides between cups. Once all the powdered sugar is added, turn up the speed to medium and mix until smooth and creamy.
• Top the cake with a thick layer of cream cheese frosting and serve immediately.

Notes

Serving & Storing – As soon as the cake has cooled to room temperature, you can frost and eat it right away. A nice cold glass of soy milk or a hot cup of tea would be a welcome addition to this party. Any leftovers should keep well in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. You can make the frosting up to a week in advance and keep it in the refrigerator. The cake can be made and frozen (unfrosted) for up to six weeks.

Make in Advance – To do this, bake the cake according to the instructions. Once the cake is cool, wrap it tightly in plastic wrap and place it in the freezer. This cake can be frozen for up to 6 weeks. When ready to frost, let the cake thaw at room temperature for 3-4 hours. The cream cheese buttercream can be made up to a week in advance. Store it in an airtight container in the refrigerator.

Recipe Tips

1. Use ripe (or overripe) bananas for the best flavor. Only have green bananas and want to join in on the fun TODAY? Don’t fret. Simply ripen your bananas in the oven.
2. Don’t over-mix the batter. By alternating the dries and wets into the batter, we are ensuring the batter does not get over-mixed and gummy.
3. Generously spray your cake pan. We do not want any of this delicious cake sticking to its edges.
4. Do not open the oven door while the cake is baking. This causes the structure to fall leaving you with a dent in the middle of your cake. You can check for doneness after 35 minutes.
5. Bake until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.If the cake starts to get dark around the edges, you can cover it with tin foil to bake for the last 10 minutes.
6. Let the cake cool for at least 60 minutes in the cake pan before turning it onto a wire cooling rack to cool completely. Let the cake cool completely before frosting. Otherwise, the cream cheese frosting will melt off.

Variations – Want cupcakes? Here’s a great article on how to convert any cake recipe into cupcakes. 

Nutrition

Calories: 355kcal | Carbohydrates: 59g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 12g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Trans Fat: 1g | Sodium: 321mg | Potassium: 128mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 40g | Vitamin A: 637IU | Vitamin C: 2mg | Calcium: 67mg | Iron: 1mg