Vegan Mango Banana Bread

... or why I can never become a locavore.

I eat a banana with breakfast just about every day and snack on dried mango slices like they’re chocolate caramels. Naturally, I was thrilled when Joy the Baker posted this recipe for a vegan quick bread that combines two of my favorite flavors.

Do you know Joy the Baker? If you like to bake you must visit her blog. I have yet to try a recipe that wasn’t delicious, even if my product wasn’t as picture-perfect as Joy’s.

This one has become one of my favorite quick breads. The first loaf didn’t last but a day. The next two loaves sustained my friend Erin and I over three hot, stormy days of camping at the Philadelphia Folk Festival, and I’ve even tried this bread as a muffin. It’s moist, sweet, and just as good cold as it is warm. The bread will last up to five days, but that’s a total joke. I’d like to see you keep your hands off of it for that long!

Be sure to use ripe bananas!

Add a splash of color.

Perfection.

A note on muffins: I wasn’t entirely satisfied with my muffins. The flavor was right but the texture was off, and I missed that lovely brown crust of the bread. Will try again soon.

Vegan Mango Banana Bread

From Joy the Baker, July 2011

Makes one 9 x 5 in. loaf

2-3 ripe medium bananas

¼ c. vegetable oil
½ c. brown sugar, packed
2 t. vanilla
2 c. flour
1 t. baking soda
1 t. cinnamon
½ t. ginger
½ t. salt
1 mango, sliced into chunks

Preheat oven to 350°. Grease a 9 x 5 in. loaf pan.

Combine flour, baking soda, spices, and salt in a bowl.

Mash bananas in a medium bowl with a fork or wooden spoon. Whisk in sugar, oil, and vanilla. Gradually add the flour mixture and stir until combined. Fold in mango.

Pour batter into pan and bake 45-50 minutes. Cool 20 minutes before serving. Store up to 5 days.