Vegan Cardamom Guava Banana Bread (Printable version)

Moist tropical loaf featuring bananas, guava, and cardamom. Dairy-free and ready in just over an hour.

# What you need:

→ Fruit

01 - 1 cup ripe banana, mashed (approximately 2 medium bananas)
02 - 3/4 cup guava pulp, fresh or canned, strained if seedy
03 - Zest of 1 lime

→ Wet Ingredients

04 - 1/2 cup light brown sugar
05 - 1/3 cup neutral oil such as sunflower or canola
06 - 1/4 cup unsweetened plant-based milk almond, oat, or soy
07 - 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

→ Dry Ingredients

08 - 2 cups all-purpose flour
09 - 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cardamom
10 - 1 teaspoon baking soda
11 - 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
12 - 1/4 teaspoon salt

→ Optional

13 - 1/3 cup chopped walnuts or pecans
14 - 2 tablespoons coarse sugar for sprinkling

# Steps to follow:

01 - Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease and line a standard 9x5-inch loaf pan with parchment paper.
02 - In a large mixing bowl, mash the bananas until smooth. Stir in the guava pulp and lime zest until evenly incorporated.
03 - Add the brown sugar, oil, plant-based milk, and vanilla extract to the fruit mixture. Mix until well combined and uniform in texture.
04 - In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, ground cardamom, baking soda, baking powder, and salt until evenly distributed.
05 - Add the dry ingredients to the wet mixture and stir gently until just combined. Do not overmix to maintain tender crumb structure.
06 - Fold in the chopped nuts if using, distributing evenly throughout the batter.
07 - Pour the batter into the prepared loaf pan and smooth the top surface. Sprinkle with coarse sugar if desired.
08 - Bake for 45 to 55 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
09 - Allow the bread to cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack to cool completely before slicing.

# Expert tips:

01 -
  • The cardamom does something almost magical when it meets guava and banana, creating this aromatic depth that doesn't taste like typical quick bread.
  • It's genuinely moist without butter or eggs, which sounds impossible until you taste it and wonder why you ever made it any other way.
  • Your kitchen will smell absolutely incredible for hours, and that alone is worth the effort.
02 -
  • The cardamom flavor intensifies as the bread sits, so day two or three actually tastes better than the first day when the flavors are still settling.
  • If your batter seems too thick, add plant milk one tablespoon at a time, but not so much that it becomes runny; it should be thicker than regular cake batter.
03 -
  • If you can't find guava, mango or passion fruit puree works beautifully, though the flavor profile shifts slightly; pineapple is sweeter and less complex but still lovely.
  • Ground cardamom loses potency over time, so if yours has been sitting in your spice cabinet for years, buy fresh and taste the difference immediately.
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