This article is written by a student writer from the Spoon University at Columbia Barnard chapter.

There’s no denying that baking in a college kitchen can be tough. We don’t have all of the same ingredients or baking dishes from home and there’s that constant lack of cash to buy ingredients. Still, it’s only natural to want a little break from dining hall food every now and then, especially when the dining halls don’t always have fresh vegan baked goods. So take some bananas from said dining hall and make this vegan banana bread instead.

This recipe takes less than 35 minutes and most of the ingredients can be found in your dining hall. The recipe is also pretty adaptogenic, so if you don’t have an ingredient (such as almond butter*), you can easily replace it.

*Note: I have not tried replacements, but peanut butter is also amazing and works just as well in this recipe.

Easy Vegan Banana Bread

Difficulty:BeginnerPrep time: 18 minutesCook time: 15 minutesTotal time: 33 minutesServings:8 servings

Ingredients

1/2 cup + 2 Tbsps all-purpose flour
3/4 tsp baking soda
1 pinch salt
2 small banana overripe if possible
1/4 cup unsweetened dairy-free yogurt – I used coconut yogurt but you can use whatever your dining hall has
1 Tbsp melted coconut oil
3-4 Tbsp almond butter
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp cinnamon

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350° and line a 3-cup capacity baking dish with parchment paper. If you don’t have any parchment paper, covering the inside of the baking dish with coconut oil and a sprinkle of flour also works well.
Mix the flour, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl.
Mash bananas with a fork (use a blender or food processor if your kitchen has one, mine didn’t).
Mix yogurt, melted coconut oil, and 2 Tablespoons of almond butter in a small bowl.
Add the yogurt, oil, and almond butter blend to the mashed bananas and mix until most the lumps are gone (it will not be possible to get rid of all of them).
Add the mashed banana mixture and the cinnamon to the medium bowl containing your dry ingredients and mix until relatively smooth (again, some clumps will remain).
Pour the mixture into your baking dish.
Add 1 -2 more Tablespoons of almond butter and swirl the top using a fork. Sprinkle cinnamon on top as well.
Bake for 18 minutes. It may take a few more minutes depending on how strong your oven is, but check by inserting a toothpick at the 18 minute mark.
Allow the bread to cool (or not, if you’re really hungry) and top with more almond butter, peanut butter, any of your favorite spreads.