How to Make Easy Homemade Banana Jam Recipe (Vegan)

What is Banana Jam?

Banana jam is a delicious banana-flavored spread that tastes like banana bread in a jar. It’s an incredibly easy recipe to make, and a great way to avoid food waste. Plus, it has less sugar than grocery store-bought alternatives. It stays fresh in the fridge for a while and is a great alternative to banana bread if you need to use up overripe bananas.

Of course, we have nothing against banana bread around here, just check out my recipe for the Best Healthy Banana Bread or Cozy Banana Bread Oatmeal for evidence.

If you’re looking for more recipes that reduce food waste, try this Broccoli Caesar Salad made with broccoli stems!

What Makes This Recipe Great

Who doesn’t love an easy, homemade jam? Especially when it’s made with just a few ingredients you already have on hand and none of the extensive canning process that you might be thinking of. 

Enter, my Vegan Banana Jam! Using fresh bananas (that are super ripe!), sugar, lemon juice, vanilla extract, salt, and water, this banana jam recipe whips up in no time and is the perfect accompaniment to bread everywhere. And oatmeal, ice cream, pancakes, muffins, etc etc. 

All it takes is 15 minutes and will become one of your favorite recipes in no time. Let’s get jamming!

How to Make Banana Jam

The great part bout this recipe is how easy it is to make. Simply add all of the ingredients to a pan and cook them down until you have a soft, uniform texture. You can use a potato masher to speed up the process of breaking down the banana, or leave it a little chunky if you prefer more texture in your jam. Bananas contain natural pectin, which helps thicken things up.

Here’s what you need to make the best vegan jam with bananas:

• Ripe Bananas: It’s important that you use super-ripe fruit. In fact, the riper the better, because they’ll be easier to mash and also naturally much sweeter. Don’t worry if the bananas look overripe or unappetizing to eat, you really want a brown and spotty banana that’s soft to the touch for jam. Another good way to tell if it’s ready is to smell the banana. The scent should be pretty strong, even with the peel on. This is a great way to use up those brown bananas sitting in your freezer!
• Sugar: Sugar is necessary for this recipe, do not omit it! It helps preserve the jam, which is why many jams and jellies last in the fridge for so long. If you omit the sugar, you can likely only keep your banana jam for a few days before it starts to ferment and smell alcoholic. I used organic cane sugar. Feel free to use your preferred granulated sugar like brown sugar or white sugar.
• Lemon juice: This is also a key ingredient in this recipe. It adds enough acidity to boost the flavor of your jam and prevent any nasty organisms from spoiling it. A little bit of fresh lime juice will work in a pinch.
• Vanilla Extract: A splash of vanilla does the trick! You can also use real vanilla bean paste.
• Salt
• Water

Serving Ideas

The fun part of this recipe is finding your favorite way to enjoy your jam! You can use this creamy homemade jam anywhere you’d use regular jam. It pairs really nicely with nut butter, berries, chocolate, and oats. Spoon a little on top of your favorite vegan vanilla ice cream, top your English muffins, or make a peanut butter and banana jam sandwich! It has the best banana flavor! It’s seriously the star of the show.

Enjoy it for breakfast with Matcha Vanilla Bean Oatmeal, or for dessert over Korean Sweet Cinnamon Pancakes.

I love to dollop it on top of hot Vegan Banana Oat Pancakes. It’s also tasty on top of Healthy Gingerbread Oatmeal or smeared over Blueberry Breakfast Muffins.

Storage Tips

• Store in an airtight container or jar in the refrigerator for up to two weeks. Just keep an eye on the jam, if it starts to smell fermented at all, toss it.