Moist, tender, and perfectly sweet! These vegan banana muffins are super easy to whip up and perfect for an indulgent breakfast or light dessert.
My kitchen is perpetually stocked with bananas! Partly because I love bananas, but also because I do so much baking. Bananas are pretty essential for vegan baking! For one thing, they work great as egg substitutes. But also, banana-based treats are deeeeeelicious!
I already have a recipe for classic vegan banana bread and it's one of the most popular recipes on this site. A lot of readers ask if the banana bread can be made into muffins, and the answer is yes, but with some small tweaks.
Well here it is: my banana bread recipe transformed into vegan banana muffin recipe!
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Choosing Bananas for Baking
One of the most important things to keep in mind when making vegan banana muffins, or nearly any other kind of banana baked good for that matter is this: your bananas need to be overripe.
What's that mean? Lots of brown spots. If they don't have any brown spots, they're nowhere near ripe enough. My general rule is that at least a third of the peel should be brown.
Using bananas that are overripe will ensure that your vegan banana muffins are sweet enough, moist enough, and have the perfect texture.
How big should the bananas be? I usually just grab what I consider medium-sized bananas while I'm at the supermarket. In the interest of accuracy, I weighed my bananas before putting them in my muffins and they were about 5 ounces each.
Note: If you're weighing your bananas, do it right before baking, as the weight might change as they ripen.
Ingredients You'll Need
- Bananas. Once again, make sure they're overripe!
- Canola oil. Any neutral baking oil will work as a substitute. You can use melted coconut oil, corn oil, or vegetable oil if you'd like.
- Brown sugar. Use organic to keep the recipe vegan.
- Vanilla extract.
- Whole wheat pastry flour. Regular old all-purpose flour also works. I haven't tested the recipe with any other types of flour.
- Baking soda.
- Cinnamon.
- Salt.
- Vegan chocolate chips. These are optional, but so good! I used Enjoy Life Mega Chunks. Leave them out if you prefer, or switch them with fresh fruit such as blueberries, raspberries, or diced apples.
- Walnuts. These are also optional, or they can be swapped out with another type of nut, such as pecans, almonds or hazelnuts.
Tip: If you ever have overripe bananas but aren't ready to make them into muffins, freeze them! I keep a stash in a freezer bag at all times, and they're generally good for at least 3 months. When adding them to the recipe, add the banana as well as any liquid that accumulates as they thaw.
How They're Made
The following is a detailed photo tutorial on how to make this dish. Scroll all the way down if you'd like to skip right to the recipe!
- First, peel those bananas and stick them in a large bowl. Grab a fork or potato masher and mash them up!
- Now add some oil, brown sugar and vanilla to the mashed banana. Stir everything up.
- The dry ingredients go in next. Add the flour first, but don't stir. Now sprinkle some baking soda, cinnamon, and salt over the flour. Doing it this way helps ensure that the baking soda gets mixed in evenly, without you having to mix up the dry ingredients in a separate bowl. Now just stir the batter until it's mixed — don't overdo it! The batter should be pretty thick.
- Stir-ins go in last. I used walnuts and vegan chocolate chips, but use what you like, or skip them all together.
Spoon the batter into paper-lined muffin cups. I like to sprinkle a bit of brown sugar on top of each one.
Bake the muffins for about 20 minutes. To test for doneness, lightly touch the top of one muffin — if it springs back, it's done.
Let your vegan banana muffins cool a bit before digging in!
Shelf-Life & Storage
Vegan banana muffins will keep in a sealed bag or container at room temperature for about 3 days, or in the freezer for about 3 months.
Frequently Asked Questions
I haven't tried making them gluten-free, so I'm not sure. If you'd like to try it, your best bet would to use a one-to-one gluten-free flour blend, such as those made by Bob's Red Mill or King Arthur Flour.
Usually this is due to old baking soda. To test yours, sprinkle a bit in a glass of vinegar. It should fizz. If it doesn't, it's time for a new box.
Most granulated sugar in the United States is processed using animal bone char, so it's not considered vegan. Organic sugar is processed differently.
More Banana Recipes
- Vegan Banana Pancakes
- Vegan Banana Bread
- Vegan Chocolate Banana Bread
- Vegan Banana Walnut French Toast Casserole
- Banana Doughnuts with Chocolate Peanut Butter Frosting
- Caramelized Banana Oatmeal
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The Best Vegan Banana Muffins
Moist, tender, and perfectly sweet! These vegan banana muffins are super easy to whip up and perfect for an indulgent breakfast or light dessert.
Ingredients
- 3 overripe bananas (about 5 ounces or 140 grams each), peeled
- ⅓ cup canola oil (or any neutral flavored baking oil)
- ½ cup organic brown sugar, plus an optional tablespoon for topping
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 cups whole wheat pastry flour (spelt or all-purpose flour work as well)
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon salt
Optional Stir-Ins
- 1 cup vegan chocolate chips
- 1 cup chopped walnuts
Instructions
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Preheat the oven to 350º and line a 12 cup muffin tin with muffin liners1.
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In a large mixing bowl, mash the bananas well with a fork or potato masher.
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Stir in the oil, brown sugar, and vanilla.
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Add the flour to the bowl, then sprinkle the baking soda, cinnamon, and salt on top of the flour.
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Stir the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients, just until the ingredients are completely blended. Don't overmix the batter. The batter will be very thick.
-
Fold the chips and walnuts into the batter, if using.
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Divide the batter into muffin cups.
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Optionally, sprinkle the top of each muffin with a bit of brown sugar.
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Bake the muffins for 20 to 22 minutes. Test for doneness by gently pressing a finger into the top of a muffin. It should spring back when the muffins are done.
-
Transfer the muffin tin to a cooling rack. Let the muffins cool until they're just slightly warm before removing them from the tin.
Recipe Notes
- You could also coat the muffin pan lightly with oil or cooking spray, if that's your preference.
Well.... as I'm about to go to bed, definitely too late for my breakfast today- but hopefully next weekend cause these look SO GOOD!
Ok, they're in the oven now. Can't wait to try them. Maybe I'll leave a couple for the hubs for breakfast.
Oh. My. Goodness. I decided to make 6 large muffins instead of 12 regular ones. I also made half with chocolate and half plain because I'm funny about the taste of chocolate and cinnamon together. I was pleasantly surprised to find both types quite delicious! Not too dry - not to doughy. This is one I will definitely make again! Thanks!
THESE ARE THE BEST THINGS EVER. I put both dark and 'milk' chocolate in plus extra walnuts...These were all I ate when I was in hospital after my c section 6 weeks ago. AMAZING <3
Yay! Glad you enjoyed them! I make these muffins all the time. Thanks Elle!
Made these last night - BEST banana bread muffins I've EVER had. Will be my go-to. Mind if I share the recipe on my page with a link you site of course? :)
Thank you for this vegan recipe! I wanted to ask if yours have ever turned out "dry" mine were, sadly, dry in the middle. Suggestions? Thank you :)
Hi Lori! Mine usually come out very moist, but I could see a few things that might go wrong. The bananas add a lot of moisture, so it's possible that if you use smaller bananas the muffins could end up dry. You could also check your oven temperature, because if it's too high things will overcook a bit and dry out. I've used this test before and found out that my temperature was off. The only other thing I can think of is the brand of flour. I love Bob's Red Mill, and I've found that sometimes if I use another brand my baked goods will sometimes end up gritty. I hope that helps!
My batter came out super dry like dough i added 2 tbsp of almond milk and they came out amazing
The batter should be pretty thick. :) Glad you enjoyed them!!
I don't have muffin tins, can i bake it as a loaf? thanks!
You can! It will need to bake much longer but I'm not sure how long. I'd check it every 5 minutes after the first 30.
Has anyone made these gluten free? If so, is there a particular flour that works best?
I haven't made them gluten-free, but generally in recipes like this I find that one-to-one gluten free blends like those made by Bob's Red Mill and King Arthur Flour work best.
Thank you! I'll give it a try!
Can this be made oil free?:)
I'm haven't tried, so I can't say for sure, but I do have a similar recipe for banana bread (here: https://www.connoisseurusveg.com/vegan-banana-bread/) and some readers tell me they've had success subbing applesauce for the oil, so so that might be worth a shot!
I own at least 40-50 cookbooks and couldn't find one simple delicious recipe for banana bread or muffins. This was perfect. Made a double batch to freeze ;)
This is my new go-to banana muffin recipe. I used all-purpose flour, coconut oil, coconut sugar, but didn't change anything else. I love how dense they came out!