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.

If there’s one thing a person gets out of being an avid vegan baker, it’s banana bread recipes, which is at least partly attributable to the fact that bananas work so well as egg substitutes. I keep bananas around all the time, and inevitably, some will sit around longer than intended, start to turn brown, often resulting in a new banana recipe.

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 muffins.

Choosing Bananas

One of the most important things to keep in mind when making banana bread, 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 banana bread is sweet enough and moist enough.

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.

How to Make Vegan Banana Muffins

1. First, peel those bananas and stick them in a large bowl. Grab a fork or potato masher and mash them up!
2. Now add some oil, brown sugar and vanilla. Stir everything up.
3. 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.
4. 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 the muffins cool a bit before digging in!

Vegan Banana Muffin FAQ & Tips

• Make sure your bananas are overripe. This is really important! They should have lots of brown spots and feel a bit soft. Bananas that aren’t ripe enough can negatively affect both the flavor and texture of your muffins.
• If you have overripe bananas but aren’t ready to make 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 it thaws.
• Can these muffins be made gluten-free? 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.
• My muffins didn’t rise. What’s the deal? 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.
• Why does the brown sugar need to be organic? Most granulated sugar in the United States is processed using animal bone char, so it’s not considered vegan. Organic sugar is processed differently.
• Storage: These muffins will keep at room temperature in a sealed bag or container for about 3 days. You can also freeze them in a sealed container for up to 3 months.

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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.

Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 20 minutes

Total Time 30 minutes

Servings 12

Calories 269 kcal

Author Alissa Saenz

Ingredients

• 3 overripe bananas (about 5 ounces or 140 grams each), peeled
• 1/3 cup canola oil (or any neutral flavored baking oil)
• 1/2 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
• 1/2 teaspoon salt

Optional Stir-Ins

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 350º and line a 12 cup muffin tin with papers.

2. In a large mixing bowl, mash the bananas well with a fork or potato masher.

3. Stir in the oil, brown sugar, and vanilla.

4. Add the flour to the bowl, then sprinkle the baking soda, cinnamon, and salt on top of the flour.

5. Stir the dry ingredients into the banana mixture, just until the ingredients are completely blended. Don’t overmix the batter. The batter will be very thick.

6. Fold the chips and walnuts into the batter, if using.

7. Divide the batter into muffin cups.

8. Optionally, sprinkle the top of each muffin with a bit of brown sugar.

9. 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.

10. Transfer the muffin tin to a cooling rack. Let the muffins cool until they’re just slightly warm before removing them from the tin.

Nutrition Facts

Vegan Banana Muffins

Amount Per Serving (1 muffin)

Calories 269 Calories from Fat 126

% Daily Value*

Fat 14g22%

Saturated Fat 1.5g8%

Sodium 206mg9%

Potassium 170mg5%

Carbohydrates 31.9g11%

Fiber 3.9g16%

Sugar 12.6g14%

Protein 5.2g10%

Calcium 1mg0%

Iron 8mg44%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

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