Vegan Banana Muffins

Vegan Banana Muffin Recipe

This recipe for vegan banana chocolate chip muffins comes from my friend Chelsea. I texted her asking her if she had a good banana chocolate chip muffin recipe and she sent this one through.

It just so happens to also be a vegan muffin recipe, so I test drove it, realised I wasn't going to be able to develop anything better myself, and asked if I could put it on my website. She said yes because she's the best - get yourself some friends like mine.

I scaled the recipe back to 6 muffins because there are only two of us in the house. Because it is an egg free banana muffin recipe this was super easy. Grams for the win. Double this recipe if you like, but to me, six muffins is the perfect amount of muffins. Here's how to make vegan banana muffins:

• Combine all your wet ingredients in a bowl.
• Chop your banana up - there are notes on this further down in the blog post as to why this banana muffin recipe uses chopped and not mashed bananas!
• Combine wet ingredients and add to the bowl.
• Fold through Banana and chopped chocolate.
• Divide between muffin pans and add additional chocolate and a sprinkle of sugar on the tops.
• Bake until done! That's it! Super easy vegan banana muffins!

Tips for great muffins

I make this recipe in a few bowls - one for the wet and one for the dry. Then I chop up the banana into the bowl that had the wet ingredients in it. However you could absolutely do this in one large mixing bowl if you wanted to.

To do this, combine the dry ingredients in a bowl, then add the wet in and give it all a good stir. Chop the banana directly into the bowl (with the bowl on the scale) then pop in the chopped chocolate.

It is important not to over mix muffin mixture. This recipe is a little more forgiving but it is still something that is good to keep in mind. I like to add the banana and the dark chocolate once the batter is just mixed, so it finishes mixing as you fold the banana and chocolate in.

Adding mix-ins to muffins

I haven't tried adding anything else to these vegan muffins, but I think it would work fine as they are a versatile base. You could add in some chopped nuts such as pecans along with the banana, or add in some cinnamon.

You could also replace the chocolate for some blueberries. If you use frozen berries, do not thaw. Toss them in a tiny bit of flour before adding in so they don't sink.

Parchment Paper Muffin Liners

I made my own muffin liners for these muffins to make them more 'bakery' style - meaning that they rose a little higher in the muffin tray as the paper which sticks out also supports them as they bake.

To do this I just cut some parchment paper into squares - 5.5" (14cm) seemed to work well for me but feel free to go larger if you want. I then sprayed each cavity with spray, and pressed the paper down into the muffin tins using a wooden tamper. A narrow glass would work great too. You can also use pre-cut parchment paper squares (I have a 1000 pack so i'm set for life maybe)

Making your own muffin liners does make them a little trickier to fill as the paper likes to jump out a little, but once you have the first quantity of muffin batter in there you are fine.

If you wanted to make 'tulip style' liners you can also cut four slits in the paper squares, starting at the edge and cutting toward the middle, then settle the square in the cavity the same way - it does sit a little more politely.

Best Bananas for Banana Muffins

These Vegan Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins work best with bananas that aren't totally black. You want them to still have a tiny bit of firmness to them as unlike other banana muffin recipes, they are chopped rather than mashed before going into the banana muffins.

If yours are totally black that's just fine too - it will work just fine with both. Just don't mash them up as you want them to stay slightly chunky within the banana muffin.

I haven't tested these with frozen banana but I am sure that it will work. Defrost them as normal then just drain off any excess liquid and use the weight of the banana called for in the recipe.

I haven't tried adding anything else to these muffins, but I think it would work fine as they are a versatile base. You could add in some chopped nuts along with the banana, and add in some cinnamon.

You could also replace the chocolate for some blueberries. If you use frozen berries, do not thaw. Toss them in a tiny bit of flour before adding in so they don't sink.

Chopped Chocolate vs Chocolate Chips for Muffins

I tested these with both chocolate chips and chopped chocolate, and once again, chopped wins over chocolate chips. Using chopped chocolate means you get delicious melty pockets of chocolate within the muffin. You also get little shards of chocolate throughout the muffin batter.

If you have chocolate chips they work great too. Use what you have on hand, but if you do have a bar of chocolate handy, I highly recommend! Chopped chocolate also works great to add to the tops of the muffin for a nice chocolate topping.

I also added some raw sugar to the tops for a nice crunchy finish. Both of these are optional - do what you like here if you prefer naked muffins!

Frequently Asked Questions

How to make vegan muffins fluffy
It is important to not over mix your muffins - particularly when it comes to vegan muffins. Make sure you only just incorporate the wet ingredients. You can add the chopped banana and chocolate when the mix is just coming together to help avoid over mixing.

What tools and equipment do you use?
You can see a full list of all the tools I use here

Can I use Dairy milk in this recipe?
Yes! I used Oat milk for these to keep them vegan but if you want to use regular milk, go ahead! Any plant based milk will work - soy milk or almond milk would be good too.

What is the best pan to use?
I used a six cup muffin pan, but if you make this in a regular 12 cup, put the muffins in every second hole so they have some space between them.

Why didn't my muffins rise?
This recipe doesn't rise loads! They don't have a nice tall muffin top but I promise they are still very very good!

What can I use instead of apple cider vinegar?
I haven't tried anything else sorry! However Lemon juice or another light or fruity vinegar should work if you wanted to give it a go. Stay away from malt vinegar or anything super strong like balsamic.

What is a neutral oil?
Neutral oil is anything that is neutral tasting - extra light olive oil, grapeseed oil, canola oil, vegetable oil etc.