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    Home » Breakfasts

    Vegan Banana Muffins

    Published: May 9, 2020 Updated: Dec 24, 2021 by Alison Andrews This post may contain affiliate links

    Jump to Recipe
    Vegan Banana Muffins

    These vegan banana muffins are soft, fluffy and perfectly moist with a gorgeous bakery-style domed top. Packed with banana flavor and ideal for breakfast or dessert.

    Vegan banana muffins stacked up on top of each other.

    These gorgeous vegan banana muffins are packed with banana flavor and have the perfect high domed top just like a bakery muffin.

    They’re soft and moist, loaded with flavor and just about the best thing served warm from the oven.

    With some chopped walnuts mixed into the batter and some more on top, these muffins look just as good as they taste. 

    And if you love bananas like we do, then check out our vegan banana bread, vegan banana cake and vegan banana pancakes.

    Vegan banana muffins in a woven basket.

    How To Make Vegan Banana Muffins

    You will find full instructions and measurements in the recipe card at the bottom of the post. This is a summary of the process to go along with the process photos.

    • Sift all purpose flour into a mixing bowl and add brown sugar, white sugar, baking soda, baking powder, salt, ground cinnamon and nutmeg and mix together.
    • Prepare your vegan buttermilk by adding ½ tablespoon of lemon juice to a measuring jug and then adding soy milk up to the ½ cup (120ml) line. Let it sit for a minute to curdle.
    • Add mashed bananas, vegan buttermilk, melted coconut oil, applesauce and vanilla extract to the mixing bowl and mix into a thick batter.
    • Add chopped walnuts and fold in.
    Two photo collage showing batter in a mixing bowl with chopped walnuts and then mixed in.
    • Divide the batter evenly between the muffin partitions of a muffin tray and then add some more chopped walnuts to the tops of the muffins.
    • Bake for 22-25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of one of the muffins comes out clean.
    Two photo collage showing banana muffins in a muffin tray before and after baking.
    • Remove the muffins from the muffin tray and transfer to a wire cooling rack to cool.
    • And then eat one! Preferably while it’s still warm. Yum. 
    Vegan banana muffins cooling on a wire cooling rack.

    Baker’s Tips

    The best muffin recipes have a thick batter. There is just something about a thick batter that creates the best muffins and these are no exception.

    The homemade vegan buttermilk and melted coconut oil along with the mashed banana and applesauce create a batter that is very thick and has to be spooned into the muffin partitions. 

    The thick batter also enables the chopped walnuts to be very evenly dispersed throughout the muffins which is super tasty. 

    The acid from the vegan buttermilk (lemon juice) is what reacts with the baking soda and causes them to rise very nicely with an awesome domed top. 

    The walnuts are a perfect match here. Of course they are optional and if you have a nut allergy don’t worry about it, you can easily omit them, but if walnuts are something you can eat, then they make a delicious addition. 

    Ripe bananas are absolutely crucial. You can’t get delicious vegan banana muffins without using ripe bananas. Ripe bananas are more sugar than starch which is exactly what you want for both the taste and texture here. So make sure they are yellow and spotty. 

    We used coconut oil because it’s thick so it works great with muffins. But you can switch this for a different vegetable oil if you can’t use coconut oil. 

    We used applesauce for a bit of extra moisture in this recipe, but you can replace this with extra mashed banana if you can’t get applesauce. I do like the addition of applesauce here though so use it if you can. 

    Vegan banana muffins on a wire cooling rack.

    Make Them Gluten-Free

    You can try these with a gluten-free all purpose flour blend but don’t try them with a single type of flour such as almond or coconut. It has to be an all purpose blend. 

    Our favorite brand for gluten free all purpose flour is Bob’s Red Mill.  

    Vegan banana muffins stacked up in a woven basket.

    Storing and Freezing

    Keep them covered at room temperature where they will stay fresh for a few days or covered in the fridge where they will stay fresh for up to a week. 

    They are also freezer friendly for up to 3 months. When you’re ready for them, thaw them in the fridge and then bring them up to room temperature on the countertop or warm them up in the microwave. 

    Vegan banana muffins stacked up on top of each other.

    More Vegan Muffins

    1. Vegan Blueberry Muffins
    2. Vegan Blackberry Muffins
    3. Vegan Pumpkin Muffins
    4. Vegan Chocolate Chip Muffins
    5. Vegan Chocolate Muffins 
    6. Vegan Zucchini Muffins
    Vegan banana muffins stacked up on top of each other with the top muffin cut in half to show the center.

    Did you make this recipe? Be sure to leave a comment and rating below!

    Vegan banana muffins on a wire cooling rack.

    Vegan Banana Muffins

    These vegan banana muffins are soft, fluffy and perfectly moist with a gorgeous bakery-style domed top. Packed with banana flavor and ideal for breakfast or dessert.
    5 from 38 votes
    Print Pin Rate
    Course: Breakfast, Dessert
    Cuisine: American, Vegan
    Diet: Vegan
    Prep Time: 15 minutes
    Cook Time: 25 minutes
    Total Time: 40 minutes
    Servings: 12
    Calories: 275kcal
    Author: Alison Andrews

    Ingredients

    • 2 cups All Purpose Flour (250g)
    • ½ cup Light Brown Sugar (100g)
    • ½ cup White Granulated Sugar (100g)
    • 1 teaspoon Baking Soda
    • 1 teaspoon Baking Powder
    • ¼ teaspoon Salt
    • 1 teaspoon Ground Cinnamon
    • ¼ teaspoon Ground Nutmeg
    • ½ cup Vegan Buttermilk (120ml) ½ Tablespoon lemon juice + soy milk up to the ½ cup line*
    • 1 ⅓ cups Mashed Ripe Banana (300g) about 3 Medium Ripe Bananas*
    • ¼ cup Coconut Oil (60ml) Melted
    • 2 Tablespoons Applesauce
    • 1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
    • 1 cup Walnuts (100g) Chopped, plus more to add on top
    Prevent your screen from going dark

    Instructions

    • Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C) and spray a muffin tray with non-stick spray. Set aside.
    • Sift the flour into a mixing bowl and add the brown and white sugar, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg.
    • Prepare the vegan buttermilk by adding ½ Tbsp of lemon juice to a measuring cup and then adding in soy milk up to the ½ cup (120ml) line. Let it curdle.
    • Add the vegan buttermilk, mashed banana, melted coconut oil, applesauce and vanilla extract to the mixing bowl and mix into a thick batter.
    • Add the chopped walnuts and stir in.
    • Divide the batter evenly between the muffin partitions and add some more chopped walnuts on top.
    • Place into the oven and bake for 22-25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of one of the muffins comes out clean.
    • Transfer the muffins to a wire cooling rack to cool and then enjoy!

    Video

    Notes

    1. Measure the flour correctly using the spoon and level method, spoon it into your measuring cup and then level off the top with a knife. Don’t scoop the flour and don’t pack it into the cup.
    2. You can also make vegan buttermilk with almond milk, though the result isn’t as thick as with soy milk. It has differing results with other plant milks, but even if it doesn’t curdle into buttermilk, you can still use another milk if that’s what you have on hand.
    3. You can use a different oil such as vegetable oil if you can’t use coconut oil.
    4. If you don’t have any applesauce on hand, then just use 2 Tbsp of extra mashed banana.
    5. This recipe was first published in February 2019.

    Nutrition

    Serving: 1Muffin | Calories: 275kcal | Carbohydrates: 40.4g | Protein: 4.2g | Fat: 11.5g | Saturated Fat: 4.4g | Sodium: 209mg | Fiber: 2.1g | Sugar: 20g
    DID YOU MAKE THIS RECIPE? Rate it & leave your feedback in the comments section below, or tag @lovingitvegan on Instagram and hashtag #lovingitvegan
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    About the Author

    Hi I'm Alison Andrews, I'm the voice and cook behind Loving It Vegan. I love making delicious vegan food and creating vegan versions of all your old favorites, so that you’ll never feel like you’re missing out. Find out more about me here.

    Loving It Vegan is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com. This site may contain some of these links to Amazon.com. If you make a purchase through one of those links, Loving It Vegan will receive a small commission from the purchase at no additional cost to you.

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Chris says

      October 24, 2022 at 2:14 am

      These muffins were great! I made these muffins in preparation for family coming down over the weekend and they loved this as part of breakfast or as a midday snack. They were soft, hearty, not under-sweet or over-sweet. I used 4 average sized bananas which was equivalent to 2 cups of mashed banana (someone has an allergy to apples so I had to cut out the apple sauce) and they turned out perfect! I made half with walnuts and half without to see the difference and both were great! I personally prefer the walnuts for some extra texture but other family members preferred without. I will definitely make these again!5 stars

      Reply
      • Alison Andrews says

        October 25, 2022 at 10:21 am

        Thanks for sharing and the awesome review Chris!

        Reply
    2. Karla A Strauss says

      August 09, 2022 at 12:11 am

      Made these this afternoon just as the recipe states. They are super good! I will be making them over & over for sure!!5 stars

      Reply
      • Alison Andrews says

        August 09, 2022 at 11:40 am

        So happy you liked them Karla! Thanks so much for posting.

        Reply
    3. Kristina says

      May 06, 2022 at 12:11 pm

      Thank you Alison for another great and easy healthy recipe. I only used half a cup of brown sugar and found that sweet enough. We all loved it and will make it my go-to recipe when using up ripe bananas.5 stars

      Reply
      • Alison Andrews says

        May 06, 2022 at 12:31 pm

        Awesome Krisina, thanks so much for the wonderful review!

        Reply
    4. Marie says

      April 09, 2022 at 4:37 am

      I decided to try this recipe for the simplicity of the ingredients and also for the beautiful recipe photo. Don’t be tempted to add extra liquid to the batter, as these muffins turn out perfectly light and moist, with a delicious flavor from the spices and vanilla. This is easily the best vegan muffin recipe we’ve tried. My adjustments to the recipe were half white and half wholemeal flour, a little extra banana as I had no applesauce and I omitted the white sugar as I added some vegan white choc chips. This will be my staple muffin recipe from now on.5 stars

      Reply
      • Alison Andrews says

        April 11, 2022 at 9:41 am

        Wonderful! Thanks so much for sharing Marie!

        Reply
    5. Wendy Konemann says

      March 26, 2022 at 8:36 pm

      My husband is the baker in our family and these muffins are our weekly treat. He makes huge batches and distributes around amongst the family. These are THE BEST muffins I have ever tasted. He leaves out the applesauce and adds more fruit. We have different concoctions each week using this recipe as the base. This week for example we’re having banana, sultana, fig and macadamia nuts.
      I feel there’s often a perception that vegan bakery items are inferior because they don’t use egg. This recipe makes a fallacy of that claim. Thank you for sharing it with us.5 stars

      Reply
      • Alison Andrews says

        March 28, 2022 at 10:50 am

        Thanks so much for the awesome comment and review Wendy!

        Reply
    6. Darlene Greer says

      March 22, 2022 at 4:02 pm

      Just made these and they taste so good! I don’t know what I did wrong but mine did not rise. HELP! I followed the directions.5 stars

      Reply
      • Alison Andrews says

        March 23, 2022 at 9:02 am

        Hi Darlene, so glad they taste good. This recipe has baking powder and baking soda which gives them a gorgeous rise, since yours didn’t, I would check if your baking powder and baking soda are still active.

        Reply
    7. Anna says

      March 09, 2022 at 3:09 pm

      These turned out great! I used 150g sugar altogether, left out the apple sauce and added in some chocolate chips. Will definitely make again.5 stars

      Reply
      • Alison Andrews says

        March 09, 2022 at 3:11 pm

        So happy to hear that Anna! Thanks so much for the awesome review!

        Reply
    8. Beth says

      December 15, 2021 at 4:43 am

      Alison hits another home run. Quick and
      Easy. Delicious. I made them following instructions exactly. Left out apple sauce. They are sooooo good.5 stars

      Reply
      • Alison Andrews says

        December 15, 2021 at 10:20 am

        Awesome! Thanks so much Beth! 🙂

        Reply
    9. Primroselil says

      November 12, 2021 at 3:14 pm

      I love these muffins. I make them with half the sugar, and as I never have applesauce, I peel and chop half an apple and microwave with a little water and sugar, and that works perfectly! And they’re ready in 20 minutes in my oven. Delicious, thank you again for another great recipe.5 stars

      Reply
      • Alison Andrews says

        November 12, 2021 at 3:51 pm

        Thanks so much for the awesome review!

        Reply
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