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.
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.
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.
- 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.
- 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.
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.
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.
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.
More Vegan Muffins
- Vegan Blueberry Muffins
- Vegan Blackberry Muffins
- Vegan Pumpkin Muffins
- Vegan Chocolate Chip Muffins
- Vegan Chocolate Muffins
- Vegan Zucchini Muffins
Did you make this recipe? Be sure to leave a comment and rating below!
Vegan Banana Muffins
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
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
- 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.
- 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.
- You can use a different oil such as vegetable oil if you can’t use coconut oil.
- If you don’t have any applesauce on hand, then just use 2 Tbsp of extra mashed banana.
- This recipe was first published in February 2019.
This recipe looks amazing, can’t wait to make it this coming weekend. My only question is can I use applesauce instead of a flax egg? — As the only vegan in my house, my family is very skeptical about vegan egg replacements.
Hi Jazmin, yes you can! Or you can also just use extra mashed banana (3 Tbsp to replace 1 flax egg).
Good morning! Your recipe now says apple sauce and does not mention a flax egg… If I were to use a flax egg to substitute for the apple sauce, what would be the measurements?
Blessings 🙂
Hi Jordyn, this recipe has not been changed, you might be thinking of our banana bread muffins. For these banana muffins if you don’t have applesauce you can use extra mashed banana in the same quantity.
1 tablespoon flax + 3 tablespoons of water
Thank you for this recipe. This is for the keeps. The taste is so amazing. I had made mine crispy on the top… my husband love it so much… I baked two batches of these for my husband’s former coworkers.
Awesome! So glad they were good! Thanks for posting. 🙂
These are definitely the very best muffins I have yet made NO baking soda/powder after taste and they are light I reduce the sugar to 1/3 rd cup but my bananas were also extremely ripe
I added mini choc chips in half the batch too Delicious and used canola not coconut oil somewhat less than the 1/4 cup
Awesome! Thanks Robyn! 🙂
Excellent! I used 125g whole wheat pastry flour and 125g all purpose flour. Also, cut the sugars but mixing them to 150g instead of the 200g. Best banana muffins I’ve made. Thanks for sharing the recipe.
Wonderful! Thanks so much for the amazing review Nancy. 🙂
I was tempted to alter the flours. Thanks for doing that for me. I’ll try that next time.
First time I’ve made these, will definitely be making them again, lovely and moist and tasted really good, thank you.
So happy to hear that Jayne! Thanks for the wonderful review. 🙂
I have made these countless times, they’ve become a staple in our household! I use just 1/2 cup brown sugar. And I add pumpkin and flax seeds into the batter with 1/2 cup walnuts, tastes absolutely amazing.
Thanks for sharing Kemi, sounds awesome! And thanks for the wonderful rating! xo
Do you use sweetened or unsweetened applesauce / does it matter?
I usually use unsweetened, but it also doesn’t matter. 🙂
Thanks! Will be making this weekend 🙂
Made these for mothers day dinner and they were delicious! Everyone enjoyed them Thank you
Fantastic! So glad they were good. Thanks for updating us and the wonderful review. 🙂
Great recipe. I adjusted it a bit by lessoning the sugar and added 1 flax egg. Sooo moist and good and doesn’t taste vegan at all. Delicious!
Hi Lorrie, so glad to hear it worked out great, thanks for the awesome review. 🙂
Best banana muffin I have ever had. So moist and soft inside, simply amazing!!!
I have made your vegan zucchini muffins and now the Vegan Banana Muffins. I must say the Vegan Banana Muffins win hands down. I used whole wheat flower, 3/4 cup sugar 1/2 tsp baking powder and i left the nuts out. These muffins came out fluffy and very tasty with just a hint of sweetness.
I have so much fun trying out your recipes. Is there anyway i can replace the flax egg in the zucchini muffins i find that the flax egg give the muffins a bread texture. Thanks again.
Hi Geraldine! So glad you like the banana muffins! Thanks for the awesome review. For the zucchini muffins, you can replace the flax egg with 3 Tbsp applesauce. 🙂
I made the other day and it turned out amazing. Thank you for the great recipe. I used 1/4 tsp baking soda and 1/4 vinegar, also I use self raising flour. Definitely make it again. Thank you!
I want to upload the picture but couldnt figure it out. :))
Hi Vicky! So awesome to hear that. If you’re on instagram we’d love to see the pic on there! Just tag us @lovingitvegan and #lovingitvegan. Unfortunately the comment section doesn’t allow for photo uploads. So happy you enjoyed the recipe and thanks for the amazing review. 🙂
Great recipe, we enjoyed them so quickly!!! Thank you!
Fantastic! Thanks for the review Simona! 🙂
H! So excited to try this! I don’t have soy milk or a lemon 🙁 how much vinegar should I use instead? Thank you!
What plant milk are you planning to use instead? Almond milk also makes buttermilk and yes you can use vinegar to curdle the milk instead of lemon juice, in the same quantity. 🙂
Perfect!!!! I only have almond milk. So glad to know I can use vinegar in place of the lemon juice. Thank you!
Aloha! I made these muffins today. I left out all the sugar because my bananas were very ripe. The muffins turned out GREAT! Thanks for sharing!
Wonderful! So happy to hear that! Thanks so much for the great review. 🙂
Hello, coconut oil is equal to virgin coconut oil?? Thank you.
Yes, virgin coconut oil is totally fine!