This recipe has big banana flavor and comes together super quickly in 1 bowl.

Depending on how big you make your muffins- this recipe makes 9-12 muffins in a regular-size muffin pan. You’ll need 3-4 ripey ripe bananas for the full banana effect and there is an optional streusel topping you can add that takes things to bakery level.

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How To Make Vegan Banana Muffins

These Vegan Banana Muffins, like most muffin recipes, are a simple mix wet-mix dry-mix together operation. We’re using everyday household ingredients here and ideally some black, spotty bananas. From start to finish, you can enjoy these muffins in under 35 minutes!

For the wet ingredients: We have mashed bananas, melted butter, milk, and vanilla extract.

For the dry: All-purpose flour, brown sugar, salt, baking powder & soda, cinnamon & nutmeg.

No flax eggs, no vegan buttermilk, no fuss! These vegan Banana Muffins bake up light and fluffy without any complicated ingredients or steps

Note: To save on dishes, you can melt butter in a large pot and use this pot to mix everything in!

Expert Vegan Muffin Tips:

A few things to keep in mind with banana muffins:

Browning: Banana bread and banana muffins from bakeries usually have a lovely deep golden brown color, this is thanks to baking soda which assists in browning. Baked goods with bananas just aren’t the same without baking soda.

Prevent gummy muffins: Vegan muffins can get a bit dense or gummy as they lack eggs that provide both lift and structure. In testing this recipe we found that mashing the bananas very well until they become a smooth, creamy liquid helps prevent that gummy texture. In the finished muffins, large pockets of banana created a more gummy muffin.

For a nice tall, domed muffin top: Use both baking powder and baking soda and begin baking at 400* for 5 minutes, then lower the oven to 350*. Don’t open the oven door during baking. Don’t remove or handle muffins until they have cooled for at least 10 minutes. All these steps help muffins rise tall and prevent collapse!

Variations & Substitutions

For lower fat/oil-free muffins: You can substitute applesauce for the melted butter in this recipe. The muffins will be less rich and may be a bit denser/gummier with this swap but it works!

Coconut sugar, cane sugar, or brown sugar all will work.

Try adding in the following mix-ins: (about 3/4-1 cup total)

• Chocolate: Chocolate chips, mini chips, or chunks of dark chocolate work well.
• Walnuts: Walnuts and banana muffins go hand in hand at our house, chopping the nuts helps the muffins keep their shape.
• Macadamia nuts: Chopped macadamia nuts are delish, and often overlooked in our pantry, and banana macadamia are a perfect pair.
• Coconut: Shredded coconut is a delicious tropical spin on banana muffins.

Banana Muffin Storage Tips

If you make and eat muffins on the regular you may be familiar with the dreaded ‘sticky tops’ that muffins can develop on day 2+ of storage. Darn. Muffins get sticky tops as moisture is evaporating out of them. There are a few things you can do to avoid this less-than-ideal texture.

Use melted butter instead of oil: Oil provides heaps of moisture in baked goods and can help the interior feel extremely tender. Muffins made with oil instead of butter tend to get stickier as the days progress.

Wait until the muffins are fully cooled to room temperature before placing them inside a storage container.

If storing in tupperware, you can line the bottom of the container with a paper towel and lay a paper towel on top of the muffins to help absorb moisture.

Here’s the best trick! Store muffins in a container on the counter with the lid on but ajar! Sugar pulls moisture from the muffins up toward the top and in a humid airtight container, this moisture has nowhere to go. Thus, sticky muffin tops! If the lid to the Tupperware is cracked, the moisture can leave the muffin and the tops remain firm.

If you notice a batch of muffins got super sticky stored in a sealed container, simply leave the top completely off for about 4-6 hours (or cover loosely with a paper towel). The muffins will be way less sticky!

Vegan Banana Muffins FAQs

1. Can I mash the bananas in a blender? You can use a blender, potato masher, or just a fork to mash up the bananas. We like the bananas mashed really well until they become nice and creamy- you can also leave the bananas chunky. If the banana mash is chunky, there may be large pockets of gooey banana in your muffins!
2. Why does this recipe have baking powder and baking soda? Banana muffins and banana bread are known for having a deep brown exterior! Baking soda helps encourage browning in baked goods, which is why we use both.
3. How many muffins does this recipe make? This depends on if you measure your mashed bananas if you add mix-ins, and what size muffin tin you are using. For a standard muffin tin with no mix-ins, this makes about 9-10 muffins with the muffin cups filled to the top.
4. Can you use yellow bananas to make muffins? Yellow bananas will work in this recipe, they are firmer so will need to be mashed a little more. Spotted bananas have higher sugar content so if yellow bananas are used, the muffins won’t be as sweet but the recipe will still work.

Related Recipes: Vegan Blackberry Muffins | Vegan Pistachio Muffins