Start your morning off right with these deliciously spiced, walnut filled, and perfectly flavored vegan Banana Nut Muffins. Get your house smelling heavenly in just 30 minutes.
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I have been sitting on this recipe for at least a month. I first made these vegan banana muffins in late August as I was gearing up for the start of baking season. At the time the temperatures outside were breaking 100, it hadn't rained in days, and smoke from surrounding forest fires filled the air. Needless to say, it did not feel much like fall.
I was all set to publish these muffins in early September, still record-breaking heat but I was in full-on rebellion to the summer gods but then these muffins happened (which was awesome) and so I decided to wait a few weeks before hitting publish.
And today, on this perfect autumn day (as was intended), I'm finally sharing these deliciously spiced vegan Banana Nut Muffins.
Recommended Ingredients & Equipment
The ingredients for these Banana Nut Muffins are simple and straight-forward. And you likely already have them on hand.
Ingredients & Substitutions
- All-Purpose Flour - For healthier flour options, you can use 1:1 gluten-free flour blends, buckwheat, or spelt flour.
- Baking Soda
- Cinnamon
- Salt
- Bananas - For this recipe, the riper the bananas are, the better. They offer a sweeter and stronger flavor while mixing into the batter more evenly.
- Vegan Butter - Look for a high-quality non-hydrogenated vegan butter. I recommend either Earth Balance or Miyoko’s. You can also replace this with melted coconut oil or, for an oil-free option, equal amounts applesauce.
- White and Brown Sugar - Check out my guide to vegan sugars and alternative sugar replacements. For a healthier sugar alternative, I recommend coconut sugar.
- Non-Dairy Milk - I recommend anything that is thick and neutral flavored such as soy, cashew, or macadamia nut milk.
- Vanilla Extract
- Walnuts
Recommended Equipment
For all my vegan muffin recipes, you’ll need basic kitchen equipment such as a mixing bowl, utensils, a wire cooling rack, and a muffin baking pan. I also recommend using an ice cream scoop to evenly and cleanly scoop your batter. (<<affiliate links)
Check out the full list of my recommended kitchen tools and gadgets.
How to Make Vegan Banana Muffins
Step One – Combine the ingredients
In a small bowl whisk together the dry ingredients. That’s the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt. Whisk until it’s well combined and set aside.
In a separate bowl or liquid measuring cup, whisk together all the wet ingredients. That’s the banana, butter, sugars, non-dairy milk, and vanilla extract. Add the wet ingredients to the dry and mix until all the flour is evenly hydrated.
Fold in the walnuts until they are evenly immersed.
Step Two – Scoop and Bake
Scoop the batter into a prepared muffin tin and bake for 20 minutes at 350 F. To check for doneness, insert a toothpick in the middle of a muffin. The muffins are done when the toothpick comes out clean.
Pull from oven and let the vegan muffins cool for 10 minutes in the muffin tin before transferring them to a wire cooling rack. If you flip them out too quickly, the muffins may fall apart.
Serving and Storing
Serve these muffins immediately. They come out of the oven warm, buttery, and hard to resist!
Store leftover muffins in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days. You can also freeze these muffins for up to 2 months. To thaw, pull the muffins from the freezer and let them thaw at room temperature for several hours.
Tips and Tricks
- The most accurate way to measure flour is to spoon it into your measuring cup, leveling it off with the back of a knife.
- Do not overmix your batter. Overmixing allows the gluten to develop and too much gluten will give you gummy and dense muffins.
- Fill up your muffin molds about ⅔rds of the way full. If you do much more, the muffins will spill over as they rise.
- Let your muffins cool for 10 minutes before flipping them out onto a wire cooling rack.
- For variations, omit the nuts or swap them out for chocolate. Yum!
Frequently Asked Questions
Can the batter be made in advance?
Yes! If you want to make this muffin batter in advance, store the batter in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 48 hours. To bake the muffins, preheat the oven and bake according to the instructions. However, these muffins may take a few minutes longer to bake since the batter will be chilled. The muffins will also be slightly denser as the baking soda begins to activate once it’s mixed into the batter, causing it to be slightly less potent.
Can I omit the butter?
Sure. If you would like to make this recipe butter-free, simply swap out the oil for additional applesauce at a 1:1 ratio.
Can I make this recipe gluten-free?
For sure! For gluten-free muffins, I recommend using a 1:1 baking blend.
More Vegan Muffin Recipes
- Blueberry Muffins
- Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins
- Double Chocolate Cherry Muffins
- Pumpkin Muffins
- Chocolate Zucchini Muffins
- Chocolate Chip Muffins
Vegan Banana Nut Muffins
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cup all-purpose flour
- 1 ¾ tsp baking soda
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 4 ripe bananas
- ½ cup vegan butter melted
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- ¼ cup brown sugar
- 1 ¼ cup walnuts, roughly chopped and divided
- ¼ cup non-dairy milk (I use soy)
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Spray or line with muffin holders a muffin pan and set aside.
- In a large bowl combine flour, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt. In another bowl, mash bananas with a fork. Add melted butter, both sugars, milk, and vanilla. Whisk to combine. Add the wet ingredients to dry and mix gently together until a uniform batter is formed. A few lumps are okay. Fold in ¾ cup of the walnuts.
- Place batter in muffin tins, about ¾ full. Top with remaining walnuts and bake for 20-25 minutes until golden brown and a knife inserted in the middle comes out clean.
- Remove from oven and let cool 10 minutes in the muffin tin before moving to a cooling rack to cool completely.
- Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days.
Notes
- The most accurate way to measure flour is to spoon it into your measuring cup, leveling it off with the back of a knife.
- Do not overmix your batter. Overmixing allows the gluten to develop and too much gluten will give you gummy and dense muffins.
- Fill up your muffin molds about ⅔rds of the way full. If you do much more, the muffins will spill over as they rise.
- Let your muffins cool for 10 minutes before flipping them out onto a wire cooling rack.
Hi, I’m Sarah. I’m a 14-year (and counting) vegan, professionally trained photographer, former pastry chef, founder of My Darling Vegan, and author of the
Patricia says
Thank you, thank you for the delicious recipe! I have some younger vegan workmates that I like to cook for. I have tried two of your recipes so far (the banana nut muffins and your vegan vanilla cupcakes). Both moist and tasty and saw the plate emptied quickly. Look forward to baking more of your recipes.
AJ says
I didn't add the cinnamon because I don't like the flavor of it, and these muffins are perfect. They had just the right amount of sweetness.
Mikail says
My muffins turned out amazing aside from tasting a bit too much like baking soda. Random bites tasted heavily of baking soda. Recipe says 1 3/4 tsp, but is it too much? Anyone else have this issue?
Joanne says
Hi, would there be any difference to the measurements if I omit nuts/choc chips? Thanks
Sarah McMinn says
No, you can just leave them out!
Anna says
Oh. My. Gosh. Best vegan muffins, hands down! This was such a delightful treat and I already know I’ll be making these again! I made some modifications like adding a little bit of nutmeg and ground cloves (just my preference) and just a little bit of vegan protein powder, making sure to balance it out with the milk. Also, I didn’t have any walnuts or pecans on hand, and instead used hazelnuts. They turned out phenomenal! Great idea for a quick breakfast!
Nicole says
I was wondering if you’ve ever measured the mashed banana? I recently made these and they didn’t turn out. The batter filled 16 muffin cups and the muffins did not cook properly. They were mushy despite being cooked longer. I’m assuming I used way too much mashed banana. My bananas were quite large. I’m hoping you might have some insight as I want to give these another try.
Olivia says
Hi! Not sure if this will be too late to help - one mashed banana on average is 1/2 cup. I had 4 medium-large bananas and I measured just to be safe and it was around 2 cups 🙂
Jennifer Guevara says
I’m giving this recipe a 5 stars.
Easy to make and best of all the muffins are delicious. Thank you for sharing with us Sarah.
Noreen Madison says
Made these several times now, sometimes adding a few different flavours. I add Flame Raisins, Cherries or Ginger. All have been a great success.
Karen says
Am interested in making this recipe for my jumbo muffin pan. What adjustments must I make?
Allison R. says
These are SO good! I've made twice now. One time I missed adding the soy milk but they turned out fine anyway. This time I got the soy milk in and also added about 1/2 T chia seeds - turned out great!
Allison R. says
I continued experimenting today to make these a bit lighter on calories and "white" stuff. I left out the brown sugar entirely and used raw sugar instead of white sugar. I also did 1/3 whole wheat : 2/3 white flour. Also added chia seeds (around 1/2 T, maybe a little more) and cut back the walnuts by about 25%. Result was still great, just not as sweet! Very flexible recipe.
Mary Jo LoBianco says
Delicious as written! Very simple
Noreen Madison says
I have made these twice now and they are very good. I use less sugar and substitute Zero Syrup for sweetness without calories. I also use less fat (Pure soya spread) but I do add lots of Flame Raisins and chopped cherries.
Phyllis cummings says
Sarah, you're photography is incredible!!!! I enjoyed looking at the photos as much as reading your comments /just learning how to cook.... I can't grab my camera quick enough! Thank you and congrats on your new family addition.
Phyllis C Charleston,SC Keep your family away from COVID.....i am finally recovering after 8 long weeks.
Tanya Hopper says
Thank you so much I made these for a vegan friend and will now be a part of my baking they are so delicious. I left out the walnuts as I didn’t have them in my pantry but I don’t think they were missed
Kathrine Defina says
I make these muffins at least once a month! They are the most MOIST FLAVORFUL muffins I have ever made! I always get tons of compliments for them. I will never use another recipe!!!
Marisa Gurovski says
I used 5 small bananas - the organic ones are usually smaller and it was amazing!
I also added in 1/2 cup of chocolate chips.
Patty says
Overall excellent recipe! I was a bit concerned about using 4 bananas but I am glad I did! I followed the recipe to the letter. The muffins were dense but moist and delicious. And the sweetness was perfect! We don't eat a lot of sugar and these are not overly sweet. This recipe yielded 12 normal sized muffins. I will make these again.