Moist and delicious vegan banana chocolate chip muffins with simple ingredients. No fancy ingredients are needed, and they’re ready in about 35 minutes! The muffin recipe is dairy-free, egg-free, gluten-free, refined sugar-free, healthy, and easy to make. Perfect for breakfast and dessert!
If you love banana bread, I am sure you will love these vegan banana muffins. Maybe you have a couple of overripe bananas and don’t know what to do with them? Please don’t throw them away, no matter how mushy they are! Overripe bananas are the BEST for banana bread muffins.
I love making muffins because they have the perfect size to satisfy my cravings for a sweet treat in the afternoon. They bake quicker than a cake and are simply convenient. Kids love muffins too and often want to get involved in making them. So, let’s start baking!
The Ingredients for Vegan Banana Muffins
The recipe has only 8 simple ingredients (baking powder, baking soda, and salt not counted) and you probably have all ingredients in your pantry already.
Dry ingredients
- Oats or oat flour – You can use store-bought oat flour (regular or gluten-free). If you have a bag of oats, simply process them in an electric coffee/spice grinder or a blender to make oat flour. Blend for some seconds and your oat flour is ready (I always do that).
Even though oat flour is naturally gluten-free, people who have a gluten allergy (celiac disease) need to buy certified gluten-free oats/oat flour. Oats are often processed in facilities that also process regular wheat flour, therefore, contamination can occur!
- Coconut sugar – You can use brown sugar, white sugar, date sugar, cane sugar or any other granulated sweetener. For me, 1/3 of a cup is sweet enough, however, if you want the banana muffins to be sweeter (simply taste the batter), you can add 1/2 cup of sugar.
- Dairy-free chocolate chips – I often use these vegan mini chocolate chips, but you can use regular-sized chocolate chips.
Wet ingredients
- Plant-based milk – Any dairy-free milk is fine. Some examples are almond milk, cashew milk, coconut milk, oat milk, etc. I prefer canned or homemade coconut milk because it’s higher in fat and make the vegan banana muffins moist.
- Bananas – They must be super ripe, yellow with many dark spots. Please don’t use green, unripe bananas!
- Nut butter – I used peanut butter because that’s what I always have in my pantry. You can also use almond butter or cashew butter, etc. Choose coconut butter for a nut-free version! If you don’t have nut butter at home, you can use coconut oil or canola oil.
- Apple cider vinegar – In combination with the baking soda and baking powder, it helps the banana chocolate chip muffins to rise. You can use white vinegar or lemon juice instead.
All ingredients AND measurements, including the nutrition facts, are listed in the recipe card BELOW!
How To Make Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins?
You don’t need a blender or food processor to make these healthy banana muffins! All you need is two bowls, one whisk, and the plant-based ingredients that I just mentioned.
STEP 1: First, you should line a muffin pan with paper liners (or grease the pan with vegan butter or oil). Preheat oven to 360 degrees Fahrenheit (ca. 182 °C).
STEP 2: Add all dry ingredients (except the chocolate chips) to a large mixing bowl. Stir with a whisk.
STEP 3: Mash the bananas in a medium-sized bowl and add the other wet ingredients (you can also blend all wet ingredients in a blender).
STEP 4: Add the wet ingredients to the large mixing bowl and stir with a whisk or a hand mixer. Stir in the chocolate chips.
STEP 5: Divide the batter among the wells of the muffin pan. There is enough batter for 8 muffins.
STEP 6: Bake for approximately 25 minutes, or until you spot cracks on top of the muffins. Insert a toothpick into the center of a muffin. It should come out almost clean (it’s fine if the toothpick comes out crumbly/slightly sticky, but it shouldn’t come out wet).
STEP 7: Let the banana oatmeal muffins cool and enjoy!
Tips & Variations
How to store banana muffins? You can double the recipe and store leftover muffins in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days, or freeze in zip-lock bags for up to 3 months. These muffins are also great for meal-prep!
Make them refined sugar-free! Simply, leave out the chocolate chips to make these banana muffins healthier and refined sugar-free. You can replace the chocolate chips with nuts, raisins or possibly even blueberries, raspberries, cranberries, etc.
Not a fan of bananas? Even though these are banana chocolate chip muffins, you can use applesauce instead of bananas. I know it’s quite funny, but I often get asked if my banana desserts can be made without bananas. Go figure!
Regular flour – Most of my readers appreciate my gluten-free vegan recipes, and thank me for it. However, I often get asked if specific desserts can be made with regular all-purpose flour because it’s easier to get. And yes, that’s often possible and most of the time baked goods turn out fluffier with wheat flour because of the gluten. Also, for these banana muffins, you can use regular flour or spelt flour instead of oat flour.
On the left you can see the banana chocolate chip muffins made with oat flour and on the right are the exact same muffins with all-purpose flour. Btw. I prefer the ones with oat flour!
These Vegan Banana Muffins Are:
- Vegan (dairy-free, egg-free)
- Gluten-free (if using oat flour)
- Can be made nut-free
- Can be made refined sugar-free
- Moist
- Delicious
- Easy to make with simple ingredients
- Healthier than most banana muffins
If you love muffins, make sure to check out my other delicious vegan & gluten-free muffin recipes:
- Vegan Chocolate Muffins
- Sweet Potato Muffins
- Apple Crumble Muffins
- Savory Vegetable Muffins
- Matcha Muffins (Cupcakes)
- Vegan Blueberry Muffins
You can also make mini banana muffins! How cute is this little guy:
Should you give these vegan banana chocolate chip muffins a try, please leave a comment and rating below and tag me in your Instagram or Facebook post with #elavegan and @elavegan.
Vegan Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins
Ingredients
Dry ingredients:
- 1 2/3 cup (150 g) oat flour gluten-free if needed (see notes)
- 1/3 heaped cup (75 g) coconut sugar (see notes)
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1/3 tsp baking soda
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/3 cup (60 g) dairy-free chocolate chips + more for the top
Wet ingredients:
- 1/2 cup (120 ml) plant-based milk (see notes)
- 2 small/medium (160 g) bananas mashed (see notes)
- 1/4 cup (65 g) nut butter (see notes)
- 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
Instructions
- You can watch the video in the post for visual instructions.Line a muffin pan with paper liners and preheat oven to 360 degrees Fahrenheit (ca. 182 °C).
- Add the dry ingredients (except chocolate chips) to a large mixing bowl.
- Mash the bananas in a different medium-sized bowl with a fork. Add the other wet ingredients and stir until combined. You can also blend all wet ingredients in a blender or food processor.
- Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and stir with a whisk. You can also use a hand mixer.
- Finally, stir in the dairy-free chocolate chips.
- Divide the batter among the wells of the muffin pan. I had enough batter to make 8 muffins.
- Bake for about 25 minutes or until you spot cracks on top of the muffins. I also recommend making a toothpick test. Insert a toothpick into the center of one muffin. It should come out almost clean (it's ok if there are some crumbs attached to the toothpick, but it shouldn't come out wet).
- Let the muffins cool and enjoy! Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days or freeze for up to 3 months.
Notes
- Flour: You can use regular all-purpose flour, whole wheat flour or spelt flour instead of oat flour. A gluten-free 1:1 all-purpose flour should work fine too (I haven't tried it though).
- Sugar: Use brown sugar, white sugar, date sugar or any other granulated sweetener instead of coconut sugar. For me, 1/3 of a cup is sweet enough, however, if you want sweeter muffins (simply taste the batter), you can add 1/2 cup of sugar.
- Plant-based milk: Any dairy-free milk is fine. Some examples are almond milk, cashew milk, coconut milk, oat milk, etc. I prefer milk that is higher in fat like canned coconut milk.
- Bananas: They should be very ripe, yellow with many dark spots. Please don't use green unripe bananas!
- Nut butter: I used peanut butter, but you can also use almond butter, cashew butter or coconut butter. If you don't have nut butter at home, you can use coconut oil or canola oil.
Nutrition information is an estimate and has been calculated automatically
Equipment
Simple and Delicious Vegan Cookbook by ElaVeganCLICK HERE to order!If you are using Pinterest, feel free to pin the following photo:
I want to try this recipe using Bobs Red Mill 1-1 Baking flour but I want to add quinoa flakes for extra protein and nutrients. Can you advise how much I should/can add without drying the recipe? Thanks!
Maybe 1 cup Bob’s red Mill and 1/2 cup quinoa flakes would work, but I am just guessing, as I never tried it.
I made these twice this last week – they are wonderful! Used date sugar as the sweetener (the only whole food sweetener that I know of) and added a bit more because of that. I also added some walnuts along with the chocolate chips, a great combination! They are in our regular rotation. I also want to try to use the base to make savory muffins with. Thank you for another wonderfully delicious recipe!
You are very welcome, Annie. Love that you added walnuts, such a great combo. 🙂
We loved these, delicious and healthy. My kids ate the lot in 5 minutes.
I used peanut butter, half and half coconut sugar/erythritol and raisins instead of choc chips.
Will def make again! Thank you for a lovely recipe.
That’s wonderful, Laura! I am so glad you all liked them. Thanks for your great feedback. 🙂
These muffins are the BEST muffins I have ever had, vegan or not. I am vegan and gluten free and loved these, as well as my hubby who is not gluten free but enjoys the vegan recipies from Elavegan. My life is blessed by your journey in making these recipies and sharing them for free!!! I am truly grateful for you, thank you thank you
Thanks for your kind comment, Sarah. So glad me recipes are helpful. 🙂
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My kiddo loves this muffins.
I made them coconut sugar free and replace the chocolate drops for chopped walnuts. They taste just PERFECT!
Thank you 🙂
That’s awesome! Thanks so much for your great feedback, Andreyna. 🙂
Dear Ela,
I’m new to gluten free diet and I’m milk and egg intolerant so you’re recipes are incredibly helpful. But truly you’re awesome, I’ve tried many of you’re recepies they were all very delicious. A common problem for me is that gluten free things can get dry very soon but when I follow your recipes they are actually always quite good. So I just wanna say thank you and keep creating more recipes because they are incredibly good 🙂
Dear Renato, that makes me so happy! Thanks for letting me know, I am glad you appreciate my recipes. 🙂
Hello..
I am new to gluten free and refined sugar free baking. So before baking this recipe I request you to answer my few queries.
1. Will oats flour give the sticky mouth feel. If yes then what should I do..
2.should I sieve the oats flour or any other gf flour which I blend at home or purchased or it’s not necessary.
3.can I use homogenised cow milk instead of vegan milk in all your recipes.
4. Is dates powder and dates sugar the same thing and will it give a good texture to the muffin.
5.if I bake it without sugar or any sugar chemical and use dates what be the quantification.
Thank you
Hi! 1. Yes, oats can cause this if used alone and not in a blend. You can use buckwheat flour or sorghum flour. 2. No, I never do that. 3. If you aren’t vegan, then yes. Of course, I never tried it. 4. I don’t know, maybe google it. 5. That depends on the recipe. I can’t answer this question, you will need to experiment. 🙂
These are tasty! I made my own oat flour in my Ninja blender. Maybe not a fine as what you can buy in the store but it worked out well. I was pleasantly surprised at how these turned out! Thanks for an easy, healthy recipe!
Sounds great! 🙂
Im allergic to most grains, especially oats… is there another flour you recommend?
Buckwheat flour might work if you can eat that. 🙂
I really love and appreciate all your recipes, and this one is so easy and delicious… mmm ???? thanks a lot for sharing ????????
Yay! I am glad you enjoyed them, Cecilia. Thanks for your sweet comment! 🙂
Hey Ela, I follow you for a bit now and I am always craving your recipes. Today I tried this one and was a total success!! I usually mess up when baking because I don’t follow the measures but this time I did precisely with a scale. The only change was that I used maple syrup instead of coconut sugar, and I also made a double recipe. Thanks for your dedicated work <3
That’s wonderful, Nathalia! I am so glad they turned out great. Thanks for your kind feedback. 🙂
I love these muffins. I would like to share a variant I recently tried as my oven broke: steam cooking instead of oven cooking. Muffins grow in a magnificent way and stay a lot softer. Medium heat, not too full pot, wrap the lid of the pot to avoid watering the muffins, it takes a bit less time for the muffins to be ready. As you pull them out It may seems like they are too wet, but it’s just for a few minutes. Since I didn’t always have the ingredients, I tried whole rice flour instead of the oat one and silken tofu instead of bananas. I think these variations can be applied to many others of your great recipes. Thank you!
That’s awesome and so interesting, Flora! Thanks a lot for sharing. 🙂
Очень Вам благодарна! Вы талантище! Получилось очень вкусно, вместо бананов добавила пюре тыквы! Получилось замечательно!!!
Thanks for your comment! I am glad they turned out delicious. 🙂
Thank you for sharing. Your recipe is amazing, once again, congratulations! I made some changes: instead of chocolate chips, I added two handfuls walnuts. I didn’t add sugar either but I put 1 medijou date and 1 tbsp carob powder. The result was awesome!!!
Regards from Spain
So glad it turned out delicious! Thanks for your comment, Marina. 🙂
Just took these out of the oven and I”m going to need to hide them so I don’t eat them alL! I had four overly ripe bananas so I doubled your recipe and was able to make 24 mini muffins, 6 regular muffins and 3 mini loafs. I had never baked using oat meal or made my own oat flour but now I’m a huge fan! Thank you for sharing! This is the second recipe I’ve tried from your blog and I’ll definitely be doing more! Appreciate all the work you put in to this blog!
Aww, that’s amazing, Courtney! I am so glad you enjoy these muffins. 🙂
It was so good! I substituted with erythritol and it was soooo tasty!!!!thank you Ela!
You are welcome! I am glad you liked the muffins. 🙂
My new go-to recipe!!! LOVE IT! I’ve made it with pecans as well and also very good!
That’s awesome, Sara! I am so glad you love the muffins. 🙂
Wow delicious. I just made these. So good. I used half oat flour half wholeweat/Wholemeal Flour. I used regular milk and coconut oil as my child kinder is nut free and I wanted to share with the staff. I’m in australia.
Thanks for your great feedback, Josette! 🙂