It takes only a handful of ingredients and about 30 minutes to make these super moist dairy free banana muffins. The vegan muffin recipe uses only one bowl for the hand mixed batter. These muffins are never dry and crumbly.
As a personal chef, I plan, grocery shop, prepare and package meals for my clients. Busy families, professional couples, individuals on specific diets, with food sensitivities, or those that don't like to cook hire me to do the work for them.
Every so often, I get a request for some baked goods. My chocolate covered strawberry brownies are super popular with my clients. They also love these better than the bakery banana muffins. They're tops on my menu of favorite treats to offer.
I acquired this great recipe from a friend while we worked at a small gourmet shop. It's been my go to recipe for years.
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why you'll love this recipe
- Easy to make ~ Only one bowl and a handful of ingredients are need for this hand mixed muffin batter.
- They bake fast! ~ Muffins are mini cakes that bake quickly. When perfectly baked, a toothpick poked in the center of the muffin should come out clean.
- Intense flavor and moist texture ~ Over ripe bananas give the muffins exceptional flavor. These muffins are never dry and crumbly.
ingredients & substitutions
Grab a bowl and a spoon for this easy recipe for banana muffins. The batter can be whipped up in about 5 minutes.
This is the best recipe because of a key ingredient. Over ripe bananas. These spotted and often blackened bananas are less starchy, sweeter, easy to mash and add a beautiful golden brown color to banana muffins.
- all purpose flour ~ These dense muffins come out perfectly with all purpose flour. Skip gluten free or other flours as they change the change the consistency of the muffins.
- light brown sugar ~ Dark brown sugar is a good substitute. White sugar can be used in a pinch, but the muffins will be a tad bit drier.
- kosher salt ~ A less salty version of salt. If using table salt, add ¾ teaspoon.
- mini chocolate chips ~ These dense muffins turn out the best with mini chips. For dairy-free muffins, I use this brand.
- baking soda
- baking powder
- light oil ~ Use extra virgin olive, vegetable oil or canola oil. For a dairy version of the muffin, melted butter can be used.
- very ripe bananas ~ Over ripe bananas develop more sugars and are overly sweet. Perfect for these vegan banana muffins. See my tips below for ripening and storing bananas.
- large crystal sanding sugar ~ It gives that nice bakery style crunch to the top of the muffins.
Scroll down to the complete recipe for full quantities of the ingredients.
how to ripen bananas quickly
What if you want to make dairy free banana muffins, but you don't have any really really ripe bananas? Let the microwave "ripen" the bananas for you.
Poke a banana on all sides with a fork. Place it on a microwave safe plate. Put it in the microwave and heat at 30 second intervals until the banana is nice and soft. Just peel and the bananas ready to use in the recipe.
how to store over ripe bananas
After bananas have sat on the kitchen counter for a few days, they tend to ripen beyond many people's tastes. And they attract fruit flies.
To save these best for baking extra bananas, pop them into a 1-gallon freezer bag. Store them along side your ice cream in the freezer. The frozen bananas will keep almost indefinitely.
They'll be ready at a moment's notice to bake a batch of banana muffins. Just place the bananas in the microwave and heat at 30 second intervals. The fruit will thaw to the perfect mushiness for the banana muffins.
recipe details
Just one bowl and a spoon is needed to mix up a batch of these super moist and chocolate chip filled dairy free banana muffins.
In a large bowl, add all purpose flour, light brown sugar and oil.
Add baking soda, baking powder, kosher salt and bananas.
Add mini chocolate chips to the bowl with the other ingredients.
Stir to just combine the ingredients. The batter should be lumpy.
Add muffin liners to pan and fill ¾ full with the batter.
Top with more mini chocolate chips, sanding sugar and bake.
Hint 1: When adding the bananas to the bowl, make sure to squeeze out the peels. They are full of banana juice and add tons of flavor to the muffins.
Hint 2: The easiest and neatest way to fill the cups in the muffin pan is to use a large cookie scoop.
Hint 3: Grease the top of the muffin pan so the baked banana muffins easy pop out of the pan.
variations
- Add dried fruit ~ In place of the mini chocolate chips, add dried cranberries, blueberries or raisins.
- Stir in chopped nuts ~ Chop pecans, walnuts, almonds or peanuts to stir into the batter. About ½ cup along with the chocolate chips is delicious.
- Add spices ~ Stir in 1 teaspoon of cinnamon or pumpkin pie spice. Or add ¼ teaspoon of cloves or allspice.
- Make mini muffins ~ Poppable mini muffins are always a fave. Scoop the batter into a greased or lined mini muffin pan.
recommended equipment
Having the right equipment can make baking a breeze. I recommend the following kitchen utensils and equipment when making these banana muffins.
- stacking glass bowls
- metal measuring spoons
- measuring cups
- rubber spatulas
- large cookie scoop
- muffin pan
- muffin liners or silicone baking cups
- cooling rack
storage
Store baked muffins for up to 3 days in an airtight container at room temperature.
To freeze muffins, store in a single layer in a 1-gallon freezer bag. They will stay fresh for up to 3 months. For best results, thaw at room temperature.
top tip
A digital thermometer takes the guess work out of knowing when the dairy free banana muffins are baked to perfection. The internal temperature of muffins should be about 205 degrees F when baked.
frequently asked questions
Yes. You want to mix the wet and dry ingredients just until they are combined. Overmixing the batter will make the muffins rubbery and tough.
Not exactly. Fill each muffin cup about ¾ full. This will prevent the muffins from spilling over as the bake.
more dessert recipes
- The Perfect Sugar Cookie ~ No Rolling or Cutting Out!
- Snickerdoodle Cookie Ice Cream Sandwiches
- Sugared Shortbread ~ as featured in The New York Times Diners Journal
- Decadent Chocolate Mint Fudge Brownies
- The Best Chocolate Texas Sheet Cake
- Easy Oreo Cheesecake
just one more thing
If you make these super moist and delicious dairy free banana muffins, I’d love hearing from you.
Be sure to leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating ~ I do my best to reply to all your comments. And snap a photo to post to Instagram. I’ll add the photos to my Insta stories as I love seeing all your creations.
Also check out my Facebook and Pinterest pages for lots of fabulous foodie stories and videos, cooking tips, and recipes.
Recipe
Vegan and Dairy Free Banana Muffins
- Total Time: 40 minutes
- Yield: 12 muffins 1x
Description
It takes only a handful of ingredients and about 30 minutes to make these super moist dairy free banana muffins. The vegan muffin recipe uses only one bowl for the hand mixed batter.
Ingredients
- 2 cups all purpose flour
- 1 cup light brown sugar, packed
- ½ cup oil ~ I use either extra virgin olive oil, canola oil or vegetable oil
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 4 very ripe and large bananas ~ about 2 cups mashed
- 10 ounce bag dairy free mini chocolate chips, divided
- sanding sugar
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a muffin pan with muffin liners. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, add the flour, light brown sugar, oil, baking soda, baking powder, kosher salt, mashed bananas and 1 ½ cups of the mini chocolate chips. Stir lightly 15 to 20 times or until the ingredients are just moistened. There will still be a few small lumps.
- Divide the batter between the 12 muffin cups.
- Sprinkle with the remaining mini chocolate chips and the sanding sugar.
- Bake for 28 to 32 minutes. The muffins are done when the tops bounce back slightly when lightly touched or the internal temperature is 205 degrees F on a digital thermometer.
- Remove from the oven and let cool 5 to 10 minutes before removing from the pan to a cooling rack.
- Store in a covered container for up to 3 days.
Notes
Variations
Add dried fruit ~ In place of the mini chocolate chips, add dried cranberries, blueberries or raisins.
Stir in chopped nuts ~ Chop pecans, walnuts, almonds or peanuts to stir into the batter. About ½ cup along with the chocolate chips is delicious.
Add spices ~ Stir in 1 teaspoon of cinnamon or pumpkin pie spice. Or add ¼ teaspoon of cloves or allspice.
Make mini muffins ~ Poppable mini muffins are always a fave. Scoop the batter into a greased or lined mini muffin pan.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 30 minutes
- Category: dessert
- Method: bake in oven
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 muffin
- Calories: 237
- Sugar: 16.6 g
- Sodium: 302 mg
- Fat: 9.4 g
- Saturated Fat: 0.7 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 0 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 36.9 g
- Fiber: 1.6 g
- Protein: 2.6 g
- Cholesterol: 0 mg
Pam Spencer
These are the ultimate ones! They are moist and flavorful. I was given several bunches of bananas that I peeled and froze. I put the frozen bananas in the oven on broil for 10 minutes. I then poured the very soft bananas and all the juice into the mixing bowl. I did not add any mix ins as I have some fussy grandkids. Next time I'll make a double batch and add things in to half of it. Nuts or chocolate chips would both be great. Thank you so much!
Amy Casey
I'm so glad you enjoyed my recipe. The banana juice adds so much delicious flavor to the muffins. I always toss frozen bananas in the microwave. I will try roasting them next time.