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These Chocolate Banana Muffins are fluffy, tender, and made with only 10 plant-based ingredients! Vegan, Gluten-Free, & Refined-Sugar Free.
Let’s talk MUFFINS! Chocolate Banana Muffins, to be exact. While IĀ love a good Banana Bread, these fluffy, tender, andĀ chocolate-y muffins might just be my new favorite way to use my brown bananas.
Oh yeah, and they’re vegan, gluten-free, and made from onlyĀ 10 plant-based ingredients.
INGREDIENTS FOR CHOCOLATE BANANA MUFFINS
Not only are these muffins made from only 10 ingredients, but they’re pantry-friendly, too! I’m willing to bet you have everything you need to make them, right now. Here’s the lineup:
- Ripe Bananas: the classic ingredient in banana bread & muffins. As always, make sure your bananas are as brown and spotty as possible – or even black! The darker the banana, the sweeter it is.
- Oat Flour and Cacao Powder serve as our two main dry ingredients here. Oat flour is cheap, easy to make, and makes really fluffy baked goods when used correctly. Cacao powder also helps to add extra fluff, and of course,Ā chocolate.
- Coconut Sugar is my refined sugar-free sweetener of choice. Because we’re using ripe bananas here we don’t need much, but it does help with the final texture of these muffins! If you don’t have some on hand, brown sugar will work too.
- Nut Butter helps to add some creaminess and moisture here, without the need for any added oil.
While there are no chocolate chips in theĀ batter,Ā I also decided to top my muffins with chocolate chips for a little extra pizzazz. You can skip that if you’d like, or replace it with some nuts, seeds, or extra banana slices!
HOW TO MAKE CHOCOLATE BANANA MUFFINS
- Mix the dry and wet ingredients separately in two bowls, then combine
- Scoop the muffin batter into a greased or lined muffin tin (but not too high!)
- Pop those babies in the oven, watch them rise beautifully, and then let cool on a baking rack.
The letting them cool part is definitely recommended as it helps with crumb structure. Buuuuuut if you want to snag one warm and fluffy muffin out of the tray, I certainly don’t blame you.
These Chocolate Banana Muffins are the perfect on-the-go breakfast or afternoon pick-me-up, and can even be enjoyed for dessert! They’re moist and satisfying as-is, though I also love to heat them up in my toaster and then add a dollop of nut butter.
A FEW FINAL TIPS:
- Like I said before, make sure your bananas are asĀ brown and spotty as possible.Ā
- Make sure your baking soda and baking powder are fresh, otherwise you won’t get a good rise. It’s also important to get these muffins in the oven as quickly as possible after you mix the wet and dry ingredients.
- Remember to only fill each muffin tin about 3/4 of the way up – the muffins will rise in the oven, so don’t worry about that! If youĀ overfill the tins though, the tops may run, stick together, or fall flat. If you have extra batter you can cook it in a ramekin or another small oven-safe dish!
If you’re looking for more vegan muffin recipes, you’ll also love these Apple Cinnamon Muffins,Ā these Carrot Cake Muffins,Ā and these One Bowl Pumpkin Muffins!
Finally, if you make this recipe and decide to share it on Facebook or Instagram, don’t forget to tag me @FromMyBowl + #FromMyBowl! I love seeing your delicious recreations š
Chocolate Banana Muffins
These Chocolate Banana Muffins are fluffy, tender, and made with only 10 plant-based ingredients! Vegan, Gluten-Free, & Refined-Sugar Free.
- Prep Time: 10 Minutes
- Cook Time: 22 Minutes
- Total Time: 32 minutes
- Yield: 12 muffins 1x
- Category: Breakfast
- Method: Oven
- Cuisine: American
- Diet: Vegan
Ingredients
- 2 cups (200g) quick-cooking or rolled oats, blended into flour*
- 1/2 cup (45 g) cacao powder (or cocoa)
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
- 3 over-ripe bananas
- 1/4 cup (65 g) nut or seed butter (almond, peanut, sunflower, or tahini)
- 1/2 cup (65 g) coconut sugar (or brown)
- 1/2 cup (120 ml) dairy-free milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar (or white vinegar)
- Optional: dairy-free chocolate chips, to sprinkle on top of the muffins
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350F and grease or line a 12-muffin baking tin.
- Add the oat flour, cacao powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt to a large bowl. Whisk well, until fully incorporated and no clumps of cacao powder remain.
- Mash the bananas in a medium-sized bowl, then add in the nut butter, sugar, milk, vanilla, and vinegar. Mix well, until a uniform mixture forms, then pour into the bowl of dry ingredients. Stir everything together – the batter should be relatively thick.
- Use a scant 1/2 cup to fill each muffin tin 3/4 of the way up. Sprinkle with chocolate chips if desired, then place the muffins in the middle rack of the oven. Bake for 22 to 25 minutes, until the tops have risen and are slightly firm to the touch.
- Remove the muffins from the oven and let sit in the tin for 5 minutes, then carefully use a butter knife to transfer them to a baking rack and let them cool completely. Serve as desired; store leftovers in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days, or store in the freezer for up to two months.
Notes
- Oat Flour: add the oats to a bullet or high-speed blender and process on high for 20 to 30 seconds, until a fine powder forms
Keywords: gluten free banana muffins, chocolate banana muffins, chocolate breakfast muffins, vegan chocolate muffins, vegan muffins, vegan banana muffins
These are so delicious! I tweaked the recipe a bit by adding 2 scoops of vanilla Sunwarrior protein powder, and it was amazingly good. I wanted to eat it out of the bowl šā¦ thanks for this recipe!
★★★★★
You’re always welcome, Juanita!
Hi,
Can you provide the nutrition info for the recipe? wondering about carbs and fiber in particular.
Thanks!
I don’t provide nutrition info on my recipes based on personal philosophy, though feel free to put the ingredients into a nutrition calculator. There are many available online š
This is an awesome recipe. These muffins always last me through a week and I eat them for breakfast. Could I replace the brown sugar with maple syrup or honey?
★★★★★
You can substitute them, Cici
great recipe! repeat user here. muffins turn are successful each time! thank you so much for this!
★★★★★
You’re so welcome, Jim! Glad you liked the recipe.
These are SO good, I am amazed by the texture and flavour. I make them weekly. I use half natural peanut butter, half tahini. I use the weight measurements for the oat flour and cocoa and they are so fluffy. Often I replace one banana with 1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce, and I use 1/2 cups chocolate chips.
Left the use of oat flour in these muffins, and so glad to find an oil free vegan recipe! These are so good, and I will be making them often. Thanks for the recipeš
You’re so welcome, Sharri! ā„
Delicious. My grandchildren love these. I make a batch and put several in the freezer.
★★★★★
Glad to hear that, Karen! Thank you so much!
Can we use the store bought oat flour? If I use the store bought flour is it the same 2 cups or do I have to adjust. Please reply.
Yes, you can use the store-bought one and still use the same amount.
We love these muffins, we call them cupcakes lol. I left out the cocoa and sugar for my son’s 1st birthday smash cake. Then today we just made these together with no cocoa and added dried blueberries. Tomorrow is his 2nd birthday. This recipe will continue to be our go to for cupcakes, thanks so much for making something so great it’s now a very special part of our family!
★★★★★
Oh wow these are soooo good!! I used peanut butter and can’t even taste it, which I enjoyed š I will need to double the recipe next time, because they are almost gone š
★★★★★
These muffins are absolutely amazing and taste incredible! I used cashew butter š
★★★★★
Sp pleased you enjoyed them!
I wanted to add for any future readers, I made these in my toaster oven (2 batches of 6) and 20 minutes was plenty!
My batch finally cooled enough for me to try one. I am SHOCKED at how good these are, with the oat flour and no added oil but pb! I’ve been making banana muffins for breakfast from my decaying bananas for a long time, but the oats make it more of an actual breakfast! Immediately printed the recipe for the next inevitable batch. š Next time I’ll stir in some walnuts and make them really nutty. Thank you for a great healthy recipe that actually delivers on being moist and fluffy!!
★★★★★
Thanks so much for all the kind words!
Hi! I’ve made this as muffins and loved it but I was wondering if I could use this same recipe but as a loaf? Thanks!!
★★★★★
Sure! You may need to just cook it a little bit longer. When in doubt, toothpick test it!
Hello do you have nutrition facts like how many calories and carbs ?
Hey there! Out of personal philosophy we don’t calculate calories or nutritional info but you can use Cronometer to get that sort of info for any recipe!
This is such a delicious recipe! They have the perfect amount of sweetness and a really nice soft texture.
Thank you for making awesome vegan and healthy recipes Caitlin š
★★★★★
That’s so kind of you so glad you’ve been enjoying the recipes!
These are such a hit and staple in our house!
I recently swapped the cocoa powder for brown rice flour and added blueberries (I didn’t have all the ingredients for your blueberry muffins) and I must say, I prefer these to your other recipe! So fluffy and moist. You wouldn’t say these are healthy!
★★★★★
Thanks so much – glad you were able to use what you have on hand!
Hi there! I would love to try your recipe but I do not have any of the nut or seed butters… can I use regular butter instead? Are there any substitutes you could recommend? Thank you!
The butter will be more oily and the nut/seed butter adds more of a thickness. You likely could use butter but I wouldn’t use as much as the recipe calls for in nut/seed butter. Also; we haven’t tested that way, but if you give it a shot let us know how it turns out for you!
Such a great recipe! All ingredients that I always have in my home and so easy to whip up! Thank you so much for this tasty treat!
★★★★★
Love that it’s an easily accessible recipe for you!
These were delicious!!! I didn’t have coconut sugar so just subbed golden cane/caster sugar – would love to get some for next time. I think I’d also love to put chocolate chips into the batter, too. I wasn’t sure if my blender would be up to scratch for making the oat flour, but it worked a treat, and this has definitely made me want to bake more oat flour-based recipes!! Thank you for an amazing, Caitlin!!
★★★★★
Oat flour is really great! Thanks so much for making it and glad you enjoyed it!
I made them last week and loved how moist they stay for several days. Great recipe – will make them more often now.
★★★★★
Glad you liked them! Thanks!