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 2/3rds 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 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 3/4 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 4 ripe bananas
- 1/2 cup vegan butter melted
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1/4 cup brown sugar
- 1 1/4 cup walnuts, roughly chopped and divided
- 1/4 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 2/3rds 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
Nicole says
I can’t believe I have never left a comment/rating- I’ve been making these for years! So easy and delicious. I use a large muffin tin for 6 muffins and have enough batter left for two 5-inch pie plates. I adjust the baking time by a few minutes and they come out perfect every time. Sarah, your baking recipes are my go-to! No weird ingredients and always delicious. Thank you!
Jackie Kirby says
Love love love these as muffins!! Any changes to baking it in a loaf pan?
Kim C says
I baked these today for a breakfast tomorrow. They are so good, super moist with a good tender bite. I used chopped pecans instead of walnuts due to allergies. This is a keeper recipe!
Grace Rowe says
I just made this recipe last night for this mornings breakfast and WOW! My husband loved them and I plan to bring a batch to my parent’s this evening. I subbed regular wheat flour with King Arthur’s Gluten free, used one less banana and added in a flax egg, and subbed vegetable oil for butter. I also added some mini chocolate chips in with the nuts. So good and will be making FOREVER.
Ellen Bowyer says
Wonderful muffins! I used half refined coconut oil and half vegan butter, then subbed turbinado sugar for the granulated sugar and a tablespoon of black strap molasses for the brown sugar (I don’t have a sweet tooth) and then did half and half brown and white flour. Absolutely delicious. Thank you for structuring a wonderful recipe! They looked like a professional had baked them at the end. Thanks again.
Ellen