These vegan banana chocolate chip muffins are light, fluffy and moist and filled with bananas, dark chocolate chips and walnuts. They are perfect when you’re craving some chocolate, but don’t want to feel guilty about what you’re eating.
For a long time, I feel like if you heard vegan you assumed the recipe might be healthy for you but tastes terrible. I mean I was in that group of people at one point. What vegan really means to me is vegetarian without dairy or eggs.
Yes I know there is a little more to it than that, but as I’ve mentioned in the past, my father-in-law, was vegan for quite a while when Lauren and I first started dating. He no longer is as he likes cheese and eggs too much but he opened my eyes to vegan recipes that could actually taste good. Over time I’ve made multiple vegan recipes including these vegan peanut butter swirl brownies.
By discovering that I could make some tasty vegan recipes, I started to explore ways to incorporate it with my wife’s sweet tooth. If you didn’t know, regular chocolate chips do have dairy in them so they aren’t vegan.
My mom was actually the one who informed me of a great dairy-free chocolate chip that tastes good as well – Enjoy Life Dark Chocolate Morsels. She should know the best, as her most popular recipes with Heartsong Cookies are vegan.
Ironically my favorite cookie recipe of hers is her vegan banana chocolate chunk cookies and that’s where the inspiration for these healthy banana muffins comes from. It’s basically her cookie in muffin form that’s easy and tasty and can satisfy your sweet tooth at the same time.
So if you’re looking for a healthier breakfast/snack, these vegan banana chocolate chip muffins should be at the top of the list. And if you are a banana lover, consider other banana breakfast recipes like banana oat pancakes, chocolate peanut butter banana breakfast cookies, banana bread baked oatmeal and banana nutella crepes.
What Ingredients are in this Healthy Banana Muffin Recipe?
- Chia seeds
- Bananas
- Coconut oil
- Maple syrup
- Almond milk
- Vanilla extract
- All-purpose flour
- Whole wheat flour
- Baking powder
- Salt
- Dark chocolate chips
- Walnuts
How to Make Vegan Banana Muffins
- In a small bowl combine 2 tbsp chia seeds with 1/3 cup water and set aside for 5 minutes. In medium bowl, mix together the flours, baking powder and salt.
- In large bowl, mix together mashed bananas, coconut oil, maple syrup, almond milk, and vanilla extract. Stir in chia seed mixture.
- Add the flour mixture and mix until just combined.
- Fold in chocolate chips and toasted walnuts.
- Spoon batter into muffin tins 2/3 of the way full. Bake at 350°F for 18-20 minutes or until cake tester comes out clean.
- Remove from tin and let cool to room temperature.
Do I Have to Use Whole Wheat Flour?
Of course not. I just liked the combination of whole wheat and all-purpose flour. Whole wheat flour is a little more nutritious, but will make the muffin more dense. So by combining the two, you get some of the extra nutrition but they aren’t as dense. But you can easily make it entirely of whole wheat or all-purpose flour.
Chia Seeds as Egg Substitute
If you are vegan, you probably know the ratio but if you want to replace 1 egg, the ratio is 1 tbsp chia seeds in 2 1/2 tbsp of water. You can also use the same amount of ground flaxseed. Chia eggs work great in any baking dish as it helps bind everything together just like a real egg.
Where Do I Find Dairy-Free Chocolate?
My go-to is Enjoy Life. They have a variety of chocolates that are all dairy-free which makes them great for vegans. They can be found at most grocery stores these days.
How Long Will these Muffins Last?
They will stay fresh for 3 days at normal room temperature, but 1 week in the fridge. The muffins will last up to 3 months in the freezer, which is what I normally do.
Pro Tips/Recipe Notes
- Let the chia seeds sit in water for at least 5 minutes so it soaks up the water and creates an egg-like consistency.
- The riper the banana the sweeter it is which makes for great muffins. You want a banana that has black/brown spots on the peel.
- If you’re looking for some substitutions for ingredients, you can use vegetable oil instead of coconut oil, honey instead of maple syrup and oat milk instead of almond milk.
- Use half whole wheat and half all-purpose flour to get more nutrition but not make them too dense.
- Use baking powder that is less than a year old since it has been opened. If you use older baking powder, it won’t be powerful enough to help leaven the donuts. You can test it by stirring half a teaspoon of baking powder into a cup of hot water. It will immediately start to fizz and release carbon dioxide gas if it’s still fresh enough to use.
- Don’t skip out on roasting the walnuts. By roasting them they will stay crispy in the batter and bring out the flavor.
- Just like with any regular muffin that you make, you’ll know the banana muffins are done when a toothpick comes out clean.
Other Breakfast Recipes
- Cranberry Orange Muffins
- Pumpkin Oat Muffins
- Chocolate Chip Granola
- Banana Bread Baked Oatmeal
- Butternut Squash Bread
If you’ve tried these Vegan Banana Muffins or any other recipe on Chisel & Fork, please let me know how it turned out in the comments below! You can also follow me on Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest and YouTube to see more tasty meals and anything else I’m up to.
Vegan Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp chia seeds
- 1/3 cup water
- 1 cup mashed ripe bananas (equal to about 3 ripe bananas)
- 1/2 cup coconut oil, melted
- 1/2 cup maple syrup
- 1/3 cup almond milk
- 1 tbsp vanilla extract
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 cup whole wheat flour
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1 cup dark chocolate chips
- 3/4 cup chopped walnuts, roasted
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Line 12 muffin tins with cupcake liners. You can also just spray the muffin tins with cooking spray.
- In a small bowl combine the chia seeds with 1/3 cup of water. Mix and let sit for 5 minutes to allow the chia seeds to gel.
- Mix together the mashed bananas, coconut oil, maple syrup, almond milk, and vanilla extract until combined. Stir in the chia seed mixture. Add the flours, baking powder and salt and mix until just combined. Fold in the chocolate chips and walnuts. Be careful not to over mix.
- Spoon the batter into the muffin tins until about 2/3 of the way full. Bake for 18-20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Let cool slightly before transferring to cooling rack.
Notes
- Let the chia seeds sit in water for at least 5 minutes so it soaks up the water and creates an egg-like consistency.
- The riper the banana the sweeter it is which makes for great muffins. You want a banana that has black/brown spots on the peel.
- If you're looking for some substitutions for ingredients, you can use vegetable oil instead of coconut oil, honey instead of maple syrup and oat milk instead of almond milk.
- Use half whole wheat and half all-purpose flour to get more nutrition but not make them too dense.
- Use baking powder that is less than a year old since it has been opened. If you use older baking powder, it won’t be powerful enough to help leaven the donuts. You can test it by stirring half a teaspoon of baking powder into a cup of hot water. It will immediately start to fizz and release carbon dioxide gas if it’s still fresh enough to use.
- Don't skip out on roasting the walnuts. By roasting them they will stay crispy in the batter and bring out the flavor.
- Just like with any regular muffin that you make, you’ll know the banana muffins are done when a toothpick comes out clean.
I didn’t know you are vegan.