Vegan Banana Muffins with Chocolate Chips

These vegan banana 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 chocolate chip banana bars.

Recipe Ingredients

• Chia seeds - acts as binder similar to eggs.
• Bananas - the riper the better.
• Coconut oil - can also use vegetable or canola oil
• Maple syrup - honey works great as well.
• Almond milk - any non-dairy milk works.
• Vanilla extract - enhances the flavor.
• All-purpose and whole wheat flour - the combination makes it healthier without having too dense.
• Baking powder - helps the muffins rise.
• Salt - enhances the flavor.
• Dark chocolate chips - semi-sweet works as well. Just make sure it is dairy-free.
• Walnuts - can also use pecans.

Step-by-Step Instructions

1. In a small bowl combine 2 tablespoon chia seeds with ⅓ cup water and set aside for 5 minutes. In medium bowl, mix together the flours, baking powder and salt.
2. In large bowl, mix together mashed bananas, coconut oil, maple syrup, almond milk, and vanilla extract. Stir in chia seed mixture.
3. Add the flour mixture and mix until just combined.
4. Fold in chocolate chips and toasted walnuts.
5. Spoon batter into muffin tins ⅔ of the way full. Bake at 350°F for 18-20 minutes or until cake tester comes out clean.
6. 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 tablespoon chia seeds in 2 ½ tablespoon 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 Muffins Last?

They will stay fresh for 3 days at normal room temperature, but 1 week in the fridge. The vegan banana 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.
• 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 vegan banana muffins are done when a toothpick comes out clean.

Other Breakfast Recipes

• Banana Carrot Muffins
• Pumpkin Oat Muffins
• Almond Flour Banana Muffins
• Triple Chocolate Muffins
• 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.