I make these muffins at least once a week. My kids love them and they provide quick after school snacks or mid-morning treats. I’ve found they don’t need oil to be tender and delicious. The extra banana takes care of that and makes them deliciously and intensely banana flavored.
I always buy 5 or 6 bunches of bananas so I can have extra ones to go brown just to make these. The rest of the bananas go in to smoothies and for eating.
Blending up the wet ingredients makes for a really quick recipe with no fuss
Then you simply pour the liquid into the dry mixture and stir.
We all have a different preference for fillings, my youngest likes them plain, I like the goji berries, my husband likes cranberries and my daughter likes the chocolate chips. I can just press some into the filled muffin tins to make an assortment, then we’re all happy. Alley at Made of Stars mentioned chopped walnuts in the comments below, chopped pecans would also be lovely, how did I forget? 🙂
Oil Free Banana Muffins
I always double this recipe, but we’re banana muffin fiends, so here’s the single recipe here
- 3 ripe bananas
- 1/2 C. plain soymillk + 2 T. lemon juice stirred together = vegan buttermilk
- 1/2 C. raw sugar
- 1 t. vanilla
- 1 1/2 C. whole wheat pastry flour or for gluten free option use an equal amount of Cara’s all purpose GF mix + 1 t. xanthan gum or 1 T. ground flax
- 1 t. baking soda
- 1/2 t. sea salt
Method: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Blend bananas, sugar, vanilla, and vegan buttermilk in your blender until smooth. Whisk the dry ingredients together in a medium bowl. Pour wet mixture in and stir with a wooden spoon until just combined. Measure out by 1/4 C. measures into a lightly oiled 12 tin muffin tin (don’t use papers, these will stick). Press in a few fillings if desired, or leave plain. Bake for 20-25 minutes until just golden. Cool on a baking rack for a few minutes before eating.
For more oil-free recipe goodness, check back on Wednesday the 12th, I’ll be reviewing and giving away a copy of Lindsay Nixon’s new Happy Herbivore Abroad cookbook as part of her 31 days of giveaways Blog Tour.
Vedged Out 
You’ve been hiding this recipe from me?! Looks like a perfect snack!
They are SO good. We all gobble them up, which is why I have to make a double batch. I love how simple they are too! They came over from GCF, but I’ve simplified them even more. I’ve found most baked goods don’t really need a flax egg, which I used to always use….
Hi Somer,
I agree. My vegan Pumpkin bread does not contain flax “egg” and turned out fine.
That aside, would you believe this morning before I left for the train, I said to myself, “I really need to use those bananas on the counter and make a vegan banana bread.” Your recipe timing is spot on! I’m going to make these instead. YUM!
You truly are an inspiration.
Hope it works out for you. Funny how we learn as we go. I love that vegan baked goods really are simpler than I once thought. 🙂
I made the muffins on Sunday after the menorah lighting ceremony in my town. I used SoyNog because I didn’t have any regular soy milk or almond milk. I also baked them too long. But in fairness to me, I am living im a very old house with a very old unpredictable stove/oven which I haven’t quite figured out the temperatures because the darn oven is so fickle! Next time I make these, I’ll shorten the baking time. Live and learn, right?
I bought an oven thermometer when I bought the book “artisan bread in 5 minutes a day” I have a newer fancy stainless steel oven. My new thermometer shows my oven is 25 degrees too hot at lower temps and 50 degrees hotter at higher temps. I get why I had so much trouble in my kitchen before! Now I go by thermometer temperature and have better success. Soy nog would’ve been great in these 🙂
Oh man! I seriously need to invest in a thermometer because this old stove is proving quite a challenge, even for someone like me who has a formal culinary (pastry) background. At some point I’ll replace the stove but for now it works so why spend the money.
The soynog wasn’t strong enough to show up after baking. I may try an extra next time, instead of vanilla.
p.s. I just saw a cupcake in the window of a bakery next to my office (here in Boston) called “Cannoli”. If I wasn’t a vegan, I’d try one! 🙂
on that note – love that you took out the flax egg. sometimes i’m out of that. and sometimes i’m out of chia. the less ingredients; the better! thanks for posting!
Banana is great in cakes, love using it. These look delicious:)
Thanks! I love it too. Plus, I’m pretty sure you could use spelt instead of ww pastry flour 😉
I’d say so. I’m eating a lot of GF these days, it seems to be much easier on the digestion, starting to go through phases with spelt lately. I have 3 bananas I was saving for my banana bread so will make these instead. Looking forward to them.
Enjoy!
Luckily, gluten doesn’t bother anyone around here, but I have plenty of friends that are intolerant or have celiac, so I’m always doing a bit of GF baking. I need to check out spelt a bit more. It’s not GF, but has less gluten than wheat, right?
You’re so right there is gluten in it but is a more easily digestible gluten than you’d find in it’s cousin wheat. As such it’s a great alternative for the majority of people suffering from wheat intolerance but definitely unsuitable for coeliacs.
Problem is that it can be expensive which is a bit off putting. Here in Ireland I get it for Eur2.39 in a supermarket, others charge anything up to Eur5.00. Scandalous! Hopefully if you try it you’ll get a cheap price one. It may need more liquid but I find if you’re use to cooking you’ll know the texture you need. There are supposed to be formulas but I just like experimenting in the kitchen.
I think I can get it easily and cheaply. Thanks so much for the information! I’m going to try it soon!
Hey Somer, just thought I’d add my 2 cents. I’ve been baking with spelt for many months. I like it but it does lend a much chewier texture than ww pastry which I prefer usually. Try using light spelt instead and it is less chewy. Regular can make cakes real chewy otherwise. I’ve made it with pancakes and it was so chewy I had to really grind the fork through. WW pastry works much better 🙂
Thanks for letting me know. Since I don’t have gluten issues, I think I’ll stick with whole wheat pastry flour 🙂
This recipe looks delicious – definitely going into the rotation – thanks!
Along the same lines, we have discovered that applesauce makes a great vegetable oil replacement as well. We just substitute the applesauce on a 1 to 1 ratio and let fly! Cheers!
Judy
Thanks Judy! We use apple sauce in other applications too, but the extra banana here is so good that I couldn’t resist! Here’s to healthy baking!
We love our banana bread too! I just bought a load of clearance banana’s for super cheap so I can make Christmas loaves for my husband’s employees. We never use oil or flax eggs and always have good results. 🙂
Excellent Holly! I remember seeing your lovely banana bread post a while back. I’ll have to re-check it. It’s fun to try someone else’s recipe. I’d been making banana bread for years that I thought was the best, then I tried my sister’s recipe, even better. Now I’ve had to revamp again. I love how plant based baking is totally an evolving process. I feel like I’m finally getting the hang of it. I like it best when I can eliminate oil without flavor or texture being affected. That makes me really happy!
These look very versatile. I’m imagining finely chopped walnuts as a nice addition. I like how you cater to each preference in your family.
Oh yes, I can’t believe I didn’t mention walnuts or pecans! Of course they’re lovely, but since I’m the only one who loves them, they sadly get left out.
Updated the post! Thanks for the suggestion. xx
Oh, you are very welcome!
🙂
Oh thanks for mentioning me- I just noticed! 🙂
Yum, they look divine 🙂
They are! 🙂
Hmmmm…I think I know what to make with all my browning bannas this afternoon……
PS: I made ’em. Changed it a bit (used coconut milk, cinnamon, nini chips). Delicious.
Haha! You’re the best Sarah! I loved your post! xx
I heart brown bananas!
I should never read your posts when I’m hungry.. Yum..
Super easy too. I’m always reading posts when I’m hungry. Pin everything then forget it all by the time I’m actually cooking 🙂
I never thought to put a different filling into the muffins, what a great idea! I love nuts in mine, but my kids don’t. You’ve solved my problem. Also, goji berries? Never would have thought to add those to banana muffins, fantastic!
Love goji berries! Another reader added cinnamon. Mmmm. It’s easy to customize for everyone 🙂
hey hey hey Somer…. I have to make these I have been trying to find recipes for banana muffins and also attempting to reduce oils in cooling too as we talked about a few weeks ago. Also banana are in abundance right now… 🙂 thanks….
They are really good! I think you’ll like them. I love it when I can make things without oil that taste just as good.
I absolutely have to try this healthy recipe 🙂
Yes, you must 😉 !
Thanks for the post and great pictorial of the process from start to finish! Something worthwhile to try with those overripe bananas!
Super fast and rewarding too 🙂
YUM! I love when muffins don’t need oil- keeps them lighter which is great for a snack 🙂
Totally! I’ve found some baked goods (like cookies) do better with just a little oil, but these really don’t need it 🙂
They look amazing! Healthier than normal muffins but still yum! :b
Exactly! Thanks 🙂
Those look very yummy…especially with choc chips.
YUmmmm, chocolate chips. They’re super easy to throw together 🙂 xx
This looks amazing!!!! ❤ It would work with almond milk, right?
Thanks! Almond, coconut or rice milk is fine. The almond and rice milk just won’t thicken as much like buttermilk, but it shouldn’t affect the end result. 🙂
Decided make these for my boys breakfast this week. I got 2 & my 6&2 year old ate the rest within couple hours. 2nd batch went in oven perhaps too many choco chips but will def be recipe will go back to and hopefully bananas lil riper then. ;)-
Misty, that’s great! My 3 year old is all over these. If I don’t monitor him, he’ll eat the whole batch by himself! Thanks for letting me know how much your family enjoyed these. That means a lot to me!
Perfectly timed post! Thanks! I just made these because we had a ton of bananas that needed used. Really yummy! This recipe is a keeper! Love how fast it whipped up with using the blender! Thanks again!
Yay! So glad you enjoyed these! That’s one of my favorite parts about this recipe.No endless mashing/mixing required. Makes it doable, bonus that they’re tasty!
Yummy! And I’ve got just the bananas for it. Thanks so much!
Let me know what you think! 🙂
Yay — I love when you include gluten-free options! These look scrumptious.
You are so smart to cut the oil by adding another banana!
I swear you won’t miss it! I’ve even added oil to the recipe to see if it improves it: Nope 🙂
I love that these are oil-free! And they look so moist too! I can see why your family loves them! 🙂
We are pretty much addicted. I need to branch out though, your pear muffins would be a great replacement, or maybe some persimmons 😉
We made this recipe as 4 mini-loaves for our holiday road trip (about 12 hours from Baltimore to Nashville Tn!). Thought is seemed like excellent fuel. I added goji berries – can’t wait to try it! They are waiting in the fridge for us to get on the road later today! Thanks, Somer!
Yay! Merry Christmas Rissa! These should travel perfectly and are often our snack of choice on road trips. Goji berries are my favorite addition too. xx
yum!!!! I am going to try this next time I have some over ripe bananas. Happy new year!
Thank you! It’s still a favorite 🙂 I actually made these today with pecans and blueberries. Yum!
These any good for freezing? Im thinking of making them for my handsome boyfriend to take on his night shifts.
I think they freeze all right 🙂 I definitely like them better on day one then day 2 and the freezer should save them from the going stale fate, but as you know, we bakers like our goods fresh 😉
I do love fresh baked goods! Maybe i’ll freeze the mix in muffin cases and see how they bake from frozen?? My worry is that these muffins wont last past day one!
they look darn tasty! And he will love that they are oil free.
Wow they look incredibly moist and what a bonus they’re oil free – means I can eat 2 😉
Totally! I think they’re around 100 calories each 🙂
Wow that’s really incredible and they don’t look weird and gummy or dry which is what I often find with fat free muffins. My bananas are on the verge of mould so I think they are destined for this recipe!! 🙂
Girl, do it, the recipe is SO fast. I even tried adding oil to these once to see if I could improve them… And I liked them LESS. I swear! xx
Haha really, sounds too good to be true! Right then I’m off to bake, I shall feed back! 🙂
This is the best muffin recipe in the history of ever!
Ah! Thanks
It wasn’t clear to me if the flaxseed was necessary only for the gluten-free option and I’ve been making them without the flaxseed . It would be clearer if that’s meant to be an ingredient that it be on a separate line like the other ingredients are – this is a great recipe !