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Vegan Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins (Healthy + Easy)

Vegan Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins are a healthy fan-favorite recipe that’s easy to make with just 8 simple ingredients. They bake up moist, tender, and delicious!

Today is a muffin day, a healthy banana chocolate chip muffin day! So, with a few bananas on hand, ripe as can be, I decided to put them into these kid-friendly vegan muffins.

I wanted to make them banana nut muffins, but since my daughter doesn’t care for nuts, I went ahead and added chocolate chips instead.

In her opinion, those are much better, and I’m sure many of you will agree. Who doesn’t like a little chocolate in their banana muffins?

Why We Love This Recipe!

  • Healthy. This muffin recipe is based on my dairy and egg-free Vegan Banana Bread. I cut the oil a bit, only using 1/4 cup, making them a little healthier. They came out perfectly soft and fluffy, and the gooey chocolate chips are a welcome addition.
  • Quick + easy to make. These muffins are super simple and ready in a cinch using overripe bananas and a few pantry ingredients.
  • Great for snacking. These vegan muffins are great for breakfast or a healthy snack throughout the day. They get eaten up quickly around our home, and I’m sure you will love them too!
side by side photos of process of prepping ingredients for healthy vegan banana chocolate chip muffins.

How To Make Vegan Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins

Here is a quick overview of the process with photos for reference:

  • Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
  • Combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a medium/large mixing bowl.
  • In another bowl, combine the oil, milk, vanilla, and sugar. Mash the bananas.
top down view of mini vegan chocolate chips.
  • Grab your chocolate chips, they will be warm and gooey soon!
side by side photos of the process of mixing vegan banana chocolate chip batter and scooping into lined muffin tin.
  • Add the wet ingredients with the dry ingredients. Fold in the chocolate chips, careful not to over-mix.
  • Scoop the batter and place it in lined muffin tins (shown above). Add a few extra chocolate chips on top if you like.
top down view of vegan banana chocolate chip muffins just pulled from the oven in a muffin tin.
  • Bake until golden, about 20 – 25 minutes (shown above), while enjoying how delicious your home is starting to smell!
  • Let them cool for a few minutes, and eat them up. YUM!!

Baking Tips!

  • Spoon instead of scoop the flour. When measuring the flour, don’t scoop it out of the container with the measuring cup. Instead, spoon it into your measuring cup, leveling it off with the back of a knife.
  • Don’t overmix the batter. Instead, stir just until combined, no more, for the most tender muffins.
  • Oil-Free. To make these muffins oil-free, use unsweetened applesauce instead.
  • Add extra flavor. For variation, try adding 1 tsp of cinnamon to the dry ingredients for even more flavor.
  • Use the correct oven rack position. Baking the muffins on the center rack will ensure even cooking throughout.
  • To test for doneness, insert a wooden toothpick into the center of one of the muffins. The toothpick should come out clean or with a few moist crumbs clinging to it.

Recommended Equipment: I love my USA Pan Muffin Tin, and these parchment paper muffin liners (affiliate links) are great too!

side angle view of a group of healthy vegan banana bread muffins.

How To Store

  • Counter: Once completely cooled, store muffins on the counter in an airtight container lined with a paper towel for up to 3 – 4 days. The paper towel will soak up moisture and keep them from getting too moist.
  • Refrigerator: Muffins will keep for up to a week in the refrigerator in a covered container.
  • Freezer: These banana muffins freeze well and will stay fresh for 2 months in freezer-safe containers or baggies.

More Healthy Muffin Recipes!

top down view of a vegan banana chocolate chip muffin pulled apart and laying on small white plate.

If you try this healthy banana muffin recipe, please let me know! Leave a comment and rate it below. I love to hear what you think, or any changes you make.

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Vegan Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins (Healthy)

5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star

5 from 60 reviews

Made with lots of love and a sprinkle of chocolate chips, these vegan chocolate chip banana muffins are a perfect way to start the morning or enjoy as a mid-day snack!

  • Author: Julie | The Simple Veganista
  • Prep Time: 10 min
  • Cook Time: 20 min
  • Total Time: 30 minutes
  • Yield: Makes 1012 muffins 1x
  • Category: Breakfast, Bread
  • Method: Bake
  • Cuisine: Vegan, American

Ingredients

Units Scale
  • 1 3/4 cups spelt flour, or flour of choice
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 cup light-flavored olive oil or warmed coconut oil
  • 1/4 cup unsweetened non-dairy milk (almond, oat, soy, cashew, etc.)
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1/3 cup organic sugar (pure cane or coconut sugar)
  • 4 small or 3 large overripe bananas (about 1 1/2 cups), mashed
  • 1/4 cup or so chocolate chips (I used Enjoy Life Mini)

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Dry ingredients: Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a medium/large size bowl and set aside.

Wet ingredients: In a small bowl, mix oil, non-dairy milk, sugar and vanilla. 

Banana: Mash bananas, you should have approx. 1 1/2 – 1 3/4 cups.

Combine: Add the wet ingredients and bananas to batter and mix until just combined. If the mixture seems too dry, add more non-dairy milk, maybe 1/4 cup at most.

Chocolate: Add in chocolate chips and mix briefly.

Fill muffin tin: Spoon into a well-greased or paper-lined muffin tin, fill each muffin about 2/3 – 3/4 full.

Bake: Place the muffins in the oven on the center rack and bake for 20 – 25 minutes. You can also test for doneness by inserting a toothpick into the center of one muffin; if it comes out clean, they’re ready.

Remove from oven and let cool for 10 min.

Makes about 12 muffins.

Store: Once they’ve cooled completely, store muffins in an airtight container lined with a paper towel on the counter for up to 3 – 4 days. The paper towel will soak up moisture and keep them from getting too moist. You can also store them in the refrigerator for up to a week.

Notes

To make gluten free, use gluten free all purpose flour or gluten free flour of choice.

If using coconut oil, be sure it’s warmed and creamy or in its liquid state.

Add 1 teaspoon of cinnamon to the batch for a different flavor.

I’ve made these using just the 2 teaspoons of baking powder with great results. If you don’t have baking soda on hand, you can omit it.

Spelt flour is my favorite flour and I use it exclusively for my baking projects! If you are mildly gluten intolerant you may be able to use gluten flour without any adverse effects. It is unlike most of the wheat flour of today as it is not hybridized. Here is more info on the nutritional aspect of spelt flour – Spelt flour benefits – if you’re not familiar with it.

RECOMMENDED EQUIPMENT: I love my USA Pan Muffin Tin, and these parchment paper muffin liners (affiliate links) are great too!

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114 Comments

  1. Haley Curtis says:

    These are the BEST banana chocolate muffins! I make them pretty much every week and they always disappear way too fast, thank you for this recipe!






  2. Adriana Mijatovic says:

    I was wondering if this was a batter that could be pre-made and left in the fridge for a day or two before being used?

    Thanks,
    Adriana

    1. Julie | The Simple Veganista says:

      Great question, Adriana! Unfortunately, it is best to make this batter just before baking for the best results. The batter cooks best went it’s a room temperature, and I’m not sure how the baking powder will do mixed in the batter and refrigerated for a day or two. I definitely recommend making the batter fresh. Hope that helps!

  3. It wouldn’t be fair to rate them as I changed it up a lot. I used spelt and almond flour. Olive oil and apple sauce. Maple syrup and peanut butter instead of sugar. Quite good but I have to work on making them slightly moister. I’m going to keep at it. Thanks for the inspiration and I will check out your site !

  4. These muffins were delicious. Used whole wheat pastry flour and coconut sugar. Appeals to all ages and tastes, but they are perfect for the little ones! Thank you!






  5. These are amazing! Light and fluffy and delicious AND vegan? And so simple to make – no flax eggs here lol. I will definitely be making these again!!






  6. Thank you for sharing this healthy recipe. The muffins turned out yummy. I used 3/4 cup of almond flour and 1 cup of gluten free flour. Instead of sugar and olive oil, I used avocado oil and maple syrup. I also added quarter cup of crushed almonds to the mix.






  7. These came out so great! I used a chopped up 72% chocolate bar.
    I would not hesitate to recommend these to non-vegans. SO GOOD.






  8. Oh my goodness, these are SO SO good!!! I used gluten-free flour and substituted 1/4 of the flour with almond flour. I also used avocado oil instead of olive oil. I just recently found this blog and have tried 2 other recipes, the chickpea and sweet potato hash and the herbed potato chickpea sheet pan dinner. All three have been delicious! My child that’s a picky eater has even liked all three recipes! Thank you!






    1. Barbara Tonini says:

      Dear

      Do you use white or wholegrain spelt?

      Thanks

  9. Hi! I just made these and were curious what the calorie count would be if I used unsweetened apple sauce instead of olive oil. I did the same ratio so 1/4 cup of apple sauce. Thanks!

    1. It would be about 132 calories per muffin, from my calculations.

  10. Can coconut flour be used in this recipe?

    1. Julie | The Simple Veganista says:

      No, I don’t recommend using coconut flour since it is such a tricky flour to work with when vegan baking.

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