Healthy Vegan Chocolate Banana Muffins made in the food processor and sweetened with dates for a tasty, satisfying snack with no added sugar. Free of eggs, dairy, and gluten.
This recipe came into the world because my bananas were so overripe that I swear they were starting to ferment. Can bananas turn into wine? Maybe that's why these tasted so spectacular.
These stunners are super moist with a delightfully crisp top. They're banana-y and chocolatey in the most sensational way. Just sweet enough from bananas and dates but not the teeth hurting kind.
They're made in the food processor instead of two bowls for easy peasy clean up! See, I'm always thinking about you guys.
I was actually shocked at how great these turned out. I thought they might taste like chocolatey hockey pucks. Or banana-y cardboard. Sometimes I surprise myself.
How to make
- Blend bananas, dates, oil, and vanilla in a food processor until smooth.
- Add almond and oat flour, cacao, salt, and baking soda. Blend until you don't see any more flour. It's quite thick!
- Spoon batter into muffin tin. Bake for about 25 minutes and devour!
Key ingredients and tips
No added sugar, gluten, dairy, or eggs...oh my!
- Bananas: One of our lovely natural sweeteners! I like to use extra ripe mashed bananas for sweeter muffins but regular yellow bananas will work too for slightly less sweet muffins.
- Medjool dates: The one and only. I buy them in bulk at Costco but all grocery stores have them now. If they're dry and hard, remove the pit and pop them in a bowl of hot water to soften up.
- Oat flour: I blend oats quickly in the Nutribullet to make my own. Use certified gluten free if needed.
- Almond flour: For delicate sweet flavor and amazing fats that lend a beautiful crumb.
- Cacao powder: Any unsweetened cocoa powder for this recipe. I like using raw cacao for an extra antioxidant punch.
- Ground flax: To help bind the muffins and an extra boost of healthy fats.
- Baking soda: Essential for a nice rise.
- Avocado oil: Just a couple tablespoons for moist texture. Melted and cooled coconut oil or canola oil also work.
- Vanilla extract: Love how this brings out the amazing chocolate flavor. A teaspoon of instant espresso powder would be delish here, too!
- Chocolate chips: Optional for extra chocolate goodness! You can also use dark chocolate chunks. These will add a bit of added sugar.
Storage tips
You can keep these muffins in an air-tight container on the counter for up to 3 days.
Can you freeze muffins?
Yes, I love freezing muffins for easy snacks! You can freeze completely cooled muffins on a lined baking sheet. Once frozen, transfer them to a freezer baggie and squeeze all the air out (this prevents them from sticking together).
They'll keep for 3 months in the freezer.
PrintVegan Chocolate Banana Muffins (no added sugar!)
- Prep Time: 10 mins
- Cook Time: 25 mins
- Total Time: 35 mins
- Yield: 9 muffins 1x
- Category: Snack
- Method: Oven
- Cuisine: American
- Diet: Vegan
Description
Healthy Vegan Chocolate Banana Muffins made in the food processor and sweetened with dates for a tasty, satisfying snack with no added sugar. Free of eggs, dairy, and gluten.
Ingredients
- 2 medium overripe bananas
- 2 tbsp avocado oil, melted (can sub coconut oil)
- 8 large soft medjool dates, pitted
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 cup almond flour
- 1 ¼ cups oat flour*
- ¼ cup cacao powder (can sub cocoa powder)
- 2 tbsp ground flaxseed
- ¾ tsp baking soda
- ½ tsp fine sea salt
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F. Line a muffin tin with silicone liners or spray with cooking spray.
- Place bananas, coconut oil, dates and vanilla in the bowl of a large food processor. Blend until very smooth and creamy, scraping down the sides as needed with a rubber spatula.
- Add almond flour, oat flour, cacao powder, flax, baking soda, and salt. Process until combined, being sure not to over-mix. The mixture will be very thick.
- Spoon mixture evenly into 9 muffin cups. Top each muffin with a few chocolate chips (these have added sugar) if you fancy! Wet your fingers and gently press down the top of each muffin to get rid of any peaks.
- Bake for about 25 minutes. Cool muffins in pan for 10 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack to cool completely. Store cooled muffins at room temperature for up to 3 days and then store in the refrigerator.
Notes
*I make my own oat flour by grinding old fashioned oats in the Nutribullet until it forms a fine powder.
Annabel Sandison says
I never have commented on a recipe before but I LOVED these so much! So good in the freezer too and for lunchboxes. I just subbed the avo oil for EVO as was quite strong tasting but otherwise 10/10!!! Thank you!
Alexis Joseph, MS, RD says
So glad you love these Annabel! You're saying your avo oil was strong tasting? It should be very neutral with not much flavor; it may have gone bad if it has a strong taste just fyi!
Haley says
These look AMAZING! Just made your sweet potato muffins and they were perfection. Love that these are sweetened with dates - do you think it would be possible to use deglet nour dates instead of medjool? I have a massive Costco bag I needa use! Thanks for your blog, I'm excited to explore more(:
Alexis Joseph says
Hey there! Hmmm I’ve never tried with any other kind of date so I can’t say for certain. If you do try it please let me know!
Katelyn Jacob says
Hi, I was wondering if a blender would work instead of a food processor?
Alexis Joseph says
Hi! The batter is suuuuper thick. Unless you have a blender where you'd made a thick batter before successfully, I wouldn't recommend it!
Karen says
In instructions it says to add oats in #3. but in ingredients there are no oats?
Alexis Joseph says
Shoot--just updated this! Just oat flour 🙂 Thanks, Karen!
Kori Daniel says
Fantastic recipe! I made these last night, and I absolutely love having a homemade baked good to enjoy. Your recipes are stellar! A coworker saw me eating it, and he asked for the recipe for him and his wife. I shared it and your baby banana muffins. Spreading the wealth that is your blog!
Alexis Joseph says
Thanks a TON Kori! And how fun that your coworker got in on the goodness, too 🙂
Dylan says
These are so good, and love that they are sweetened with dates only!
Alexis Joseph says
AMEN!!
Michele says
I make your original chocolate banana muffins (with the coffee grounds) a lot and they’re always delicious. My teenage son devours them! I see this recipe has some tweaks to the old one - will have to bake and compare! But I’m sure both will be equally yummy. Thanks for all your lovely recipes!
Alexis Joseph says
Love it! This is the exact same recipe, I just removed the coffee to simplify the ingredients a bit 🙂 Enjoy!
andrea jensen says
I am excited to find this recipe! My kids are allergic to eggs, peanuts and milk. Now they are on a 3-month elimination diet and can't have gluten or almond either. Do you have any suggestion for replacing the almond meal? Thanks so much. I love your blog btw.
Alexis says
Yay! You could use cashew meal? I haven’t tried it with anything else, sorry!
Ananda says
I made these muffins yesterday, following the recipe exactly, and they are delicious! My husband liked them and usually his radar goes off when baked goods are 'too healthy'. Just wanted to say Thanks!
Jenny says
Any nutritional info? 🙂
Madeleine says
First of all, bananas are one of my top five favorite foods, so thank you for giving me another way to consume them. 😉
Secondly, I don't drink (or eat) coffee in any way, shape, or form. But I still want to give these a go. Do you think they'll be yummy?
P.S. Might an oil-free adaptation exist? Maybe with more banana or applesauce? I realize the texture could be quite different with a replacement.
Dana says
hi Alexis! I do not own a food procesesor but I really want to try out these muffins? What do you think about using a blender instead?? They look fantastic! Thanks!!
Dana
Alexis says
Hmmm I would suggest blending the dates and bananas in the blender and then removing them from the blender and putting the mixture in a large bowl. Then stir in everything else by hand. Hope it works!
Erica says
These are so good! I have been seeing your pictures of them on instagram and I finally decided to make them (plus I had bananas). I omitted the coffee because I have little kids, but I followed the recipe exact otherwise. Easy to make, I had everything on hand and they turned out so yummy. They're sweet and delicious but not a sugar gut bomb.
Alexis says
I'm so glad you made them!! The coffee really just intensifies the chocolate flavor 🙂
Tara says
Just made this muffins - wow, they are so yummy and were super easy to make! I should have made double because I feel like these are not going to last for long. I always have overripe bananas and never know what to do with them, so this was a great recipe - thanks!!
Alexis says
Fabulous! Aren't they so easy?! I've literally been making them every weekend!
Alexis says
WOWZA! Look at all those fab substitutions! I'm so glad that all of that worked. I'm totally gonna post a zucchini version!
Anna says
Second time making these! I love them! This time, along with cutting the oil, I added a banana and halved the number of dates and added, wait for it....zucchini! I was inspired by your WIAW from this week mentioning how forgiving the recipe is. Guess what, you were right! So great!
swati says
HI Alexis, I baked these yesterday and they turned out fab. Didn't have flax seed and rolled oats at hand. replaced coconut oil with EVOO as i didn't have that too..and still they turned out gorgeous. I added some chocochips :))
This recipe definitely a keeper. Thank you so much for sharing. Now i'm all excited to try out your vegan raspberry muffins.Cheers
Alexis says
I'm so glad they worked with your adjustments! I make these like one a week--so easy and perfect for snacking. Hope you love the raspberry version as well!
Alexis says
Wahoo!! Extra almond butter was an excellent decision. Thanks for reporting back!
Allie says
These are too good! I'm addicted. With a little pat of almond butter - I drool. The perfect blend of banana and chocolate. Thanks so much for sharing!
Alexis says
Coconut oil has medium-chain triglycerides (lauric and stearic acid) that are more readily used as energy as opposed to being stored as fat like the long-chain triglycerides in animal-based saturated fats. Oil should still be used in moderation. Hope that helps!
Alexis says
Yayy!!! Thanks for reporting back 🙂
Sarah says
My best friend and I made these last night- they were fantastic! Thank you!
Kristal says
Actually I said much more. Questions? Saturated fats...good or bad in coconut oil
Alexis says
Coconut oil has medium-chain triglycerides (lauric and stearic acid) that are more readily used as energy as opposed to being stored as fat like the long-chain triglycerides in animal-based saturated fats. Oil should still be used in moderation. Hope that helps!
Beth says
Thanks, but unfortunately, I can't handle gluten-free oats, either. I'll try gluten-free all-purpose flour.
Alexis says
I hope I get alllll the clients, too! Me and you need to team up and make fermented baked goodies 🙂 Perhaps with some kombucha in there?!
Darla says
AAHHHH!! Just made these as mini muffins - AMAZING!! (Also making crispy baked tofu and roasted veggies for supper - can't wait for your tofu recipe!!)
Alexis says
Yay!! Aren't they addicting?
Nancy Wilson says
These look divine. I need to stock up most of these ingredients any way. Will be making! Thank you.
Alissa says
I had a hankering for something sweet the other day, then I saw this and realized I had all the ingredients on hand, so I went and made them. They were fantastic! Great flavor, great texture, and they were super easy. Thank you!
Lori says
NOT awkward at all! What an awesome thing to be a part of! I always wonder how the "average" person can get in front of camera on TV and look natural, as if they are on TV every day! You did great.
P.S. Although what is wrong with avocado I want to know (especially since I just ate half of one)??!
Alexis says
Haha I have NO idea what she was talking about! I LOVE avocados 🙂
Beth says
Could I use gluten-free all-purpose flour for the oat flour? I have celiac and can't tolerate oats, but would love to make these!
Alexis says
How about gluten-free oat flour? Or blend up some gluten-free oats? Let me know what works!
Alexis says
Gotcha. Let me know if they turn out okay! Maybe used more almond meal in place of the 1/3 cup oats?
June Burns says
Those look great! And it's so awesome that you were on tv, spreading the food love 🙂
Alexis says
Thanks dear!
Liz S. says
Excellent, delicious recipe; and congratulations on the tv segment! You were NOT awkward - it was a great segment and it'll be fun to see the journey that you and the anchor take, to further improve her health.