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These bakery-style vegan banana chocolate chip muffins are incredibly fluffy with a moist and tender crumb. Full of banana flavor and loaded with gooey chocolate chips, they are topped with a crispy pecan streusel topping that adds an irresistible crunch!
Out of all of the muffin recipes I have published, this one is probably my favorite. It’s like banana bread but in a portable form.
These muffins are based on a combination of my popular banana bread and chocolate chip muffins recipes. I took it up a notch by topping them with a crispy pecan streusel that is slightly salty, cinnamon-y, and caramelizes during baking. That twist alone takes the muffins from delicious to “Wow, those are next-level!”
⭐️ Why You Should Try It
✔ Full banana flavor. ✔ Extra crispy tops.
You asked for banana muffins, and I delivered: The batter uses three large bananas for six muffins – I let you imagine how bananalicious the muffins are!
But wait, it gets better! Imagine a generous handful of dark chocolate chips, a hint of spice, and a crispy sweet-salty pecan streusel on top – now you’ve got a real treat!
Moist and fluffy.
Not all muffins are equal when it comes to texture, especially when some fruit, like bananas, is added to the batter. This can result in too-moist or gummy muffins. Not here.
Getting the right ratio of bananas to the other ingredients is not an easy task, and after many experiments, I can say that these banana muffins have, in my opinion, the ideal texture. They are extra tender with just enough moisture while still packing a ton of banana flavor.
Oh, and they stay tender for days (if you can resist devouring them all at once)!
Made with simple ingredients.
Apart from the pecans, which you might get in one trip to the supermarket, there is a high chance you already have all of the ingredients on hand. This recipe uses pantry staples and just two bowls: one for the batter, the other for the streusel topping.
🍌 Ingredient Notes
Bananas
Those ripe bananas sitting on your counter are just perfect for this recipe! They deliver natural sweetness and a ton of banana flavor.
Note: I personally prefer blending the bananas to get a very smooth and even texture, but you can definitely mash them using a fork if you prefer having small chunks of bananas in your muffins.
Flour
All-purpose flour provides structure and yields a tender yet fluffy crumb.
Sugar
To keep the recipe accessible and affordable, I use granulated white sugar. Unlike other types of sugars that can overpower the flavor, white sugar allows the natural banana taste to shine through.
Make it refined sugar-free: You can substitute coconut sugar for the white sugar. Keep in mind that your muffins will have a darker color and a slightly different taste. Additionally, be sure to use chocolate chips that are also free of refined sugar.
Oil
I like to use oil instead of butter in most of my cake and muffin recipes for the simple reason that it keeps them softer longer than butter. You can use any neutral oil, such as grapeseed, canola, or sunflower oil.
Chocolate chips
Banana + chocolate is known to be a match made in heaven! I suggest using regular dark chocolate chips, but you can also use roughly chopped dark chocolate or mini chocolate chips!
Vanilla extract
And last but not least, vanilla extract enhances the muffins by bringing floral notes. You can use store-bought vanilla extract or omit it and substitute vanilla sugar for the white sugar.
Streusel Topping
Now let’s discuss the topping! Often called streusel or crumb topping (you can refer to this article from The Spruce Eats for more details on the differences), it adds a crispy element to the muffins that contrasts with the tenderness of the crumb.
In this recipe, I make a German-style streusel, except that I include pecans for extra crunch and a generous pinch of salt and cinnamon for salty-sweet-warm flavors.
🥣 How to Make It
1. Prepare the streusel topping
- Mix together all of the ingredients. Add the flour, chopped pecans, sugar, salt, cinnamon, and butter to a small mixing bowl. Using your hands, mix all of the ingredients together until they form a slightly crumbly dough. Set aside.
Note: If the mixture is too sticky, add more flour until it gets the texture of a cookie dough.
2. Make the muffins
- Blend the bananas. Peel the bananas and add them to a high-speed blender. Add the oil and vanilla extract, and blend on high for about 10 seconds or until smooth. Set aside.
- Whisk together the dry ingredients. In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt.
- Combine. Next, pour the blended bananas into the mixing bowl containing the dry ingredients. Use a wooden spoon to mix until well combined.
Quick tip: Do not overmix – this could cause the muffins to be denser.
- Stir in the chocolate chips. Add the chocolate chips and mix again until they are evenly incorporated into the batter.
- Grease a muffin pan. Lightly grease a 6-cavity muffin pan with vegan butter. Then, place a muffin paper liner into each cavity.
- Fill the pan. Fill each cavity with the batter until it reaches about three-quarters full.
- Top with the streusel. Using your hands, crumble the streusel topping evenly over each cavity. Try to make pieces that are approximately 1/2 inch (1.2 cm) thick.
- Bake. Finally, transfer the muffin pan to the oven and bake for about 25 minutes or until golden brown on top. Allow the muffins to cool inside the pan for about 15 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack.
📔 Tips
Use ripe bananas.
Perfectly yellow, unripe bananas won’t do it here. First, your banana muffins would not be sweet enough, and second, they would lack banana flavor. For optimal taste and texture, you must absolutely use ripe and spotty bananas.
Can I ripen the bananas in the oven? Well, it’s an option, but from my experience, nothing beats naturally ripe bananas. That’s why I think it’s worth waiting for your bananas to ripen on the counter for a few extra days before making this recipe.
Fill the cavities almost to the top.
Looking for round and puffy muffins just like the ones from the bakery? Fill your pan almost to the top, AND use a crown muffin pan. These types of pans feature cavities with flared edges that allow the muffins to puff into a mushroom shape!
Decorate with sliced bananas!
Take your muffins a step up by decorating them with a slice of banana! To do so, start by cutting half of a banana into six thick slices. To prevent the banana from turning dark, toss the slices with about 1 teaspoon of lemon juice. Then, arrange the banana slices on top of each muffin before baking. Keep in mind that muffins without any banana on top will keep longer, though.
Top with extra chocolate chips.
For better-looking muffins, sprinkle chocolate chips over each muffin cavity before baking.
🍫 Variations
Here are some ideas to customize these banana muffins:
- Add banana chunks: Slice half of a banana into thick chunks and carefully incorporate them into the batter for extra texture!
- Use different nuts: Replace the pecans with chopped cashews, macadamia, or peanuts.
- Add a swirl of peanut butter: Make them even more decadent by swirling a teaspoon of peanut butter into each cavity before baking.
- Tweak the spices: Feel free to play with the spices – cardamom, nutmeg, or even ground ginger would work very well here.
🥛 What to Serve Them With
You can serve these muffins as a dessert with vanilla ice cream on the side, or for breakfast with vegan Greek yogurt, or even banana milk for a double dose of banana flavor!
❄️ Storing and Reheating
- To store: You can store the muffins wrapped individually in plastic wrap for up to 4 days at room temperature or 6 days in the refrigerator.
- To freeze: Wrap each muffin with plastic wrap and freeze for up to 2 months. Thaw for a few hours on the counter.
- To reheat: If you prefer warm muffins, you can reheat them for about 5 minutes in a 350°F (175°C) preheated oven.
💬 FAQ
The muffins are done once their tops are golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out with just a few crumbs.
It’s completely normal! Just like banana bread, the inside of these muffins may show a slightly darker color toward the bottom – it doesn’t mean that your muffins are overbaked. If you want a more even color, you might try baking the muffins in a silicone pan.
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Vegan Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins
Equipment
Ingredients
Pecan Streusel
- 1/4 cup (30 g) all-purpose flour
- 1/4 cup (26 g) chopped pecans
- 2 tbsp (25 g) granulated sugar
- 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/8 tsp salt
- 2 tbsp (28 g) vegan butter at room temperature
Muffins
- 3 large ripe bananas (about 12 ounces / 340g)
- 1/3 cup (80 ml) oil
- 2 tsp (10 ml) vanilla extract
- 1 and 1/4 cup (200 g) all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup (100 g) granulated sugar
- 1 and 1/4 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/2 cup (80 g) dark chocolate chips
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to
350 °F (175°C). Lightly grease a 6-cavity muffin pan with vegan butter. Then, place a muffin paper liner into each cavity. Set aside.
Pecan Streusel
- Mix together all of the ingredients. Add the flour, chopped pecans, sugar, salt, cinnamon, and butter to a small mixing bowl. Using your hands, mix all of the ingredients together until they form a slightly crumbly dough. Set aside.
Muffins
- Blend the bananas. Peel the bananas and add them to a high-speed blender. Add the oil and vanilla extract, and blend on high for about 10 seconds or until smooth. Set aside.
- Whisk together the dry ingredients. In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt.
- Combine. Next, pour the blended bananas into the mixing bowl containing the dry ingredients. Use a wooden spoon to mix until well combined.
- Stir in the chocolate chips. Add the chocolate chips and mix again until they are evenly incorporated into the batter.
- Fill the pan. Fill each cavity of the pan with the batter until it reaches about three-quarters full.
- Top with the streusel. Using your hands, crumble the streusel topping evenly over each cavity. Try to make pieces that are approximately 1/2 inch (1.2 cm) thick.
- Bake. Finally, transfer the muffin pan to the oven and bake for about 25 minutes or until golden brown on top. Allow the muffins to cool inside the pan for about 15 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack.
- You can store the muffins wrapped individually in plastic wrap for up to 4 days at room temperature or 6 days in the refrigerator.
Notes
Use ripe bananas.
Perfectly yellow, unripe bananas won’t do it here. First, your banana muffins would not be sweet enough, and second, they would lack banana flavor. For optimal taste and texture, you must absolutely use ripe and spotty bananas. Can I ripen the bananas in the oven? Well, it’s an option, but from my experience, nothing beats naturally ripe bananas. That’s why I think it’s worth waiting for your bananas to ripen on the counter for a few extra days before making this recipe.Fill the cavities almost to the top.
Looking for round and puffy muffins just like the ones from the bakery? Fill your pan almost to the top, AND use a crown muffin pan. These types of pans feature cavities with flared edges that allow the muffins to puff into a mushroom shape!Decorate with sliced bananas!
Take your muffins a step up by decorating them with a slice of banana! To do so, start by cutting half of a banana into six thick slices. To prevent the banana from turning dark, toss the slices with about 1 teaspoon of lemon juice. Then, arrange the banana slices on top of each muffin before baking. Keep in mind that muffins without any banana on top will keep longer, though.Top with extra chocolate chips.
For better-looking muffins, sprinkle chocolate chips over each muffin cavity before baking.
About the Author
Thomas Pagot is the founder, photographer, and recipe developer behind Full of Plants. He created the blog in 2016 as a personal cookbook for vegan recipes. Through years of recipe development, Thomas has successfully grown Full of Plants into a trusted resource for plant-based recipes.
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Oh my gosh, these turned out so good! Hubby and I have tried so many recipes, but this one is a keeper. It’s going straight into the recipe book so we don’t have to keep searching. Thank you for this delicious recipe.