Super satisfying, insanely delicious, Healthy Chocolate Banana Muffins. Fluffy, perfectly sweet and moist, not dry and no mixer required!
Vegan Chocolate Banana Bread? I see you. And I adapted your very popular self into muffin form. Healthy muffin form that is.
"Healthy muffins" might sound like an oxymoron (ah..I love that word) but in the case of these Healthy Chocolate Banana Muffins it's very true and if you've tried my afore mentioned Chocolate Banana Bread you will know exactly what I mean.
Jump to:
I'm still on the kind of healthy train, shall we say 80% of the time? I think thats about accurate, and healthy for me, needs to be "comfort food healthy". A pre-requisite of my life is that I have to enjoy my food. If I don't then I am not good company.
Some personal stuff that's been going on of late, has me thinking that life's far too short to not be enjoying every single little thing, and that includes food. And it is perfectly possible to eat crazy good food while still also nourishing our bodies.
And these muffins embody all of that. Just sayin'
These muffins are nutritious - Made with wholegrain flour, fruit, nut butter (or sunflower seed butter if you don't do nuts), unrefined sugar if you so wish, or whatever other kind you have in your pantry (as well as being nutritious these muffins are very forgiving), and they are not made with oil or vegan butter, and obvi no eggs or dairy because they are vegan.
They are super easy to make - The hardest part of making them is mashing the banana. No special equipment is needed, unless you class a fork as special that is. They can be mixed up and in the oven within 10 minutes. Perfect for when you are having a need muffins & need chocolate kind of moment.
They don't taste healthy - My kind of healthy food! They taste like fluffy, slightly fudgy, banana bread-y chocolate muffins. That is all. There are no healthy undertones. If you're going to the trouble of making and eating a chocolate banana muffin it needs to taste good. Mission accomplished. You can have the best of both worlds. Healthy. Muffins. With chocolate. Because we all deserve a treat!
So, to be clear, my message is, you know those times when you really want to bake? Because it's fun and all that. But you don't want to have to eat super-not healthy cake for days after? Well Healthy Chocolate Banana Muffins are your solution.
In fact, they are healthy enough for breakfast, second breakfast (am I the only greedy being who has a second breakfast? - please tell me I'm not), packed lunches, afternoon snacks, dessert, supper, or just anytime you need a chocolate-y comfort food hit.
What ingredients & equipment do I need?
For detailed measurements and instructions, see the printable recipe card.
These muffins need absolutely no special equipment. No mixer or blender. Just a bowl, a fork and a spatula or spoon. A balloon whisk is nice but not essential.
Here are the ingredients you need:
And you will also need a 12 well muffin pan, or 2 x 6 well muffin pans.
I can't recommend USA Pan Muffin Pans enough. I absolutely love mine and nothing ever sticks in it. You don't even need liners.
And, as with all of my baking recipes where precision is key to excellent results, I highly recommend using a kitchen scale to measure your ingredients, rather than using cup measurements. This one is cheap (under $10) and works brilliantly.
How to make healthy chocolate banana muffins
These Healthy Chocolate Banana Muffins are really quick and easy to make.
Here's how:
STEP 1 - Mash the bananas up with a fork, then add some nut butter (or sunflower seed butter), maple syrup, vanilla extract, sugar and salt.
STEP 2 - Whisk or stir it all up until well combined.
STEP 3 - Add the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cocoa and chocolate chips and stir well.
STEP 4 - Dollop evenly into a greased or lined muffin pan, sprinkle with some more chocolate chips for good measure, and bake!
How to get perfectly domed muffin tops
Ever bought a muffin in a bakery and admired it's beautiful perfectly formed muffin top because yours always turn out flat and not well risen?
Then tried to recreate the effect yourself at home and ended up with overflowing muffin batter in the bottom of the oven and 399 swear words?
Well swear no more.
The trick to a perfectly domed muffin top is oven temperature. They need an initial, very hot blast, which creates steam that will raise those muffin tops right up from the inside out. Then you need to turn them down after 5 minutes, so that the insides cook through more gently.
I have always advised to do this in my muffin recipes, but I've been told by a few readers that they have ignored me because they thought it was a waste of time and too much faff.
Well, I'm here to tell you that the faff is worth it. It really does make a difference. Not only do they end up taller, they end up fluffier and lighter too because of that extra puffing action.
And so to recap:
- Healthy muffins that taste like dessert
- Um, chocolate cake for breakfast!
- Super easy to make with no special equipment.
- Oil-free and wholegrain
- Perfect for breakfast, lunch boxes, snacks or dessert.
Your day just got a whole lot tastier!
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📖 Recipe
Healthy Chocolate Banana Muffins
Author:Ingredients
- 3 medium ripe and spotty bananas *
- 6 tablespoons cashew butter , or any other nut butter. Use sunflower seed butter if you want to keep the muffins nut-free.
- ¼ cup maple syrup
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- ½ cup / 100 g sugar of choice , any works here, white, brown, cane, turbinado, coconut..just use whatever you have.
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- 1¾ cup / 210 g spelt flour , or all purpose flour but if you do use it, be sure to weigh it to get the precise equivalent measure and don't just rely on cups because it tends to be heavier
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- ¾ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ cup / 50 g cocoa powder
- ½ cup / 85 g chocolate chips , plus a handful extra for sprinkling the tops
INSTRUCTIONS
- Preheat the oven to 425°F (218 °C) and grease or line a 12 well or 2 x 6 well muffin pans.
- Mash the bananas really well with a fork or potato masher until they are a slightly lumpy puree.
- Add the cashew (or other nut/seed) butter, maple syrup, vanilla extract, sugar and salt to the bananas and whisk together until really well combined.
- Add the flour, baking powder, baking soda and cocoa powder and fold it in gently BY HAND (not with a mixer, food processor or blender) until everything is just combined. Do not over mix because it will affect the texture and rise of the muffins.
- Finally add the chocolate chips and fold them in just enough to distribute evenly.
- Spoon the batter evenly into the prepared muffin pan and sprinkle the tops of each with a few more chocolate chips.
- Place them in the oven and set a timer for 5 minutes. Once the 5 minutes has passed, immediately turn the oven down to 375°F (190°C) without peeking or opening the door and cook for a further 13 - 14 minutes. Check them with a toothpick and if it comes out mostly clean then they are done. It is important not to over-bake these muffins. If anything they are better very slightly underdone to keep their moist fudginess.
- Remove from the pan and place on a wire cooling rack and allow to cool, although I do recommend eating one (very carefully) while still hot...Purely for research purposes of course....
NOTES
NUTRITION
Nutritional information is provided for convenience & as a courtesy. The data is a computer generated estimate so should be used as a guide only.
Kim says
My girls prefer mini muffins. Do you have any idea how to adjust the baking temperature and timing for mini muffins instead of full size?
A Virtual Vegan says
I've never tried it but I'd guess about 350 °F for 10 to 12 minutes? You'd need to check them with a toothpick and make sure it comes out clean to make sure they are cooked through and remove them from the pan immediately because as they are so small if they continue cooking with the heat they will dry out. Hope that helps!
Maureen says
Made a batch this morning to use up 2 large very ripe bananas. I followed the recipe exactly as written. They rose nicely and taste SO yummy! My only issue is a small one. I baked 5 minutes @ 425 then lowered to 375 and baked 12 minutes because my oven tends to run hotter. The outsides are a bit too well done (not drastically) so next time I’ll try 10 minutes @ the 375 temp after the 5 minutes @ 425. These still taste amazing, hence the 5 star rating!! Plus I just love you Mel! ❤️
A Virtual Vegan says
Aaawww thank you ... blushing here 😊. Glad they worked out well! It might be worth lowering the hot temp blast a little if your oven runs hot. That wouldn't have helped the well done outsides. Maybe try 400°F for 5 mins and then 350°F for 10 to 12 mins or until done.
Maureen says
Thanks for the tip Mel! I will definitely try that next time. They are delicious!! 💖
Marlene says
Very good! at first thought ‘oh no l didn’t add eggs’ but realized the recipe didn’t call for them, very chocolatey & healthy. 🤗
Sian says
I just tried making these but I think medium bananas in my country must be smaller than in yours, as I needed 6 and still had to use a quarter cup of almond milk to get the mixture vaguely mixed! It was like a bread dough, which doesn’t seem right? Could you tell us how many cups of mashed banana you had from your 3 medium bananas? Thank you!
A Virtual Vegan says
A medium banana is about 8 inches in length and once peeled the total weight of the 3 bananas would be roughly about 375g / 13 oz. A few grams either side is ok though. It doesn’t have to be exact. The batter is thick but with the wet bananas, cashew butter and the maple syrup there should be more than enough moisture to mix it. You can see how it looks in my video. You didn't switch the spelt flour for another kind did you? All purpose and whole wheat flours absorb a lot more liquid than spelt. And did you weigh the flour? Cup measurements aren't accurate enough when it comes to measuring flour, especially if you scoop it in.You can en up with up to 25% more than you should have. Hope that helps!
Jill says
I am about to make these and wondering about adding a few chopped walnuts. Anyone tried this? Results?
A Virtual Vegan says
Adding some chopped nuts won't affect how the recipe turns out at all so go ahead!
Kate says
Love love these muffins, they are absolutely divine. My new go to recipe!
Brina says
These muffins were an instant hit with my husband!! We ended up freezing them and he would take one to work each morning. Also the tip on how to get the muffin top to rise actually WORKED!!! I’ve never felt more pro in my life. These muffins were amazing and I already had all the ingredients in my pantry. I will definitely be making these again!
Melanie McDonald says
Thank you! I'm really pleased you both enjoyed them. They are a favourite of ours too!
Lies says
These are definitely the most beautiful muffins I have ever made! And delicious too! Thank you for the tip on the temperature. The muffins did rise perfectly. These could easily be sold at Starbucks :)
Melanie McDonald says
I'm really happy you loved them so much! Thank you!
Allie Bontrager says
Delicious!