Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins

Name: Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 20 min
Total time: 52 min
Ingredients: 3/4 cup mashed banana ((about 2 ripe spotty bananas) ); 1/4 cup pure maple syrup; 1 teaspoon vanilla extract; 2/3 cup almond milk ((vanilla unsweetened)); 1/2 teaspoon apple cider vinegar; 1 1/4 cup gluten free flour ((I use King Arthur 1:1 baking flour)); 1 teaspoon baking soda; 1 teaspoon baking powder; 1/2 cup mini chocolate chips ((plus more for topping I use Enjoy Life brand)); 1/8 teaspoon sea salt

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These vegan Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins are vegan and gluten free. Loaded with banana flavor and chocolate chips you will love these moist muffins.

Banana chocolate chip muffins sitting on a wire cooling rack, on a marble surface, with a pink towel in the back ground for the picture.

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Why you will love this recipe
Ingredients
Variations
How to make these Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins
Expert Tips
Recipe FAQs
More Muffin Recipes
Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins

Why you will love this recipe

Easy to make. These easy banana chocolate chip muffins only need 9 ingredients and in a matter of minutes these vegan muffins are ready to bake.
Texture and Flavor: These muffins are soft, moist and tender with just enough sweetness from the pure maple syrup, mashed banana and mini chocolate chips creating a delicious muffin.
Great for Meal Prep: This recipe makes 6 muffins, you can double or triple this recipe and have some premade banana chocolate chip muffins in the freezer. Be sure to use an airtight container it will last for 2 months in freezer.
Vegan & Gluten-Free: This muffin recipe is vegan and gluten free (be sure to use gluten free flour) there's no dairy, eggs, or gluten in these muffins, making them perfect for those with some food allergies or sensitivities.
Refined-Sugar Free: Naturally these mouthwatering moist banana chocolate chip muffins are sweetened with maple syrup and bananas in place of the traditional sugar-laden muffins, that gives you a healthier alternative.

For more breakfast-on-the-go ideas, check out my Banana Peanut Butter Oatmeal Cookies, Easy Chocolate Smoothie, and Peanut Butter Overnight Oats next.

Or for some more muffins try my Vegan Pumpkin Muffins, Double Chocolate Chip Muffins, Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins, Vegan Blueberry Muffins, Chocolate Banana Muffins or my Vegan Strawberry Muffins.

Ingredients

Check out the recipe card below for instructions and full quantities for these Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins.

Banana: Make sure you mash and measure the bananas, do not just assume 2 bananas is the correct quantity.
Almond Milk with Apple Cider Vinegar: This mixture together makes a "buttermilk" reaction when baking. This quantity will not actually curdle like buttermilk (you would need a whole tablespoon of apple cider vinegar for that to happen) but that was too much vinegar flavor for these muffins, so using less we will still get a good outcome and the acid helps to work with the baking soda.
Maple Syrup: I used this to work with the natural sweetness of the banana, so there's no added sugar in this recipe, it's naturally sweetened.
Gluten Free Flour: I have not tested this with anything other than King Arthur 1:1 gluten free baking flour.

Variations

Chocolate Chips: If you enjoy chocolate feel free to add chocolate chips on top of these bananas and chocolate chip muffins right before baking for an additional chocolate flavor.
Add a little crunch: If you'd like a textured crunch added to this muffin, feel free to add you favorite nuts, generally walnuts or pecans go well with bananas but pistachios, cashew, hazelnuts could work as well.
Mini Muffins: If you'd like a smaller size muffin try out a mini banana chocolate chip muffins. They will bake up faster than regular-size muffins, so be sure to check them after about 12 minutes by inserting a toothpick in the center of one to check for doneness and then adjust the timing from there.
Enjoy for any time of day: Muffins all day long, these vegan gluten free chocolate chip banana muffins are perfect for breakfast and amazing to grab for a quick desert. Even better they make an amazing snacks that you can break up and serve with a side of homemade vegan ice cream topped with caramel sauce.

How to make these Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins

Prep: Pre-heat the oven at 374° degrees F and spray or grease a muffin pan with non-stick spray and mash up the ripe bananas and measure them out.

Milk and apple cider vinegar mixture in a glass bowl.

Step 1: In a small bowl add the almond milk and apple cider vinegar and set aside for 5 minutes.

Wet ingredients whisked up in a glass bowl.

Step 2: In a large mixing bowl add the mashed bananas, and maple syrup.

Step 3: Add the vanilla and milk + acv mixture and whisk well.

Step 4: Add in the flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt and fold everything together with a spatula or spoon.

Vegan banana chocolate chip muffin batter in a glass bowl.

Step 5: Fold in the chocolate chips.

Batter sitting in the muffin tin ready to be baked.

Step 6: Pour evenly into 6 muffin holes, (or more if you are using a smaller muffin pan) and top each one with more chocolate chips! Place in the oven for 20 minutes (unless doing mini muffins then check them sooner!) check to make sure they are done by sticking a tooth pick in the center of the muffins and it should come out pretty clean and not gooey.

Banana chocolate chip muffins freshly baked sitting in the muffin tin

Step 7: Let cool COMPLETELY about 20 minutes before removing from the pan. Remove from pan and let cool completely.

Expert Tips

Ripe bananas: Yes, ripe bananas are needed for this banana chocolate chip muffins recipe they should be yellow with some brown specks or spots. If they aren't ripe enough mash them up and then refrigerate overnight this will help them ferment and sweeten up.
Banana measurement: It's important the bananas are mashed first, than measure the banana out because this will ensure the proper measurement. If you use too much banana, the muffins can become too mushy due to excess moisture.
Breakfast, snack or anytime: These banana chocolate chip muffins work anytime, perfect for breakfast on the go and also make a great afternoon snack with a glass of homemade oat milk or almond milk.
Storing: You can store these vegan gluten free muffins in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 days. These muffins can also be frozen for up to 3 months just let them thaw out in the fridge overnight.

Recipe FAQs

Why are my banana muffins wet inside?

One reason is to much banana, be sure to measure properly by mashing up the bananas in a separate bowl and measuring it out. Another reason could be not baked long enough, all ovens cook slightly differently, be sure poke a toothpick in the middle to see if comes out wet or basically dry.

How to keep banana muffins moist?

Storing the muffins in a sealed container should keep them soft and moist for a few days.

What can I do with too many ripe bananas?

There are many ways to use up ripe bananas here are a few, make banana bread, banana muffins, mash them into oatmeal or overnight oats, add them to pancakes, make banana ice cream, add to smoothies and a lot more but you can also freeze them and use another time.

Do bananas need to be ripe for banana muffins?

Yes, ripe bananas are needed for this banana chocolate chip muffins recipe, the riper the better and sweeter the bananas are which is part of the sweet taste and texture of these vegan muffins.

Can bananas be too ripe for muffins?

Yes, a banana can be over ripe. If the banana has mold, is leaking, smells rotten, the inside is dark brown or even black it is over ripe and needs to be thrown out. But if it's just the peel of the banana that's dark brown (ripe) and the inside of the banana is not off colored it's a ripe banana.