This morning I had a houseful of girls: my daughter E. had her friends J. and K. over to spend the night since today is a school holiday. I decided that instead of filling several breakfast orders (one loves grits, one likes cereal, one says she always eats bacon…) I’d make muffins. I took a look at some of the muffin recipes I could find online and in Vegan with a Vengeance for inspiration and then decided to just wing it! The result was these amazing, tender, fat-free muffins.
October 2011 update: E and I just made this recipe again, and it’s as good as ever. It struck me now as being extremely sweet, so I recommend doing away with the agave nectar, which I’ve now marked as optional, or reducing the sugar to 1/3 cup unless you like your muffins super sweet. Give them a few minutes to cool off before eating; they’ll be more tender that way and you won’t burn the roof of your mouth!
Banana-Date-Walnut Muffins
Ingredients
- 1 cup whole wheat flour (I used white whole wheat)
- 3/4 cup unbleached white flour
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 1/4 tsp. salt
- 1 tsp. cinnamon
- 1/2 cup natural sugar (I used the large crystal, unbleached kind)
- 3 very ripe bananas, mashed (about 1-1/4 cups)
- 1/2 cup vanilla soymilk
- 1/3 cup natural apple sauce
- 2 tbsp. agave nectar (optional)
- 1/4 cup chopped dates
- 1/4 cup chopped walnuts (omit to reduce fat)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400 and spray a muffin pan with non-stick spray. Sift together the flours, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon. In another bowl, mash the banana with the sugar, soymilk, apple sauce, and agave nectar.
- Pour the banana mixture into the flour mixture and stir just until combined. Add in the dates and walnuts, and pour into 12 muffin cups. Bake for 15-20 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean. Serve to everyone who came running toward the aroma of fresh baked banana muffins!
Preparation time: 10 minute(s) | Cooking time: 20 minute(s)
Number of servings (yield): 12-16
Nutrition Facts
Makes about 12 muffins. Each (including walnuts) contains 144 Calories (kcal); 2g Total Fat; (10% calories from fat); 3g Protein; 31g Carbohydrate; 0mg Cholesterol; 171mg Sodium; 2g Fiber.
Without walnuts: 128 Calories (kcal); trace Total Fat; (2% calories from fat); 2g Protein; 31g Carbohydrate; 0mg Cholesterol; 171mg Sodium; 2g Fiber.
These came out very light and sweet; J. actually asked if I had any “regular” muffins because “these are too sweet.” You can probably reduce the sugar with no ill effects. Enjoy!
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I thought the amount of sugar called for in this recipe was excessive so I used naturally sweeter rice milk instead of soy, upped the dates to 1/2 a cup and took the 1/2 cup of sugar down to 2 tablespoons. The results were light and sweet.
I made these muffins this morning for my family, and they absolutely loved it. THEY ARE ABSOLULTELY DELICIOUS. I omitted the 1/2 cup of sugar and the agave nectar and used some stevia instead because I thought they were going to be sweet enough already
you are amazing for posting up wonderful, healthy, easy recipes!
I cook religiously from your website, so thank you!!
THESE WERE DELICIOUS!!
being me, I HAD to add some dark coco powder because everything is better with a little chocolate
I cut the white flour to 1/2 cup and added a 1/4 cup of the coco powder… also I used a replacement sweetener and used less than a 1/2 cup of the sweetener instead of the raw sugar. The result was a light, fluffy, sinfully delicious cupcake/muffin
I made these for breakfast and my family and I loved it! I used honey instead of agave nectar and didn't put dates. Definitely a thumbs up for this recipe!
I want to make this but I have no applesauce (can’t make it to the store until Friday either). I need to make something with bananas, as I have a bunch of bananas that need to get made PRONTO (which irritates me, becuase I just bought them two days ago from Costco). I thought about making a vegan banana bread I’ve done before, but it’s super fattening. Any ideas?
Probably the easiest thing to do is just add 1/3 cup more banana. I think that should work, but you could also try using a gel made of flax and water; just mix 2 teaspoons ground flax seed with 1/3 cup of warm water and let it sit to thicken.
It just now dawned on me to make applesauce. So that’s what I have going right now. I had some apples that were getting mealy anyway, I was going to make apple pie like my husband has been begging me…this is probably a better choice. If I ever find myself applesauce-less again I’ll probably try the flax route.
Oh, I should add. I’ve made this recipe a half dozen times, exactly as posted, and it came out perfect every time. I thought the amount of sugar was just fine.
These were so delicious. Just made them and had to comment.
In place of the white flour I used whole wheat pastry flour. For the whole wheat flour I used white whole wheat.
I used 1/2 cup applesauce and used date sugar, but no agave nectar. I used pecans instead of walnuts.
Thanks Susan!!!
Just wondering, can you use 1 3/4 C white whole wheat flour instead for all the flour called for?
Yes. The white flour just makes them a little fluffier. You may need to add a little bit more liquid (like a tablespoon) if you use all whole wheat flour.
Delicious! I’m not sure how long dates can be kept in the fridge before they go bad, so I used raisins instead, just to be on the safe side. I made other changes: I used all white whole wheat flour and no sugar at all (but increased the agave nectar to 4 tbsp.).
I love how quick & easy most of your muffin recipes are.
Thanks, Susan!
We would like to try your recipe with agave nectar instead of sugar. I would think it would be best to decrease the soymilk. How much soymilk would you suggest?
thanks, Jo Ann
This is just a guess but it’s what I would try: Use 1/3 cup of agave nectar instead of 1/2 cup natural sugar. Start with 1/3 cup soymilk and add another tablespoon or two if the batter seems dry (but I think 1/3 cup will probably be enough.)
I just made these using this variation, and the batter was a bit on the dry side. I added 2 tbs more soy milk to get the perfect consistency. I happened to have dried cherries, so I added a few of those too, and to make it more of a cake, I added a dark chocolate mocha glaze after they were cooled down. So yummy! Thanks for (yet another) a wonderful recipe.
I made this recipe one morning for breakfast and it was wonderful. I did back off a bit on the sugar, but all the same, it is a keeper.
Later that day my husband was making us smoothies and we had to guess the ingredients (a fun game). We got them all with exception of the last one…a banana-date-nut muffin from breakfast. It turned out to be an excellent smoothie!
I’ve made these twice since Christmas and they’re delicious! I’d run out of whole wheat flour by the time I made the second batch, so I used whole wheat pastry flour exclusively (I can’t get white whole wheat flour here). And since I only had 1 TBSP of agave nectar left, I made up the difference with a TBSP of maple syrup. I also used the full amount of sugar called for (I used sucanat) rather than reducing it to 1/3 of a cup as I had the first time, and I sprinkled the tops of the muffins with a little demerara sugar just before putting them in the oven, for a little crunch and sprinkle!
We liked the second batch of muffins even better than the first one, and next time I make these I’ll use all maple syrup instead of agave nectar. We really enjoy these with our morning cup of Teeccino!
I just wanted to thank you for you unbelievable website. I am vegan and on weight watchers right now so this is now my new favorite blog
Last night, I made the chai coconut breakfast cake, the blueberry breakfast bread and these banana muffins. They are all amazing! I loved that I had all the ingredients in my pantry already and didn’t have to buy anything for all three recipes to work. The three of them turned out perfectly. Great for freezing and grabbing on the go!
Wow. I am so excited. I guess what I am trying to say is a big thank you and keep posting, you’ve got a new fan
These muffins were really tasty! I made a batch a few days ago and just put another batch into the oven now. I like to find different ways to use up bananas, plus I love dates. Even though I am not vegan, I still like to try different things. I did a few different things, like added 3/4 tsp. of cinnamon and a 1/4 tsp. of cloves. I added 2 tbsps. of maple syrup, as I don’t have agave nectar. The first batch of muffins I used honey. I also didn’t have whole wheat flour, so I used unbleached all purpose flour. I also don’t have vanilla soymilk, so I used skim milk with a tsp. of real vanilla. I did omit the walnuts, just to cut back on the fat a bit. Very lovely muffins. The first batch went fast! Thanks for posting your recipe.
Looks great. Nice, simple, and delicious with coffee.
I wondered if I could make this any healthier and somehow omit the white flour altogether…what would happen if I used chickpea flour…or quinoa flour…or just stuck with all whole wheat flour?
I would try using all whole wheat flour. I’m afraid chickpea flour would make it heavy, though a little quinoa flour might not hurt.
Just made these and took them out of the oven 20-ish minutes ago. Major yum!! I didn’t change anything but I did have a bit of an oops with the baking powder…accidentally adding it to the banana mixture. I think it may have effected the rising of the muffins because they are a little short and extra moist. Doesn’t change their deliciousness though! The only other difference was using vanilla almond milk instead of soymilk.
This recipe is definitely a keeper! Perfect balance of sweetness for me. Love the addition of dates.
I love your blog and recipes and have great faith in them. However, this didn’t turn out quite right.
They didn’t come out very sweet as comments say; in fact, I felt they needed a bit more sweetness. So next time I’ll increase either the sugar or agave nectar. Or maybe Splenda?
Also, they weren’t light and fluffy. They were rather dense and soggy. What possibly could have gone wrong?
I am looking forward to repeat this recipe, as I loved their banana flavor. I just need some suggestions for things to do (or mistakes to avoid) to improve the next batch!
Thank you so much!
First of all – I love your site!! We have tried so many tasty new treats for the plant-based lifestyle that we live! Do you have any recommendations to use canned pumpkin instead of bananas? Perhaps some sort of pumpkin muffin?
I have a good pumpkin bread that would make delicious muffins: http://blog.fatfreevegan.com/2006/12/pumpkin-spice-bread.html . Hope you enjoy it!
Where did you get the cute heart shaped muffin cup?
It’s been so long that I’ve forgotten, but probably some place on sale like Tuesday Morning.
These muffins are super delicious and incredibly moist! I lessened the amount of sugar called for and i still thought they were incredible. But i do like a sweet muffin, so maybe next time i’ll add the amount of sugar called for. So delicious. Thank you!!
Very good! Left out the agave but otherwise followed the recipe – even my carnivore (and picky!) husband loved them!
Amazing recipe! I used whole wheat pastry flour and oat flour and omitted the agave and walnuts and they are great! Thanks for doing what you do, it makes it more fun to be plant based
Hi Susan..Firstly, these are delicious! My only question is though are you using silicone muffin cups to bake these in? My second round of making these I used paper liners and they are sticking to the paper when I peel them off. Would you recommend silicone cups or just a non-stick pan? If so, what brand of silicone cups are you using? Thanks!
Hi Nicole, sorry about the sticking! Yes, I almost always use silicone muffin cups (Wilton brand) to make these, and they make a huge difference. Next to them, non-stick metal is second best, and I’ve learned to never ever use paper liners with low-fat muffins because of the sticking. I need to add that to the instructions!
I made these this morning. they were easy and yummy. thx for the recipe
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