August 2017: I’ve updated (and improved, I think) both the photos and the recipe, but kept the original recipe below as it’s quite tasty, just no longer in line with what my husband and I are eating (coconut and most nuts are out, sadly) these days. Instead of sweetening these with a combination of date paste and stevia powder as in the original, I use coconut sugar and fold in juicy chopped dates. I also decided to exclude tahini since the bananas make a fine stand-in for the fat component. Finally, a sprinkling of crunchy flaxseeds and cacao nibs makes for a nice contrast with the soft texture of the muffin.
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We eat a lot of bananas – at least according to almost every grocery checkout person at our local store. Between us, Kel and I eat about 3-4 bananas a day. I shop once a week, so I need to load the shopping cart with approximately 21-28 bananas. To carry us through the week, I get a mix of very green, slightly green, and bright yellow ones. Because of our high rate of consumption, it’s pretty rare that I have those lovely dark brown, very ripe bananas hanging around – the kind that are perfect for recipes. When I do, I almost always make some form of banana bread, like these muffins. To stick to an unspoken not-a-New-Year’s-resolution resolution, I wanted to create a muffin that contained no sugar and no oil (note: this pertains to the old/original recipe; the new recipe contains coconut sugar).
Tip: Wrap the stems of bananas with plastic wrap (I like the sticky “press and seal” kind) to slow down the ripening process.
You’ll need coconut sugar, whole flaxseeds and cacao nibs for this recipe. Oh, and you can also bake these in a 9-inch x 9-inch pan. Just bake about 5 minutes longer than called for in the muffin recipe.
Revamped Banana, Date & Flax Muffins
- Yield: 6 1x
Description
Make these delicious and healthy muffins in under an hour. They make a great portable snack or a quick breakfast.
Ingredients
- 2 very ripe bananas
- 1/3 cup coconut sugar
- 1/3 cup non-dairy milk
- 2 tsp. vanilla extract
- 1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
- 1/2 cup rolled oats
- 1 tsp. ground cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp. sea salt
- 1/2 tsp. baking powder
- 1/2 tsp. baking soda
- 1/4 tsp. ground cardamom
- 1/2 tsp. ground ginger
- 1/4 tsp. ground allspice
- 1/2 cup chopped dates
- whole flaxseeds, for sprinkling on top, optional
- cacao nibs, for sprinkling on top, optional
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350-degrees F and lightly oil 6 muffin tins.
- In the bowl of a food processor, add the banana, coconut sugar, milk and vanilla extract and process until smooth.
- In a medium-sized bowl, whisk together the flour through the allspice. Pour in the wet ingredients and stir until there are no dry bits left in the batter. Fold in the chopped dates.
- Divide the batter between the muffin tins and sprinkle flaxseeds and cacao nibs on top, if using. Bake muffins for about 25 minutes. They should feel firm and a toothpick inserted in the center should come out clean. Allow to cool for a few minutes in the pan before removing and letting cool completely on a wire rack.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 6
- Calories: 235
- Sugar: 24
- Sodium: 314
- Fat: 1
- Saturated Fat: 1
- Unsaturated Fat: 0
- Trans Fat: 0
- Carbohydrates: 53
- Protein: 4
- Cholesterol: 0
Whole Grain Banana-Date-Flax Muffins
- Prep Time: 15
- Cook Time: 30
- Total Time: 45
- Yield: 10 1x
Description
Yes, it is possible to bake a healthy whole grain muffin that is also delicious! These dairy-, sugar-, and oil-free treats are packed with banana, dates, coconut, flax, nuts – and chocolate!
Ingredients
- 2 very ripe bananas
- 1/4 cup date paste*
- 1/4 cup tahini
- 1/4 cup + 1 tbsp. non-dairy milk
- 2 tsp. vanilla extract
- 1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
- 1/4 cup flaxseed meal
- 1/4 cup barley flour
- 1/4 cup brown rice flour
- 1/2 tsp. salt
- 1 tsp. cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp. cardamom
- 1/4 tsp. allspice
- 1/2 tsp. baking powder
- 1/2 tsp. baking soda
- 1/2 tsp. powdered stevia
- 1/2 cup unsweetened coconut flakes
- 1 cup pecans, chopped
- 1/2 cup semi-sweet vegan chocolate chips**, optional
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350-degrees and lightly oil 10 muffin tins (or a 9″ x 9″ pan).
- In a medium-sized bowl, mash the bananas and then stir in the date paste, tahini, milk, and vanilla extract.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the whole wheat pastry flour, flaxseed meal, barley flour, brown rice flour, salt, cinnamon, cardamom, allspice, baking powder and soda, and stevia.
- Pour the wet ingredients in with the dry and stir until almost combined – batter will be thick – and then stir in the coconut, pecans, and chocolate chips, if using. Stir until mixture is thoroughly combined.
- Scrape batter into prepared muffin tins or pan.
- Bake for 25-30 minutes. Let muffins cool for a few minutes in the pan, then remove them and let them cool completely on a cooling rack.
Notes
- *I make my my own date paste by taking a pile of dates and soaking them in water to cover for an hour or so. I put the dates with the soaking liquid in a blender and process until very smooth. Store in a mason jar or other air-tight container and pop it in the refrigerator.
- **I use stevia-sweetened chocolate chips to keep these sugar-free, but use your favorite vegan chips.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 10
- Calories: 314
- Sugar: 11
- Sodium: 199
- Fat: 18
- Saturated Fat: 6
- Unsaturated Fat: 12
- Trans Fat: 0
- Carbohydrates: 36
- Protein: 6
- Cholesterol: 0
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I agree with the checkout assistants, that is a lot of bananas. I think I would love these muffins, although I’d probably be tempted to stick a cup of walnuts in alongside the pecans. I love nuts and banana together. When I have a bunch of very ripe bananas I make banana and walnut loaf. I’m the only one in the house who likes it so I usually freeze most of it in slices.
Walnuts or pecans would be great in these. How lucky you are that no one else craves your banana/walnut loaf :-)!
I hadn’t thought of it like that. 🙂
I’ve made two batches of banana chocolate chip muffins in the last couple of weeks because I’m craving them so much!
I modify Colleen Patrick-Goudreau’s “Joy of Vegan Baking” recipe with spelt flour (it’s so tasty) and half the sugar, since semi-sweet chocolate chips add enough extra sweetness for me. I tried mixing in bittersweet chocolate chips for my last batch, but they’re not sweet enough for the lower-sugar batter. I’ve been thinking of subbing the sugar for date paste and wondering how to omit the oil, and here comes your post! Thanks to you, I’m gonna get another week of banana chocolate chip muffins ;-P
BTW, I often end up with overripe bananas, so I freeze them at their most overripe to always have them ready for banana muffins. It’s so convenient! Also, I make date paste by simply soaking dates in a little water overnight and then processing or high-speed blending them. I store the paste in the freezer so THAT’S always ready, too.
Man, I’ve become so handy in the kitchen since going vegan XD
Isn’t that a wonderful cookbook? I refer to it again and again. Love the biscuits. Aren’t you organized?! I need to take a lesson from you!
These sound wonderful Annie. Love the addition of tahini! I’ve never heard of barley flour before, where do you find that? Oh, and that’s A lot of bananas…haha 🙂
I found it at Whole Foods – I think the brand is Arrowhead Mills. Yes…we got through the nanners! Love ’em.
These sound very tasty & they look amazing too. I can’t wait to try them out.
Hope you love them – – they’re extra yummy with chocolate chips…
Yup yup. X
These sound super delicious, and they look even better 😀
Cheers
Choc Chip Uru
Oh, the cashiers at my local grocery store think I’m a nut in regards to bananas too~ I generally eat at least 4 bananas myself daily and always have to buy TONS when I go grocery shopping haha. I’ve actually just contacted the manager at my local grocery store and asked if I could buy them in bulk, currently trying to work out exactly how much I’ll be getting for my money’s worth. :*
Anyway! This recipe looks lovely! I definitely need to try vegan banana bread! I’ve been on this vegan journey for almost 6 months now and have never made myself vegan banana bread! I think I’ll try it with my nuts or raisins, or maybe even some strawberries!? Oh the possibilities!
Thanks a bunch for sharing,
Samantha V
THANK YOU, Samantha for making me feel okay about my banana consumption! I’m not a freak ;-)! And welcome to the Vegan Club!
I have been HOARDING bananas like crazy from Starbucks. I usually take 2 home with me almost daily when they are VERY ripe. I freeze them to make a smoothie, or I make banana chocolate brownies. I am a banana fiend. These muffins look so good.
Banana Fiends of the world UNITE!
You put tahini in these and for that, I love you 🙂
The stuff is amazing!
These look amazing! I think I could do a variant on this for my kid’s breakfast – maybe skip the chocolate. I’m always up for alternatives to refined sugar for my guy.
I actually like these better without the chocolate chips – go figure.
I like to make banana bread or banana muffins! I have never used date paste, but it sounds simple to make and very useful to have on hand. Thanks for sharing these on Healthy Vegan Fridays!
Totally simple. I keep a tub of it in the fridge.
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