This healthy banana muffin recipe is 100% oil-free, using unsweetened applesauce in its place. The result? Fluffy, moist banana applesauce muffins that are egg-free, dairy-free, and with reduced sugar! Once baked, enjoy these healthy vegan banana muffins for breakfast, a snack, or even dessert!
Even as vegans, we weren’t immune to the banana bread craze that swept the globe last year. Luckily, not only are banana baked goods incredibly easy to make, but they’re also primarily made up of pantry staples, making them wonderfully budget-friendly, too! In fact, alongside moist vegan banana bread, we also whipped up banana pancakes, vegan banana muffins, and then these healthy banana applesauce muffins, too!
This healthy banana muffin recipe omits all oil, replacing it with unsweetened applesauce. Since applesauce is also naturally sweet, this recipe uses a reduced amount of granulated sugar, yielding wonderfully moist (yes, even oil-free!), hearty, healthy vegan banana muffins that are low in fat and high in fiber! In fact, not only does applesauce make for a great oil alternative, but it’s also an excellent vegan egg replacer. In fact, we’ve also used it within this lemon poppy seed snack cake, triple ginger cookies, vegan peach bread, and salted caramel brownies!
Even better, this oil-free banana muffins recipe uses just 9 ingredients and allows for several optional add-ins and flavor variations. Plus, you can even adapt it to using just one bowl. Serve alone, slathered with a bit of jam, alongside a bowl of fruit, topped with a scoop of ice cream, or with a steaming mug of coffee. You can even freeze them for up to 3 months. In fact, I recommend whipping up a double batch to meal prep for later!
Luckily, these healthy vegan banana muffins are light enough that you can enjoy them as a snack guilt-free! And feel free to save some freezer space for other delicious vegan muffins, too, like peach blueberry muffins, carrot cake muffins, pumpkin muffins, and/or pineapple walnut muffins!
As with all banana bread/cake goodies, this healthy banana muffin recipe requires just a few simple and pantry staples, including:
Keep scrolling to the recipe card for the complete list of ingredients and recipe instructions!
It’s possible to prepare the muffin batter up to a day in advance. Omit the leavening agents from the batter (until right before baking) and keep covered in the refrigerator.
Once baked, store the healthy banana muffins loosely at room temperature for 2-3 days or in the refrigerator for up to a week.
Alternatively, freeze the banana applesauce muffins on a tray until solid, then transfer them to a freezer-safe container/bag for up to 3 months. When you want one, either allow it to thaw in the fridge overnight or thaw/reheat in the microwave.
Photos by Alfonso Revilla
Lilliana Odilia says
These were amazing, thank you! I used 3 bananas because they were all in need of use, oat flour and a little bit of coconut flour (because I've been out of regular AP flour for like a week now and keep forgetting to grab it at the store!), and a little over 1/3 cup unpacked dark brown sugar instead of the granulated called for. I'm a diabetic, so I have to watch my sugar intake, and I like the caramel-y flavor that brown sugar uses. I also doubled the baking powder because I just have not been able to get my baked goods to rise since going fat free!
My batter was fairly thin, I assume because of the oats and because I accidentally put a half cup of milk instead of a quarter cup, so that's why I added a couple tablespoons of coconut flour. I still ended up with a cake batter type consistency vs a thick scoopable muffin batter. Another recipe I had been considering suggested blasting the muffins at 425 for the first 5 minutes and then lowering the temp down to 350 for the rest of the time, so that's what I did with the first batch. The second batch (which was just one muffin - I got a solid baker's dozen out of the recipe!) was just at 350 for 20 minutes and I find I actually like the way they rise with just the straight low and slow heat.
Either way they're all delicious and this is now my official go-to recipe for banana nut muffins! (Nuts on top, bakery style!)
Andrea White says
Such great feedback! So glad you enjoyed them 🙂