Description
These Vegan Banana Bread Muffins with Walnut Crumble Topping are moist, flavorful, and perfectly spiced. Made with ripe bananas, warm cinnamon, and crunchy walnuts, these muffins are a wholesome plant-based treat. The crumb topping adds a delightful texture contrast, making them ideal for breakfast, snacks, or a healthy dessert. Easy to make and suitable for vegans, these muffins bring classic comfort food vibes without any dairy or eggs.
Ingredients
Scale
Muffin Batter
- 350 g ripe bananas (approx 3 medium or 4 small, peeled and mashed)
- 170 g coconut sugar (or soft brown sugar)
- 1 batch vegan buttermilk (see recipe note 1)
- 80 ml olive oil (or neutral oil like rapeseed or sunflower oil)
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 280 g all-purpose flour (sifted)
- 125 g walnuts (finely chopped)
- 3 teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
Walnut Crumble Topping
- 30 g walnuts (roughly chopped)
- 30 g all-purpose flour
- 2 tablespoons coconut sugar (or soft brown sugar)
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 tablespoon melted vegan butter (or olive oil)
Instructions
- Prepare: Preheat oven to fan 190°C (375°F) or conventional 210°C (410°F). Line half the muffin tray cavities with liners, filling every second cavity to encourage high muffin tops. The recipe yields 10 large muffins; bake in two batches if needed, cooling the pan and refrigerating batter between batches.
- Mash the banana: Place peeled ripe bananas into a large bowl and mash thoroughly with a fork until smooth but still slightly lumpy.
- Mix the wet ingredients: Add coconut sugar, vegan buttermilk, olive oil, and vanilla extract to the mashed bananas. Whisk well until all ingredients are combined.
- Mix the dry ingredients: In a separate medium bowl, whisk together sifted flour, baking powder, baking soda, sea salt, and ground cinnamon until evenly mixed.
- Make the muffin batter: Fold half of the dry ingredients gently into the wet mixture until mostly combined. Then fold in the remaining dry ingredients along with the finely chopped walnuts. Avoid overmixing to keep the muffins light and tender.
- Make the crumb topping: Combine roughly chopped walnuts, flour, coconut sugar, and cinnamon in a medium bowl. Add melted vegan butter or olive oil and rub together using fingertips until mixture forms a crumbly texture.
- Assemble muffins: Using an ice cream scoop or large spoon, portion the batter evenly into prepared muffin liners. Sprinkle the walnut crumble topping generously over each muffin.
- Bake: Place muffins in the oven and bake at fan 190°C (375°F) or conventional 210°C (410°F) for 5 minutes. Then reduce temperature to fan 170°C (340°F) or conventional 190°C (375°F) and bake for an additional 15 minutes until a toothpick inserted comes out mostly clean with a few crumbs.
- Cool: Let muffins cool in the tray for 5 minutes before carefully removing and transferring to a wire rack to cool completely for about 30 minutes. Optionally, add a vanilla glaze for extra sweetness (see recipe note 2).
- Storage: Store muffins in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days or refrigerate for up to a week, allowing them to come to room temperature before serving. Muffins freeze well; thaw at room temperature for a couple of hours before enjoying.
Notes
- Note 1: Vegan buttermilk can be made by combining 1 cup of plant-based milk (like soy or almond) with 1 tablespoon of lemon juice or vinegar. Let it sit for 5-10 minutes to curdle.
- Note 2: For a vanilla glaze, whisk together powdered sugar, a splash of plant-based milk, and vanilla extract until pourable, then drizzle over cooled muffins.
- Filling every second muffin cavity helps muffins develop tall, fluffy tops.
- Do not overmix the batter to avoid dense muffins.
- To ensure even baking, allow the muffin pan to cool between batches if baking in two rounds.
