Vegan Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins
Recipe
This recipe is adapted from a recipe on the blog Merry Merzville, which is in turn adapted from The Joy of Vegan Baking by Colleen Patrick-Goudreau. My modifications are pretty minor. This recipe would not exist without theirs.
Beyond that, let’s not bury the lede. The story behind these muffins isn’t that interesting. I know what you’re here for.
Ingredients
- 2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
- 1–3/4 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 c granulated sugar
- 1/3 c canola oil
- 4 very ripe bananas, mashed
- 1/4 c water
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 c non-dairy, semi-sweet chocolate chips
- (Optional) 1/4 c extra non-dairy, semi-sweet chocolate chips
- (Optional) 1/8 c coarse turbinado sugar
Instructions
Preheat your oven to 350° Fahrenheit. Lightly grease your muffin tins.
In a medium bowl, mix the flour, baking soda, and salt.
In a large bowl, beat the sugar and oil. Add the mashed banana, then stir in the water and vanilla until incorporated. Add the flour mixture, a little at a time, and stir until just incorporated. Finally, mix in the chocolate chips.
Fill all 12 muffin cups evenly. Optionally, add a few chocolate chips and some coarse turbinado sugar on the top of each muffin for appearance. Bake for about 30 minutes or until the muffins are golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the middle of one or two comes out cleanly.
Alternatively, fill 48 mini muffin cups evenly and bake for 10–15 minutes, with or without chocolate chips and turbinado sugar for appearance.
A note about ripening bananas
The bananas should be so ripe that the peels are almost black. To ripen bananas quickly, place them in the oven for about 10 minutes with the peels on.
If the bananas are still warm when you go to add the chocolate chips, the chocolate chips will melt and you’ll end up with with chocolate-chocolate chip muffins. Those are good, too, but in my experience, they aren’t quite as delicious. To avoid that, be sure to let the bananas cool before mixing them in. Alternatively, put the chocolate chips in the freezer for a while before using them.
Background
I’ve been vegan for a little over 11 years, but only recently started baking these delicious muffins. After bringing an okay batch to Thanksgiving last year, I started making small tweaks here and there to improve the recipe. When I last made them, for a RAVS meeting and potluck dinner, they went very quickly.
At that same event, I spoke on a panel about being vegan in a non-vegan world. Honestly, I’m pretty laid back about my veganism. I don’t know anyone who has genuinely changed their mind as a result of being scolded and judged. Many of my acquaintances don’t even know I’m vegan. I only mention it when it’s truly necessary.
At the same time, I think that animal cruelty on factory farms is one of the most important ethical issues of our time. I think we all have an obligation to reduce suffering by fostering a more vegan world. This recipe is an attempt to further that goal without being too preachy. At restaurants, I leave cards expressing my gratitude for vegan options for a similar reason. A little help and positive reinforcement go a long way.
Is this the most effective activist strategy? I don’t know. If nothing else, I’m sure it’s more effective than being too pushy. I don’t want to be counter-productive.
In any case, try these out, share the recipe with friends and family, and show others how delicious vegan food can be. You might just change some minds in the process.
