Dairy-Free Banana Muffins

These Dairy-Free Banana Muffins were a staple in my home as I raised my children! They’re the perfect portable breakfast, snack, or dessert, plus they’re easy to make and budget-friendly. Packed with banana goodness and topped with a brown sugar crunch, they will become a favorite in your house, too. What more could you ask for out of a muffin?

Why You Will Love This Recipe for Banana Muffins

• Brown sugar topping. These homemade banana muffins are moist and delicious on the inside, with a brown sugar crunch on top.
• Dairy-free and delicious. No one will notice, but these muffins are made without milk or butter!
• They put your ripe bananas to good use. Don’t throw away your ripe or over-ripe bananas. This recipe embraces one of my mom’s favorite budgeting rules: waste not, want not.
• Easy to make in under 30 minutes. Ready-to-eat muffins in 30 minutes or less, using standard pantry ingredients.

Banana Muffin Recipe Ingredient Notes

• Very ripe to overripe bananas are necessary for these muffins. For baking, you want to use bananas with brown spots all over that smell fragrant.
• Cooking oil. This recipe calls for 1/2 cup of canola oil, but you can substitute it with avocado oil if you like.
• Milk. I use almond milk (unsweetened, original), but you can use another dairy-free milk substitute (or regular if those eating the muffins don’t have a dairy allergy or intolerance).
• Baking powder. This recipe calls for 2 tsp of baking powder. Make sure it isn’t expired because that would affect your muffins’ leavening/rising. If in doubt, add a small amount of your baking powder to hot water. If it immediately fizzes and bubbles, it’s good. If it doesn’t, don’t use it. You can make your own by combining 2 parts cream of tartar with 1 part baking soda and 1 part cornstarch.
• Pecans. Nuts are optional, but I highly recommend using pecans (or walnuts) if you can, to provide protein and an extra layer of texture.
• Brown sugar topping. This adds a crunchy sweetness to the top, using brown sugar, and little flour, melted “butter” and cinnamon. It makes these muffins stand apart from other banana muffins.

How to Make These Dairy Free Muffins: Step-by-Step

Note: This post has a printable recipe card at the end.

PREPARATION

• Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F.
• Gather your ingredients, a large mixing bowl, a large spoon or whisk, a small bowl, a fork and a 12-cup muffin pan.
• Either line your pan with nonstick muffin liners OR spray them with nonstick baking spray.

STEP 1: Mix the dry ingredients (flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt) in a large mixing bowl until blended.

STEP 2: Mash 2-3 bananas in a small separate bowl, using a fork. You don’t need to get all the lumps out.

STEP 3: Add the bananas and wet ingredients to your large mixing bowl. Mix all the ingredients with a large spoon or rubber scraper until blended. Don’t overmix; overmixing can produce tough muffins.

Step 4 (optional): Add the chopped nuts to your bowl and fold them in.

NOTE: Your batter will be thick.

Step 5: In a separate, small bowl (you can wash the one you mashed the bananas in and use that), mix the topping ingredients (brown sugar, flour, melted “butter” and cinnamon).

Step 6: Use a fork to mix your topping ingredients.

Step 7: Add the batter in your large mixing bowl to the muffin pan, dividing evenly between the 12 muffin cups. Using a cookie scoop makes it easier and less messy, but a large spoon or measuring cup also works well. Unlike cupcakes, you want to fill muffin tins near the top.

Step 8: Top the batter in each tin with your brown sugar mixture, dividing it evenly. Then bake for 16-18 minutes at 350 degrees F. Remove when a toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean. Let the muffins cool a bit … and then enjoy!

What to Eat with Brown Sugar Crunch-Topped Muffins

• These dairy-free banana muffins are portable and taste amazing on their own.
• For java lovers, a cup of coffee, espresso, cappuccino or latte pairs perfectly with these banana muffins.
• Of course, you can slice them open and top with your favorite dairy-free butter (or real butter, if you don’t have dairy issues).
• Fresh fruit pairs nicely with these.

Frequently Asked Questions

How ripe should the bananas be?

The bananas need to be very ripe to over-ripe. They should have brown spots all over them and smell fragrant. The riper the bananas, the sweeter they are, so over-ripe bananas are ideal. If you’re worried that your bananas may be too ripe, open them up – if they’re black inside, small bad or are oozing liquid, don’t use them. Otherwise, they aren’t too ripe!

Can I use under-ripe bananas?

I don’t recommend using under-ripe bananas. If you can wait a day or two for them to ripen more, that’s ideal. If you can’t and need to use them now, increase the amount of sugar by 1/4 to 1/2 cup.

Do these muffins freeze well?

Yes, these delicious muffins freeze nicely. After they have fully cooled, gently wrap them in aluminum foil or plastic wrap and put them in an airtight container or baggy. Store for up to 3 months in your freezer.

Really!? I can make muffins without milk products?

Yes, absolutely! I’ve made only milk-free muffins for almost 30 years (and my picky taste testers who do and do not have any issues with dairy love them all). My kids and grandkids LOVE these muffins!

Other Dairy-Free Muffin Recipes You’ll Love

• Dairy-Free Corn Muffins
• Cranberry Orange Muffins
• Chocolate Chip Mocha Muffins
• Strawberry Banana Nut Muffins
• Pistanchio Nut Muffins