Vegan Gluten-Free Banana Muffins
Let’s be honest, finding a crowd-pleasing breakfast muffin that’s also vegan and gluten-free can feel like a culinary treasure hunt. But not anymore! This vegan gluten-free banana muffin recipe needs just a few ingredients and comes together in a flash. Perfect for new vegans or anyone craving an easy, decadent dessert!
I love making muffins for breakfast, especially when we have guests in town. And I love these muffins because they’re also gluten-free, meaning I don’t have to call and find out everyone’s dietary preferences. Everyone can eat these…and they want to because they’re so good!
Ingredient Notes
You can find the full printable recipe, including ingredient quantities, below. But first, here are some explanations of ingredients and steps to help you make this recipe perfect every time.
- Buttermilk: If you don’t have vegan buttermilk, make your own! Mix 1 cup plant-based milk with 1 tablespoon lemon juice or apple cider vinegar, and let sit for 5 minutes.
- Brown Sugar: Light or dark works here, offering slightly different flavors.
- Flour: Your favorite gluten-free 1:1 baking blend will be perfect.
It’s so much easier to be gluten-free these days thanks to the wide range of gluten-free flour mixes available!
What Bananas are Best for Muffins?
For these muffins, the riper the banana, the better! Look for bananas with plenty of brown spots – that’s when their sweetness shines. Avoid completely black bananas, and if yours aren’t quite ripe, pop them in the oven at 350°F/175°C for 10 minutes until softened. Let them cool, mash, and get ready for muffin magic!
How to Make Gluten-Free Banana Muffins
- Get Prepped: Preheat oven to 375°F/190°C and line your muffin tin.
- Mash & Mix: Give those ripe bananas a good mash, then mix in buttermilk, sugar, and melted vegan butter.
- Dry Ingredients: Combine your flour, baking powder/soda, and salt (and pecans, if you want!).
- Batter Up: Time to combine the wet and dry ingredients. A few gentle stirs are all you need!
- Top It Off: Spoon that batter into your tin and sprinkle with the delicious crumble topping.
- Bake & Enjoy: 20-22 minutes in the oven, then cool slightly before indulging.
What Makes This Recipe Shine?
- Indulgent Treat: Rich banana flavor and tender crumb? Yes, please!
- Crowd Favorite: These muffins disappear faster than you can say “dessert!”
- Effortlessly Delicious: Simple recipe, incredible results.
Storage Tips
Store muffins in an airtight container at room temp for a few days or freeze for later enjoyment.
Marly’s Tips
Here are some of my favorite tips to make these vegan gluten-free banana muffins perfect every time:
- Chocolate: Add some dairy-free chocolate chips to make gluten-free banana chocolate chip muffins.
- Adding streusel: gently pressing the crumble topping into the batter helps it bake into the muffins.
- Gluten-free flour: keeps these muffins perfect for those minimizing gluten in their diet.
- Room Temp is Key: Ingredients mix better when they’re not fridge-cold.
- Don’t Overmix: A few lumps are okay – overmixing can lead to tough muffins.
- Frosting Fun: Top cooled muffins with a drizzle of vanilla frosting for an extra-special treat.
Serving Suggestions
- Breakfast Star: Serve muffins warm with a dollop of vegan soy yogurt.
- Dessert Delight: Enjoy muffins for dessert with a scoop of dairy-free vanilla ice cream.
- Giftable Goodness: These muffins make a thoughtful and delicious gift.
It really was fun to make these gluten-free banana muffins, and everyone loved them!
More Muffin Recipes
If you loved these gluten-free vegan banana muffins, here are even more tasty muffins you’ll want to try:
Whether gluten is an issue for you or not, these gluten-free vegan banana muffins are easy to make and tasty too. So, if you or someone in your life needs gluten-free, this recipe will make everyone happy!
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Gluten-Free Banana Muffins
Ingredients
Crumble Topping
- 1 tablespoon vegan butter , softened
- 2 tablespoons gluten-free flour
- ¼ cup brown sugar
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
Banana Muffins
- 3 ripe bananas mashed
- ⅓ cup vegan buttermilk (plant-based milk combined with a tablespoon of apple cider vinegar or lemon juice)
- ¾ cup brown sugar
- ⅓ cup vegan butter , melted
- 1⅔ cups gluten-free flour (see note)
- 2 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup optional: pecans , chopped
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375°F/190°C. Prepare muffin pans by lining with papers or spraying with vegetable cooking spray.
For the Crumble Topping:
- Take a moment to mix the crumble topping ingredients – the vegan butter, gluten-free flour, brown sugar, and cinnamon. Stir well and set aside.
For the Banana Muffins:
- Mash the bananas in a mixing bowl. Add the buttermilk, brown sugar and melted vegan butter. Stir until well combined and set aside.
- Now combine the gluten-free flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Stir until well combined. If using, add the chopped nuts to the flour.
- Make the muffin batter by combining the wet and dry muffin ingredients. Stir until combined (some small lumps are ok).
- Distribute the muffins in prepared muffin compartments.
- Then equally sprinkle crumble topping over each muffin, using your hand to gently press it into the batter.
- Place the pan in heated oven and bake for 20 – 22 minutes. Once they're done, remove them from the oven and set aside to cool for a few minutes before devouring.
- For a dramatic flair, add a drizzle of vanilla frosting (1/2 cup powdered sugar combined with just enough soymilk to make it spreadable).
Recommended Equipment
(The products above contain sponsored links to products we use and recommend)
The nutrition information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator and should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
This post was originally published in 2012 and was updated to include new photos, new text, and an updated recipe in 2021.
Making for the first time. I don’t see where the 3/4 cup of brown sugar, the third time down on the list is being used? Can you help?
Make that the third item down!
Thanks Greg! I missed putting the brown sugar in the original directions, but they’re included now. Hillary may say it takes a village to raise a child, but sometimes it feels like that can apply to other things…like recipes. Thanks for your help with this one!
Marley – you are brilliant! These are simply amazing. The best gluten free muffins I have ever had. I’m on my THIRD one. I hope I can stop soon 😉 My little twins said they love you for this recipe and are devouring them too! Keep the recipes coming!
WELL, I think I have found the recipe ! THanks so much for taking time to post this! Oh and great pictures by the way! I’m so hungry for banana muffins now LOL !! I wonder how they look inside? Maybe next time when your posting pictures, have one cut open so we could see 🙂 YUM. Cant wait toget home from work and bake this tonight with my 2 year old !
I lost my old g-f Banana Muffin Recipe and found this when I was searching for another one. Boy am I glad! These are by far the best gluten free muffins I have ever tasted.
You are so sweet – you just made my day. Now, I think I’m gonna head into the kitchen and make some more of these muffins. Dang, they were good!!!
Those look good! I feel another attempt at gluten-free baking coming on 🙂
Watch out, world!
It’s hard to go wrong with banana nut muffins! These look perfect, especially with that golden crumble topping.
Golden crumble topping. I LOVE IT!!
Holy YUM! Now I’m craving muffins…
Come on over, Sommer!