Vegan Banana Applesauce Oatmeal Muffins

Got some super ripe bananas on hand? Well, you have to give this incredible banana applesauce muffins a go! It is light and fluffy, yet ultra filling and hearty at the same time.

If you are not a fan of muffins, check out my banana oatmeal pancakes or this steel cut oats cookies then. Don't let your bananas go to waste!

💚Why you will love this recipe

• Perfectly soft, tender and moist - We definitely do not compromise taste for health here! Although this is the "healthier" version, they still taste AMAZING.
• Transports well - Making these banana applesauce muffins the perfect on-the-go breakfast or snack to take with you to school or work.
• Egg-free, dairy-free and lightly sweetened - Applesauce and mashed bananas provides moisture to these muffins without the addition of oil or eggs. This recipe is also low sugar too!
• Store and freeze like a gem - Hence, making them the perfect meal prep recipe. Feel free to multiply the ingredients to make a larger batch!

🍌What you will need

📃Notes/substitutions

• Oats - Both quick or rolled oats can be used in place. You can also use oat flour, and you will need about 270g, or about 3 cups.
• Banana - Make sure to use banana that are brown and spotty! As they will be one of the main sweetener in the recipe, you will want them to be ripe and sweet.
• Applesauce - Make sure to use unsweetened ones. You can use both store-bought or homemade applesauce.
• Cashew butter - You can use other seed butter like almond or peanut butter in place. For those who can't have nuts, simply swap it with seed butter like tahini or sunflower seed butter.

🔪How to make

Preheat oven to 425F/220C.

Place oats in a blender and blend until they are finely ground. Pour oat flour into a large mixing bowl along with baking powder, baking soda and ground cinnamon. Mix well.

In the blender, place in banana, applesauce, cashew butter and maple syrup. Blend until smooth.

Pour wet ingredients into dry and stir until everything is just combined.

Fill muffin tin with batter about ¾ way full. Optionally, sprinkle on some oats before baking.

Bake for 8 minutes. Reduce temperature to 350F/180C and bake for another 10-15 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean.

Once they are done baking, transfer them immediately to a cooling rack. Let them cool down slightly before digging into them!

✔Helpful tips

• Use a weighing scale to measure out ingredients, if possible for the highest accuracy. If using measuring cups, remember to follow the spoon and level method. Avoid scooping flour directly out of bag, or packing the flour into your measuring cups.
• Lightly grease or line your baking pan with muffin liner so that muffins can come out of the pan easily.
• Do not let muffin cool in the muffin tin. Instead, transfer them to a cooling tray 5 minutes after they are done baking. Or not, water vapor will gather, causing the bottom of your muffins to turn soggy.
• Avoid overbaking them to prevent your muffins from drying out. I recommend keeping a close eye around the 18 minutes mark if this is your first time making them.
• These banana applesauce muffins are subtly sweet, so if you like super sweet ones, feel free to add 1-2 tablespoons of granulated sugar.

✨Variations/add-ins

Granulated sugar - As mentioned above, these banana applesauce muffins are not super sweet, so feel free to add 1-2 tablespoons of granulated sugar to make them sweeter.

Chopped nuts - Add in up to ½ cup. I personally love adding walnuts or pecans for some extra texture and crunch.

Chocolate chips or chocolate chunks - Pretty self-explanatory, because who doesn't love chocolate?! You can stir in up to ½ cup.

Raisins and or other dried fruit - Nothing beats a good old raisin muffins! Or, you can use any other dried fruit like dried blueberries and cranberries. Use up to ½ cup.

Spices - I am only using ground cinnamon here, but feel free to use other spices that sounds good to you! Just bear in mind that a little goes a long way.

Flavorings - Vanilla extract, almond extract or coconut extract are all awesome additions. Like spices, you will only need a teaspoon or so.

❄Storing and reheating tips

Storing - Muffins can be refrigerated for 4-5 days in an airtight container. You can also freeze it for up to 3 months, either in a freezer bag or storage container.

Reheating - If reheating from frozen, let them thaw slightly first, about 30 minutes outside, or by using the microwave "thaw" function. Then, you can either toast them for 5-10 minutes, or heat them up in the microwave at 15 seconds interval until they are thoroughly warmed.

❔Commonly asked questions

🍽More vegan applesauce recipes

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