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    Home » Breakfast

    Vegan Banana Applesauce Oatmeal Muffins

    Published: Nov 1, 2021 by Meesha · This post may contain affiliate links

    Jump to Recipe Print Recipe

    Dense yet fluffy, these oatmeal banana applesauce muffins happens to be vegan and gluten-free! Incredibly easy to make and is ready in 30 minutes. Makes a great healthy breakfast or on-the-go snack!

    2 applesauce muffins stacked on one another with a plate of muffins, jar of milk and oats in the background.

    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!

    Jump to:
    • 💚Why you will love this recipe
    • 🍌What you will need
    • 📃Notes/substitutions
    • 🔪How to make
    • ✔Helpful tips
    • ✨Variations/add-ins
    • ❄Storing and reheating tips
    • ❔Commonly asked questions
    • 🍽More vegan applesauce recipes
    • 📖 Recipe

    💚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

    Ingredients needed like bananas, applesauce, oats, cashew butter and maple syrup on a grey background.

    📃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.

    Collage showing oat flour in blender and dry ingredients in a bowl with fork.

    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.

    Collage showing wet ingredients in blender and muffin batter in a bowl with fork.

    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.

    Collage showing before and after baking muffins in a pink muffin tray.

    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.

    Banana applesauce muffins arranged on a cooling tray with a teacloth and oats beside.

    ❄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

    Can I use frozen bananas instead of fresh?

    Frozen bananas can definitely be use to make these oatmeal banana applesauce muffins. Just make sure to let them thaw completely, and drain off excess liquid before using.

    Why are my muffins rubbery and hard?

    If your applesauce muffins turns out to be chewy and rubbery, first off all check if your baking powder and baking soda are still good to use.

    You can do a simple test by placing a small amount of either one of them in some hot water. Bubbles should start to form immediately and vigorously. If there is little to no reaction, it is time to get some new ones.

    Other than that, you might have measured the ingredients inaccurately, causing your batter to be too wet. Hence, it is highly recommended to use a kitchen scale to measure out your ingredients instead of measuring cups.

    How to tell when muffins are done baking?

    You can check for doneness of your muffins by inserting a toothpick down the middle. If the toothpick comes out clean, your banana applesauce muffins are done baking!

    Banana muffins arranged on a grey background with banana slices and oats in the background.

    🍽More vegan applesauce recipes

    • Chewy Vegan Applesauce Chocolate Chips Oatmeal Cookies
    • Baked Oatmeal with Applesauce
    • Fudgy Vegan Aquafaba Brownies (without butter)
    • Eggless Chocolate Chip Mug Cookie (Vegan)

    If you did make this recipe, do leave a rating and comment down below, we love hearing from you! Subscribe to My Plantiful Cooking to get new recipes delivered straight to your inbox! Follow us on Instagram, Facebook and Pinterest to get the latest updates. 😉

    📖 Recipe

    A stack of 2 muffins with plate of muffins, jar of milk and oats in the background.

    Vegan Banana Applesauce Oatmeal Muffins

    Meesha
    Dense yet fluffy, these oatmeal banana applesauce muffins happens to be vegan and gluten-free! Incredibly easy to make and is ready in 30 minutes. Makes a great healthy breakfast or on-the-go snack!
    5 from 3 votes
    Print Recipe Pin Recipe
    Prep Time 10 mins
    Cook Time 20 mins
    Total Time 30 mins
    Course Breakfast, Snack
    Cuisine American
    Servings 12 muffins
    Calories 164 kcal

    Ingredients
     
     

    Dry ingredients

    • 3 cups oats use gluten-free if needed*
    • 1 tablespoon baking powder
    • 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
    • ½ teaspoon baking soda

    Wet ingredients

    • 3 medium banana ripe and spotty (about 10.6oz/300g)
    • ½ cup applesauce
    • ⅓ cup maple syrup
    • ¼ cup cashew butter or other nut/seed butter
    Prevent your screen from going dark

    Instructions
     

    • 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 rest of the dry ingredients. Mix well.
      3 cups oats, 1 tablespoon baking powder, 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon, ½ teaspoon baking soda
    • In the blender, place in all wet ingredients. Blend until smooth.
      3 medium banana, ½ cup applesauce, ⅓ cup maple syrup, ¼ cup cashew butter
    • 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!

    Notes

    *Oats - You can use the same amount of oat flour in place, about 270g/9.5oz. 
    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.
    Lightly grease or line your baking pan with muffin liner so that muffins can come out of the pan easily.
    Transfer muffins immediately to a cooling rack 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.
     
    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.

    Nutrition

    Calories: 164kcalCarbohydrates: 29gProtein: 4gFat: 4gSaturated Fat: 1gPolyunsaturated Fat: 1gMonounsaturated Fat: 2gSodium: 155mgPotassium: 237mgFiber: 3gSugar: 10gVitamin A: 22IUVitamin C: 3mgCalcium: 85mgIron: 1mg

    Nutrition info calculated is just a rough estimate and is provided as a courtesy. Bear in mind that value will vary based on variables like specific brand or type of product used. To obtain the most accurate representation, it is highly recommended that you calculate it on your own with the actual amount and type of ingredient used.

    Did you make this recipe ?Tag @myplantifulcooking on Instagram !

    More Healthy Vegan Breakfast Recipes

    • Creamy Peanut Butter Powder Smoothie
    • Healthy Banana Flapjacks
    • Silken Tofu Scramble
    • Vegan Breakfast Sausage Patties

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Judith

      October 15, 2022 at 4:07 pm

      Love to try these! But my daughter hates bananas. Can I replace it with something? Thinking of flax egg maybe?

      Reply
      • Meesha

        October 15, 2022 at 4:31 pm

        You can try substituting it with the same amount of pumpkin puree or sweet potato puree. 😁

        Reply
    2. Jenna

      May 21, 2022 at 12:46 am

      Made these today and they turned out really nicely. Love the texture and flavor while feeling great about the ingredients. Excellent way to use up bananas that were about to go bad with other pantry staples. Added a few chocolate chips on top of the ones my husband would be eating. Thanks for sharing!

      Reply
      • Meesha

        May 21, 2022 at 9:59 am

        I am really glad to hear that!

        Reply
    3. Shraddha

      January 13, 2022 at 11:37 am

      Any replacement of applesauce

      Reply
      • Meesha

        January 15, 2022 at 8:34 am

        You can try substituting with equal amounts of mashed bananas! I have yet to try this substitution out, though. Or, you could check out this banana dates muffins recipe instead - https://www.myplantifulcooking.com/healthy-banana-oatmeal-muffins/

        Reply

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