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!
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
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.
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.
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!
🍽More vegan applesauce recipes
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📖 Recipe
Banana Applesauce Oatmeal Muffins
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
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425F/220C. Grease a 12-hole muffin pan or line them with muffin liners.
- 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, let them rest in the pan for 5 minutes, then transfer them to a cooling rack to cool down further. Enjoy while warm!
Notes
- Using frozen bananas - Frozen bananas can be used in place of fresh ones. Allow them to thaw completely beforehand and drain off excess liquid before use.
- Weigh out ingredients if possible -A weighing scale will provide a more precise measurement, ensuring success in making these muffins. However, if you choose to use measuring cups instead, I highly recommend checking out this post, ‘How to measure flour correctly.
- Avoid overbaking -To avoid dry and crumbly muffins, make sure not to overbake them. If you're trying this recipe for the first time, check on the muffins after 18 minutes by inserting a toothpick down the center. The muffins are done baking if the toothpick comes out fairly clean with a few moist crumbs.
Nutrition
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.
Karen
These were excellent! I loved the denser texture and while delicious after a few minutes out of the oven, they get even better each day after they were baked. Thanks for the recipe, these will be a staple going forward!
Jim Mee Sha
I am so happy to hear that! Thanks for your kind comment. 😁
Linda
I made these this morning and I love them!! Perfect to go along with my morning coffee. Definitely a keeper!
Jim Mee Sha
Thanks for your kind comment!
Aarkay
Hi,
I just tried this recipe of yours. It came out so well !!
(I made a few substitutions- used vanilla for cinnamon, pepita butter for cashew butter and light brown sugar for maple syrup. Also, threw in a few choco chips).
Thank you!
Meesha
I am very happy to hear that!😄
Judith
Love to try these! But my daughter hates bananas. Can I replace it with something? Thinking of flax egg maybe?
Meesha
You can try substituting it with the same amount of pumpkin puree or sweet potato puree. 😁
Jenna
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!
Meesha
I am really glad to hear that!
Shraddha
Any replacement of applesauce
Meesha
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/