Cozy Sunday mornings are made for baking something warm and snuggly, like Blueberry Banana Power Muffins. They’re also great for weekly meal prepping!
After waking up to cold, wintry conditions this past weekend, I immediately felt like baking. Whether cooking or baking, being in the kitchen feels like therapy for me.
Chopping, stirring, taste-testing, adjusting and making healthier swaps for things like oil, etc. feels therapeutic and relaxing. Call me weird, but I love to experiment and see what ingredients work best together and how the recipe turns out in the end. I try not to take myself too seriously and never follow another recipe to a T (unless I’m creating blog recipes) because it’s more fun to add your own personal touch with a little extra love. Sometimes recipes don’t work out, or they do but they look a little meh. Other times they turn out perfectly and make the taste buds dance!
Most days, I like making food for Terry – he’s the ultimate food critic (such a foodie!), which can be a good thing or bad thing, depending on the day and my mood LOL, but this time, it was a good thing as he loved these little bites of heaven.
Don’t let your eyes fool you; these cute little things are far from the blueberry muffins you find at the corner coffee shop, with loads of white sugar. You know those ones?
No, these muffins are oil-free, refined sugar free and pack in all the goodies like hemp seeds, flax seeds, rolled oats and applesauce instead of oil, with mashed nanners and blueberries as the main stars! Blueberries and bananas do make the best combo for morning goodies.
These are packed with nourishing, wholesome love!
Don’t worry, I’m not asking you to buy fresh blueberries when they’re out of season (hello, winter), so please use frozen blueberries and save some money, but do use fresh lemons as citrus fruits are in season! Yes, these muffins have a slight hint of lemony flavor thrown in, which adds the perfect touch of freshness.
Hemp seeds. I add them to everything. Think of hemp seeds as little nutrition powerhouses packed with plant protein, omega’s and endless minerals. They keep us feeling balanced! I’m always looking for extra superfood goodness and hemp seeds are perfect for that. I like these hemp seeds
Flax seeds. I often use a “flax egg” in place of eggs when baking. All you do is combine 1 tablespoon ground flax seeds with 2 tablespoons water and set aside for 5 minutes so it turns gooey, like the consistency of an egg. Flax seeds must be ground for superior nutrient absorption. Our bodies don’t break down the seed, but if they’re ground then our bodies know how to use the nutrients and digest them. Flax seeds are also packed with omega’s, fiber and lignans (plant antioxidants). I buy this this flax meal
Rolled oats. Adding oats to breakfast goodies will give you strength to power through any day, while helping to stabilize blood sugar levels. They fill you up with high quality whole food fiber and provide balanced plant protein, not to mention their whole grain, heart healthy goodness! I like these these rolled oats
Feel free to drizzle a little melted almond butter on top…. Oh my YUM!
- 1 tablespoon ground flax seeds
- 2 tablespoons water
- 2 ripe & spotty bananas, mashed
- 1/4 cup pure maple syrup
- 3/4 cup + 2 tablespoons unsweetened almond milk (or any plant milk)
- 1/4 cup plain applesauce
- 4 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 3/4 cup gluten free flour
- 1/2 cup raw coconut sugar
- 1/4 cup hemp seeds
- 1/4 cup rolled gluten-free oats
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 1/3 cup crushed pecan pieces (or walnuts)
- 1 1/4 cup frozen blueberries
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a muffin tin with liners or spray with nonstick spray. (I sprayed the muffin liners too, just to be safe!)
- In a small bowl, mix together ground flax and water. Set aside.
- In a separate medium-sized bowl, mash bananas. Then mix in the rest of the wet ingredients.
- In a separate large bowl, mix together all dry ingredients, except the pecans and blueberries.
- Pour the wet mixture into the dry, adding in the "flax egg" mixture too, and mix until well combined, don't over mix! Gently fold in the pecans and blueberries.
- Fill each muffin cup about 3/4 of the way full (this recipe makes approximately15 muffins!) I like to add extra blueberries on top, and a sprinkle of oats too.
- Bake for 17-20 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean.
- Allow muffins to cool for 10 minutes, then remove from pan. Bake the rest of the muffins.
- Enjoy!
- Store in refrigerator or freezer.
Could you post the nutrition facts, please?
Very good!! The whole family liked them.
I can’t wait to make these, I am a diabetic vegan…..no gluten or gmo things for me. I know that gf flour is hard to work with….can you mix bobs red mill gf flour? I wonder how that would work????? I know what we eat shows up in our body and skin……thanks for sharing this delicious recipe.
I tried these and they turned out great! I subbed gluten free flour for oat floor bc bc i really dislike gluten free flour. Oat flour acts very similarly to regular flour, tastes great and is very good for you. Plus you need to bake them for 30 min then let cool for 30 to avoid muffin sticking to paper.
Also didnt use pecans!
Love these!
oat flour is gf?
Hi! I made these last weekend and they turned out great! My one question is – how did you store them? I had them in a pan with foil on top and as the week progressed they got a bit soggy, so just curious to know if you have found something that stores them well.
Never mind – I just reread the instructions to store in the fridge or freezer!
Hi! These tasted fantastic but Id like to know the nutritional value. Do you know the specs?
What are the nutrician facts
Hi, I baked them today and I also add a carrot and a lot of coconut flakes. I have to agree with the others, they need a longer cooking time. I bakes them 35 minutes and they are delicious.
Love
joana
So I’ve made these twice now and both times I’ve had to cook them 30 min or more and they still come out under done & gummy inside. I use Bob’s red mill gluten free 1:1 flour…i love the flavor of these, just not sure what I’m doing wrong?? Thanks
Hi Cherylin, sorry they aren’t turning out as you’d hoped, I don’t think you’re doing anything wrong! Its hard to expect a gluten free vegan muffin to be exactly like a “regular” muffin. Every time I use gluten free flour, whatever I’m making turns out gummy.. I’m definitely not a baking expert but I’ve just learned to live with and love my vegan gluten free creations, gummy or not. Sorry if that’s not what you want to hear but that’s just the reality of baking with gluten free and vegan ingredients. If you’re more of a baking pro, I would experiment with different flours and specialty vegan items (xantham gum, tapioca starch etc.) I tend to not include those ingredients in my recipes here on the blog because people don’t have them in their pantry and I want my recipes to be as easy as possible. Hope this helps!!
xoxo,
Shannon
I’ve made these two times now and both times ive had to cook them like 30 minutes and they still come out under done and gummy…. I use the Bob’s red mill gluten free 1:1 flour….i so badly want these to turn out cause the flavor is great! Just not sure what I’m doing wrong? Please help
Hi, I happen to be a celiac who can’t eat oats can I sub the oats out for something else? Thanks
Millie
There are gluten free oats but if you can’t have oats at all a mix of millet, brown rice flour, buckwheat and arrowroot would work.
Can you give nutrition facts for this recipe please. I’d like to make it. The muffins look amazing!
So I just made these and super struggled! They taste delicious but are crumbly little things. It’s more like soft granola…. I’m pretty sure I followed the recipe correctly, so I’m trying to figure out what happened…. I live in Colorado so maybe the altitude made a difference? I’ve never had that problem with regular baking, but I’m just starting to experiment with vegan baking… anybody have ideas as to what might have happened with my muffins?
This recipe looks great! I can’t have apples. Do have any suggestions for substituting the apple sauce?
Hey Lauren! Yes, you could swap it for pumpkin 🙂 it will change the taste but I still think they would be yummy!
Hello! I was wondering if you can, for all of your recipes which call for flax eggs, if you can use chia eggs instead? These muffins look so good and the quality of your photos are so nice!
Hi Michelle, sure, I don’t see why not! You may want to use ground chia seeds as that would be more similar to ground flax. Hope that helps.
xo,
Shannon
Thank you so much!i look forward to trying your recipes!
Love this post and the ingredients! So awesome to read such a healthy, yummy recipe for blueberry muffins. Thank you for sharing another postive, vegan/healthy recipe. I’m going to try this recipe asap :-)!