Healthy Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins

These healthy banana chocolate chip muffins are soft, moist, and loaded with mini chocolate chips. Made with whole wheat flour, ripe bananas, and applesauce, they’re completely vegan and oil-free.

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There’s just something about the smell of banana muffins baking in the oven. Add a handful of chocolate chips, and they’re even better.

These banana chocolate chip muffins are one of those recipes that works just as well for breakfast as it does for an afternoon snack. They’re made with white whole wheat flour, naturally sweet ripe bananas, applesauce, and a little maple syrup, with mini chocolate chips in every bite.

They’re also completely vegan and made without added oil. We love keeping a batch around for an easy grab-and-go breakfast or snack, and they freeze really well, too.

If you love having homemade snacks on hand, try these Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Protein Bars next.

What We Love Most About These Muffins

Healthy Ingredients: These muffins are plant-based and made without added oil. Their moist texture comes from ripe bananas, unsweetened applesauce, and unsweetened soy milk. We use white whole wheat flour to keep them 100% whole grain and ground flaxseed for a little extra fiber and omega-3s.

Easy to Make: This recipe is quick to throw together and simple to make with straightforward, easy-to-find ingredients.

Perfectly Portable: These are perfect for on-the-go snacking or packed lunches. Place in an airtight container or wrap in cellophane to keep them moist and fresh.

Satisfyingly Sweet. These moist, delicious muffins are too good to resist! The sweetness from the ripe bananas, combined with the mini chocolate chips, is sure to satisfy any sweet tooth.

A Few Ingredient Notes

White whole wheat flour: This is what we use for most of our whole wheat baking. It keeps the muffins 100% whole grain, but the flavor is milder than traditional whole wheat flour. We like King Arthur White Whole Wheat, but another white or golden whole wheat flour should work just fine.

Bananas: Definitely wait for the spotty ones! The browner and riper your bananas are, the sweeter they’ll be and the easier they are to mash into the batter.

Applesauce: We use unsweetened applesauce in place of oil in this recipe. Between the applesauce and all that banana, the muffins stay plenty moist without it.

Ground flaxseed: There are just two tablespoons in the whole batch, so you really don’t taste it. It adds some fiber and omega-3 fats and mixes right into the batter.

Soy milk: This is what we normally have in the fridge, so it’s what we use. If you have almond, oat, or cashew milk instead, that’s fine too. Just stick with an unsweetened variety.

Mini chocolate chips: You could use regular chocolate chips, but we really like the minis in these. They spread out better, which means more bites with chocolate in them—and that’s never a bad thing.

How to Make Healthy Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins

These muffins are really simple to put together. You’ll find all the measurements and full instructions in the recipe card below, but here’s a quick look at how we make them.

1. Mix the dry ingredients. Whisk together the white whole wheat flour, ground flaxseed, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg in a large bowl.

2. Mix the wet ingredients. In a separate bowl, combine the mashed bananas, maple syrup, soy milk, applesauce, vanilla, and lemon juice.

3. Bring everything together. Pour the wet mixture into the dry and stir just until combined. A few lumps are completely fine here, so resist the urge to keep mixing.

4. Add the chocolate chips. Gently fold in the mini chocolate chips, then let the batter sit for a few minutes before filling your muffin pan.

5. Bake. Divide the batter between 12 muffin cups and bake at 375°F for 18–22 minutes. They’re done when a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.

Let the muffins cool in the pan for about 5 minutes before moving them to a wire rack. They’re really good while they’re still a little warm and the chocolate chips are melty.

Notes & Storage

Storage: Store muffins in an airtight container for 3-4 days, or individually wrapped in the freezer for up to 3 months. Thaw at room temperature or in the microwave (using the “defrost” option).

Notes:

1. For the Flour: We use King Arthur White Whole Wheat flour (also labeled as Golden Wheat) for this recipe, but any brand of white whole wheat flour is fine.
2. Milk Options: Use any kind of unsweetened, plant-based milk option you have on hand: soy, almond, cashew, oat, or coconut.
3. Types of Muffin Liners: Silicone muffin liners work really well for this recipe; however, if you do not have these, you can use paper cupcake liners. Just be aware they do tend to stick a little to the paper liner until the muffins are completely cool (not warm, but room temp). Once they are completely cool, it should be easy to peel off the liner. Otherwise, grease the muffin pan with vegan butter or spritz it with some olive oil to ensure it won’t stick.
4. To Ensure Fluffiness: Whole wheat flour tends to be denser than white flour. To keep these on the fluffier side, don’t overmix the batter—a few lumps are okay. Overmixing can make the muffins denser and more deflated. Also allow the batter to rest for at least a few minutes before baking.