Vegan Banana Date Muffins with Chocolate Chips

These Banana Date Muffins are sweet, fluffy and taken to the next level with a sweet streusel topping. They’re the perfect snack, easy dessert, or vegan breakfast to share over morning coffee. All you need is 10 simple ingredients. 

Adding a buttery streusel topping is one of my favourite ways to add a delicious crunch to any muffin recipe. It works well with all flavour combinations, including Pumpkin Spice Muffins, Cinnamon Coffee Cake Muffins, and healthy banana muffins. If you love my Chocolate Chip Banana Muffins with Crunchy Cinnamon Topping, you will love these Banana Date Muffins! 

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

•  Made in one bowl. These muffins can be made entirely in one bowl, including mashing the bananas in dates. It’s quick and easy to make and clean up. 
• No blender or food processor required. Most date muffin recipes call for a blender or food processor to blend the dates smooth. Instead, I’ll teach you how to mash the dates into a date paste without the need for dirtying appliances. 
• Meal prep friendly. Baking up a batch of muffins is one of my favourite ways to prep ahead breakfast and afternoon snacks for the week. If you want to make these muffins for breakfast, simply leave the streusel off! 

Key Ingredients and Substitutions

• Banana – For the best, sweet banana muffins you’ll need 1 cup of mashed ripe banana. Both fresh or frozen and thawed bananas will work well. 
• Dates – Soft medjool dates add sweetness, moisture, and a serving of dietary fiber. 
• Vegan butter – I prefer to make these vegan muffins with melted vegan butter as opposed to vegetable oil because it adds additional flavour. If needed, you can use vegetable oil, canola oil, or melted coconut oil. If using coconut oil, make sure all of the other ingredients are at room temperature. 
• Sugar – Granulated cane sugar or light brown sugar is best. If you are in the United States, make sure to use organic sugar so you know it is vegan. 
• Egg replacer – I used Just Egg which is a liquid egg replacer. If you are using a powdered egg replacer, such as Bob’s Red Mill or ground flaxseed, use 1 tablespoon of the powdered egg with 3 tablespoon water in it’s place. 
• Flour – I only tested these banana date muffins with all-purpose flour. I haven’t tested a gluten-free version of these muffins. If you want to experiment with it, I would recommend using gluten-free all purpose flour instead of single flours like almond flour or oat flour. 
• Dairy-free chocolate chips – Both semi-sweet and dark chocolate chips work well. You can also use chocolate chunks, mini vegan chocolate chips, or a chopped chocolate bar. If needed or preferred, you can omit the chocolate. 

How to Make Banana Date Muffins with Chocolate Chips

1. Combine the wet ingredients. In a large mixing bowl, combine the mashed bananas, mashed dates, vegan butter, egg replacer, sugar, cinnamon, and vanilla. Whisk together until smooth. 
2. Add the dry ingredients. Add in the flour, baking soda, and a pinch of sea salt. Mix until just combined. Lastly, fold in the chocolate chips. 
3. Divide the batter between 12 muffin cups. This is easiest to do using a cookie scoop or mix the batter in a large mixing bowl with a spout that is easy to pour from. 
4. Prepare the streusel topping. In a small mixing bowl, add the vegan butter, brown sugar, and flour. Using your hands, mix the streusel ingredients together until a crumbly texture forms. 
5. Top the muffins with streusel. Sprinkle the mixture over the top of the muffins until evenly divided. 
6. Bake. Bake the banana date muffins for 25-27 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean with just a few crumbs and the muffins are golden on top. 
7. Cool, then enjoy. Allow the muffins to cool for 5 minutes before transferring them to a cooling rack to cool completely. Enjoy plain, or as desired!

Recipe FAQs 

Do you have to use ripe bananas for muffins?

While it’s not necessarily required, using overripe bananas is highly recommended. Ripe, spotty bananas are naturally sweeter than unripe bananas which means they will have a better flavour. They’re also easier to mash into an applesauce like consistency which is necessary for creating a soft, moist muffin batter. If the bananas are green or just yellow, they will be much less soft and create a thicker batter which can yield dry muffins. 

How do you keep banana muffins moist?

In addition to using ripe bananas, the best way to keep your date banana muffins moist is to measure the ingredients carefully to make sure you use the correct dry to wet ingredients ratio. Further, bake just until a toothpick comes out clean then remove from the heat. Over-baking will dry out the muffins. 

Can I add protein powder to the muffin batter?

Adding protein powder to the muffin batter will make the muffin batter too thick and dry. Instead, try my Chocolate Protein Banana Bread recipe. It’s formulated specifically to be made with protein powder and will still yield a light and fluffy banana bread. 

Storage Instructions

Should muffins be stored in the fridge? 

These dairy-free banana date muffins keep best when stored in an airtight container at room temperature. The muffins can be refrigerated to extend their shelf life, but the muffins will become much more dense and the flavour changes. 

How do you freeze muffins?

Let the muffins cool completely to room temperature then wrap each muffin individually in plastic wrap. Place the wrapped muffins together in a large freezer safe bag and freeze for up to 3 months. When ready to defrost, remove the desired numbers of muffins and set them on the counter at room temperature. After 1-2 hours, the muffins should be soft and ready to eat again! 

Similar Vegan Muffin Recipes to Try Next

• Chocolate Chip Banana Muffins with Crunchy Cinnamon Topping
• Death by Chocolate Muffins
• Giant Bakery-Style Blueberry Muffins
• Giant Bakery-Style Chocolate Chip Muffins
• Vegan Pumpkin Spice Muffins
• Cinnamon Swirl Coffee Cake Muffins

Vegan Banana Date Muffins Recipe

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★★★★★

5 from 2 reviews

• Author: Liv B
• Total Time: 45 minutes
• Yield: 12 muffins

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Description

These Banana Date Muffins are sweet, fluffy and taken to the next level with a sweet streusel topping. They’re the perfect snack, easy dessert, or vegan breakfast to share over morning coffee. All you need is 10 simple ingredients.

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Ingredients

• 1 cup mashed banana
• 1/2 cup dates, soaked to soften and mashed until smooth (see note)
• 1/3 cup melted vegan butter
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 3 tbsp egg replacer (I used JustEgg liquid egg replacer. If using powdered egg replacer or flax egg, do 1 tbsp mixed with 3 tbsp water)
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/4 tsp cinnamon
• 1 1/2 cups flour 
• 1 tsp baking soda
• Pinch of salt
• 1/2 cup dairy-free chocolate chips 

Streusel topping:

• 1/4 cup vegan butter
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1/4 cup flour

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Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350 F. Grease or line a 12 cup muffin tin.
2. In a mixing bowl, combine bananas, dates, vegan butter, egg replacement, sugar, cinnamon and vanilla.
3. Add the flour, baking soda and salt and mix until just combined.
4. Fold in chocolate chips.
5. Spoon into prepared muffin cups.
6. Add streusel topping ingredients to a small mixing bowl. Use your hands to mix together until crumbly. Add on top of muffins.
7. Bake 25-27 minutes until a toothpick comes out clean and they are golden brown on top. Allow to cool for 5 minutes in the tin and then transfer to a cooling rack.

Notes

Soak dates in hot water for 10 minutes to soften. Drain, then use a food processor or potato masher to mash until relatively smooth.

• Prep Time: 15 minutes
• Cook Time: 25 minutes