Banana and Pecan Vegan Muffins

These Banana and Pecan Vegan Muffins are fluffy, sweet and moist. And you wouldn't guess that they're Gluten-Free too. They're an easy go-to snack, or breakfast, that still pack a nutritional punch.
This recipe comes together in just a few minutes (once you've soaked the flaxseed).

Contents:

• What You'll Need
• How to Make Them
• Storage
• Substitutions
• Variations
• FAQ's
• Other Cake and Dessert Ideas
• Recipe
• Comments

What You'll Need

Ingredients

• Baking Powder & Bicarb - Baking powder is often gluten free, but sometimes wheat-derived products can be used. It's always best to check labels to ensure that your baking powder is 100% gluten free, especially for those with coeliac disease or a severe gluten intolerance.
• Bananas - You'll need ripe bananas for this recipe. Ideally that sweet spot where they've got a few brown spots but haven't started to turn completely brown yet. (See ingredients photo above for reference) I use 4 medium Bananas but this recipe is fairly forgiving, so if you only have 3 that are on the larger side of medium, it'll work just fine.
• Coconut Sugar - If you don't have access to Coconut Sugar, you can use Light Brown Sugar instead. I use Coconut Sugar where possible as it has a slightly lower GI rating, and it has more retained minerals comparatively to cane sugar.
• Gluten Free Self Raising Flour - We use Doves Farm, but there are plenty of other brands available depending on your location. You can also switch it out for regular Self Raising Flour here if you aren't Gluten Free.
• Ground Flaxseed - It's important here to use ground flaxseed and not whole. This is due to the fact they are more nutritionally bioavailable once ground. Our bodies can't break down the outer casing easily. Ground flax is usually another easily accessible product from wholefood or health stores. Or again you can purchase from multiple places online by simply searching in Google.
• Pecans - We buy these by the kilo from different wholefood stores depending on what else we're buying at the time. Check for any local wholefood stores, or alternatively there are plenty online to choose from.
• Vegan Butter - I've chosen to use Naturli' Vegan Block in this recipe due to the fact that it doesn't contain any palm oil. But if you prefer not to use a butter alternative, you can sub this out for Olive or Coconut Oil. See the Substitutions section at the end of this post for more information.

Equipment

• Bowl glass/plastic/ceramic
• Fork
• Ice-cream scoop optional but really helpful when it comes to portioning out muffin and cupcake batter in to cases
• Measuring Cups/Scales
• Muffin Cases or large cupcake cases
• Muffin Tray
• Wooden Spoon or spatula

How to Make Them

Step 1: Add the Ground Flaxseed and water to a bowl, whisk with a whisk or fork to combine. Leave for 10 minutes to form 'Flax-egg'.

Step 2: The Flax and water mixture should mimic the consistency of egg whites, when it's ready.

Step 3: Add the Bananas and either use a fork or masher to mash well and stir to combine with the 'Flax-egg'.

Step 4: Pour in the melted Butter and stir together.

Steps 5 & 6: Add the Coconut Sugar and stir to combine.

In a separate bowl, gently mix together the Self-Raising Flour, Bicarb, Baking Powder and Salt.

Steps 7 & 8: Once they are mixed together gently fold these ingredients into the banana mixture. Be careful not to over mix or this will lose some of the air bubbles.

Step 9: Divide your batter equally between 12 muffin cases, sprinkle over the chopped Pecans.

Step 10: Then bake for 18 minutes.

Recipe Tip

I use a 5cm scissor ice-cream scoop (pictured below) to get the right amount of muffin batter each time.

When mixing the muffin batter, be careful not to over-mix it or you'll lose the air bubbles that your raising agents (Baking Powder & Bicarb) have created. Refer to Picture 8 in the Step-by-Step photos above. Those air bubbles are going to make your muffins light and fluffy.

Storage

Store these in an airtight container in a cool dark place (aka a kitchen cupboard). They will last you 3-5 days.

Substitutions

• Pecans - For a nut free version you can use Pumpkin Seeds instead, sprinkle on before baking. Sunflower seeds are another great nut-free option that are neutral in flavour.
• Vegan Butter - You can sub out the ¼ cup of melted Vegan Butter with ¼ cup of Olive or Coconut Oil.

Variations

• Fresh Raspberries - For another twist of flavour you can add some fresh raspberries. I suggest using 8-10 large raspberries, cut them in to quarters and sprinkle over the top of each muffin in the same way you would the Pecans.
• Cinnamon - Another way to play around with flavours is by using a teaspoon of ground cinnamon. Add it at the same time as the flour and raising agents.

FAQ's

Other Cake and Dessert Ideas

Here are a few of our other Delicious Recipes that you might like to try.

Recipe