Vegan Banana Olive Oil Muffins

By Carolina Gelen

Updated October 22, 2025

Christopher Testani for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Yossy Arefi.
Ready In
40 min
Rating
5(213)
Comments
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It’s hard to beat the convenience of a grab-and-go treat, and these banana olive oil muffins check all the boxes: They can be a quick breakfast, a midday snack, or a simple dessert. They’re accidentally vegan, relying solely on overripe bananas and bright, citrusy extra-virgin olive oil for a moist, tender crumb. Warm spices like cinnamon, nutmeg and vanilla are added to enhance the sweet banana flavor, alongside molasses-packed dark brown sugar. A sprinkle of turbinado sugar and flaky salt sprinkled over the muffins before baking ensures an irresistible sweet-and-salty crunch in each bite. For the perfect level of sweetness, using very ripe, soft and spotty bananas is a must, as they come with a significantly higher sugar content. 

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Ingredients

Yield:12 muffins

  • ⅔ cup/132 grams extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for the pan

  • 1 ½ cups/425 grams mashed ripe, spotty bananas (about 4 medium bananas) 

  • 1 packed cup/220 grams dark brown sugar 

  • 2 tablespoons vanilla extract

  • 1 ½ teaspoons ground cinnamon 

  • ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg  

  • 2 teaspoons flaky salt

  • 2 cups/270 grams all-purpose flour 

  • ½ teaspoon baking soda

  • ½ teaspoon baking powder 

  • ¼ cup/50 grams turbinado sugar

Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (12 servings)

48 grams carbs; 305 calories; 8 grams monosaturated fat; 1 gram polyunsaturated fat; 2 grams saturated fat; 11 grams fat; 2 grams fiber; 219 milligrams sodium; 3 grams protein; 27 grams sugar

Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

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Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Heat the oven to 425 degrees. 

  2. Step 2

    Lightly brush a standard 12-muffin pan with olive oil and line with muffin cups. 

  3. Step 3

    In a large bowl, combine the mashed bananas, olive oil, dark brown sugar, vanilla extract, cinnamon, nutmeg and 1 teaspoon flaky salt. Stir until combined. 

  4. Step 4

    Add the flour, sprinkle with the baking soda and baking powder and lightly stir just the dry ingredients to evenly distribute the leavening agents through the flour. Stir the wet ingredients and flour mixture together until there are no visible dry flour spots. 

  5. Step 5

    Using a ⅓-cup measure or ice cream scoop, divide the batter among the 12  muffin cups. Sprinkle the turbinado sugar on top of the muffins. Add the remaining 1 teaspoon of flaky salt to your palm and sprinkle it over the muffins. 

  6. Step 6

    Place in the oven and immediately reduce the heat to 350 degrees. Bake for 20 minutes, until a knife comes out clean when inserted in the center of a muffin. Cool the muffins for a few minutes before serving. Muffins will keep, covered at room temperature, up to 3 days.

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Ratings

5 out of 5
213 user ratings
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Comments

Genevieve

half the amount of sugar is definitely sufficient here. used half almond flour to make them more substantial.

Steve

Something is definitely off with this recipe - I had a whole batch of these sitting in the kitchen, and every time I would walk in there, more and more pieces would be missing. One even looked like a bite had been taken out of it! My fiancee is just as perplexed as I am. Maybe it's the way the ingredients are interacting.

Anne T

@Cassie I made these using Bob’s Red Mill 1-for1 gluten free flour and it was successful. I would expect same from KA. Not sure if it had a significant impact, but I did accidentally tweak the recipe (grabbed the wrong measuring spoon, so I added 2/3 tsp each of baking powder and baking soda instead of the 1/2tsp specified in the recipe). I also added about 1/2 tsp psyllium husk out of habit from my usual GF vegan bakes. I also made a point of mashing the bananas extra smooth (almost a purée) to try to mitigate the gumminess tendency of GF bakes. Was very happy with the muffins and will bake again.

Sue B

I just made these in a jumbo muffin tin, made 6 perfect muffins. I added pecans. They are so moist & flavorful.

Barbara from Ottawa

Yowzer, these were good! I am usually a stickler for reading recipes over and over, but I was multitasking and made one mistake -- put both teaspoons of flaky salt in the batter. Perhaps the recipe could say, "2 teaspoons flaky salt, divided," to save people like me from ourselves. I skipped the salt on top to compensate, and it's still remarkably good. So moist. Re: greasing the muffin pan . . . I use liners but grease the top of the pan so the domes of the muffins don't stick.

Kathleen

Delicious, but 20 minutes was not long enough, they were raw in the middle. Thinking my very, very overripe bananas which had been frozen whole and thawed might have something to do with the cooking time. Stuck them back in the oven for 10 minutes, came out perfect. I used 3/4 cup almond flour and 1 cup AP flour, and added dried cranberries because I had them. These have fabulous flavor and texture.

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