I decided to make these vegan cinnamon swirl banana muffins the other day when I had a lot of almond milk to use up, and two very ripe bananas. I was going to make banana bread, but I feel like that’s been a broken record baking project during the pandemic.

Plus, these muffins are more fun to make. You whip up the batter and then create a cinnamon sugar swirl mix (which is basically just sugar and ground cinnamon). You place a little batter at the bottom of a muffin line or greased muffin cup, sprinkle on some topping, swirl it with a toothpick or skewer, and repeat until you’ve used up all the batter and filled the cups most of the way.

I’ve had a couple muffins for breakfast with coffee every morning for the past few days and I’m still not sick of them. I know I’m offending a muffin god somewhere but I like to store mine in the fridge and warm them up in the microwave so they taste like they just came out of the oven.

My boyfriend liked these as much as I did, maybe more. They keep disappearing from the fridge, which is fine by me because I still haven’t finished the baking spree I started at the outset of the pandemic.

Here’s a song to get you started on your vegan cinnamon swirl banana muffins.

Vegan Cinnamon Swirl Banana Muffins

Ingredients

for the muffins:
2 large, very ripe bananas
1/2 cup almond milk
1 Tbsp ground flaxseed
2 Tbsp melted coconut oil
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup plus 2 Tbsp sugar
2 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt

for the cinnamon swirl topping:
1/2 cup dark brown sugar
2 Tbsp all-purpose flour
1 Tbsp ground cinnamon
1 Tbsp melted coconut oil

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line a muffin tin with paper cups or grease it well. Set it aside.

Mash the bananas in a stand mixer and then mix in the almond milk, flaxseed, melted coconut oil, and vanilla extract. In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Add the dry ingredients to the wet and mix until just combined.

Combine the ingredients for the cinnamon swirl topping in a small bowl. Place a little bit of muffin batter in each cup, then sprinkle on about a 1/2 tablespoon of cinnamon swirl topping. Using a toothpick or a skewer, swirl the cinnamon mixture into the batter. Repeat with the rest of the batter and cinnamon topping. If you have any cinnamon mixture leftover, sprinkle it on top.

Bake the muffins for about 22-23 minutes or until they’re golden brown and spring back to the touch. Let cool for a few minutes in the tin and then remove to cool the rest of the way on a wire rack. Store in an airtight container in the fridge. Enjoy!