Can’t decide between a muffin or a donut for breakfast? Now you don’t have to choose! These Vegan and Guilt-Free Blueberry Banana Donuts are the best of both worlds. They are the perfect cross between a flavorful blueberry muffin and fluffy banana bread. The best part? They’re secretly made with 100% wholesome ingredients and are refined sugar-free.

I am a firm believer that donuts are one of the sweetest indulgences in life. Although, most donuts contain a large amount of sugar and high-fat content. I wanted to create a recipe that would allow me to indulge in my favorite breakfast treat completely guilt-free, and this my friends, is how these delicious baked donuts were born. Made with ingredients like whole wheat flour, bananas, and sweetened with maple syrup, you can feel good about enjoying this morning classic. These donuts are packed with banana flavor, bursting with blueberries, and filled with warm cinnamon in every bite.

Ingredient Breakdown

These blueberry banana baked donuts contain a few key ingredients that ensure their soft texture and perfect sweetness:

Whole wheat flour

First, these donuts are based on whole wheat flour. Whole wheat flour is a great alternative to white flour if you want to get more nutritional benefits. This flour also helps give these donuts their tender texture and helps to add an additional layer of flavor.

Banana

Since this recipe is made from 100% vegan ingredients, banana works as a plant-based egg replacement. Banana helps to keep baked goods light, fluffy, and moist. Plus, it is also the main flavor profile within these donuts and is a wonderful all-natural sweetener.

Maple syrup

1/4 of a cup of maple syrup help to give these donuts their sweetness alongside the banana. Maple syrup also adds subtle hints of vanilla and maple to every bite of these donuts.

Coconut oil

Melted coconut oil ensures that these donuts stay moist, tender, and flavorful. It is important that you use almond milk that has been slightly warmed to at least room temperature (I just heat it up in the microwave) so that it does not solidify the coconut oil when the two ingredients are combined.

If you love these donuts, be sure to check out my Vegan Chocolate Donut recipe or my Blueberry Banana Muffins for more breakfast ideas.

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Blueberry Banana Baked Donuts

These delicious donuts are secretly made healthy with wholesome and vegan ingredients.

Prep Time 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time 20 minutes minutes

Servings 9

Ingredients

Donuts

• 1 3/4 cups of whole wheat flour
• 3 teaspoons of baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon of baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon of salt
• 1/4 cup of melted coconut oil
• 1/4 cup plus 3 tablespoons of maple syrup
• 1/2 cup of almond milk (room temperature or warm) or dairy free milk of choice
• 1 1/4 cups of mashed banana about 3 large overripe
• 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla
• 3/4 cup of fresh blueberries

Glaze:

• 3/4 cup of powdered sugar
• 2 tablespoons of almond milk
• Or to keep refined sugar free drizzle donuts with a small amount of maple syrup

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees and grease a donut pan (if you do not have a donut pan, these will make wonderful muffins!)
• Combine the first 5 dry ingredients in a medium sized bowl and whisk.
• Combine the melted coconut oil, mashed bananas, maple syrup, almond milk (make sure your almond milk is slightly warm so it does not solidify the coconut oil) and vanilla in a small bowl and stir until well combined.
• Pour the wet mixture into the dry and gently stir until just combined. Fold in the blueberries.
• Evenly divide batter into prepared pan, filling each donut to the top. Bake in preheated oven for 20-25 minutes or until donuts have risen, spring back to the touch or a toothpick comes out clean. Let cool for 10 minutes and remove from pan.
• Make glaze by combining sugar and almond milk and drizzle over cooled donuts.

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If you’re wondering what to make for brunch this weekend, look no further than these GIANT cinnamon swirl pancakes! I am so excited to share this recipe with all of you because it is truly amazing. If you love cinnamon rolls, you will adore these pancakes. They are fluffy, soft, and spiraled with a sweet cinnamon filling – but are so much easier to make than homemade cinnamon rolls! Don’t get me wrong, I love making homemade cinnamon rolls from scratch. Although, if you don’t have time to wait for the dough to rise, these pancakes are the perfect fix. The brown sugar cinnamon swirl in these pancakes caramelizes perfectly to create a magical texture and flavor combination that is truly heavenly.

Tips and Tricks

Let’s talk about the swirl! This iconic cinnamon swirl in the center of these pancakes is not only beautiful but so easy to achieve. All you will need is a sandwich-sized ziplock bag, a pair of scissors (or sharp knife), and the cinnamon filling to create this enticing design!

You want your filling to be thick and manageable. If the filling is too thin, it will be hard to control and spread all over the place. It is better to keep the swirl away from the edges of the pancakes to ensure that it does not drip off the sides.

These pancakes are also slightly stickier than normal pancakes because of the brown sugar filling. It is helpful to use a nonstick pan when making these, and be sure to grease with coconut oil beforehand! It is also helpful to wipe down the pan in between pancakes so that any leftover sugar will not continue to cook and burn.

When flipping these pancakes, you will want to be quick and gentle in order to keep your cinnamon swirl intact. Also – never use your spatula to press down your pancakes once they have been flipped. This rule goes for any type of pancake that you are making. You want your pancakes to be fluffy and delicate, and pressing them down in the pan will take away from their naturally fluffy texture.

Oh and one more thing…these babies are vegan! Can you believe it? I promise no one who tries them would ever believe that these pancakes are made with 100% vegan ingredients. The filling in these calls for vegan butter. I prefer to use the Earth Balance Soy Free buttery spread because it is my favorite vegan butter alternative. If you don’t need these pancakes to be vegan, feel free to use regular butter as a substitute!

I know that this recipe will become a weekend morning staple in your household. If you’re anything like me, you might even make these for dessert sometimes! Try drizzling these pancakes with a cream cheese icing to take this creation to the next level! If you love cinnamon, try out my recipe for the Best Granola.

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Cinnamon Swirl Pancakes

These pancakes taste exactly like warm fluffy cinnamon rolls and are the perfect way to start your day. Bonus: they’re vegan!

Prep Time 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time 20 minutes minutes

Servings 5 people

Ingredients

Pancakes

• 1 1/4 cups of flour
• 3 tablespoons of sugar
• 1 tablespoon of baking powder yes, a tablespoon!
• 1/4 teaspoon of salt
• 1 cup of warm almond milk
• 3 tablespoons of melted coconut oil
• 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla

Filling

• 2/3 cups of brown sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons of cinnamon
• 4 tablespoons of melted vegan butter

Instructions

Pancake batter method

• In a medium sized bowl, whisk the first 4 dry ingredients until combined.
• In a separate bowl, whisk wet ingredients until combined and gently pour into dry ingredients. Stir until just combined and let batter stand for a few minutes.

Filling method

• Make the filling: in a small bowl, stir together all filling ingredients and put into a ziplock sandwich bag. Cut off one one corner of the bag (should be a very small opening) – in order to pipe the filling onto the pancakes while cooking.

Cooking method

• Melt and spread a teaspoon of coconut oil/butter in a pan over medium-low heat
• Once the pan is hot, add 1/4 cup of pancake batter and spread into a medium/large circle. Starting from the center, pipe on the cinnamon swirl.
• Gently flip pancake when bubbles begin to rise to the surface (after 2-4 minutes).
• Let cook for another minute until golden brown on both sides.
• Repeat process with the remaining pancake batter and filling. Serve warm with maple syrup! Enjoy!

The post Cinnamon Swirl Vegan Pancakes appeared first on Splurge with Ella.

Craving chocolate? I’m always craving chocolate and these Double Chocolate Muffins are the perfect fix because they are secretly made healthy and vegan! There is something so magical about a warm chocolate muffin that is fresh out of the oven. I went through a phase of making these muffins every single day because they were such a hit, and the best part is that they’re made with guilt-free ingredients.

Vegan baking basics

It can be difficult to make vegan muffins that are still moist and fluffy without using ingredients like vegan butter or flax egg. Personally, I like to utilize real ingredients that I know I will always have on hand. This is why these muffins call for banana as their egg replacement. Banana helps to make these muffins tender, fluffy, and flavorful. This recipe also calls for apple cider vinegar (or lemon juice) that gets combined with almond milk to create a similar result to using buttermilk in non-vegan baking. A homemade buttermilk replacement gives these muffins an extra lift and helps to create their soft texture.

If you are looking for an acceptable reason to eat chocolate for breakfast, these muffins are the perfect solution. Plus, no one would ever guess that they are made with plant-based ingredients. I know you will love these muffins, but be warned: these babies are dangerously addicting.

If you love this muffin recipe, try out my Blueberry Banana Muffins for more!

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Double Chocolate Muffins

These are the ultimate chocolate muffins. They are soft, moist, and filled with chocolate. This recipe uses simple ingredients like whole wheat flour and bananas to make these muffins extra flavorful and wholesome.

Prep Time 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time 25 minutes minutes

Ingredients

• 1 ½ cups whole wheat flour
• ⅓ cup cocoa powder
• 3 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup sugar
• ¾ cup almond milk
• 1 ½ teaspoons apple cider vinegar or lemon juice
• ¼ cup melted coconut oil
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 2 overripe mashed bananas
• 3-4 tablespoons maple syrup
• ⅓ cup chocolate chips (vegan if desired)

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees and grease or line a muffin tin (yields about 9 muffins)
• In a small bowl stir together the almond milk and apple cider vinegar or lemon juice – let stand for 5 minutes.
• In a medium bowl, whisk together the first 6 dry ingredients until combined.
• Add the coconut oil, vanilla, bananas and maple syrup to the almond milk mixture and stir to combine.
• Pour wet ingredients into the dry and stir until just combined. Stir in chocolate chips.
• Evenly distribute the batter into the prepared muffin tin (filling each to almost the top)
• Bake for about 25 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean and cool on wire rack. I like to store these muffins in the freezer and heat them up whenever desired!

The post Double Chocolate Muffins appeared first on Splurge with Ella.

There is something so special about a warm homemade muffin fresh out of the oven. Blueberry muffins are one of my best friend’s favorite treats and I knew that I had to create a vegan version that was worth the splurge. I was determined to create a vegan muffin that was moist, fluffy, and bursting with flavor – and I was SO excited to share this recipe as soon as I tasted one of these babies. They turned out even better than I could have imagined, and you would never guess that they are vegan. The entire batch was devoured in less than 24 hours!

Why does this recipe work?

The secret ingredient in these blueberry muffins is really the banana. Not only does banana give these muffins extra flavor, but it also works as an egg replacement. Egg is often one of the most crucial ingredients in developing recipes for non-vegan baked goods. Banana works in a similar way to eggs by creating a soft, fluffy, and tender muffin. To be sure that these muffins had the best texture possible, I also added a tablespoon of applesauce to make these muffins lighter and fluffier.

These muffins are finished off with a generous sprinkle of cinnamon sugar before they go into the oven, which adds an extra touch of sweetness that is impossible to resist!

If you love muffins, be sure to check out my recipe for Double Chocolate Muffins. Happy Baking!

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The Best Blueberry Banana Muffins

These are the BEST Blueberry Banana Muffins. Bursting with blueberry and banana flavor, I can promise that these fluffy, flavorful, and tender gems will be a crowd pleaser among all types of eaters.

Prep Time 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time 25 minutes minutes

Servings 12

Ingredients

• 2 cups flour
• 1 ¼ cups white sugar
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 3 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 3 large overripe mashed bananas
• 1 tablespoon applesauce
• ¼ cup coconut oil (melted)
• ½ cup almond milk (slightly warm)
• ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup blueberries (fresh or frozen)
• 2 tablespoons cinnamon sugar (to sprinkle on top of the muffins before baking )

optional

• Extra blueberries or pecans to add to the tops of the muffins

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees and grease or line a muffin tin.
• Whisk together the first 5 dry ingredients in a medium sized bowl. 
• Mash bananas until no large clumps remain and combine with applesauce, coconut oil, almond milk, and vanilla. Stir together wet ingredients until well combined. 
• Gently pour wet ingredients into the dry and fold to combine. 
• Add blueberries until well incorporated. 
• Evenly distribute batter in your muffin tray (should make 12 muffins).
• Add cinnamon sugar, pecans, and/or extra blueberries to the top of each muffin. 
• Bake for 25-30 minutes or until the tops are lightly browned and a toothpick comes out clean.
• Let cool in the tray for 15-30 minutes and then remove onto wire rack.

Notes

Freezer instructions: freeze after cooled and heat up in the toaster oven or microwave whenever desired!

I like to use a standard size muffin tin, but if you would like to make mini muffins or larger muffins decrease or increase the baking time and test frequently. 

The post Secretly Vegan Blueberry Banana Muffins appeared first on Splurge with Ella.