I don’t consider myself the most tech-savvy person, but I do have a few tricks up my sleeve from time to time. One of my “tricks” (which is probably common knowledge, mind you) is filtering out email addresses from my inbox. Like many of you, I receive a frightening amount of press releases and other spam. You know the ones that start out like, “Regards Webmaster” or “Dear [any name except your own]”.
To help combat my spam woes, I started filtering out email addresses a couple years ago. If you use Gmail, you probably already know about this filtering feature. The beauty is that if you receive an email from an unwanted recipient you simply click “more” and then “Filter messages like these” and then choose how you filter out the email. That way, if they should try to spam you again from the same email (and you know they will) the message will go straight to the archive, trash, etc. – whichever you prefer! I’ve noticed a huge improvement in my inbox, cutting down unwanted emails by probably 50% over the past couple years. It’s quite amazing to see how many are filtered out each day! You can also use the filtering feature to have emails sent directly into folders of your choosing.
So, back to not being the most tech-savvy person.
Last week we were getting ready to leave on a trip to visit my family. In preparation, I somehow managed to create an email filter that sent all new/unread emails straight into my trash bin. Who knew that was even possible? I still have no clue how it happened…I swear! So all last week, I was in this blissful state of ignorance thinking that I was having a rather “light” week for email. [We all know that doesn’t happen unless it’s Christmas holidays. fool!]
Do you know how good that week felt though? I was free!
When we returned home, I realized something was majorly wrong because I wasn’t even getting my own emails (yes, I email myself…not weird at all…). When a girl can’t get her own emails that’s where I draw the line! So the investigation began. Eric, tech-ninja-genius, suggested I check my trash and spam bins. There, in the trash bin among the lowly filtered-out spam, I found emails from my family, friends, publisher contacts, editor, blog readers, and fact checkers. Dear Lord what did I do? I was getting follow-up emails like, “I haven’t heard from you yet, please reply ASAP!!!!” and then I had to try to explain that I created a filter that sent their emails to the trash. It wasn’t my proudest techy moment.
Tech-ninja fixed the problem and I’m back in email action and caught up, but I will never forget that week of freedom. It almost brings a tear to my eye just thinking about it.
Lesson learned: If it seems too good to be true, it probably is.
There are, of course, exceptions to every rule, like these vegan blueberry muffins…
Blueberry Banana Muffins
Yield
12 large muffins
Prep time
Cook time
Total time
Delightful, healthy banana blueberry walnut muffins made with spelt flour so they are naturally wheat-free (but keep in mind that spelt has gluten in it). If blueberries aren't in season, I suggest using frozen blueberries and saving the fresh ones for summer baking. You can also leave out the walnuts and swap the almond milk for coconut milk if you'd like a nut-free version.
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup (180 mL) mashed ripe banana (about 2 medium)
- 3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons (210 mL) unsweetened almond milk
- 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
- 1/4 cup (60 mL) pure maple syrup
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1/4 cup (60 mL) coconut oil, melted
- 2 cups (280 g) white spelt flour
- 4 to 6 tablespoons (40 to 60 g) coconut sugar or natural cane sugar*
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon fine grain sea salt
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 cup (50 g) walnut halves, chopped (optional)
- 1 1/4 cups (160 g) frozen or fresh blueberries**
Directions
- Preheat oven to 350°F (180°C) and grease a muffin tin.
- In a medium bowl, mash bananas and measure out 3/4 cup. If you have any leftover mashed banana you can freeze it for a smoothie.
- Place mashed banana into medium bowl along with the milk, vinegar, maple syrup, and vanilla. No need to stir it yet.
- Melt the coconut oil in a small pot over low heat. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, mix together the dry ingredients (flour, sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, salt, and baking soda).
- Stir coconut oil into the wet mixture. Pour wet ingredients onto the dry ingredients and stir until just combined. Do not overmix as spelt is a fragile little flour.
- Gently fold in the walnuts and then the blueberries, being sure not to overmix as this can result in dense muffins.
- Spoon a heaping 1/4 cup of batter into each muffin tin, filling each tin about 3/4 full (they will be almost full, but this is normal). I like to press a few extra blueberries on top of each so they look pretty after baking.
- Bake at 350°F (180°C) for 23 to 27 minutes until a toothpick comes out clean. I baked them for 25 minutes.
- Cool in pan for 5 to 8 minutes and then transfer muffins to a cooling rack and cool for another 15 minutes.
Tip:
- * When using ripe, spotty bananas I find 4 tablespoons of sugar is plenty sweet, however if your bananas aren't overripe, you might need to use the full 6 tablespoons. Add to your taste.
- ** If using frozen blueberries, be sure to leave them in the freezer (do not thaw) until just before you stir them into the batter. This helps prevent bleeding.
Nutrition Information
(click to expand)
Hi. I haven’t read through all the comments so I might be asking something already asked and answered. Sorry if I am. I see that the apple cider vinegar can be replaced with regular white vinegar but I don’t have that either. How crucial is the vinegar? Also, can I use whole wheat flour instead of spelt? These look really good and I’d like to make some today :)
I just made these because they looked so good. Well, I only got ONE!! My kids ate them all and begged me to make more! They were delicious and SUPER easy to make. Thank you for posting such great recipes!! I love your website!!
Hi Angela! So I just made these muffins and I used whole wheat pastry flour instead of spelt flour and I used brown sugar instead of coconut sugar, they came out AMAZING! I wish I could show you the picture! :)
I made these just now and they turned out very well despite forgetting the coconut oil! I’m a “skimmer” when it comes to reading and totally forgot about the oil melted and waiting on the stove! I’ll probably use only 2 tablespoons (or none again) next time I make these. I also used sifted whole wheat flour and that was fine too.
I ended up making 3 batches of these muffins the day I tried them. Very moist and soft, not dense like I thought they would be since I used whole wheat flour (sifted) instead. I also used half the oil and couldn’t tell the difference from the first batch where I forgot the oil completely! I’m going to try your carrot spice muffins next!
These muffins are great! I only had 1 cup of spelt flour so I used a homemade gluten-free flour blend. I’m sure that name brands would work fine too. They turned out nice and fluffy. My favorite way to eat them is with a pad of Earth Balance and raw organic honey.
Just a note to Angela: I was looking for this recipe in the topic search by the names of “spelt,” “muffin”, “blueberry” and “banana” but this recipe didn’t come up. I had to look through the recipe archives to find it. Maybe you forgot to add tags or something but I just wanted to let you know. :)
Fantastic! I love recipes that still work when I substitute for things I already have in the cupboard haha. Just for the record these taste great when you use oat milk, grapeseed oil, whole wheat flour and white vinegar haha. I also made one batch blueberry and one batch of walnut instead of both together. This is now my new go-to muffin recipe! Thank you!!
OMG, made these today, they are amazing!!!!! Can’t stop eating them!! A new favourite!
Is there any way to use coconut flour?
These are delicious! The best I have made. Any idea how many calories of each?
approx. 190 calories for 1/12 of recipe
I just made these muffins for the third time. Most of our family and friends live out of town, and every time we have company I like to have a quick, easy, and delicious options on hand for all my non-vegan loved ones. These always go over well. No grocery stores in town carry light spelt flour, so I use 1/2 regular spelt flour and 1/2 white flour, and baked for about 25 minutes. They are a sweet treat, but also quite hearty. Delicious! Thanks for the recipe!
These worked out beautifully!! I only had Red Fife flour and not GF. Can’t wait to make them again!!
I just made these and used regular spelt and they came out great. I just ate 2 too confirm deliciousness!
I liked these muffins, but you MUST spray the muffin cups if you are using them. I did not, and the muffin batter stuck to the paper cup so they were hard to remove. The next day they were easier to remove, but my recommendation is either spraying the muffin cup, or greasing the inside of the muffin tins!
All in all I would make these again. Might try adding lemon zest next time.
Freezes well.
These are my go to muffin recipe! I just use whatever fruit I have on hand. Today peaches and strawberries! Delici!
BEST healthy muffins! This is my first time cooking with spelt flour as white flour gives me a pain in the tummy. These muffins were delicious and NO pain- will be making these again!
Thank you so much :)
can any flour (gluten free?) be used and would xylitol be ok? thanks! these look amazing…
These were DELICIOUS! I did everything exactly according to recipe other than the flour… I didn’t have spelt but did have a bunch of other ones, so I did 1 c sorghum, ½ c potato starch, ½ c oats, and 1 ½ tsp xanthan gum (may try it without the gum next time). So yummy! I’m on number 4 of the day…
Hi Angela, first please forgive my English, I’m a French Canadian from Montreal. I’m trying to become vegan and as I was searching for recipes, I got to your website. I think it’s wonderful. I’m not sure how to start becoming a vegan, so I decided to start with the breakfast. I’m cooking the Blissful Blueberry Banana Spelt Muffins and it smells so good in my kitchen, I can’t wait to taste them. Thank you for sharing all those recipes and beautiful pictures with us.
Thanks for your comment Carole! Please to meet you :)
I made these muffins once and make them pretty much every 2 weeks now! My family, friends and I absolutely LOVE them! Best muffins I have ever had!! I make mine with pecans rather than walnuts, and they taste AMAZING!
Just made these with regular spelt flour and they were phenomenal. The only change I made were to use regular spelt flour (they were not dense at all!). Thanks for the recipe!
These are amazing! So light and delicious! I was out of maple syrup so I substituted agave and I didn’t have any blueberries so I used frozen strawberries. They turned out great and my kids loved them!
Can I use oat flour instead?
These muffins ARE great. I just made a batch.
Hi! These are AMAZING! I just made them yesterday and they are teenager approved! Yay! Do you think they freeze well? I wanted to make some easy things to take out of the freezer for snacking on while we get adjusted with our newborn the first couple months. :) Thank you!
Holy gluten Angela! :-) I made it gluten free with teff flour. Just needed a little longer baking time…really good recipe…thanks!
Just made these! they are amazing :) thank you for the fab recipe xx
I just made these muffins this afternoon for my girls and they were a big hit. We made a few substitutions but they still were very yummy! I used Bob’s Red Mill Gluten Free All Purpose Flour instead of spelt and coconut milk instead of almond. We also traded in the blueberries for semi sweet chocolate chips. It worked out okay. :) Thanks for all the great recipes!!
The most wonderful Blueberry-muffins, they were gone very quickly. Thank you so much for sharing this recipe!
This recipe looks great, and i’ve just picked lots of blueberries sitting fresh in my fridge! Is it possible to make the muffins without the apple cider vinegar, or substitute something else instead? Thank you in advance!
These turned out SO well – probably the best muffins I’ve ever made. Great recipe!
Yumm! These were so good, I made them for breakfast this morning and it was my first time using coconut oil in baking. Definitely going to making more for breakfast on the go! Thanks!
Blissfully Divine!
Hi,
Can I use brown rice flour or Pamela’s gluten free instead of the spelt? Just wandering. I have the brown rice now and could make these. Would have to buy spelt. Love your food blog. Thanks! Mary
Made these on the weekend and they turned out great. Used regular spelt flour instead of light (having a hard time finding light spelt flour) and the muffins are not too dense and very tasty.
I just made these and used 1 cup of oat, 3/4 cup of sorghum, 1/4 + a little more of jules nearly normal flour, to off set the GF flours I used heaping measurements for the baking powder and baking soda. I left out the walnuts, and used frozen blueberries. They turned out awesome.
I made them but mine was little soggy. I don’t know why but it was not good. I love your recipes though. Thanks.
Congratulations on your pregnancy! All the best over the next few months…lots of exciting times ahead! I’ve got two littles, so I know what you’re in for! Made these muffins this morning and…LOVE! So tasty! The only thing different I did was did half blueberries and half raspberries. Will absolutely make them again. Thanks so much for the recipe and all your recipes! One more thing…I LOVE your cookbook. I use it everyday and that’s no joke!!
These turned out great! They were surprisingly fluffy and tasted amazing :) I was worried about them becoming dense little brick muffins since I used whole spelt flour. This was my first time baking with spelt flour and it was a hit! I will say that despite keeping the berries frozen up to the very last second, they still bled a bit, though I could care less. I’ll be eating them all very soon! Thanks :)
These are so good! I just made them and they turned out great. I ran out of bananas and had to sub in 1/4 cup of applesauce for the remaining amount and they tasted really good.
Yum! What a great recipe! I tried it this morning, and they are soooo good!
I didn’t have spelt flour, so I used oat flour (rolled oats ground in the food processor). Instead of blueberries, I used fresh raspberries. I think I could have reduced the milk to 3/4 cup or a little less. The muffins were a little too moist (probably b/c I used a different flour), but still absolutely delicious. I’ll be making these again for sure!
Thanks for another great recipe, Angela!
Thank you so much for this recipe, I just made them and they are absolutely delicious! Perhaps the best thing I’ve ever baked!
My boyfriend loves these muffins!!! I make a batch for him every week. I cut out the coconut sugar and cut down on the maple syrup as we are trying to watch our sugar intake and I also use whole spelt and they taste great! Love your website and your book. I am going to tell my vegan friends ( only have one lol) all about your book and website.
I tried making these and while the flavor was delicious, they turned out like muffin soup. They didn’t rise or cook at all in the middle, even though I cooked them much longer than you recommend. The only thing I did differently was substitute spelt flour for almond flour. Any ideas on what the problem was?
Vegan muffins are very sensitive to changes, so my guess was the flour swap that you made. I hope it goes better if you try them again!
I messed these up in so many ways, and they still turned out great! I only had white whole wheat flour. The only vinegar I had was being used to pickle beets, so I snagged a tsp of beet-red vinegar, only to find out I didn’t have any baking soda! I added more baking powder, but was afraid the whole thing would be inedible. My husband has eaten 6 of the 12 in about 3 hours, and he’s now nicknamed me The Muffin Man. Delicious in spite of all my oopsies. Thank you!
These were so delicious! The only thing I changed was swapping 2 cups spelt flour for 2 cups whole wheat. Next time I make these, I’m going to try adding in a flax egg because I felt the muffins came out very loose if that makes sense. I feel like if I dropped one accidentally it would crumble! This might be due to swapping the flours, but the recipe still does work, and its yummy. Will definitely make these again.
this recipe is stupidly delicious and sooo easy. really dense, perfect flavor, and a total crowd pleaser even for the non vegans. thanks for sharing!
I’ve made these several times and they’ve turned out perfectly every time. Absolutely my favorite muffins ever!
These are RIDICULOUSLY good. They were in the oven whilst I was making the green taco mix “meat” and as soon as they came out of the oven I tore into one. I found them a little on the sweet side for my taste, and I had already reduced the coconut sugar from 6 TBSP to 5, but I may reduce it further next time (i.e tomorrow) I make these. As a side note, the taco recipe is awesome. I’m hoping there will be some left by dinner time as I keep picking at it :-)
I’ve been vegan for…ooooh….3 days now and I’m very inspired by your recipes.
I just got around to making these yesterday (don’t know why it took me so long when they’re so easy)! They are delicious and very satisfying. Thanks for making being a vegan easy and tasty!