We love coming up with new muffins recipes as we have so much fun trying new flavours. So, today we decided to brighten up your day with the magic of these vegan pandan muffins. Cute, colourful, and with lovely tropical notes, they're definitely worth jumping out of bed for.
We made them with oat flour, rice flour, sweet mashed bananas, and creamy coconut yogurt. Just a few drops of pandan essence in, and there you have a beautiful bright green batter. These delicious muffins are vegan, gluten-free, and sugar-free, safe for everyone to enjoy!
After trying pandan essence in our jelly and pancakes recipes, we decided to use it once again, this time to bake some glorious muffins. Pandan is a tropical leaf whose leaves are either powdered or juiced into a paste-like extract. It's a staple ingredient in both sweet and savoury recipes throughout South East Asia.
You can find pandan essence at your local Asian grocery store or buy it online. It comes as a dark green bottled paste, and just a few drops are enough to give a verdant green hue to sweet treats. Pandan also adds a delicate floral and grassy flavour with hints of vanilla. We simply love it!
While classic muffins are prepared with butter, eggs, and sugar, we decided to give you a healthier, plant-based version. We swapped butter and eggs with rich coconut yogurt and refined sugar with bananas. Make sure you use very ripe bananas as they will be much sweeter. If their peel is dotted with brown spots and they feel very soft to the touch, then you know they're ready to be used.
These spongy pandan muffins are delicious just on their own, but you can brush them with maple syrup and sprinkle them with coconut flakes for next level-goodness! Savour them for breakfast, maybe with a tropical smoothie on the side, or bring them with you for a sweet treat to enjoy on the go.
Ingredients
| Muffins | |
| Oats (or oat flour) | 100 g |
| Very Ripe Bananas (peeled) | 250 g |
| Rice Flour | 200 g |
| Starch (potato or corn) | 20 g |
| Baking Powder | 3 tsp |
| Coconut Yogurt | 250 g |
| Coconut Milk Drink | 75 mL |
| Pandan Paste/Essence | 1/2 tsp |
| Optional | |
| Maple Syrup | 2 tbsp |
| Coconut Flakes | to taste |
Step 1
Add the oat flakes to a food processor and blitz them for a few minutes until they're finely ground (1).
If you're using store-bought oat flour instead, you can skip this step.
Then, blend the bananas or mash them with a fork until they're smooth and creamy (2).
Make sure the bananas are very ripe, or the muffins won't taste as sweet.
Step 2
Next, add the prepared oat flour to a bowl, followed by rice flour, sifted starch, baking powder, and a pinch of salt (1).
Give all a quick mix to ensure the baking powder is evenly distributed.
Then, tip the mashed bananas, coconut yogurt, coconut milk drink, and pandan essence (2).
Step 3
Work the ingredients with a spoon or an electric mixer until you have a smooth green batter (1).
Then, line a muffin tin with paper cases or grease it with a little vegetable oil.
Pour two or three spoonfuls of batter into each case filling it to the top (2).
Step 4
Bake the pandan muffins for 25-30 minutes at 200°C (390°F) in static mode or at 180°C (355°F) in fan mode if you're cooking them on multiple trays.
The muffins are ready when a skewer inserted in the centre comes out clean.
Next, transfer the muffins onto a wire rack to cool down.
Step 5
When the muffins are cold enough to handle, you can optionally brush them with maple syrup and sprinkle them with coconut flakes.
Alternatively, you can glaze them with our zero sugar icing or enjoy them as they are.
Tips
You can swap oat flour with almond meal and reduce the yogurt by 50g (1.7 oz).
Store the muffins in an airtight container for up to 4 days. Alternatively, you can freeze them in a zip-lock bag for 3 months.