(Note: this post was originally published on March 11, 2019. It was one of the earliest posts on The Rogue Brussel Sprout! It has since been updated with new photos and a few tweaks).

The Story: A Coffee Shop Smoothie Becomes a Muffin

These decadent (yet secretly healthy) mocha muffins are loaded with all the best flavors: banana, peanut butter, coffee, and chocolate. They also happen to be vegan, gluten-free, oil-free, refined sugar free, and high in protein. If you need any more incentive to make them, the batter comes together very quickly and right in the blender. It's muffin magic!

There's a fun story behind these vegan blender muffins too. One of our favorite coffee shops in the world, Java Kai on Kaua'i, has a "Wired Monkey" smoothie that's our absolute most favorite post-hike treat. It has coffee and bananas (hence the name) and we always ask them to add a big dollop of peanut butter too. We only get this smoothie after a seriously butt-busting hike, so it has become an incredibly special treat. Years ago I decided to borrow the name and work the flavors into a "wired monkey" muffin; I still make this recipe all the time because we love it so much.

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What Are Blender Muffins?

Like the name implies, blender muffins are made right in the blender. They're convenient, fast, and minimize dirty dishes. Additionally, because you're enlisting the help of the blender, you can use whole oats as the flour element. No need to buy pricey oat flour or dirty a separate kitchen gadget to grind your own oat flour.

Although many blender muffin recipes call for eggs, this one is entirely plant-based. These vegan blender muffins get their moisture from banana and peanut butter. They get their loft from a combination of baking powder (which activates upon heating in the oven) and baking soda (which in this recipe reacts with a dash of apple cider vinegar to create air bubbles).

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How to Make Vegan Blender Muffins

The secret to successful blender muffins is to add the wet ingredients before the dry; using this sequence helps to prevent the dry ingredients from clumping below the blades. Other than that, this is basically just a dump-and-blend recipe; there's no separate bowls for wet/dry, no fussy sifting, and no melting of butter. Just remember to keep your mix-ins (in this case chocolate chips) out of the batter when you blend it, then stir them in by hand at the end.

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Coffee INSIDE a Muffin??

At the risk of stating the obvious, coffee and muffins are a natural pairing. But have you ever had coffee INSIDE your muffins? These mocha muffins get their nostalgic flavor from espresso powder and chocolate chips, so they taste just like a cozy mocha at your favorite cafe. Even though the muffins are dark in color, there's no chocolate in the batter itself; all that beautiful rich brown comes from espresso. I absolutely love using espresso powder in baking, but see the ingredient descriptions below if you'd rather substitute instant coffee, which is easier to find in stores.

Of course, you can also pair one of these wired monkey muffins with a cup of coffee. That combination makes for the most fabulous post-workout treat, especially because these muffins contain quite a bit of protein thanks to the peanut butter.

Looking for other coffee treat inspiration? These Flourless Coffee Macadamia Blondies are another coffee-filled favorite in our house.

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Ingredients and Substitutions

Here's what you'll need for this vegan blender muffin recipe, as well as some thoughts, tips, and possible substitutions. If you make any substitutions, I'd love to hear about it in the comments section below.

• Bananas. The riper the better! Make sure they're very soft, with ample brown spots, so that they provide as much sweet banana flavor as possible to these monkey muffins.
• Plant milk. I like to bake with unsweetened soy milk because of its richness, but any plant milk will work.
• Peanut butter. You can use a different nut butter (or even sunflower seed butter) if you have a peanut allergy, but good old PB really does yield the best flavor.
• Maple syrup
• Apple cider vinegar. I promise this isn't as weird as it sounds! The vinegar reacts with the baking soda to give these vegan blender muffins loft.
• Vanilla
  
• Old-fashioned rolled oats. Steel-cut or quick-cooking oats will not work.
• Espresso powder. This is made by King Arthur Flour and can be found in well-stocked cooking stores or ordered online from their website. It's one of my favorite baking ingredients. If you can't find it, instant coffee will also work, although the flavor won't be as strong so you might want to double the amount.
• Baking powder
• Baking soda
• Salt
• Chocolate chips. Remember to choose dairy-free chocolate if needed. You can also use unsweetened chocolate chips if you're trying to avoid refined sugars entirely.

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Closing Thoughts

How will you enjoy these cozy mocha muffins? Will you take them as a portable breakfast on a busy morning, snack on them after a workout, or even pack a couple for lunch? Thanks to the nourishing ingredients, they're super satisfying and can easily be all of those things. My biggest tip: they make for an excellent dessert as well, especially if you warm them up first. They're even better if you cut them in half and make a melty peanut butter wired monkey muffin sandwich (swoon!).

Seriously, how gorgeous and are these wired monkey muffins? I hope you'll make them again and again, just like we do. They're the best mixture of delicious, nutritious, and easy.

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Share It!

It makes me so happy to hear from you and see your creations! Please leave a comment below and let me know what you think about this recipe. If you post a photo on Instagram, hashtag #TheRogueBrusselSprout and tag me (@TheRogueBrusselSprout) in the post text so that I'm sure to see it.

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Suggested Pairings

Pineapple Express

Banana Bread Granola

Fruity Brunch Salad

Strawberry Thyme Granola Parfait

Mexican Coffee Waffles