This healthy Banana Bread Mug Cake is so moist and fluffy you won’t believe it’s made in the microwave in under 3 minutes! The perfect fuss-free way to use up over ripe bananas. Vegan, gluten free, oil free and refined sugar free!
Current real life situation includes:
- having a lot of over ripe bananas at once
- craving comforting food
- and being too lazy and impatient to actually bake something
The answer to these woes? Banana Bread. In a mug. Made in the microwave. In under 3 minutes.
Yes it is possible and I’m here to show you how its done! Lets do this.
How to Make Banana Mug Cake + Tips
The beauty of mug cakes is how dang quick and easy they are to make. I mean, that is the whole point of mug cakes after all.
All you need to do is mix the ingredients together in a mug (or bowl) and microwave it for about a minute and a half!
Speaking of ingredients, you only need 6: over ripe bananas, non-dairy milk, any runny nut or seed butter, coconut sugar, gluten free oat flour, vanilla and salt.
I’ve seen a lot of people have trouble with making cakes in microwaves but luckily for you, after testing this recipe at least 15 times, I have some tips for you to make sure your banana bread mug cake comes out perfectly:
- Use a short wide mug: Use a mug that holds at least 12 oz and with a wide base. I’ve found wider mugs to help cook the cake more evenly.
- Rotate the mug in the microwave: If you find that one side of your mug cake is rising higher, rotate it and finish cooking it.
- Use a mini spatula (if you have one): I love this mini spatula to make mug cakes because it scraps all the sides of the mug to ensure the ingredients get mixed together evenly.
- Adjust the wet ingredients: depending on how large your banana is, you might have more or less which is why I do recommend measuring or weighing it out. However, you can eyeball it once you know what kind of consistency you’re looking for. It should be easily stir-able but also not runny like pancake batter. If you find it too dry, add in a splash of nondairy milk.
- Adjust time based on your microwave: This is where a lot of people have trouble with and you might even not get the perfect mug cake until you get to know your microwave BUT a good rule of thumb is to microwave it for 1 minute and then in 10 seconds intervals. I actually stand and watch my mug cake as it rises to make sure it doesn’t over flow and to watch the consistency. Mug cakes can go from under cooked to perfectly cooked to over cooked in seconds so keep your eyes PEELED (haha get it? peeled? 😂).
- Let it cool (!!): Usually, when making mug cakes I like to eat it straight away, especially brownies and chocolate cakes because it’s nice and fudgy but for this banana bread, it does continue to slightly cook as it sits helping it become more banana-bread like. If you’re into fudgy almond bread-pudding like banana breads, go ahead and eat it right out of the microwave.
How to Know Mug Cake is Cooked
So to know if your mug banana bread is ready or not is to look at the edges. They should pull from the cup ever so slightly and also look mostly cooked on the top. Its okay if the middle is slightly undercooked as it’ll continue cooking when letting it cool. If you’re unsure, go with the less-er amount of time because a slightly undercooked banana bread is way better than a overcooked one. Over cooked mug cakes is what causes rubbery gummy no-nos.
I’m obsessed. It’s honestly a anytime mug cake: have it for breakfast, mid-day snack or dessert. Fancy is up with some chocolate chips, walnuts, caramel sauce, whip cream, ice cream or whipped coffee.
I’ve tried to capture how fluffy this microwaved banana bread is in the photos and recipe video. I hope I’ve succeeded. I also hope I’ve succeeded in showing you just how dang easy it is to make and convinced try it ASAP.
More mug cakes to come but for now, if you need to use up those ripe bananas, check out these recipes!
- Easy Vegan + Gluten Free Banana Bread
- Banana Protein Muffins
- Healthy Banana Oatmeal Bars
- Air Fryer Caramelized Bananas
- Flourless Vegan Banana Blender Muffins
- Banana Snack Cake
- Korean Banana Milk
- Banana Breakfast Cookies
If you recreate this Banana Bread Mug Cake recipe let me know how you liked it by leaving a comment and rating below or by tagging me on Instagram @Okonomikitchen, I love seeing all of your tasty recreations!
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Print
Banana Bread Mug Cake
- Total Time: 3 minutes
- Yield: 1 serving 1x
Description
Fuss-free and HEALTHY Banana Bread Mug Cake! Doesn’t get better than this. So moist and fluffy without using any eggs. Served with a generous amount of of chocolate chips and walnuts. YUM.
Ingredients
- 1/2 small banana (60g)
- 1 tbsp non-dairy milk (15ml)
- 2 tsp runny peanut butter (10g // or any runny nut/seed butter of choice)
- 1 tbsp coconut sugar* (12g // can substitute maple syrup or any sweetener of choice)
- 1/2 tsp vanilla
- 1/4 cup gluten free oat flour (30g)*
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon, optional
- pinch of salt
- Optional toppings: chocolate chips, walnuts, flaky sea salt
Instructions
- In a wide mouth mug, mash the banana well. Then add in the non dairy milk, peanut btuter, coconut sugar and vanilla and stir until combined.
- Add in the oat flour, cinnamon, baking powder and salt, and stir to combine. The consistency should be similar to banana bread (stir-able but not runny). If the consistency is too thick, add in 1-2 tsp more non-dairy milk (see video for ideal consistency).
- Add toppings if using and then microwave on high (1000 W) for 1 minute. Turn the mug and microwave for another 20-40 seconds in 10 second intervals. If your microwave is stronger, it should be done within 1 minute and 20 seconds. If you have a weaker microwave, it may take about 1 minute + 40 seconds. For my 1000 W microwave, the perfect time is 1 minute + 20 seconds. You’ll know it’s ready when the edges slightly pull away from the mug and the top edges are cooked. It’s okay if the middle is slightly underdone! It will continue to slightly cook as you let it cool and it’s better than if its overcooked. If you do end up overcooking it, add 2 tsp of non dairy milk on top and it’ll moisten it back up.
- Add some flakey sea salt and let it cool for 2-3 minutes before digging in!
Notes
- *You can reduce the sugar or remove the sugar all together if you have a super ripe banana or don’t like things too sweet. Add an extra tsp of peanut butter or non-dairy milk to compensate.
- Helpful Equipment: Wide Mug
- Nutritional Information Disclaimer: Nutrition information is a rough estimate calculated on an online tool without any toppings (Cronometer).
- Prep Time: 2 minutes
- Cook Time: 1 minute
- Category: breakfast
- Method: microwave
- Cuisine: vegan, gluten free
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 serving
- Calories: 280
- Sugar: 21g
- Sodium: 15mg
- Fat: 7.5
- Saturated Fat: 1.4
- Unsaturated Fat: 5.3
- Trans Fat: 0
- Carbohydrates: 48.6
- Fiber: 5.1
- Protein: 7
- Cholesterol: 0
SAVE IT FOR LATER! ↓
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Hands down, best banana mug cake I’ve tried, and I’ve tried a lot of them! 1 minute and 30 seconds in my 900W microwave was perfect. It isn’t chewy or gummy or unevenly cooked at all, and the chocolate chips I added are beautifully melty. And thank you for providing specific measurements, especially on the amount of banana!
Obsessed! I would microwave a whole loaf of this. It’s that good. Thank you for this recipe.
This was yummy! Mine didn’t really have a strong banana flavor, so I wouldn’t have even thought about it as “banana bread”… But regardless, it was like a yummy gooey mix between a cake and the batter. Great mix of healthier ingredients. 🙂
(my peanut butter wasn’t drippy at all – it’s homemade from just ground peanuts – and it turned out fine!)
This is my first mug cake and it is so incredibly easy and delicious. I feel like I’ll be eating it all the time now. Thank you for sharing your recipe
Ok this is one of the best, healthiest, and easiest vegan breakfast cake recipes out there! I’ve been making this every single morning, and my daughter and I split this for breakfast (I double the serving). We don’t use sugar because we use super ripe bananas and sweetened vanilla soy milk , and I started using Trader Joe’s 72% dark chocolate chips, and it comes out perfect every time. Pairs perfectly with freshly brewed coffee.and keeps me fueled. Adding the vanilla makes a huge difference.