These healthy banana muffins are moist, fluffy, and flavorful! Made with whole wheat flour and maple syrup, they're a delicious breakfast or snack.
I’ve been making this banana muffin recipe on repeat lately! Adapted from my healthy banana bread, it’s made with whole wheat flour and naturally sweetened with maple syrup. But even though these muffins are healthy, they’re super moist, fluffy, and full of sweet banana flavor. Kids and adults (well, at least Ollie, Jack, and me) can’t get enough of them.
I love these healthy banana muffins for breakfast or as a snack. We’ve been going through them pretty quickly in our house (I’ve made them 3 times this month already!), but if you have more restraint than we do, they’re great for meal prep. Bake them on the weekend and store them at room temperature for a couple of days, or freeze them for months. You’ll love being able to grab them on busy weekday mornings.
This recipe is easy to make with basic equipment and simple ingredients. If you have ripe bananas on hand, let’s get baking!
Healthy Banana Muffins Ingredients
Here’s what you’ll need to make this healthy banana muffin recipe:
- Ripe bananas, of course! Like my banana bread, these muffins are packed with banana. The recipe uses 2 cups mashed, about 4 large bananas. If you’re a little short, you can top off the measurement with whole milk Greek yogurt to keep the muffins moist.
- All-purpose flour and whole wheat flour – I like using a mix of these two flours in healthy baked goods. You get some of the benefits of whole grains (more fiber, more protein), without the muffins coming out dry or dense.
- Baking soda and eggs – They help the muffins puff up as they bake. The eggs add protein too.
- Pure maple syrup – It sweetens the muffins naturally.
- Melted coconut oil – For moisture and richness. A neutral oil like vegetable oil, or even olive oil, would work here too.
- Cinnamon, nutmeg, and vanilla extract – For warm, spiced depth of flavor.
- Walnuts – For crunch.
- Whole rolled oats – For sprinkling on top of the muffins. They become lightly crisp and toasty in the oven!
- And sea salt – To make all the flavors pop!
Find the complete recipe with measurements below.
How to Make Banana Muffins
This banana muffin recipe is easy to make in about 30 minutes! Here’s how it goes:
Start by making the batter. Mix together the dry ingredients in one mixing bowl and the wet ingredients in another.
Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix until just combined. Fold in the walnuts.
Evenly divide the batter into a 12-cup muffin pan that’s lined with muffin liners or lightly oiled. Sprinkle with the oats.
Bake at 350°F until the tops spring back to the touch, 20 to 25 minutes. Allow to cool in the pan for 10 minutes before transferring the muffins to a wire rack to cool completely (or devouring them warm!).
Recipe Tips
- The riper the bananas, the better. Brown, spotty bananas will give these muffins the sweetest banana flavor.
- Spoon and level your flour. One of the most common baking mistakes I see people make is accidentally using too much flour. Because flour can easily become compacted, this happens when you scoop it up directly with your measuring cup. To measure accurately, fluff up the flour in its canister or bag, then gently spoon it into your measuring cup and level the top with a knife.
- Don’t overmix the batter. Stirring the batter too much will start to develop the gluten in the flour, making the muffins chewy and dense. For the best fluffy texture, mix the dry and wet ingredients until just combined.
Recipe Variations
- Change up the mix-ins. Replace the walnuts with another type of nuts, like pecans, or swap them out for dried fruit like raisins. Of course, chocolate chips would be great too!
- Make vegan banana bread muffins. These muffins are naturally dairy-free. For a vegan option, see my vegan banana muffins recipe.
- Turn them into quick bread. See my healthy banana bread recipe!
How to Store and Freeze
These healthy banana muffins keep well in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 4 days.
To freeze: These muffins freeze well. Allow them to cool to room temperature before sealing them in an airtight container or bag and storing them in the freezer for up to 3 months.
To thaw: Let frozen muffins sit on the counter for about an hour to thaw, or defrost one in about 30 seconds in the microwave!
More Muffin Recipes to Try
If you love these healthy banana muffins, try one of these muffin recipes next:
- Healthy Pumpkin Muffins
- Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins
- Blueberry Muffins
- Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins
- Or any of these 11 Healthy Muffin Recipes!

Healthy Banana Muffins
Ingredients
- 2 cups mashed very ripe banana, about 4 large
- ½ cup maple syrup
- ½ cup melted coconut oil, plus more for the pan
- 2 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 cup all-purpose flour, spooned and leveled
- ¾ cup whole wheat flour, spooned and leveled
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
- ¼ teaspoon nutmeg
- ½ cup chopped walnuts
- 2 tablespoons whole rolled oats
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F and grease a 12-cup muffin tin or line it with muffin liners.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the mashed banana, maple syrup, coconut oil, eggs, and vanilla.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the all-purpose and whole wheat flours, baking soda, cinnamon, salt, and nutmeg.
- Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and stir until just combined. Don’t overmix. Fold in the walnuts.
- Evenly divide the batter among the prepared muffin cups, adding about a heaping ⅓ cup to each one. Top with the oats.
- Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, or until the tops spring back to the touch. A toothpick inserted should come out with just a few moist crumbs attached. Let cool in the pan for 10 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
Notes









Hi! Really want to make these but I don’t have any whole wheat flour. Would it still be the same if I used regular plain flour?
My kids loves them! Do they need stored in the fridge?
Admittedly I have not made these yet but look forward to trying them on the weekend. Was wondering about the oats on top in the picture – are these just for show? I’ve been looking for an healthier oat/banana muffin recipe to try but don’t see oats in the recipe. Still look delicious and worth a go.
Hi Kim, yep, the oats are just for topping in this recipe!
If using gluten free flour, do you know if it would be the same measurements?
Hi Katrina, I think you could replace the whole wheat flour with the same amount of a 1-to-1 gluten-free flour blend!
I just made them with GF flour and they were amazing!!!!
I’m so happy to hear!
These are probably to date the best banana muffins I’ve ever had-no joke. I’m always searching out new recipes to try and stumbled upon this one since I was looking for something with no added sugar (besides what’s in the enjoy life semi-sweet chips that I used that is). The only thing I did differently was subbed unsweetened applesauce for the oil. 😋
I made these tonight and they were a hit with my kids! I used whole milk instead of almond milk. Other than that I follows the recipe to a T. They were light and fluffy and had great flavor. I am definitely saving this recipe for the future!
I’m so glad they all loved them!
I’d really love to try this one, but I don’t have an oven. Could I try this using an air fryer instead? But I don’t know the right time and heat for it.
Been experimenting with muffin recipes for SO long. This is a keeper. I used 3 bananas which was a tiny bit more than a cup. I used raw milk. I used 2 eggs. I added 1/2 of walnut pecan mixture that I ground up in food processor (I keep a jar of ground nuts for adding to things), plus 1/4 mini chocolate chips. So moist. So perfect. 20 minute baking time. Will definitely be making this one again and again this season! Thank you so much for sharing!
Hi Holly, I’m so glad you loved the muffins!
Amazing recipe, Thanks. Will make this a lot
WHAT IS THE CALORIE COUNT ON THIS RECIPE
I’m in love with these muffins 😍😍 thank you so much for this recipe!!! I used spelt flour and coconut sugar (as I didn’t have any maple syrup on me) and they were perfect 👌🏽
Made these banana muffins for the first time. I used the 50:50 mix of white/wheat as I didn’t have pastry flour, 2 eggs and added a 1/2 cup of chocolate chips as suggested. These turned out exceptional good!!! Perfectly cooked within 18mins and oh so moist and delicious!
Thank you for sharing this stellar recipe 🙂 I’m excited for my toddler to try them as well!
I’m so glad you loved them!
This looks delicious. Is it possible to use eggs with ground flaxseed? I want to keep the health benefits of the flaxseed