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 â…“ 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
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Yum. I made a batch of these last night, as it was one of those recipes that pops up right when you have just those exact ingredients on hand. Well, almost those exact ingredients. No nutmeg, no vanilla, regular cow’s milk, all-purpose flour, canola oil…other than that the same. I made the chocolate chip version, because I happened to have a bag of dark chocolate chips, as well as six ripe bananas. That means I get to make two more batches of these delicious muffins, and use the ingredients that I have in my kitchen in a very smart way. You are just so meant to be as a chef in my life. Thank you for always posting awesome recipes. I loved these muffins. They were very moist, and the cinnamon, chocolate, and banana flavors together put me in a good mood all day and gave me good energy.
Hi Courtney, I’m so glad you loved the muffins!
These were great! Even my young daughter, who claims not to like banana bread, ate three of these muffins 🙂 We used eggs, whole milk and canola oil because we didn’t have the flaxseed or plant milk and were running low on olive oil. The chocolate chips are a must!
Ha, aww, I’m glad you all loved them 🙂
These turned out great! I used a mixture of whole spelt and sifted spelt flour and replaced the oil with apple sauce. Also added chopped walnuts. Delish! Thank you!
Hi Tina, I’m so glad you loved the muffins!
These look delicious and I can’t wait to make them. It looks like rolled oats on the top, but I don’t see any in the recipe. Did you just sprinkle them on the top or are they in the batter. I apologize if I missed them. Thank you.
oops, apologies – they’re just sprinkled on top
Can you use gluten free flour if you’re gluten free?
Hi Sandra, I haven’t made these exact muffins with GF flour (although someone in the comments above had success with King Arthur’s GF flour). This other recipe of mine worked well with Pamela’s GF flour: https://fit-discovery.info/gluten-free-blueberry-banana-muffins/%3C/a%3E%3C/p%3E%3Cp%3EHope that helps!
I bake GF wondering if I can just sub GF pastry flour? Grazi
Hi Ruthie, I haven’t made these exact muffins with GF flour (although someone in the comments above had success with King Arthur’s GF flour). This other recipe of mine worked well with Pamela’s GF flour: https://fit-discovery.info/gluten-free-blueberry-banana-muffins/%3C/a%3E%3C/p%3E%3Cp%3EHope that helps!
Hi,
These sound amazing and I’m really keen to try them, but sadly I don’t have any flax at home. Usually I would substitute this for oil but there is already oil in here so not sure if that would work… would you recommend just leaving the flax out or adding more oil?
I don’t have enough bananas to increase that unfortunately either!
Thanks,
C
Hi Charlotte, the flax in this recipe is necessary to for binding (it takes the place of the eggs). So the 2nd option would be to use eggs if you’re not vegan. Chia could work but I haven’t tested it that way, so I’m not exactly sure the amount.
Can’t wait to make these! If I use eggs instead of the flax/water combo, should I also omit the apple cider vinegar?
Hi Courtney, you can leave it in (unless you don’t have any, then you can skip it)
How long to bake using a silicone mini muffin pan?
Probably about the same amount of time – just check with a toothpick before you take them out.
Going to try these today, actually I am a teacher stu k at home and going to put this as a recipe for my students to try and blog about. I have all of these ingredients and thanks for the substitutes (many of them won’t have flax!) however I know most of them will only have white flour at home. Would you use the same amount or cut it back? Thank you
Hi Leah, these work with regular white flour in the same quantity. I hope you enjoy!
Thank you for sharing your recipe.
– Can i omit the 1/3 cup maple syrup or use far less?
If so, does the liquid proportion (not used in the recipe) have to be replaced by something else?
What would it be? (milk, bananas…?)
– Can almond milk be replaced by soy milk or any other kind of milk?
– Can the amount of bananas be increased? If so, by how much given the current ratio of dry/wet ingredients?
Thanks in advance
Hi Zee, you can use any type of milk. I haven’t tried the other modifications so I’m not sure what the result would be.
Thank you
Please send a note if you ever have answers (or come across) for the two other queries regardin maple syrup & bananas
So light and delicious! Not vegan so used regular milk and eggs and it turned out perfectly. New go-to recipe.
These are amazing! I can’t tell the difference between these and non-vegan. I also threw in a handful of oats on a whim and it turned out great
Love these! Super soft and moist but still taste like a muffin!
Hi Michelle, I’m so glad you loved the muffins!
These are by far the best muffins I have ever made! At first I was worried they were not cooked enough, but after they were cooled they were moist and perfect! Absolutely delicious and recommend to all (vegan and not)!
Can I substitute agave syrup for maple syrup? As that’s what I have!
yep, that should work just fine!
Is the qty correct for flax?
yep – it substitutes for 2 eggs.
These are so wonderful! I’ve made them a couple of times now and since they mostly get eaten by the kids I don’t fill the muffin tins entirely and it’s it always yields so many muffins! …24 mini and 6 medium sized to be specific.
Today I used melted coconut oil, oat milk, and regular AP flour because that’s what I had on-hand, and they turned out perfectly.
Hi Alyssa, I’m so glad you and the kiddos have been loving them!
These are great! Do you know the calorie count in each one?
I made mine with blueberries since I can’t eat chocolate. I found these muffins to be moist, easy to make and absolutely delicious!