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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Could I swap the WW flour for a gluten free flour? I realize it will not have the heaviness of the WW flour so any ideas to ‘bulk’ it up a bit would be welcome. Thanks!
Hi Melissa, I would bake this Gluten Free Banana Bread instead. It’s fully tested with GF flours and it’s super delicious. I haven’t tried it as muffins. https://fit-discovery.info/gluten-free-banana-bread/%3C/a%3E%3C/p%3E%3C/div%3E%3Cdiv class=reply>
These taste absolutely light, fluffy, and divine! We’ve tried numerous healthy banana muffin recipes online and this recipe ranks on top!
Where can I find the nutrition info for this recipe – claories, macros?
Hi Nancy, I’m sorry we don’t calculate nutrition info but you could plug the ingredients into a site like my fitness pal.
I made these last night and replaced maple syrup with honey (didn’t have enough syrup) and they didn’t quite turn out! The texture was not good, and not very flavorful. Is that why? I was feeling like the flax to water ratio wasn’t enough water, but I would like to try again…
Samantha and anyone else wondering, I also was a bit shy on the amount of maple syrup needed. I just added a little extra banana for the sweetness. I also found that the flax/water ratio as off. It thickened up right away, so I tossed it and used the ration I normally use which is 1 TBSP of ground flaxseed to 3 TBSP of warm water (1 egg). I made the equivalent for 2 eggs. The muffins came out moist and fluffy. I made 3 plain, added chopped walnuts to 3, raisins to 2, pecans to 2, and chocolate chips to 2. I will definitely make this again!
These are a hit with my family! I added 1/4 cup aquafaba and it really fluffed them up! They were good without it too! I used dried cranberries and pecans instead of chocolate chips. I also use agave instead of maple syrup. Great basic recipe to add your own mixins!
I’m so glad everyone loved them!
These are so delicious! Great for breakfast or a snack, thanks. 🙂 How many calories?
I’m so glad you loved them! I don’t calculate nutrition facts but you can plug the ingredients into a site like my fitness pal.
These are so delicious! Thanks for such a wonderful recipe!
I’m so glad you loved them!
I was so delighted with how these turned out! I will definitely be regularly making them! The muffins lightly sweet and moist!
I’m so glad you loved them!
Amazing. I only had spelt flour and agave syrup. And it worked out great. I used olive oil.
Yummy ?
Really good semi healthy snack . Thanks
These look delicious! Im thinking about swapping applesauce for the oil. Have you tried it?
Just realized that my whole wheat flour is way outdated. If I were to just use white flour, what would the measurement be, and can I still proceed with the other ingredients as is? Thanks!
Hi Cari they work with all purpose flour at the same measurement – they’re not quite as flavorful as with the whole wheat mix but they work just fine.
I managed to get out and get some fresh WW flour just a bit ago. All set! Looking forward to making them. Thanks!
Could I use regular whole wheat flour instead? if so, same amount? Thanks!!
Hi Leanne, I recommend half regular whole wheat and half white so they don’t come out too too dense.
I didn’t have flax seed so I used chia seeds instead and they turned out great.
so glad you enjoyed them!
What brand/type of chocolate do you normally use? I’m struggling to find a healthy chocolate brand.
Can I use ground oats instead of flour? Thanks!
Hi Jess, no, it’s not a 1:1 replacement, but check out this post that has a bunch of ideas for how to use oat flour: https://fit-discovery.info/oat-flour/%3C/a%3E%3C/p%3E%3C/div%3E%3Cdiv class=reply>
This was SO good! I didn’t have flax so I subbed for 6 tablespoons of Aquafaba and I used an extra banana. It was incredibly moist and I’ll be using this recipe forever. Oh, and my 11 month old and maddeningly picky 4 year old both approved 🙂
I’m so glad you loved them!
Hi! Do you have the nutritional content available for these muffins?
I see now that you don’t calculate nutritional info. My quick calculation comes to approx 200 cal per muffin.
Banana muffins are delicious! Omitted chocolate chips, added walnuts instead. Also made a streusel topping (oats, sugar, cinnamon, vegan butter). Grandsons loved ‘em. I’ll be making this recipe again.
Thank you for always sharing amazing recipes