Apple Banana Muffins
These Apple Banana Muffins are soft, light and fluffy with a touch of cinnamon. The batter is easy to mix up in one bowl. These healthy muffins are perfect for grab and go breakfasts and snacks!
Muffins are the perfect portable snack or quick breakfast. This apple banana muffin recipe is quick and easy to make. You’ll mix up both the wet and dry ingredients in just one bowl. If you love muffins as much as I do, then you’re going to go crazy for these wholesome and delicious muffins!
I’ve shared many muffin recipes over the years, including my favorite banana muffins and apple muffins. With this recipe, we’re combining the two to make the best apple banana muffins. It’s the perfect muffin mash-up: fluffy cinnamon banana muffins with tender bites of apple scattered throughout.
For the best banana muffins, be sure to use ripe bananas. Bananas are perfect for baking when the peels are spotted with brown spots. The ripe bananas add natural sweetness to the muffins, as does some honey in the batter.
I like to make a batch of these muffins on the weekend and store them in the freezer to add to school lunch boxes or to eat for snacks throughout the week. They freeze and defrost really well. You can warm them up a little bit in the microwave and they’ll be just as delicious as when they were fresh and warm from the oven.
How to make Apple Banana Muffins
To make this muffin recipe, you’ll start by melting some butter. If you have a large microwave-safe bowl and a microwave, you can melt the butter right in the bowl that you’ll mix the muffin batter up in.
Once the butter is melted, add the remaining wet ingredients to the bowl: honey, mashed banana, eggs, milk, plain Greek yogurt and vanilla. The yogurt gives the muffins the best texture. If you don’t have plain Greek yogurt, you can substitute regular plain yogurt, vanilla yogurt, or sour cream. Whisk the wet ingredients together until they are well combined.
Next you’ll add baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and salt to the bowl with the wet ingredients. Use a whisk to mix everything together really well. You don’t want any clumps of baking powder or baking soda left in the muffins.
Add the flour to the bowl. I use white whole wheat flour because it has all of the nutrition of whole grains with a milder flavor than regular whole wheat. Once you’ve added the flour, you’ll want to mix it into the batter with a rubber spatula until it is just combined. Be careful to not mix the batter too much after adding the flour.
Finally, you’ll fold in the chopped apple pieces. You don’t need to peel the apple before chopping it. The apple skin will soften as the muffins bake in the oven.
Bake the muffins until a toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean. You’ll find the full recipe instructions with cooking temperature and ingredient amounts in the recipe card below.
How to store muffins
I recommend storing these banana apple muffins in the refrigerator or freezer. The cooked pieces of apple make the muffins moist, which could lead to spoilage if they are left out on the counter for more than a day or so. They will keep well for about 3 days in the refrigerator. You can let them come to room temperature before serving.
Muffins freeze really well. Cool them completely and then store in an airtight container in the freezer for up to 3 months. Thaw frozen muffins at room temperature or using low power in your microwave.
Baking Tips for Perfect Muffins
- This is my absolute favorite muffin pan. It is completely nonstick! I never spray it with cooking spray or use paper liners and my muffins never stick to the pan. I highly recommend it.
- You can use any kind of baking apple in this recipe. Honeycrisp, Pink Lady, Granny Smith, and Braeburn all work well. You do not need to peel the apple.
- If you don’t have white whole wheat flour, you can substitute regular whole wheat flour or all purpose flour. If you use regular whole wheat, the muffins will have a denser crumb and more whole wheat flavor.
- After you add the flour, be careful to not over-mix the batter or your muffins could end up dense or tough, rather than light and fluffy.
- You can make mini muffins using a mini muffin pan. Bake mini muffins for about 12 minutes.
More Muffin Recipes
- Peanut Butter Banana Muffins
- Pumpkin Muffins
- Zucchini Muffins
- Cranberry Orange Muffins
- Blueberry Muffins
- Blueberry Oatmeal Muffins
- Applesauce Muffins
Apple Banana Muffins
Ingredients
- ⅓ cup unsalted butter
- ½ cup honey, or pure maple syrup
- 3 ripe medium bananas, mashed
- 2 eggs
- ¼ cup milk, of choice
- ¼ cup plain Greek yogurt
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- 1 ½ teaspoons cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 2 cups white whole wheat flour, or all purpose flour
- 1 large apple, cut into ¼-inch pieces (no need to peel)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375° F. Spray a muffin tin with nonstick cooking spray (or line with paper liners).
- Put the butter in a large microwave-safe bowl and melt in the microwave. (Or melt the butter in a saucepan on the stove and transfer to a large bowl.)
- Add the honey, mashed banana, eggs, milk, plain Greek yogurt and vanilla to the bowl. Whisk until well combined.
- Add the baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and salt to the bowl. Whisk until very well combined, making sure there are no lumps of baking powder or baking soda left in the batter.
- Add the white whole wheat flour to the bowl and use a rubber spatula to mix in the flour until just combined. Then fold in the chopped apple. Be careful not to over-mix the batter, or your muffins could turn out tough or dense.
- Divide the batter evenly among 12 muffin cups, filling each almost to the top. Bake muffins for 16 to 20 minutes, until a tester inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean. Let muffins cool in the pan for 5 minutes and then transfer to a wire rack to finish cooling.
Notes
- Muffins can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 3 days or in the freezer for up to 3 months.
- You may substitute all-purpose flour for the white whole wheat flour. You can also use regular whole wheat flour, but the muffins will have a heartier, more whole wheat flavor.
- If you are making mini muffins in a mini muffin pan, bake them for about 12 minutes.
Can you make these with almond flour?
I haven’t tried that, and I’m not sure that a 1 to 1 replacement of almond flour for the whole wheat flour would work. I’d recommend looking for a muffin recipe that specifically calls for almond flour, unless you’re willing to do some experimenting. 🙂
These are absolutely delicious! They are the perfect sweetness and make a great breakfast or snack. I only had all purpose flour but they turned out great, thanks for the recipe!
I baked a batch and everybody loved them. I added a brown sugar crumble to it and it was Delish! I’m going to make a batch and realized I’m out of honey this time. Can I substitute it for something else?
Pure maple syrup is a good sub for the honey. I’m glad you enjoyed these!
I substituted Molasses for the honey because I was out of honey. Wow! what flavor.
Really want to try these!Do you think you could sub oil instead of using butter?
You could sub coconut oil or a neutral vegetable oil, such as canola oil.
I was so happy with these muffins! They worked out perfect! I added some shredded carrot to make them like a sunshine muffin. I used the maple syrup instead of honey. The family loved them. Thanks for the awesome recipes that actually work!
These were delicious. I didn’t have white whole wheat flour and instead used half all purpose flour and half regular wheat flour. They came out great.
Very easy to make and quick! Which is important to a 4yr old….?
I’m so happy I found this recipe! The muffins had the right amount of sweetness and a beautifully light texture. They didn’t last a day in my house and there are only 3 of us! Thank you from South Africa ☺️♥️
I loved these but I used paper liners and they were very sticky, so a good part of the muffin came off with the liners. I made a second batch and sprayed a bit of oil onto the liners before pouring the batter and that helped a lot. I thought I’d share in case anyone else is considering using paper liners with this recipe.
I made these muffins with part honey and part white sugar. Great result. Per what Gabrielle said and sharing my experience. To prevent paper liners from sticking invest in good quality liners, spray liners with cooking spray, then bake. Once done, take them out of oven, rest in pan for 3 minutes, take them out of muffin pan, put them on a cooling rack. Cool completely then remove the liners. With these steps, there are less chances of liners sticking. Hope it helps other bakers.
Thanks Kristine for a great recipe.
I made this recipe with a couple tweaks and it is by far my favourite HEALTHY muffin recipe now!
I used equal parts of coconut oil instead of butter.
I had some GF oats that I buzzed up and used oat flour instead of whole wheat flour. As well as a tablespoon of vital wheat gluten (since the oat flour is a bit more coarse).
I made a double batch ‘cause as suspected, the first 6 are gone moments after done baking. Lol
Love this recipe! Thank you for sharing:):) I wish I could post a pic of their perfection ❤️
These were light and delightful. I think I’ll try the brown sugar crumble like one commenter said if I want more sweetness in the future. Great recipe!
I just made it in a rectangular pyrex pan. I added a little applesauce as i did not have enough country crock “butter” on hand and 1 tablespoon of light brown sugar to the recipe. Your recipe is delicious. My hubby is eating it as I am writing this review. The recipe was so easy. Thanks again. I baked at 350 F which was fine.
Looking forward to trying more recipes. Have a blessed day!
Thank you, these muffins are so light and fluffy! The apple pieces really adds to the freshness and lightness.
Is that 375oc definitely right?!
You bake the muffins at 375 degrees Fahrenheit, not Celsius.
These muffins are the BEST! I made it as per recipe. I did add 2 tsp. of cinnamon instead of 1.5 tsp. That was the only change.
came our moist and light. Thank you for this wonderful muffin recipe.
Barbara
I made a few changes and we love it. I used half molasses and half honey. I was out of yogurt so I used sour cream and also grated the apple. I added a handful of chocolate chips and topped the muffins with chocolate chips. Delicious!
Made the first batch as written and they were loved by all! The second time I had to make a few subs as I was out of a few pantry staples.
-Oil for butter
-flax meal for the eggs
-.5 cup of homemade oat flour as I was just shy of the full amount of whole wheat
They still turned out amazing! Saving this recipe for many more batches.
These are delicious – the perfect amount of sweet without being overbearing. I used the maple syrup version. Only downside is that there will be none left within five minutes of taking them out of the oven.
I commented earlier how delicious they were, but agree with another commenter that paper liners are a must. They end up very sticky. If you don’t use a paper liner, let them cool a bit before trying to remove.
Love the recipe. 2nd time making them and tried a couple adjustments, added 2 teaspoons of cinnamon, 1/4 tsp of nutmeg and a little more maple syrup. Delicious
Made a slightly modified version of these and they were delicious!
My modifications:
– used sugar as the sweetener
– skipped the milk and used all yogurt
– used two apples (I peeled mine)
– added about a cup of walnuts
– added a half cup of raisins
Was really nice to have just one bowl to clean! Everyone enjoyed them. I’ll be making these again.
I LOVE these muffins! They have a great texture and flavor. Maybe it’s just the liners I use, but this recipe makes 18 muffins for me 🙂 I also like to sprinkle a little cinnamon sugar on top just before baking!