Healthy Banana Muffins Recipe
It doesn’t get much better than these Healthy Banana Muffins! They’re light, fluffy and naturally sweetened. They take just minutes to make and are perfect for quick breakfasts and snacks.
Meet my favorite banana muffin! These healthy banana muffins are so easy to make and so good… so much so that I’ve made a batch almost every week for the past two months. If you love banana muffins, then you have to give these a try!
A few years ago, before I had kids who loved to snack, I would always have an abundance of over-ripe bananas on my counter. I could never quite keep up with those bananas, and too often some of them would go to waste. Now I have the opposite problem: the bananas can’t keep up with how often I want to make banana muffins, healthy banana bread and my favorite strawberry banana smoothie!
Most weeks, I buy at least two bunches of bananas. And we never have trouble using them up. We eat them plain for breakfasts and snacks. We add them to smoothies. And practically every week I use a few bananas to make a batch of banana muffins. Most often I make these banana cinnamon muffins or my other favorite, apple banana muffins. Try all my muffin recipes.
How to Make Healthy Banana Muffins
You won’t believe how simple these muffins are to mix up in one bowl. The first step is to whisk together the wet ingredients. Then you sprinkle on some cinnamon, baking soda and salt. You’ll want to whisk those in really well, because you don’t want any clumps of baking soda left in the batter.
Next, you gently stir in white whole wheat flour, until it is just combined. Try not to over-mix in the flour or your muffins could end up tough or dense.
Spoon the batter into your muffin tin. I like to use my large scoop to make the job quick and easy. You can also make mini muffins in a mini muffin pan. I’ve included the baking time for both regular size muffins and mini muffins in the recipe card below.
I like to add a sprinkle of cinnamon to the top of each muffin before baking for extra cinnamon flavor.
You can serve the muffins warm from the oven, after they cool for about 5 minutes in the pan. After the muffins cool completely, I like to store them in a zip-top baggie in my freezer. That way, they’re always ready when we need a quick breakfast or snack.
Best Banana Muffins Recipe
- These banana muffins are fluffy and naturally sweet.
- They’re refined sugar free. You can use either honey or pure maple syrup in this recipe.
- They’re 100% whole wheat, yet still light in texture when made with white whole wheat flour.
- Make regular size muffins or mini muffins in a mini muffin pan.
- The banana muffins freeze really well. I like to make a double batch to stock my freezer!
- You can mix up the batter in just minutes, in one bowl for easy clean up.
Healthy Banana Muffins
Ingredients
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1/3 cup honey, or pure maple syrup
- 1 cup mashed ripe banana, about 3 medium
- ¼ cup milk, whichever kind you prefer
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 eggs
- 1 ½ teaspoons cinnamon, plus more for sprinkling
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 ½ cups white whole wheat flour
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Spray a muffin tin with cooking spray or line with paper liners.
- Place the butter in a large bowl and melt in the microwave. Add the honey or maple syrup, mashed banana, milk and vanilla to the bowl. Whisk to combine. Whisk in the eggs. Sprinkle the cinnamon, baking soda and salt over the wet ingredients. Whisk until well combined. Add the flour to the bowl and stir with a large spoon or spatula until barely combined. Be careful to not over-mix.
- Scoop the batter into the prepared muffin tin, filling each cup about 2/3 full. I like to use a large scoop.
- Optional: Sprinkle tops of muffins with cinnamon.
- Bake for 15-17 minutes until a toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean. (Mini muffins will take about 10-12 minutes to bake.)
- Let muffins cool in the pan for 5 minutes and then remove to a wire rack. Serve warm or at room temperature.
Notes
- Recipe makes 12 regular sized muffins or 36 mini muffins.
- Muffins freeze well. Cool completely and then store in an airtight zip-top bag for up to 3 months. Thaw individual muffins at room temperature, overnight in the refrigerator, or in the microwave when ready to eat.
they look amazing, trying them later this week for sure !!
Do you know how many calories for on muffin approximatively?
thanks again, love your recipes !!!
Thank you, Laetitia! I usually don’t calculate calories, but rather focus on a balanced, produce-heavy diet instead. There are online calculators that you can use if you are interested. Thanks for your kind words!
If you have the app My fitness pal you can “create a recipe” and enter all the ingredients. They will then calculate everything for you! So awesome! It says one muffin is 132 calories.
Thanks, Paige!
By the way these muffins are delicious! My twin toddlers and I eat one every morning.
These muffins are delicious. So easy to make. My 3 year old granddaughter loves them. I love giving her something healthy for a treat.
I’m so happy that I found Kristine’s Kitchen. I highly recommend it to all my friends and family members.
Hi Eva, Thank you for trying my recipes and recommending my site to others! I truly appreciate it, and I’m so glad you and your granddaughter enjoyed these muffins. 🙂
I just happen to have about a zillion overripe bananas on my counter right now. Printing your recipe so that I can make these this week! I love having a stash of muffins tucked away in the freezer for busy mornings. 🙂
I hope you like them! ?
With what can I replace the butter?
You can use melted coconut oil, olive oil, more mashed banana or applesauce.
Delicious thanks for sharing!
Could I substitute oat flour for the wheat flour
Yes, I think that will work. Let me know how they turn out if you try it!
Can I use all purpose flour!?
Yes, you can. Enjoy!
We always have overripe bananas to use up too, so I love finding new ways to bake with them! These muffins look perfect, Kristine! I love the touch of cinnamon in here and the fact that they’re so easy to make. I can see why these are a favorite of yours, looks SO good!
Thank you, Gayle!
I always get overripe bananas and need recipes to use them up in! I love how moist these look and all that cinnamon spice…yum! One bowl is almost the best part because I despise the clean up!
could I substitute the flour for quinoa or coconut flour and would the amount vary?
Hi Julie, I haven’t baked with either quinoa or coconut flours so I’m not sure how they would affect this recipe. If you decide to experiment let me know how the muffins turn out. 🙂
Hi and thanks for the recipe. I really like it. I have been playing around with the ingredients for health reasons recently so thought I’d share what I have had success with if it helps anyone ( if you’re like me you look through the comments a lot ??♀️)
1. Replacing butter with olive oil or rapeseed oil
2. Mixing flours: half cup coconut and 1 cup wholemeal AND increase milk to half cup
3. Low sodium salt
Hi Julie have you tried these muffins with coconut flour? Would love to know. Please revert thank you
Thanks for the recipe! I made mine with almond flour and they turned out amazing! My kids loved them.
I’m so happy to hear that, Jessica! Thanks for passing along that almond flour works in this recipe!
Hi Jessica. I also used almond flour. I know I measured out everything correctly but my muffins didn’t rise much and after the 17 minutes, they were very wet underneath. I wonder if anyone else has this issue ?
I haven’t tested this recipe with almond flour, and I don’t recommend substituting it as it isn’t always an easy 1 to 1 substitute for wheat flour.
Just saying it’s actually two bowls since you use one bowl to mash the bananas! But it does look yummy!
You’re right! Sometimes I mash my bananas on a plate. 🙂 But really, by the one bowl I meant the batter is mixed in one bowl instead of the usual two (one for wet and one for dry ingredients) that many muffin recipes use. I don’t even think about the small banana bowl. ?
For those that are trying to keep super low cal, I am substituting unsweetened applesauce for butter. I use it often as a replacement.
I made these as a double batch and they taste incredibly salty. Should I not have doubled all the ingredients?
Thanks,
Amanda
Hi Amanda, These shouldn’t taste salty. I’m not sure why yours turned out that way. Did you use regular table salt? I’ve doubled this recipe and have never had a problem.
Maybe a little late for a reply but I was thinking maybe did you use salted butter? Just a thought I’ve made that mistake before.
Really super yummy and easy. My 4 and 2 yo helped make them. Couldn’t figure out how to rate it but I give them 5 stars.
I’m so glad you enjoyed the muffins, Misty!
Would it be possible to add chocolate chips in this recipe?
Ps. The muffins look amazing, can’t wait to try them 🙂
Definitely! I just made a batch of these this week and added mini chocolate chips. Regular size would work, too. Enjoy!
I tried them tonight and they turned out great! My daughter wanted blueberries in hers, so i made half with blueberries added in once they were in the muffin pans (i pushed them in a little so they were evenly spread out). Great recipe! Thanks!
Adding blueberries is a great idea! I’m going to try that next time. 🙂
These are so amazing. We use Red Mill Whole Grain low-carb Baking Mix in ours and have made these a weekly morning staple!
I’m so glad you like them!
These look so good!
I’ve made a few other recipes that sub butter for nonfat Greek yogurt. Could I do that with this recipe? If so, would you know how much to use?
Hi Kelsey, I haven’t tried using yogurt in this recipe so I can’t say for sure. If you try it, let us know how it turns out!
Had some browned bananas and came across this recipe. Just made these and they are so delicious and quick to make. A keeper for sure! Thank you so much!
I made these tonight using half oat flour and half regular flour – they turned out great! Thanks for the recipe!
I’m so glad you liked them! Thanks for letting me know that the oat flour worked. 🙂
These were amazing!! Thanks for the great recipe! I used whole wheat pastry flour and they’re perfect.
Yay! I’m happy to hear it! Thanks for letting us know that whole wheat pastry flour works well.
These were wonderful, very quick and easy to make. One thing I did differently was pass on the salt, as I normally don’t add salt to baked goods. So glad I found this recipe!
I’m so glad you liked these! They are my family’s favorite, too.
These are easy to make. I appreciated that all the ingredients were in my fridge and pantry already.
I’m glad you found this recipe. We make these all the time!
Suuuuper delicious, my kids and husband loved them. Thank you so much, they now became a must in my to do list????
I’m so happy that you love these as much as we do! 🙂
These muffins were a hit with my wife and kids! It made my kitchen smell like churros too
I’m so glad you liked them!
I had 3 mushy bananas to use up, so this recipe was perfect! I swapped the butter out for olive oil, did half maple/half raw sugar, and added a cinnamon sugar topping. I divided the mix into 12 muffin cups, then airfried them in groups of 4 for 10min on 180 C. The cake is nice and moist, a little dense, and a good size. Even my banana-hating 5yo ate one! Will defo make this again!
Can I use all purpose flour instead?
Yes, all purpose flour will work just fine. Enjoy!
What is the calorie count per muffin? Please and thank you.
I just added nutrition information to the recipe. 144 calories per regular sized muffin.
I used whole wheat flour instead of white whole wheat flour, and they came out great! (Still not sure what the difference is between those two flours anyway :). Can I add shredded carrots next time to sneak in some veggies? Or will that mess the recipe up? Thanks!
White whole wheat and whole wheat are made from a different type of wheat. They are similar in nutrition, the white whole wheat is just milder in flavor. You can definitely add shredded carrots. That is a great idea!
These are so good! I made a double batch as I had enough bananas. I also added pecans to the recipe, they go well with the bananas. They are moist and very heavy muffins, a good breakfast go to.
Adding pecans is a great idea! I’m happy to hear that you enjoyed these muffins.
Can you use almond milk instead of dairy milk? It says whatever kind you want but didn’t know if that meant skim, 1%, 2%, etc.
Yes, almond milk will work perfect! Enjoy!
As my four year old says, “they’re the best”!
These are super yummy (I used maple)! I’ll probably lay off the cinnamon a little next time. I like a little more banana flavor to my muffins. Thanks for sharing!
I made these the other day and am making another batch again. I didn’t add any sweetener as I recently found out that mashed bananas are the best sweetener. I added a handful of chocolate chips. My family loves them.
I’m so happy that you and your family love these! With just mashed bananas to sweeten and a few chocolate chips, they sound perfect!
Wanted to make something with bananas and I did this recipe. I used white flour instead. Dashed ground nutmeg on top and sprinkled with sliced almonds. They are so delicious. I also used dairy free half and half instead of milk
I’m so glad you enjoyed them!
I have made these muffins so many types since finding your recipe! It’s my go-to when I’m craving something a little sweet in the morning, but still want a wholesome breakfast. Bonus points that they are so easy to make!
I’m so glad you are enjoying them!
I made the recipe as stated. I used honey. I used the cinnamon and sugar mix and chopped walnuts on half of the muffins. The other ones I left plain. They took 16 min to bake at 350. I felt they could have been a bit sweeter. The kids loved them and the neighbor kid asked to take another one home with him. I’ll be making these again!
Hi Kristine, Oh my gosh, i have just baked these yummy muffins …. they are sooo light and delicious!!
Thank you for your recipe and will use this as a base for future muffins adding extras …. nuts or chocolate!
I’m so glad you enjoyed them! Both nuts or chocolate would be so delicious in these!
Thank you for this delicious recipe! Do you know how long these muffins will last in an airtight container (not frozen)? Thanks!
I’d try to eat them within about three days. 🙂
Delicious! Used unsweetened vanilla almond milk, flax meal instead of eggs and vegetable oil spread instead of butter so it was vegan friendly. Added chocolate chips! Perfection!
Such a yummy and healthy recipe. I’ve made them using both honey and pure maple syrup. I used almond flour and they were so so good!!
These were really tasty, however they were quite sticky, I think next time I’m going to add a bit more flour ❤️
I made these last week and they were delicious but my muffins totally sank! The only substitution I made was swapping the wheat flour for almond flour but I read another comment that said almond flour worked… any ideas why they didn’t rise?
My guess is that it must be the almond flour, since that’s the only substitution you made (assuming your baking soda is still fresh). I haven’t tried this recipe with almond flour so can’t say from personal experience how it works. I’ve made this recipe dozens of times with whole wheat flour and the muffins have never sank for me. I’m sorry you had that experience!
Made these this past weekend to use up some bananas and the excess amount of honey I have at home. These were a hit. Moist and delicious! Thank you = ]
I have made these a couple of times for my parents and older sister, and they are a hit. They are super simple to make. I used whole wheat flour instead of white whole wheat, because our white whole wheat flour was expired, and I used skim milk, and they turned out great!
I also loved how all of the ingredients were things that I usually already have in the kitchen, so I didn’t have to go get more ingredients!
These muffins were the highlight of the all the goods I baked while staying at home . . . I replaced the regular flour with almond flour, I used 1 cup and 1/2 and a 1/4 cup because the almond flour lacks gluten which is vital to keeping the muffin together and they still tasted amazing! I also used a lot less honey because the honey’s flavor is really strong, and all I would change would be putting a little less salt next time. I also topped some with a few chocolate chips and it tasted even better!
i just made these with some overripe bananas i had. i was worried they wouldn’t be sweet enough with no added granulated sugar but they are so good! i will definitely be making these again!
I made these last night, so we could have them for breakfast. OMG!! really good. I did use whole wheat pastry flour. I will make these often, and put in some dried fruit and nuts sometimes. For sure 5 stars.
I had my doubts using honey + whole wheat flour, I expected these to taste a little bland compared to my usual banana bread, but these are SO GOOD.
These were so good, I substituted coconut oil and flax eggs for butter and eggs because I wanted a dairy free option and had tons of oil and they were perfect! I also omitted milk bc I was out and just added a little more water to flax eggs. Turned out delicious!
When you say whisk do you mean by hand Whisk or a kitchen aid? I know the flour is folded in by hand.
I use a hand whisk, not a mixer.
I didn’t have any milk, so I used strawberry coconut yogurt. I had a little bit of leftover batter and made two pancakes and my husband wants them as pancakes now, too!
Excellent recipe. Thanks for sharing!
Can I use baking powder in place of the baking soda? Are there any other subs for baking soda?
You need to use baking soda in this recipe. Baking powder and baking soda aren’t interchangeable.
I just made these for a potluck. YUM! Used half almond flour and half oat flour, omitted granulated salt and used salted butter instead. Turned out AMAZING! I store overripe peeled bananas in the freezer so I boiled them and blended them first- every bite is bursting with banana!
2 questions
If I were to want to use apple sauce instead of butter, how would I calculate that. Also you said at time you make apple in them as well. Do you put diced apple? Apple pie filing?? And much do u put in??
You would use 1/4 cup of applesauce, which is the amount of butter called for in the recipe. I think you are referring to my apple banana muffins recipe. You could try that recipe, or add about 1 cup of diced apple to this recipe.
DELICIOUS, my 4 yo is obsessed!! Thank you for sharing for your recipe
These are delicious!!! I made as directed. My only question is how can I keep the muffins from sticking to my paper liners? I use the Wilton ones.
You could try spraying the liners with cooking spray or using parchment paper liners. I actually don’t use liners anymore. I have a nonstick muffin tin that is amazing – nothing sticks! I’ve linked to the pan in my Healthy Blueberry Muffins post.
I usually have regular (salted) butter on hand. Can I use that and not add salt at the end? One person commented that the recipe is too salty with salted butter.
Yes, that will work. You may want to add just a small amount of salt as well – I’d try either 1/8 or 1/4 teaspoon.
I made this recipe with some minor alterations and I really enjoyed it. Instead of 4 tablespoons of butter, I did 2 tablespoons of coconut oil and 2 tablespoons of unsweetened apple sauce. Also, Instead of 1/3 cup honey or maple syrup I did about 2 tablespoons of honey and the rest low-cal aunt jemima syrup. Definitely less sweet than a standard banana muffin but I like it. Before eating I like to pop them in the oven on broil for a few minutes just to get that crispy top and warm inside. Enjoy 🙂
these are life changing. i have made them many times and the entire batch is demolished within one day. i add chocolate chips, pecans and i sprinkle the top with maple sugar. so so good! thank you so much.
This was such an easy and yummy recipe. My guys loved it.
Made according to recipe and added mini chocolate chips and walnuts. Outstanding! Brought some over to the neighbors still warm. Everyone loved them.
Our second time making these. The first time we used 100% all-purpose flour, 3,33 tablespoons (50 g) of turbinado sugar (unrefined cane sugar), some dried cranberries, pistachios and about 50 grams of white chocolate in little pieces. Today we used 50% all-purpose and 50% whole wheat flour (not certain if our whole wheat flour is considered white, so wanted to avoid them being too heavy), 50 ml of pure maple syrup, some dried apricots bits, pistachios and 50 grams of white chocolate in little pieces, They are absolutely yummy either way and nicely sweetened without being too sweet. We could probably get away without any added sweetener, but put in just a bit. Thanks for a marvellous recipe!
Delicious banana bread muffins! I omitted the honey/maple syrup for less calories, and because I think bananas are sweet enough. I LOVE cinnamon so love the idea of adding some extra on top. I realised while reading the comments that I actually used baking powder instead of baking soda by mistake (clearly didn’t read the instructions thoroughly!) but they still worked out great! Next time I will be more conscious 😉 I also swapped out 1/4 cup of the flour with ground flax for extra fibre.
Just made this recipe and my 3 year old knocked two back and my one year old loved them too. Will this recipe work if I replaced the bananas with apple sauce?
Great recipe, thanks!
I’m so glad your family loved these! I haven’t tried that but I believe it will work. The muffins will be less sweet, since applesauce is typically less sweet than bananas.
Just made them today and they are very good! Added a little wheat bran and will throw in a few walnuts next time. Great recipe!
Excellent
These are the best healthy banana muffins. And I’ve tried tonnes and tonnes and tonnes of recipes. I make these all the time and just wanted to say thank you for doing all the hard work.
?
I’m glad you enjoyed the recipe so much!
i am trying to make it little more sweeter. Let me know how to do it. Thanks
You could add some brown sugar if you want the muffins sweeter.
Vert moist and tasty. My Hubz and I loved them. The flavors are impressive considering how low the calories and fat content is. I did add about .25C of minced pecans to the batter and sprinkled brown sugar and a bit of minced pecans on tops before baking them. Thank you, I will be making these again … and … again.
What can I replace baking soda with? Or is it ok to skip it?
The baking soda is necessary to help the muffins rise in the oven. You cannot skip or substitute it, unfortunately.
These are so delicious! Made them into mini muffins for my little boys and they were a hit. All I had on hand was all purpose flour so I used that and added in some flax seed. They freeze great too!
So delicious! Made them this morning!
These were so delicious! Used whole grain oats (blended into powder) instead of flour and added some chocolate chips for my toddlers. Everyone enjoyed these! Thank you!!
This recipe looks amazing! Any chance the honey/maple syrup can be dropped completely? We prefer our cakes as unsweet as possible… or what could it be substituted with if it’s about texture? Applesauce maybe?
You would need a substitute to get the right texture. I would try applesauce or mashed banana. Enjoy!
These were so yummy! I used coconut oil instead of butter and gluten free plain flour and they turned out perfect. Saving this recipe!
Goregous muffins! How long will they keep fresh without putting in the freezer?
They should stay fresh for about 3 days in an airtight container at room temperature.
Thanks for a healthy and fairly low cal banana muffin recipe. I actually like it better the next day when the banana flavor has deepened. They are still very moist and don’t even need butter!
Love the recipe .can I use gluten free flour for my daughter? Thx
Yes, you should be able to substitute a 1:1 gluten free flour. I’m glad you enjoy this recipe!