Healthy Banana Muffins are a simple, yummy treat! Easy to make with only 10 ingredients – these banana bread muffins are great for breakfast or a snack! Refined sugar free and made with whole grains in one bowl- you’ll love these!
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These are seriously the best healthy banana bread muffins. I know that’s a bold statement but it’s TRUE.
Our Healthy Banana Bread and Banana Protein Muffins have been wildly popular on the site for years, with hundreds of 5 star reviews.
We know you’ll love these healthy banana muffins just as much!
Are banana muffins healthy?
- Easy to make:Â These muffins are made with 10 ingredients you probably already have in your pantry/fridge. Nothing fancy here!
- Delicious: Probably the most important factor. These muffins taste like a ‘real deal’ banana muffin, but they’re made with better ingredients!
- Whole wheat flour:Â I used whole wheat flour in this recipe instead of bleached white flour. Whole wheat flour is a great source of whole grains and much better for you than regular white flour! This is the whole wheat flour I like.
- Low in sugar: This recipe is sweetened only by ripe bananas and a touch of honey (and some chocolate chips for good measure) Many banana muffins recipes are loaded with sugar, but this recipe has only 9g of natural sugar per muffin.
- Heart healthy fats:Â Instead of using butter or canola oil, this recipe uses coconut oil to keep it moist, and it also has some walnuts in it for healthy fats!
Recipe Ingredients
To make these healthy banana muffins you’ll need:
- bananas – make sure they’re ripe – brown bananas are the best!
- coconut oil
- honey or maple syrup
- an egg
- whole wheat flour – we have options for other flours below
- cinnamon
- baking powder and baking soda
- ground nutmeg, ground ginger
- chocolate chips, and walnuts are all optional!
You can find substitutions for all of these ingredients below in the green shaded box. Â
How To Make Healthy Banana Muffins
Making these low sugar muffins are SO easy. First, gather all your ingredients.
- Mash your bananas. (tips on mashing bananas below!) Whisk in your wet ingredients until smooth: (honey, egg + coconut oil.)
- Add in your dry ingredients: whole wheat flour, baking powder, baking soda, and spices.
- Add in chocolate chips or walnuts (the best part!!) You can omit walnuts if you have a nut allergy or don’t like them. Pecans also work.
- Pour batter in a lined muffin tin.
- Bake per instructions.
Recipe Substitutions
There are a bunch of different substitutions for this healthy banana muffin recipe. Work with whatever you have in your pantry/fridge!
Can this banana muffin recipe be made gluten free? To make these banana muffins gluten free replace whole wheat flour with Bob’s Red Mill 1-to-1 Gluten Free Flour or Gluten Free Oat Flour
To make vegan: Replace 1 egg white with 1 flax egg. Sub honey with maple syrup.
Honey : You can substitute honey with maple syrup. I haven’t tried using brown sugar or other types of sugar, so I’m not sure how that would work. Feel free to try and let me know!
Wheat Flour: You can replace whole wheat flour with white flour but your muffins might be a little more dense. I would not recommend almond flour, coconut flour, or oat flour. You can not substitute these flours 1:1 with whole wheat flour.
Baking powder/Baking soda: You can’t substitute baking soda or baking powder in this recipe.
Spices: You can omit the ground ginger and nutmeg if you don’t have any. Add a little bit more cinnamon to compensate! (It adds a lot of flavor!)
Nuts: You can add 3/4 chopped pecans or walnuts
Healthy Banana Bread: Use this recipe for our favorite Healthy Banana Bread instead.
Blueberries: You can add in a 1/2 cup of blueberries to this batter for a fun twist or try these Dairy Free Blueberry Muffins!
Adding protein: if you want to up the protein content, try this Protein Muffin Recipe. There are a few tweaks to help them not dry out while adding protein powder
Mini Muffins:Â You can make these mini by cutting the bake time in half.Â
Frozen Bananas:Â You can use frozen bananas in this recipe. Defrost them in the microwave until they are warm before mashing them. If you have extra bananas, use them in these Banana Oatmeal Pancakes.
Applesauce: If you’re short on bananas, you can substitute the difference with unsweetened applesauce.
Liz’s Expert Tips:
These muffins are pretty foolproof to make, but here are some tips that might be helpful for you when making them!
- Use muffin tin liners: These reusable silicone muffin liners are great, or these disposable muffin liners.
- If you’re not using muffin liners: I typically grease my muffin tin liberally with coconut oil. You can also run a butter knife along the edges of the pan to help loosen the bread before taking it out.
- Spotty bananas are the best – The browner/more spotty the banana is, the sweeter it will be and more delicious your muffins will be!
- Allow the muffins to cool completely for about 15 minutes before taking them out of the pan.Â
Recipe FAQs
It’s difficult to make muffins rise more, but you can try mixing together your dry ingredients very well before adding your wet ingredients. This evenly distributes any baking powder or baking soda which can help make your muffins rise.
The secret to moist muffins is a source of fat or a substitute for it. Most muffins have butter, sour cream, or yogurt. These items are high in fat which results in a moist muffin.
Banana muffins can get rubbery when you over mix the batter. Try to only mix the batter as much as you need to until it’s combined.
Banana muffins normally have 300-500 calories per muffin. These healthy banana muffins have less than 160 calories!
How to Ripen Bananas Quickly
Even if your bananas aren’t ripe, you can make this recipe! For best results, bananas should be brown like in the photos. As bananas ripen they get sweeter and softer, making them perfect for banana bread muffins! I had those bananas in my freezer which is why they look a little ‘frosty’.
However, as long as your bananas aren’t green, you can make this muffin recipe. Yellow bananas will work just fine. I recommend microwaving them for about 20-30 seconds so they are easier to mash!
To ripen bananas quickly place them in a brown paper bag with an apple for 24-48 hours.
How do you mash bananas?
I have two tips for how to mash bananas: one: warm them up and two: use your mixer!
I usually put bananas in the microwave for 20-30 seconds before ‘mashing’ them. Then, I use a regular beater/paddle attachment on my stand mixer to mash bananas (so easy!).
If you don’t have a mixer, just use a fork or a whisk! Just make sure you’re measuring them after mashing so you have the right amount of bananas.
Storage / Freezing
Storing: You can store these banana muffins covered on your counter for a few days at room temperature, but I recommend keeping them in the refrigerator for freshness! The muffin will last up to a week in the refrigerator – but will lose their freshness after about 3 days on the counter.
How to freeze Muffins: I like to freeze muffins in a reusable ziploc bag or an air-tight container. It’s best not to stack them on one another when freezing because they may stick together. When you’re ready to serve – pop in the microwave or the toaster oven until they’re warmed through.
Do these healthy muffins freeze well? Yes, these banana muffins freeze very well. Pop them in the microwave or toaster and you will never know they have been frozen!
Other healthy muffin recipes:
We love healthy muffins! Check out this list of Healthy Muffin Recipes, or some of our favorites:
Healthy Banana Muffin Recipe
Ingredients
- 1.5 cups ripe bananas, mashed (about 3-4 bananas)
- 1/4 cup honey
- 1 egg
- 1/4 cup coconut oil melted + cooled to room temp
- 1 cup whole wheat flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
- 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1/2 cup chocolate chips optional
- 1/2 cup walnuts chopped – optional
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees and prepare a lined or greased muffin pans
- In a bowl, mash bananas with a fork until slightly clumpy. You can microwave them for 20 seconds prior to mashing to make it easier.
- Stir in honey, egg, and oil to banana mixture.
- Add in whole wheat flour, baking powder, baking soda and spices
- Fold in chocolate chips.
- Pour 1/4 cup batter into a greased or lined muffin tin. Optional: sprinkle with a handful of chips and walnuts on top. Bake for 20 -25 minutes until a toothpick or cake tester comes out completely clean when inserted in the center of the muffins.
- Allow the muffins to cool for 15 minutes. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator to maintain freshness.
Video
Notes
- To make gluten free: replace whole wheat flour with Bob’s Red Mill 1-to-1 Gluten Free Flour
- To make vegan: replace 1 egg white with 1 flax egg. Sub honey with maple syrup
- Honey : You can substitute honey with maple syrup.
- Flour: You can replace whole wheat flour with white flour but your muffins might be a little more dense. I would not recommend almond flour, coconut flour, or oat flour. You can not substitute these flours 1:1 with whole wheat flour.
- Spices: You can omit the ground ginger and nutmeg if you don’t have any. Add a little bit more cinnamon to compensate!
- Nuts: You can add pecans or walnuts
- Healthy Banana Bread: Use this recipe for our favorite Healthy Banana Bread instead
- Blueberries: You can add in a 1/2 cup of blueberries to this batter for a fun twist!
- Adding protein: if you want to up the protein content, try these Healthy Banana Protein Muffins. There are a few tweaks to help them not dry out while adding protein powder
- Mini Muffins:Â You can make these into mini muffins by cutting the bake time in half.Â
- Frozen Bananas:Â You can use frozen bananas in this recipe. Defrost them in the microwave until they are warm before mashing them.
- Applesauce: If you’re short on bananas, you can substitute the difference with applesauce
Amber says
I have made these a few times! They are awesome. They taste the BEST stored in the REFRIGERATOR! (I haven’t made them with the ginger, or applesauce like the recipe said on Instagram.) I usually put walnuts on top of almost half of them but I like them better without the nuts, so next time no nuts. I like nuts on top of my other banana muffin recipe that I make and I don’t store those ones in the fridge. 😉
The Clean Eating Couple says
So glad you liked them!
Tara says
I made this recipe over the weekend and not only is it super fast and simple to make (the only recipes I ever really stick with – ha!), but also incredibly delicious! These will make a great addition to my breakfast/snack rotation and I’m already looking forward to making them again !
The Clean Eating Couple says
So glad you liked it! Thanks Tara!
Danielle says
Super easy to make all with ingredients most people already have on hand. These are very moist and not too sweet. We opted for chocolate chips and no walnuts but I’m sure nuts would be delicious too. My 2 year old loves them too and helped make them (that’s how easy they are).
The Clean Eating Couple says
So glad you liked them, Danielle! Thank you!
Julia says
These came out perfect! All the taste and none of the guilt! I subbed regular all purpose flour, and I can’t wait to eat these for breakfast all week 😊
The Clean Eating Couple says
So glad you liked them!
Kristen Goncalves says
These came out fantastic. They were so easy to throw together and customize to what you like. I added blueberries and vanilla to mine. Also kids loved them and since they are nut free they can bring them to school. WINNING!
The Clean Eating Couple says
So happy you liked them!!
Amanda Brewer says
These were sooo good! I put some peanut butter on and it made it 50x better!
The Clean Eating Couple says
Yum!! That’s my favorite way to enjoy them!
Zoe says
Gave these muffins to my neighbors, & they were a hit!!! The spices made them even better:) Safe to say this is my new go-to banana muffin recipe!!
The Clean Eating Couple says
Thank you so much, Zoe! So happy you and your neighbors liked them!
Beatrice Barajas says
This is my third time! I love it, hold my hungry for few hours and easy to cook the day before go to work for next day. I try to add blueberries and it will be so delicious. Perfect for my crazy holiday work hours to grab quick breakfast to go instead cook
The Clean Eating Couple says
So happy you like them, Beatrice!! Thank you!
Kyle says
These are delicious and so easy! I always let my bananas ripen a littttle to long and this is a great way to use them up!
The Clean Eating Couple says
Perfect way to use up bananas!!
Sally Williams says
These are the best banana muffins! Easy to make, tasty, and good for me!
The Clean Eating Couple says
Thank you, Sally!! Glad you like them!
Stefanie says
These are outstanding! I love all the different suggestions of how to adapt the recipe. I add protein powder to mine so that I can get more protein with my carbs. These are my kids favorite item on the weekend.
The Clean Eating Couple says
So glad you like them, Stefanie!
Amanda Brewer says
So healthy! So delicious!
The Clean Eating Couple says
Thank you!!
Chelsea says
I made these (veganized) and they were absolutely delish! I cannot recommend them enough. So many banana muffin recipes are dull and boring, but these have a nice flavor. Perfect way to use up those bananas! Thank you!!!
The Clean Eating Couple says
So glad you liked them and you were able to make them vegan, Chelsea!!
Monica says
The best banana chocolate chip muffin recipe! So easy to make and tasty. My kids love them too. I also sub gluten free flour.
Perfect with coffee for breakfast.
The Clean Eating Couple says
So glad you liked them, Monica! This makes me so happy to hear!
Liza says
Such a tasty, easy recipe! I was missing one banana, so I substituted in some apple sauce like you mentioned in your Notes, and it worked amazingly. I also always love using whole wheat flour in baking, so this was perfect. Will definitely make again 🙂
The Clean Eating Couple says
So glad you liked them, Liza! They looked great 🙂
Emma says
These are really tasty. We made them as a nice treat or pudding and we enjoy them warm, cut in half with some added peanut butter. Yummy!
Great recipe.
The Clean Eating Couple says
So glad you liked them, Emma! Thanks so much!
Kirsi says
Loved these muffins! Did half the batch with blueberry and they were great, too. I ended up using olive oil because I didn’t have coconut oil and whole wheat flour in place of oat flour. Turned out great!
The Clean Eating Couple says
So glad you liked the, Kirsi! I’m sure the blueberries were such a delish addition!
Kirsty says
OMG these muffins were by far the best banana bread recipe we’ve made all lockdown. So easy to make with store ingredients, and the help of my 3 year old daughter, who is dairy free, so she can eat them too! This will be a permanent recipe in my little black cooking book. Thank you 😊
The Clean Eating Couple says
So glad you liked them Kirsty! Thank you so much!!
Jonelle says
I made these tonight and they taste wonderful! You can tell they aren’t packed with sugar and perfect as a healthy alternative! I am NOT a great baker and was able to make these with no issues and they turned out great! I love simple recipes, makes life so much easier!
The Clean Eating Couple says
So glad you liked them, Jonelle!
Mónica says
About how many muffins come out? Would you recommend using chocolate chips, nuts, or both?
The Clean Eating Couple says
Please see above for the serving size. This recipe makes 12 muffins. You can use whatever you like – it’s totally a personal preference.
Kelly says
So simple and delicious!!
The Clean Eating Couple says
Thank you so much, Kelly!
Melissa says
Quick to whip up and taste amazing! Will definitely be making them again!
The Clean Eating Couple says
Glad you liked them Melissa!
David says
First time making these banana muffins I was going to make a banana loaf but found this muffin recipe made them this morning they came out great and tasted amazing made a nice Change from banana cake. Will make again and so healthy thank you for this great recipe
Jazmin says
These were SO delicious 😋 they came out perfect. I use them as a snack 😊 or sometimes for breakfast
The Clean Eating Couple says
Thank you so much, Jazmin! Glad you enjoyed them!!
Kyle Mitchell says
Great recipe! Didn’t have ground ginger so I added a little extra cinnamon like the substitutions suggested and they came out delicious!
The Clean Eating Couple says
Thanks so much, Kyle! Glad you liked them 🙂
Teresa says
This was a fun recipe to make with my four year old. He loved mashing the bananas and throwing more chocolate chips on top of the batter.
They’re delicious too!
The Clean Eating Couple says
Yay!! Love to hear kids getting involved in the kitchen! Glad you enjoyed them!
Amanda says
These were great and super easy to make!!! I substituted the flour for gluten free flour and then added half a cup of coaches oats to make my kids nice and full!! We all loved them!!
The Clean Eating Couple says
So glad you and your kids liked them Amanda! Thank y ou!