Healthy Banana Muffins

Healthy Banana Muffins yield delicious muffins with a light and tender crumb. This recipe uses everyday ingredients and contains no added butter or refined sugars.

Looking for a specific type of banana muffin? Here is a tried-and-tested recipe for Banana Crumb Muffins and one for Flourless Banana Muffins. For a healthy chocolate version, try these Chocolate Banana Muffins.

Healthy Banana Muffins

My kids inhale muffins so I’ve started making big batches and freezing them. These Healthy Pumpkin Muffins have been on repeat for the past couple of weeks, but with some overripe bananas, I thought it was time to try a healthy approach to banana muffins.

These muffins are made with good-for-you ingredients. More on those ingredients below, but they have no refined sugar, healthier oils, protein-packed Greek yogurt, and plenty of bananas.

Ingredients in Healthy Banana Muffins

• Ripe bananas: About 2 medium to large bananas equals one cup. Thoroughly mash the bananas with a fork in a separate bowl and then pack them tightly in a measuring cup to get an accurate measurement.
• Large egg: The egg not only contributes protein to these muffins, but also adds flavor, color, and richness.
• Coconut oil: This oil is better health-wise than many oils and adds a subtle coconut flavor. Read up on coconut oil benefits here!
• Honey: Instead of using refined sugar in these muffins, we use honey. The honey sweetens these muffins perfectly in a more natural way.
• Greek yogurt: We add yogurt to these muffins for protein, probiotics, great texture, and moistness. I highly recommend Greek Gods® honey vanilla yogurt (not sponsored).
• Vanilla extract: Vanilla adds a nice subtle flavor; this ingredient is optional.
• Flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt: All the usual dry ingredient muffin essentials. 
• Ground cinnamon: I love the flavor the cinnamon adds to these muffins. If you don’t love cinnamon, it can be left out, or you can substitute pumpkin pie spice or apple pie spice for a more spiced muffin.

How to make Healthy Banana Muffins from scratch

• Combine wet ingredients in a bowl: Whisk the honey, melted coconut oil, mashed bananas, egg, vanilla, and Greek yogurt in a large bowl until combined.
• Whisk together dry ingredients: The cinnamon, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and flour are all combined in another large bowl.
• Add wet to dry: Pour the wet ingredients on top of the dry and mix until just combined. Avoid over-mixing the batter as that will yield drier muffins.
• Bake: Add batter to a well-greased muffin tin. Bake for 15-18 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the centers comes out clean or with just a few moist crumbs. 

How to mash bananas quickly

People typically mash bananas with a fork, but it’s important to make sure the banana is mashed really well so you don’t end up with big chunks in your muffins. To ensure smooth bananas, mash them with a hand or stand mixer instead.

Peel the bananas, break them into large chunks, and beat them with the mixer until well mashed. Then add in the rest of the wet ingredients.

Variation ideas

• Chocolate chips: Add some miniature chocolate chips to the dry ingredients; use 1/2 to 1 full cup. We toss the chocolate with dry ingredients first so they’re covered in flour and don’t sink to the bottom.
• Nuts or seeds: Sprinkle finely chopped pecans, walnuts, almonds, old-fashioned oats, or sunflower seeds on the tops of the muffins– about 1 teaspoon per muffin. 
• Coconut: Sprinkle about 1 teaspoon of unsweetened coconut flakes on top of each muffin before baking. The baking process with nicely toast that coconut!
• Add a crumb topping: In a small bowl, whisk together 2 tablespoons of light brown sugar, 2 tablespoons of white sugar, 6 tablespoons of flour, 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon, and 3 tablespoons butter. Mix until a thick crumb topping is formed and sprinkle on top of the unbaked muffins. While this does detract from the healthy aspect of the muffins, sometimes a special treat is in order!
• Dried fruit: Add dried cranberries, raisins, or golden raisins to the Healthy Banana Muffin batter. Toss 1/2 to 1 full cup with the dry ingredients.
• Make mini banana muffins: Add batter to a miniature muffin tin and bake for 12-14 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean or with a few moist crumbs.

How many calories are in a banana muffin?

There are 152 calories in one full-sized Healthy Banana Muffin. Check out the nutritional information below the recipe card to see other health stats on these muffins.

More healthy baked goods

• Healthy Banana Bread made with Greek yogurt
• Chocolate Chip Muffins with miniature chocolate chips
• Lemon Zucchini Bread with a lemon glaze
• Healthy No-Bake Cookies with coconut
• Healthy Blueberry Muffins made with Greek yogurt

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5 from 17 votes

Healthy Banana Muffins

By Chelsea Lords

Healthy Banana Muffins with no added butter or refined sugars. These muffins are delicious, light and tender, and use natural ingredients!

Prep Time: 20 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 18 minutes minutes

Total Time: 38 minutes minutes

Servings: 12 muffins

Ingredients 

USMetric

 

1x2x3x

• ▢ 1 cup very ripe bananas (~2 bananas)
• ▢ 1 large egg
• ▢ 1/2 cup melted & cooled coconut oil
• ▢ 1/2 cup honey
• ▢ 1/4 cup honey vanilla Greek yogurt (I recommend Greek Gods yogurt)
• ▢ 1 and 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• ▢ 1 and 3/4 cup white all-purpose flour
• ▢ 1 teaspoon baking soda
• ▢ 1 teaspoon baking powder
• ▢ 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• ▢ 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
• ▢ Optional: 1/2 cup nuts or 1/2 cup mini chocolate chips or 1/2 cup coconut flakes (Note 1)

Instructions 

• PREP: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Spray all 12 cavities of a muffin tin with cooking spray and lightly flour. Shake out any excess flour and set aside.
• WET INGREDIENTS: Mash 2 very ripe bananas to get 1 level cup of mashed banana (See Note 2). Mash well to get rid of any/all chunks. Add to a large bowl. Add in the large egg, 1/2 cup melted and cooled coconut oil, 1/2 cup honey, 1/4 cup Greek yogurt, and 1 and 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract. Whisk until combined and smooth.
• DRY INGREDIENTS: In a separate bowl add the 1 teaspoon baking soda, 1 teaspoon baking powder, 1 teaspoon cinnamon, and 1/2 teaspoon sea salt to a large bowl. Add in the 1 and 3/4 cup flour (spoon flour into the measuring cup and level the top) and optional 1/2 cup nuts or miniature chocolate chips. Stir until combined. Add wet into dry ingredients. Mix until just combined. Do not overmix; this will cause deflated or dense muffins.
• BAKE: Divide the batter evenly between the 12 muffin cups. Each muffin cup should be pretty much filled to the top and all the batter should be used. IF desired, add a sprinkle of coconut on top of each muffin. Bake for 18-23 minutes or until a toothpick when inserted into the center comes out dry or with a few moist crumbs. Remove and allow to cool for 5 minutes before removing the muffins from the pan and transferring to a cooling rack.

Video

Recipe Notes

Note 1: Add-ins: We love these muffins and have tried them so many different ways! We've made them plain without anything added in or on top, with miniature chocolate chips mixed through, with chopped nuts mixed through, and with coconut on top. The step by step pictures in the post show the process for making these muffins plain. The first and last shot in the post showcase the muffins with coconut flakes added before baking.

Note 2: Bananas: To make sure the banana is mashed really well and you don't end up with big chunks in your muffins, mash the ripe bananas with a hand or stand mixer. To do this, peel the bananas, break them into large chunks, and beat them with the mixer until well mashed.

Nutrition

Serving: 12muffins | Calories: 152kcal | Carbohydrates: 16.9g | Protein: 0.9g | Fat: 9.5g | Cholesterol: 15.7mg | Sodium: 9.1mg | Fiber: 0.5g | Sugar: 14.3g

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

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