Banana Protein Muffins
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These Banana Protein Muffins are the perfect nutritious breakfast! With 6g of protein per muffin, they’re delicious + easy to make!
This post was originally shared in 2015, but has since been updated.
If you want to eat more protein, these healthy banana protein muffins are for you!
This is one of the first healthy recipes I EVER came up with, and to this day – it’s one of my favorites (and yours too.. these have over 350 5 Star Reviews!)
These high protein muffins are made with real food ingredients, are low in sugar, and naturally gluten free!
Liz’s Tips for the Best Protein Muffins
- Don’t substitute coconut flour or almond flour for the flour! – you’ll be left with a mushy mess! I promise, it won’t work. Check out our substitutions below if there’s something you need to swap
- Use Whey Protein Powder: Whey protein powder works best in this recipe. Egg protein powder and beef protein have mixed results in this recipe, this whey protein powder works the best!
- Use Ripe Bananas. Your bananas should be brown and spotty. As bananas ripen they get sweeter and softer, making them perfect for baking! However, as long as your bananas aren’t green, you can make this recipe. Yellow bananas will work just fine. I recommend microwaving them for about 20-30 seconds so they are easier to mash!
Ingredients
It will also be helpful to have a nonstick muffin tin + silicone muffin liners – these are a must for your muffins not sticking!
Substitutions and Additions
Bananas – You can sub pumpkin, unsweetened applesauce, or cooked, mashed sweet potatoes for the bananas with a 1:1 ratio. We also have Pumpkin Protein Muffins, Healthy Pumpkin Muffins, and Sweet Potato Muffins recipes!
Honey – You can sub maple syrup with honey. I have not tried making this recipe without a sweetener and would not recommend it.
Oil – You can use extra virgin olive oil, avocado oil or melted butter in place of coconut oil.
Oat Flour – Oat flour is easy to make! Follow this tutorial for How To Make Oat Flour. You can use certified gluten free oats or certified gluten free oat flour. You can substitute oat flour with whole wheat flour. Coconut flour and almond flour can’t be substituted for oat flour.
Protein Powder – Whey protein will generally work better for baking compared to vegan alternatives. You can also use vegan protein powder to make these protein muffins. I would not use unflavored protein powder in this recipe.
More protein – You can increase the recipe to have 1 cup of protein powder in it. The muffins will be more dense + have a stronger protein taste. If you increase the amount of protein used, add 1/3 cup milk so the batter isn’t too thick. You can also skip the protein powder and make these Healthy Banana Muffins instead!
Dairy Free – Use a vegan protein powder and dairy free chocolate chips.
To make vegan- replace 1 egg white with 1 flax egg. Sub honey with maple syrup, use vegan protein powder.
To make lower fat- I haven’t tried it but others have recommended substituting applesauce for oil with a 1:1 ratio if you’re looking to make these muffins lower fat.
Additions:
- Blueberries: If you love bananas and blueberries, try our Banana Blueberry Muffins, or check out our Blueberry Protein Muffins
- Chocolate Chips: These muffins are great with or without chocolate chips. Feel free to substitute based on your preference.
- Apples: You may also like our Apple Protein Muffins.
How to make Protein Muffins
Making these protein muffins is seriously so simple. Anyone can do it!
- In a large bowl, mash bananas. Stir in egg, honey, and coconut oil until combined. Add in dry ingredients. Stir until combined.
- Pour batter into cups, filling 3/4 of the way. Do not overfill!
- Bake muffins at 350° for 15 minutes or until the tops are golden brown.
Can I make this Muffin Recipe into protein bread? I have not tried making this into a loaf of bread but I think it might work. I would grease an 8×4 or 9×5 loaf pan well and add the batter. If you try it, let me know! If you want other banana bread recipes try these: Healthy Banana Bread, Zucchini Banana Bread Recipe.
Expert Tips
Don’t substitute coconut flour or almond flour – you’ll be left with a mushy mess! I promise, it won’t work.
Use Whey Protein Powder: Whey protein powder works best in this recipe. Egg protein powder and beef protein have mixed results in this recipe, whey protein powder works the best!
Storage
Storing: It’s best to store these muffins in an airtight container in your refrigerator. Keeping them in the refrigerator helps to maintain freshness. They will last for 3 days when stored on the counter and up to a week when stored in the refrigerator.
You can freeze these muffins. They freeze super well, so double the batch and freeze the extras! I like to store them in a ziploc freezer bag, or large container.
To defrost the muffins you can take them out of the freezer and put them in the refrigerator the night before you want to eat them, or you can pop them in the microwave for about 30 seconds until they are warm directly from the freezer.
Protein Muffins FAQ
Yes, you can add protein powder to a muffin mix, but it might not turn out well. Protein powder can make baked goods very dense or dry, so don’t add more than 1/4 cup of protein powder to your muffin mix.
No, you can’t use protein powder instead of flour. Flour and protein powder are very different and will give you a very different result. If you are replacing flour with protein powder, you may need to add extra fat/moisture to whatever you are making. They can’t be substituted 1:1.
Whey protein powder works the best in this recipe! I don’t recommend using egg white protein powder or beef protein isolate. Some vegan protein powders work ok in this recipe, but whey works the best!
Trying to eat more protein?
If you’re trying to eat more protein, check out our High Protein Dinners Ebook! It has 24 easy recipes you can make in under an hour with 25g+ protein per serving!
Here are some of our other favorite protein packed recipes:
Protein Muffins Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 cup mashed banana approx 2 large bananas
- 1 egg
- ¼ cup honey
- 3 tablespoons coconut oil melted+ cooled
- ¾ cup oat flour gluten free if necessary
- ½ cup vanilla whey protein powder
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon ground ginger
- ¼ cup dark chocolate chips optional
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and prepare a lined or greased muffin tin.
- In a large bowl, mash bananas until smooth. Stir in egg, honey, and coconut oil until combined. (You can also use a stand mixer with your whisk attachment)
- Add in oat flour, protein powder, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and ginger. Stir until combined. Fold in chocolate chips if using.
- Pour the muffin batter into muffin cups, filling 3/4 of the way. Do not overfill!
- Bake the muffins for 15 minutes or until the tops are golden brown and a toothpick comes out clean when inserted in the center of the muffin.
- Allow the muffins to cool for 5 minutes before removing from the muffin tin.
Recipe was great! You know whats not great? scrolling for dayz to get to the recipe.
WHY DO FOOD BLOGGERS DO THIS? Just gimmie dat recipe.
(grammar mistakes used for humor and levity while expressing my frustation.)
Thank you and good night.
Hi Cassandra- there is a big blue ‘Jump to Recipe’ button at the top of all of my pages which allows you to jump directly to the recipe. In my post I covered: why these muffins are healthier, explain ingredient substitutions, tips for storing and freezing and tips on the best protein to use. If I don’t write this in the post, it leaves unexperienced cooks with lots of questions.. and leads to countless comments or emails with questions to me. While you might be irritated by scrolling, the info is helpful to many people! Next time use the jump to recipe button or buy a cookbook so you can avoid the scrolling.
Surprisingly delicious for the amount of protein in it. Great recipe!
Glad you liked them, Mara! Thank you!
Just made these and they came out great! I made some in a mini muffin pan for my daughter and she loves them too! Thank you for another awesome recipe!
So happy you both liked them, Katrina! Thank you!
Hey!
These are amazing! I used chocolate protein powder and had 2 in a row! Great with a big spoonful of coconut yoghurt
Quick question – how long do they keep in an airtight container in the fridge?
Thanks!
Abi
Glad you liked them, Abi! They will last for 3 days when stored on the counter and up to a week when stored in the refrigerator.
These are awesome. I made then with Bob’s Red Mill Chocolate protein powder Freaking delicious!!
So glad you liked them, Sarah
So good so easy!
Thank you so much, Candy!
I am so impressed with how these came out! I’m not much of a baker but this recipe was simple and easy to follow. These muffins have the perfect amount of subtle sweetness and are an easy way to incorporate some protein without reaching for a protein bar. I was out of eggs so I used the suggested “flax seed egg” method instead and it resulted in perfect fluffy muffins.
So glad you liked them, Hillary! Thank you!
These definitely don’t need honey as that just adds sugar and they are sweet enough with the protein powder – but I added some unsweetened apple sauce and an extra banana and they’re perfect! I make them almost every week as a pre-workout snack.
Hi Kusch – Glad you liked them and that substitution worked for you! A banana + applesauce probably have the same amount of sugar in them that the honey does, which is why yours turned out ok. We still recommend using honey in this recipe!
Love this recipe!!! Found it earlier this year and have made over 50 doz and counting, lets just say friends love me…lol I have added flax seed with the oat flour, applesauce, pumpkin and zucchini when I don’t have enough bananas. Picked up chocolate protein powder by mistake, wow did they turn out great. I use and organic plant based protein powder. Thank you for a wonderful recipe, so easy to make and enjoyed….by All.
Thank you so much, Miki! I’m so glad you liked them – and I’m happy that all the substitutions worked for you!
This is a fantastic recipe! It’s got simple ingredients that you have in your pantry, it’s super quick to make, and they taste really good. Perfect for breakfast meal prep!
Thanks, Katie! I’m so glad you enjoyed them!
I made a few substitutions, but these turned out amazing. I used almond meal and coconut flour instead of oat flour, and I used fresh blueberries instead of chocolate chips, I used maple syrup in place of honey and I used a flax egg.
I ate them for breakfast while camping and they were moist, delicious and filling.
Do you have any similar recipes for protein waffles or pancakes?
Hi Emily- Glad you liked these! Those substitutions sound amazing! We have a few recipes with protein powder. Here are links to them: , ,
Delicious and super easy to make while the toddlers are running around 😂
Thank you so much, Chase! So glad you liked them!
After many tried and tested recipes for healthy muffins, I found the right one!
Delicious!
So glad you liked them, Alina!
Great recipe, the muffins had a perfect texture (no weird protein powder graininess like I usually run across with adding it to a recipe)! Only resulted in enough batter for 10 muffins, but they were a delicious 10 muffins 🙂
Didn’t have any chocolate chips, so I added blueberries & upped the baking time to counteract the added moisture. Will definitely make again!
So glad you enjoyed them!!
This is a great recipe and so easy to follow. I made it and used coconut nectar instead of honey (half the quantity) and it turned out awesome. I love it as it’s not to sweet but def hits the spot! Perfect for a tea time treat . Thanks for sharing
So glad you liked them, Zubeida! Thank you so much!
Can you sub in regular flour? I know its meant to be healthy, but I am making these for my elderly mother who is malnourished and needs to gain weight. if i can use regular flour, would it be the same amount?
thank you
I’m sorry but I’m not sure because I haven’t tested it. White flour and oat flour really don’t have a nutritional difference in terms of calories/carbs – so it won’t make much of a difference if you’re looking to help someone gain weight!
ok thank you! i just dont have Oat Flour, wanted to use what I had. maybe ill give it a go and report back 🙂
Another awesome make ahead breakfast recipe! I did substitute applesauce for the coconut oil and they turned out amazing. I heat them up and spread a tablespoon of almond butter on them in the morning. So yummy!
Thanks, Alexis! Such a great idea to substitue the applesauce! I’ll have to try that.
These are soooooo yummy! I used 3/4 choc protein powder and 1/4 vanilla protein powder, plus used my thermomix to make the oat flour from oats.
15secs in the microwave, and these are extra AMAZING!
They also freeze really well too.
Will def make them again!!
So glad you liked them, Tracey! Thank you so much!
I make these all the time, and my kids & I love them. So easy to make
So glad you like them! Thank you 🙂
The best cupcakesEVERRRR WOW
Thanks, Lisa! So fun that you used them as cupcakes!
They are amazing! Only changes I made were adding 1tsp of vanilla and using almond flour Instead of oat. Can’t wait to make them again!
So glad you liked them, Lele!
Lele. I need to make these with either Coconut flour or Almond flour. How much did you use since I know it can’t be substituted 1:1.
Thank you for replying!
Hi Miranda – Hoping Lele can help you here. We have not made these muffins with either of those flours and wouldn’t recommend substituting it.
Amazing taste, perfect consistency!!! 😍
So glad you liked them! Thank you!
Recipe is delicious! I’ve been looking for a good protein muffin and I finally found one. The only thing I can’t figure out is why I was so short on batter and didn’t have enough for 12 muffins. Trying to figure out what I didn’t wrong?
Glad you liked them, Kat! You might have just overfilled the other ones a little bit! How many muffins were you short?
Can I use regu6glutein free flour?
I haven’t tried it so I can’t guarantee that it will work. I’m sorry, Claudia!
Thank you so much for this amazing recipe!! Not only are these banana muffins delicious, but they also make me FEEL good! For people like me, whose bodies are sensitive to gluten and added sugars, this recipe is an answer to my gluten-free cravings. Within the past two months, I have already made these muffins four or five times. They’re always gobbled up quickly by me and my family! So, thank you again for this yummy, healthy snack! 🙂
Thanks, Kathryn! I’m glad you and your family like them! They’re great for when you want a little something sweet 🙂
Can I substitute almond flour for oat flour in this recipe? If so, do I have to modify the amount?
Hi Suzanne – Check out the ‘Substitutions’ section in this blog post. Here’s what we said: Oat Flour – You can substitute oat flour with whole wheat flour. Coconut flour and almond flour can’t be substituted for oat flour.