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 banana bread muffins. I know that’s a bold statement but it’s TRUE.
Our Healthy Banana Bread and Healthy Banana Protein Muffins have been wildly popular on the site for years and the other day I realized that we needed a regular good old fashioned healthy banana muffin on our site for all of you.
We happened to have brown bananas in the freezer just waiting to be baked.. so here we are!
You might be thinking… well this is the 4,000th banana bread related recipe I’ve seen so…
Are banana muffins healthy?
There are lots of recipes out there for healthy banana muffins but these are the best because they’re easy, yummy, and quick to make (less than 30 minutes!) Here’s why we love them:
- Easy to make: 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: I used whole wheat flour in this recipe rather than 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: 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!
Healthy Banana Muffins Ingredients
To make these healthy banana muffins you’ll need:
- bananas
- coconut oil
- honey
- an egg
- whole wheat flour
- cinnamon
- baking powder and baking soda
- 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.
How to Make the Best Healthy Banana Muffin Recipe
Making these low sugar muffins are SO easy. First, gather all your ingredients.
- Mash your bananas. I like to use a fork and usually pop the bananas in a microwave for about 20 seconds before mashing so they’re easier to work with. (More 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, 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.
Substitutions for this Healthy Banana Bread Muffin Recipe
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.
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!
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 or try these Dairy Free Blueberry Muffins
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: You can make these mini by cutting the bake time in half.
Frozen Bananas: 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
Tips for Banana Healthy Muffins:
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 molds 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.
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 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.
How to Store Banana Healthy Muffin Recipes
Storing: You can store these banana muffins covered on your counter for a few days, 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!
Healthy Banana Muffin FAQ
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!
Other healthy muffin recipes:
We love healthy muffins! Check out these 30+ Healthy Muffins, or these:
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: You can make these into mini muffins by cutting the bake time in half.
- Frozen Bananas: 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
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!
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!
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 🙂
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!!
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
Kelly says
So simple and delicious!!
The Clean Eating Couple says
Thank you so much, Kelly!
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.
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!!
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!
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!
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 🙂
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!
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!!
Amanda Brewer says
So healthy! So delicious!
The Clean Eating Couple says
Thank you!!
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!
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!
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!!
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!
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!
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!
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!!
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!
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!
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!
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!
Rob says
These are great Banana muffins! The calories you indicate – is that without walnuts or chocolate chips?
Going to try your Protein version next. Thanks!
The Clean Eating Couple says
Hi Rob – the calories include chocolate chips. The nutrition facts are an estimate, and if you use different ingredients you will have different macros so if you’re counting calories I would recommend adding the recipe to my fitness pal using your own ingredients.
Cheryl says
Holy WOW these are spectacular! I made these exactly how it is lined out, no substitutions. The walnuts and chocolate chips are a MUST add! I made everything with organic ingredients for the healthiest muffins possible! My husband had 5 in one sitting he couldn’t get enough! Will be making these again to bring to a friends party this weekend! Get the ingredients and make these ASAP! (:
The Clean Eating Couple says
So happy you liked them, Cheryl! Thank you!
Alexis says
Loved this recipe. Simple, healthy, delicious! I will definitely be making these again!
The Clean Eating Couple says
So glad you liked them, Alexis!
Guinevere says
I make these at least twice a week for my husband. I use 1/2 cup melted butter instead of coconut oil because it’s what I had on hand the first time I made them , so I stuck with it. I also use Lily’s salted caramel’ stevia chocolate chips and they’re perfection.
These are the best muffins and so easy to make, I just use my immersion blender on all the wet ingredients for an even quicker prep. 10/10 would recommend!
The Clean Eating Couple says
So glad you liked them!
Sherrie Clendenin says
I have tried a lot of healthy recipes and these have got to be one of the best muffin recipes I have tried.
Delicious!
JLM says
These are quite yummy along with being healthier. My three-year-old grandson likes these
Joan G says
So good that meet my muffin craving without the guilt! For my own self I cut the honey amount in half and they turned out amazing. I added the Lily’s chips no nuts!
Can’t wait to have with coffee In the morning!
Kurt says
Lovely and moist. Would substitute the coconut oil for applesauce or a heart healthy alternative. Although you’ll find articles out there that indicate coconut oil to be healthy, it is in fact high in saturated fat and is not good for your heart. From a registered dietician who specializes in heart healthy diets.
Kris says
This was the first banana muffin recipe I came across that listed coconut oil instead of vegetable oil. I only had two overripe bananas and didn’t see to sub applesauce until after they were baking. They still turned out just fine, all the other ingredients being the same measurements. It made 8 muffins instead of 12. I added chia, flax and hemp seeds, omitted the chocolate chips because the kiddo didn’t want them (weird kid, right?) and added a pinch of salt since I didn’t see salt listed anywhere in the ingredients. These came out perfectly cooked and fluffy after 20 minutes. Topped with cream cheese as a protein to keep us fuller, longer these are very yummy! Will definitely make again the next time we have old bananas.
Kris says
Forgot to hit the stars!
Autumn says
Absolutely delish! I didn’t have honey, so I skipped it, but the banana is plenty sweet enough with the chocolate chips. I also put in some almond milk to make them more cakey. I’ll never use sugar or butter in banana muffs again.
Mary says
These are delicious! I’m usually Leary about using all whole wheat but these definitely changed my thoughts on this. And the spices and chocolate go together very well.