We’re talking today about how to make healthy banana muffins!
I switched to these muffins this fall once I ran out of pumpkin puree for the season. And oh my goodness, I am convinced that banana anything baking in the oven beats any scented candle you can buy. These are guaranteed to make your home smell amazing. And even more importantly, they taste great!
This healthy banana muffins recipe is also notably lightened up compared to traditional muffins, thanks to using old-fashioned oats in place of all-purpose flour and maple syrup and in place of granulated sugar. They’re also filled with lots of sweet, ripe bananas, because my top priority here is that the banana-y flavor really come through. They’re spiced with pumpkin pie spice (cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, allspice and cloves), which happens to pair perfectly with banana as well as pumpkin. And they are downright delicious.
I already know you’re going to love them. ♡
Feel free to make a big batch and freeze the extras if you’d like. But chances are, these banana muffins are not going to last long. Let’s make some!
Healthy Banana Muffins Recipe | 1-Minute Video
Healthy Banana Muffin Ingredients:
To make these healthy banana muffins, you will need:
Mashed ripe bananas: Just mash and pack them tightly into a measuring cup to measure the right amount. 1 cup = approximately two medium bananas.
Old-fashioned oats: Which we will pulse in the blender or food processor until they are finely ground to make our oat flour. Or, you are welcome to use store-bought oat flour instead.
Pumpkin pie spice: I feel like this spice blend pairs really well with banana muffins too. But feel free to use any combo of your favorite warming spices instead.
Almond milk: Or your favorite kind of nut milk or cow’s milk.
Maple syrup: Or you could sub in honey, if you prefer.
Coconut oil: Just a few tablespoons (or feel free to sub in your favorite mild-flavored oil).
Eggs, salt, vanilla and baking soda: Because…muffins.
Turbinado sugar: Totally optional, but I love the extra hint of sweetness and crunch and sparkle on top
As always, if making this recipe gluten-free, be sure to double check that all of your ingredients are certified gluten-free. (Especially the oats.) And you can either grease the muffin cups, or use baking liners. I just made my own parchment baking cups in the photos here.
How To Make Banana Muffins:
To make this healthy banana muffins recipe, simply:
Make your oat “flour”: Add your oats to a blender or food processor and pulse until they reach a fine flour-like consistency.
Combine your dry ingredients: Add the pumpkin pie spice, salt and baking soda, and pulse until evenly combined.
Whisk together your wet ingredients: In a separate mixing bowl, whisk together the mashed bananas, eggs, maple syrup, almond milk and vanilla until evenly combined.
Combine the two. Fold the dry ingredients in with the wet, and use a spatula to stir together until just combined. (Try not to over-stir.)
Fill your muffin cups. Portion the batter evenly between 12 muffin cups. (I always like to do this with a large cookie scoop. You’ll need a heaping scoop of batter for this specific recipe — about 1/3 cup per muffin.) Then sprinkle with a pinch of turbinado sugar, if you’d like.
Bake. Until a toothpick inserted in the center of a muffin comes out clean, about 15 minutes.
Enjoy! I love these muffins best fresh outta the oven. But once they have cooled to room temperature, feel free to store them in a sealed container for up to 3 days, or freeze (tightly wrapped in plastic wrap) for up to 3 months.
Optional Add-Ins:
Feel free to also add in:
Chocolate chips: Because…chocolate.
Nuts or seeds: Such as pepitas, pecans, sunflower seeds, walnuts, etc. You can either sprinkle them on top of the muffins, or fold them into the batter.
Dried fruit: Dried cranberries, raisins, apricots…whatever you love.
A maple glaze: Whisk together powdered sugar and maple syrup until they form a glaze-like consistency, and drizzle over your muffins for extra sweetness
More Favorite Muffin Recipes:
Looking for more healthy muffin recipes? Check out my:
This healthy banana muffins recipe is easy to make with everyday ingredients, lightly sweetened with maple syrup, naturally gluten-free, and so tasty. See notes above for optional add-ins.
1 tablespoon pumpkin pie spice, homemade or store-bought
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
3/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
2 eggs
1 cup unsweetened almond milk, plain or vanilla
1 cup tightly-packed mashed ripe bananas
1/2 cup maple syrup
3 tablespoons melted coconut oil (or any mild-flavored oil)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
optional: turbinado sugar for sprinkling
Instructions
Preheat oven to 375°F. Line a 12-cup muffin pan with baking liners, or lightly grease with cooking spray. Set aside.
Puree oats in a blender or food processor until they reach a flour-like consistency. Add in the pumpkin pie spice, baking soda and sea salt, and pulse until the mixture is evenly combined. Set aside.
In a separate large mixing bowl, whisk together the eggs, milk, mashed banana, maple syrup, coconut oil and vanilla extract until evenly combined. Fold the dry ingredients in with the wet ingredient mixture, and stir until the mixture is just combined. (Try to avoid over-mixing.)
Portion the ingredients into prepared baking cups. Then sprinkle a pinch of turbinado sugar on top of each muffin, if you would like.
Bake for 15-18 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the muffins comes out clean. Remove from the oven and place the pan on a cooling rack for 5 minutes.
Serve warm. Or let the muffins cool to room temperature, then store in a sealed container for up to 3 days, or freeze for up to 3 months.
Notes
*Or feel free to substitute in 240 grams (8.4 ounces) oat flour. And as always, be sure to use certified gluten-free ingredients if making this recipe gluten-free.
Yum! These look amazing and it’s great to have some at least semi healthy recipes in your pocket. I just published healthy banana pancakes, maybe I should carry on with exploring more healthy banana recipes. :)
I made these this week! They were gone in less than 48 hours! Followed the recipe exactly and everybody from my boyfriend to my sister to my coworkers loved these! The flavor with two bananas was just lovely and the sugar on top was so nice too!
I made these yesterday and added 1/4 ground flax for extra nutrition. They are DELICIOUS, and taste just like a moist banana bread! The pumpkin version is also fantastic.
I pretty much followed his receipt exactly as it was printed. These muffins were hands down the best I ever made. Moist, airy, yummy, not too sweet, not too plain! You can’t go wrong with this recipe! Thank you for posting! I’m going to make banana bread with this recipe!
These were so good! My kids liked them too. I have a hard time finding a banana bread/muffin recipe that isn’t packed full or sugar or too dry. I did brush a little butter on the top of each muffin once they came out of the oven.
These look soooo yummy. I have both Minooka honey and maple syrup. I feel like with banana flavor honey would be better. Have you tried with both and if so what one do u like better❤️
I’ve made these many times now, adding a half a cup of chopped pecans to the mixture and always topping with a sprinkle of turbinado sugar. These are a family favorite!
I love these muffins. Must’ve made this recipe 5 times already, they’re a regular thing at our house now! I use almond milk instead of milk, sometimes I substitute honey for the syrup. Crushed up honey roasted peanuts and dark chocolate chips go great in this! Might try some chopped coconut shreds next time. Thanks!
Just made these delicious muffins, they are just as tasty as they look! I added 3/4 cup of chopped walnuts. They baked perfectly in just 17 minutes. I am having a really hard time now trying not to eat a second one…
This recipe is wonderful! I substituted the maple syrup for raw honey. I also made a set of mini muffins and cooked them for 14 min on 375. I found I had to cook my normal size ones for 20 min
Hello! Many of your recipes include maple syrup (or honey) as a sweetener. My oldest son is fructose intolerant, and cannot eat syrup or honey. Is there a different sweetener that might work in this recipe? He is OK with brown sugar, or smaller amounts of white sugar but not any of the other sweeteners like Stevia. Thank you! These look divine!
I love the moist, light crumb of these muffins and will be making them again. I felt the mild flavors of banana and pure maple syrup were overwhelmed by the salt (and I love salt!). I will try only 1/2 tspn of fine sea salt (or 3/4 tspn of kosher salt) next time.
These were great! I ran out of honey and only used 1/4 cup but I guess since I don’t really eat sugar it still turned out sweet enough for my taste buds! So that was cool. I also added some chopped walnuts and grated carrots.
The pumpkin pie spice was a very nice touch.
I have not tried one of your recipes which did not taste amazing – so thank you, and keep em coming! :) :)
These were absolutely delicious! The only thing I changed was I used one cup milk instead of almond milk, and I added an additional 3 tablespoons maple sugar to make it a little sweeter. I also used oat flour instead of whole oats.
I have made this with the oat flour. Unfortunately they did not turn out even after adding an additional 10 mins to the baking time. Will stick to the original recipe and use the oats next time.
Great recipe! Followed exactly as written and the muffins are delicious! Ate one warm from the oven with a swipe of peanut butter on it and it was fantastic.
I was wondering if I can use frozen bananas for this healthy banana muffin recipe. Would I discard or use some of the excess liquid from the frozen banana?
These muffins are AMAZING. Easily the best banana muffins I’ve ever had. Just sweet enough and oh so moist. I didn’t have enough maple syrup so I used honey instead. Loved pairing these muffins with homemade chia seed blueberry jam as well. Highly highly recommend. I will be making these again.
This recipe was amazing, so moist and delicious ! I have two questions. My top did not come out like yours, it did not rise and the top was not crunchy any idea as to why? I really want to try and get it like that. Also would I have to change anything if I did half oat flour half whole wheat flour ? Do you think it would ruin the recipe ?
Had some overripe bananas on hand and i had to give these a try… i added some frozen raspberries and a couple of mini chocolate chips and these are just fabulous!!! got around 17 perfect muffins well 15 now since both my husband and me tasted one to see whether it is good or not :-) plus need i say the house smells divine
My husband is Celiac so it’s hard to find a healthy and tasty muffin recipe. These are the best of the best, so tasty and moist. I added 3/4 cup of fresh organic blueberries which make them even better. I love that they are not loaded with processed sugar. I’ll be making these often! Thanks!
Delicious banana muffins with pumpkin spice. I baked them for 18 minutes and they looked beautiful, and when tested with toothpick appeared to be done. After they rested 20 minutes they were not firmed up inside, so I pt them back in for 15 minutes. My oven tests correct, so I guess we just prefer a firmer interior. Will be making these whenever I have ripe bananas. Everyone loved the. I made another batch to freeze.
Seriously the best banana muffins I’ve ever had. Moist, not too sweet, perfect for a snack, or light dessert. I spent a week making different banana muffin recipes and this one was by far the best. I’ve made this recipe several times now and I’m pleased each time. I gave some to my neighbors and they loved them so much they asked for the recipe. I love adding shredded coconut to the batter for extra texture.
Hi,
I can see a lot of people have made these and had success but I’m just checking is that meant to be maybe baking powder not baking soda ? And is that actually bicarbonate soda?
I just wonder in that case if there’s no vinegar if that’s enough to raise the mixture.
They look great but wanted to check before I made them, thank you.
These are amazing!! Made exactly as written and just sprinkled a few chocolate chips on top of each muffin before they baked. Husband, 3 YO, and I all love them. They are the perfect healthy breakfast or snack and so easy to pack up for preschool. Thank you!
I loved these muffins! I was out of eggs so used an extra banana. I did have to bake for at least ten minutes longer. I will definitely make these again.
This recipe is great! I’ve made it several times, but I have to calculate the amount of oat flour since I’m just buying it, rather than creating it with a blender or food processor. Could you post the amount of store-bought oat flour needed, if readers decide to go that route? Thanks for the wonderful recipes!
I had a few overripe bananas in the house and searched for a banana muffin recipe online. I made these in a mini muffin pan using “Red Mill oat flour,” avocado oil, maple syrup, walnuts and sprinkled the turbonado sugar on top before baking. 18” @ 375 was perfect and they are delish! Thank you for providing great info on how to substitute oat flour and for providing so many options for substitutions! This will be my go-to muffin recipe from now on!
This recipe didn’t work out at all. I used 3 cups oatmeal, processed. Is it supposed to be 3 cups of processed oatmeal? The batter was very loose and the finished product didn’t have a whole lot of flavor. Probably not on my repeat list.
HI! These sound delicious!! Can regular flour be used and what quantity? Thanks!
I keep a supply of oat flour on hand…what would the substitution be?
Love making banana muffins with oat flour!!
https://audrasappetite.com/banana-peanut-butter-oat-muffins/
Yum! These look amazing and it’s great to have some at least semi healthy recipes in your pocket. I just published healthy banana pancakes, maybe I should carry on with exploring more healthy banana recipes. :)
Amazing blog. Menu planning for successful catering of any event visit us at- https://jeromesdeli.com/
It seems you place a square piece of paper in cups instead of paper cups. Well, I love your idea along the delish recipe.
Do you have the nutrition details on these? They sound delicious!
I made these this week! They were gone in less than 48 hours! Followed the recipe exactly and everybody from my boyfriend to my sister to my coworkers loved these! The flavor with two bananas was just lovely and the sugar on top was so nice too!
I made these yesterday and added 1/4 ground flax for extra nutrition. They are DELICIOUS, and taste just like a moist banana bread! The pumpkin version is also fantastic.
I pretty much followed his receipt exactly as it was printed. These muffins were hands down the best I ever made. Moist, airy, yummy, not too sweet, not too plain! You can’t go wrong with this recipe! Thank you for posting! I’m going to make banana bread with this recipe!
These were so good! My kids liked them too. I have a hard time finding a banana bread/muffin recipe that isn’t packed full or sugar or too dry. I did brush a little butter on the top of each muffin once they came out of the oven.
Hi!
Any suggestions on how to make this egg free? My kids are allergic.
Thank you!
I love your recipes Ali. These muffins look delicious.
These look soooo yummy. I have both Minooka honey and maple syrup. I feel like with banana flavor honey would be better. Have you tried with both and if so what one do u like better❤️
I’ve made these many times now, adding a half a cup of chopped pecans to the mixture and always topping with a sprinkle of turbinado sugar. These are a family favorite!
Yummy! Do you happen to have estimated calories per muffin?
I was skeptical because the batter was so moist and liquidy but they turned out delicious. I improvised the pumpkin pie spice and it worked out great.
nutritional facts for these muffins?
wow was i surprised! yummy in my tummy!
my granddaughter ate four of them in one day and she is a very picky eater.
I love these muffins. Must’ve made this recipe 5 times already, they’re a regular thing at our house now! I use almond milk instead of milk, sometimes I substitute honey for the syrup. Crushed up honey roasted peanuts and dark chocolate chips go great in this! Might try some chopped coconut shreds next time. Thanks!
My go to muffin recipe. So so good and healthy on top of that.
Just made these delicious muffins, they are just as tasty as they look! I added 3/4 cup of chopped walnuts. They baked perfectly in just 17 minutes. I am having a really hard time now trying not to eat a second one…
Added some walnuts and slivered almonds. They were so good! Not too sweet with a perfect texture.
This recipe is wonderful! I substituted the maple syrup for raw honey. I also made a set of mini muffins and cooked them for 14 min on 375. I found I had to cook my normal size ones for 20 min
Hello! Many of your recipes include maple syrup (or honey) as a sweetener. My oldest son is fructose intolerant, and cannot eat syrup or honey. Is there a different sweetener that might work in this recipe? He is OK with brown sugar, or smaller amounts of white sugar but not any of the other sweeteners like Stevia. Thank you! These look divine!
I love the moist, light crumb of these muffins and will be making them again. I felt the mild flavors of banana and pure maple syrup were overwhelmed by the salt (and I love salt!). I will try only 1/2 tspn of fine sea salt (or 3/4 tspn of kosher salt) next time.
Healthy and yummy muffins..Thanks for sharing your recipe..
These were great! I ran out of honey and only used 1/4 cup but I guess since I don’t really eat sugar it still turned out sweet enough for my taste buds! So that was cool. I also added some chopped walnuts and grated carrots.
The pumpkin pie spice was a very nice touch.
I have not tried one of your recipes which did not taste amazing – so thank you, and keep em coming! :) :)
Really good! Not too sweet! I added chia seeds and hemp seeds for some extra nutrition.
These were absolutely delicious! The only thing I changed was I used one cup milk instead of almond milk, and I added an additional 3 tablespoons maple sugar to make it a little sweeter. I also used oat flour instead of whole oats.
I have made this with the oat flour. Unfortunately they did not turn out even after adding an additional 10 mins to the baking time. Will stick to the original recipe and use the oats next time.
Great recipe! Followed exactly as written and the muffins are delicious! Ate one warm from the oven with a swipe of peanut butter on it and it was fantastic.
I was wondering if I can use frozen bananas for this healthy banana muffin recipe. Would I discard or use some of the excess liquid from the frozen banana?
Thanks!
These muffins are AMAZING. Easily the best banana muffins I’ve ever had. Just sweet enough and oh so moist. I didn’t have enough maple syrup so I used honey instead. Loved pairing these muffins with homemade chia seed blueberry jam as well. Highly highly recommend. I will be making these again.
These Banana Oat muffins came out great! My kids and husband loved them and they were super easy to make.
How much calories on these?
This recipe was amazing, so moist and delicious ! I have two questions. My top did not come out like yours, it did not rise and the top was not crunchy any idea as to why? I really want to try and get it like that. Also would I have to change anything if I did half oat flour half whole wheat flour ? Do you think it would ruin the recipe ?
Thank you for this amazing recipe !!
Had some overripe bananas on hand and i had to give these a try… i added some frozen raspberries and a couple of mini chocolate chips and these are just fabulous!!! got around 17 perfect muffins well 15 now since both my husband and me tasted one to see whether it is good or not :-) plus need i say the house smells divine
These were so yummy! Thank you for this recipe!
My husband is Celiac so it’s hard to find a healthy and tasty muffin recipe. These are the best of the best, so tasty and moist. I added 3/4 cup of fresh organic blueberries which make them even better. I love that they are not loaded with processed sugar. I’ll be making these often! Thanks!
Delicious banana muffins with pumpkin spice. I baked them for 18 minutes and they looked beautiful, and when tested with toothpick appeared to be done. After they rested 20 minutes they were not firmed up inside, so I pt them back in for 15 minutes. My oven tests correct, so I guess we just prefer a firmer interior. Will be making these whenever I have ripe bananas. Everyone loved the. I made another batch to freeze.
Seriously the best banana muffins I’ve ever had. Moist, not too sweet, perfect for a snack, or light dessert. I spent a week making different banana muffin recipes and this one was by far the best. I’ve made this recipe several times now and I’m pleased each time. I gave some to my neighbors and they loved them so much they asked for the recipe. I love adding shredded coconut to the batter for extra texture.
Hi,
I can see a lot of people have made these and had success but I’m just checking is that meant to be maybe baking powder not baking soda ? And is that actually bicarbonate soda?
I just wonder in that case if there’s no vinegar if that’s enough to raise the mixture.
They look great but wanted to check before I made them, thank you.
These are amazing! You’d never guess they’re “healthified.” Definitely bookmarking!
Needs less pumpkin spice and more banana. I’ll probably do 1.5 cups mashed banana and 1/2TB pumpkin spice next time.
These are amazing!! Made exactly as written and just sprinkled a few chocolate chips on top of each muffin before they baked. Husband, 3 YO, and I all love them. They are the perfect healthy breakfast or snack and so easy to pack up for preschool. Thank you!
I loved these muffins! I was out of eggs so used an extra banana. I did have to bake for at least ten minutes longer. I will definitely make these again.
very delicious! Mine took more like 20 minutes to bake through and were still moist. Thank you for a wonderful recipe.
This recipe is great! I’ve made it several times, but I have to calculate the amount of oat flour since I’m just buying it, rather than creating it with a blender or food processor. Could you post the amount of store-bought oat flour needed, if readers decide to go that route? Thanks for the wonderful recipes!
I had a few overripe bananas in the house and searched for a banana muffin recipe online. I made these in a mini muffin pan using “Red Mill oat flour,” avocado oil, maple syrup, walnuts and sprinkled the turbonado sugar on top before baking. 18” @ 375 was perfect and they are delish! Thank you for providing great info on how to substitute oat flour and for providing so many options for substitutions! This will be my go-to muffin recipe from now on!
Very moist and just right on sweetness. Love that there’s no flour in these. Will make again for sure!
This recipe didn’t work out at all. I used 3 cups oatmeal, processed. Is it supposed to be 3 cups of processed oatmeal? The batter was very loose and the finished product didn’t have a whole lot of flavor. Probably not on my repeat list.