This healthy banana muffins recipe is easy to make with everyday ingredients, lightly sweetened with maple syrup, naturally gluten-free, and so tasty.

After posting recipes for healthy pumpkin muffins and healthy apple muffins this autumn, it was only natural that this recipe was soon to follow.

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 spiceI 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:

  1. Make your oat “flour”: Add your oats to a blender or food processor and pulse until they reach a fine flour-like consistency.
  2. Combine your dry ingredients: Add the pumpkin pie spice, salt and baking soda, and pulse until evenly combined.
  3. 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.
  4. 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.)
  5. 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.
  6. Bake. Until a toothpick inserted in the center of a muffin comes out clean, about 15 minutes.
  7. 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:

Healthy Banana Muffin Recipe

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Healthy Banana Muffins

5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star 4.9 from 37 reviews
  • Prep Time: 15 minutes
  • Cook Time: 15 minutes
  • Total Time: 30 minutes
  • Yield: 12 servings

Description

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.


Ingredients

Scale
  • 3 cups old-fashioned oats (or 240 grams oat flour)
  • 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

  1. Preheat oven to 375°F. Line a 12-cup muffin pan with baking liners, or lightly grease with cooking spray.  Set aside.
  2. 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.
  3. 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.)
  4. Portion the ingredients into prepared baking cups.  Then sprinkle a pinch of turbinado sugar on top of each muffin, if you would like.
  5. 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.
  6. 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.

Recipe adapted from Cooking Light.

About Ali

Hi, I'm Ali Martin! I created this site in 2009 to celebrate good food and gathering around the table. I live in Kansas City with my husband and two young boys and love creating simple, reliable, delicious recipes that anyone can make!

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60 Comments

  1. LM Davis says:

    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.

  2. Kristen Chang says:

    Very moist and just right on sweetness. Love that there’s no flour in these. Will make again for sure!

  3. Debra says:

    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!

  4. Molly says:

    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!

  5. mom says:

    very delicious! Mine took more like 20 minutes to bake through and were still moist. Thank you for a wonderful recipe.

  6. Jill says:

    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.

  7. Lisa says:

    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!

  8. Sarah says:

    Needs less pumpkin spice and more banana. I’ll probably do 1.5 cups mashed banana and 1/2TB pumpkin spice next time.

  9. Nora says:

    These are amazing! You’d never guess they’re “healthified.” Definitely bookmarking!

  10. Naomi says:

    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.