When you have browning bananas on your hands, what’s your go-to recipe? Classic banana bread, healthy banana bread, muffins, bars? The options are endless aren’t they. Bananas are such an awesomely versatile fruit that lend great sweetness and moisture to baked goods. And while I love making my classic banana bread and lots of other treats like this Perfect Banana, Coconut & Hazelnut Cake with Creamy Nutella Frosting or The Best Zucchini Banana Bread with Chocolate Chips, I especially adore these quick and easy muffins that are delicious, nutritious and so great to have on hand.
With these in the kitchen, a quick breakfast or in-between work or study snack is always at the ready. The kids love them and I love that they are sweetened with nothing more than overripe bananas and a little maple syrup and include other great ingredients like whole wheat flour and ground flax seeds.
Healthy and quick snack options, that taste like a treat too, are always welcomed in our house. But as we approach the holiday season and no doubt will be having plenty of sweet indulgences, it’s nice to keep some of the rest of our eats in check for the most part.
These are another quick, stir-it-up in a large bowl kind of recipe. My favorite kind. It starts with making the flax egg which is just 1 part ground flax seeds and 3 parts water. That sits and thickens while you measure the rest of the ingredients. Then the dry ingredients, whole wheat flour (the healthy,) cake flour (to lighten it all up,) oats (for some texture and another dose of goodness,) baking soda and baking powder (for the leavening agents,) get combined.
Then the wet ingredients- mashed bananas, milk, maple syrup, oil, an egg and vanilla get mixed with a little cinnamon, nutmeg and salt. And the thickened flax egg goes in after that. The dry gets folded in next until just combined, and not over-mixed, in order to have the lightest muffins possible.
Forget store-bought or boxed muffins when you can whip up these healthy yummies in no time and use up those overripe bananas too. A win and a win.
Please let me know how these muffins turn out for you down in the comments below or over on Instagram.
Happy healthy baking, friends!
Healthy Banana Muffins
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups + 2 tbsps (195g) whole wheat flour
- 3/4 cup (75g) cake flour
- 1/2 cup old fashioned oats
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1 flax egg (1 tbsp ground flax + 3 tbsps water)
- 1 1/4 cups mashed bananas (about 3 lg bananas)
- 1 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1 tsp kosher salt
- pinch of fresh ground nutmeg
- 1/2 cup milk
- 1/4 cup maple syrup
- 1/4 cup grapeseed oil
- 1 lg egg, lightly whisked
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 tbsps old-fashioned oats (for sprinkling on top)
Instructions
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Preheat the oven to 400F/ 204F and spray a regular-sized muffin tin with baking spray or line with baking cups.
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Make the flax egg by combining 1 tbsp ground flax seeds with 3 tbsps of water in a small bowl and set aside for 5 minutes until thickened.
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In a medium bowl, whisk together the whole wheat flour, cake flour, oats, baking powder and baking soda. Set aside.
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Next in a large bowl, mash the bananas, then measure to make sure you have the right amount. Then add the cinnamon, salt and nutmeg and combine with the banana. Next stir in the milk, maple syrup, oil, the whisked egg and the vanilla followed by the flax egg.
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Now add the dry ingredients to the wet and mix by gently folding until all is combined.
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Divide the batter evenly into the muffin tins to a little over 3/4 full. Top each muffin with a few oats and bake in the center rack of the oven for 10 minutes. Then turn the oven down to 350F/180C and bake about 10 minutes more until they spring back when lightly touched in the centers.
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Let the muffins cool in the muffin tin for 10 minutes before carefully removing to a wire rack. Once completely cooled these muffins can be stored in a tightly sealed container at room temp for 2-3 days, in the refrigerator for 5 days, or frozen up to a few months.
