"Healthy" Banana Muffins You Totally Want to Eat

My sister is a really good cook. She has the enviable knack of whipping up an Instagram-worthy meal sans recipe. And while she's constantly scouring blogs for new inspiration, she's never met a recipe she's actually followed to a T. ???? During the COVID quarantine, she started a recipe spreadsheet for friends & family to share our favorites. On it, was a recipe for Eggplant Parmesan, which I now keep in our dinner rotation (for those of us that do need more than just inspiration from a recipe, this one nails it). And thus, I discovered the blog Cookie and Kate.

This muffin recipe, originating from that blog, has become my go-to when I have a surplus of overripe bananas (which is more often than one would think) and I want something sweet that I won't feel guilty eating multiples of.

Everyone has a different definition of what "healthy" means to them, but these moist, tender, flavorful muffins are ones most anyone will want to indulge in.

"Healthy" Banana Muffins You Totally Want to Eat

• Author: Sarah Marx Feldner
• Prep Time: 15 minutes
• Cook Time: 25 minutes
• Total Time: 40 minutes
• Yield: 12 Muffins 1x
• Category: Muffins
• Method: Baking

Print Recipe

Pin Recipe

---

Description

Makes 12 muffins

---

Ingredients

Scale 1x2x3x

• 1 ¾ cups whole wheat pastry flour (210 g)
• 1 tsp baking soda
• ½ tsp cinnamon
• ½ tsp fine-grain salt (like table or sea salt)
• ⅓ cup old-fashioned oats (35 g)
• 3 super ripe bananas
• ⅓ cup melted coconut oil
• ½ cup maple syrup
• 2 eggs, room temperature
• ¼ cup whole milk, room temperature
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• ¾ cups chocolate chips

---

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 325 F degrees. Grease a 12-cup muffin tin (I use coconut oil to do so). Set aside.
2. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt. Stir in the oats. Set aside.
3. In a large bowl, mash the bananas with the back of a fork until it resembles baby food. Whisk in the melted coconut oil, maple syrup, eggs, milk and vanilla.
4. Stir the flour mixture into the banana mixture just until well combined.
5. Fold in the chocolate chips.
6. Divide the batter evenly among the 12 muffin cups.
7. Bake 20 - 25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in a center muffin comes out clean.

---

Notes

• Although it sounds fancy, whole wheat pastry flour should be available at any well-stocked grocery store. The whole wheat pastry flour provides the necessary structure, while still providing a tender crumb. If unable to find it, you can substitute an equal volume of regular whole wheat or white whole wheat flour.
• Make sure the bananas are very, very ripe. Like, the skins are almost black and it seems crazy anyone would even think of eating them. This ensures the bananas are super sweet, and thus, your muffins super flavorful. If you store your ripe bananas (peeled!) in the freezer, be sure to bring to room temp before starting the recipe.
• Personally, it seems blasphemous to have a banana recipe void of chocolate. But feel free to swap the chocolate chips with an equal amount of nuts or dried fruit, or just omit any add-in altogether.
• To make the muffins look extra pretty, just before baking, sprinkle a couple oats and additional chocolate chips on top. If you really want to go wild, sprinkle some turbinado (raw sugar) on top, too. Yum!
• The large baking time range really depends on the size of your bananas. You could call for a consistent measurement (e.g. the original recipe calls for "1 cup packed mashed bananas"), but I find the whole point of making banana recipes is to use up whole bananas that are no longer "edible." Depending on the size of your bananas, and thus the moisture added to the recipe, you may need to bake the muffins for a bit shorter or longer timeframe.
• I love to eat a muffin warm out of the oven. Then, I store the rest in the freezer. Without fail, I'm looking for a snack ~10am every morning. I just pop one of these frozen muffins in the microwave for 30 seconds, and voilà, mid-morning craving satisfied. Healthily. 😉
• Recipe adapted from the deservedly popular blog, Cookie and Kate.

Keywords: bananas, banana bread, banana muffins, muffins, quick bread, cookie and kate, Kathryne Taylor, Kate Taylor