Healthy Banana Muffins
I almost always buy way too many bananas. I seem to think my family of 3 (4 if you count Loki but the only way she eats bananas is if I sneak them in her treats and even then it’s iffy) will eat 20 bananas in a week. I have high hopes for our potassium intake but despite these high hopes, I am always left facing a bowl of overripe, ugly bananas. Luckily we cannot judge these bananas by their looks because the riper and the uglier, the sweeter and better for baking healthy banana muffins!
This morning I saw I had 2 overripe bananas and I had a craving for banana muffins so obviously I knew what I had to do. Healthy banana muffins we’re on the menu for snack time!
The word healthy is relative but these muffins are sweetened with maple syrup and made with whole wheat flour. I used grass-fed butter because I like the taste it gives the muffins but you can substitute coconut oil or extra virgin olive oil! These muffins are so good we ate all 6 in like 2 hours.
NATURALLY SWEETENED
I’ve mentioned before that we limit added sugar in Luca’s food. The AAP recommends avoiding serving added sugar to children under 2 years old so we follow that guidance but are flexible and not restrictive. When I bake for Luca I try and use natural sweeteners such as bananas, applesauce (with apples as the only ingredient), honey and pure maple syrup. These healthy banana muffins are sweetened with a little bit maple syrup and not lacking in sweetness in the least.
If you want to add an extra sweet addition, I sprinkled a bit of organic cane sugar on the bottom of the muffin pan after I greased them with butter. It added the perfect hint of extra sweetness to the muffin bottom and it was so much that it overpowered the other ingredients.
Now of course when I make chocolate chip cookies or the best apple pie, I use regular sugar but I make a conscious effort to use natural sweeteners in most other baking.
A SMALL BATCH
As I mentioned above, I only had 2 overripe bananas so this recipe is for 6 muffins. The perfect amount for you to share with your family or eat all by yourself! I love baking but sometimes I don’t want to use a ton of ingredients or make 100 servings when I only wanted 2. Ry doesn’t eat a lot of sweets so I’m always stuck with so many leftover treats! That’s why I love small batch baking, and reusable freezer bags for when you can’t make a small batch, you need to use far less ingredients and can make enough for one day.
If you have more than 2 overripe bananas, you can certainly double this recipe with 3-4 bananas to make 12 muffins.
TOPPINGS
I topped our healthy banana muffins with organic rolled oats and I sprinkled a bit of dark brown sugar on half for me and Ry. You can leave the muffins naked, use these toppings or toppings of your choice!
Healthy Banana Muffins
Ingredients
- 2 bananas, extra ripe – the riper the better!
- 1 egg i used extra large because that's what i had but large would work as well
- 3 tbsp melted unsalted butter can sub coconut oil, EVOO
- ¼ cup maple syrup can sub honey or regular sugar
- ½ tsp vanilla
- 1¼ cup white whole wheat flour can sub all-purpose or whole wheat
- ½ tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp baking soda
- ¼ tsp kosher salt
- organic cane sugar / granulated sugar / coarse sugar
- rolled oats
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325° F.
- In a bowl, mash and mix peeled bananas until they are smooth and there are few lumps.
- Melt butter in microwave or on stove and add to banana mixture.
- Add syrup, vanilla and egg to melted butter. Whisk until egg is combined.
- Add flour, salt, baking powder and baking soda to banana mixture. Mix with spatula or wooden spoon until just combined.
- Grease a muffin pan (recipe makes 6 regular sized muffins) with butter or oil. This part is totally optional but I liked the sweetness it added — sprinkle cane sugar over butter/oil in each muffin mold, I probably used ½ tbsp total.
- Scoop muffin mixture into muffin pan. I filled each mold almost to the top for 6 regular sized muffins.
- Add toppings if desired. I added some rolled oats and brown sugar on half.
- Bake in oven for about 15-20 minutes. I was unsure of how these would turn out so I didn't set a timer but I know they cooked for at least 15 minutes. Keep an eye on them.
- Remove from muffin pan and place on wire cooling rack or plate. Enjoy!
