Maple-Sweetened Banana Muffins

These whole wheat, maple-sweetened banana muffins are the best! So fluffy and moist, I bet no one can guess they're healthy muffins. Easy to make, too.

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Healthy banana muffins recipe (whole grains, naturally sweetened and so good!) - cookieandkate.com

Meet the banana muffins of my dreams. They’re fluffy, whole grain, naturally sweetened, totally delicious banana muffins. They’re also about as healthy as muffins can be. The recipe calls for basic ingredients and you can mix them all together in one bowl. Too much to be true? Nope.

These muffins are a derivative of my super popular banana bread and pumpkin muffin recipes. If you love these, you certainly don’t miss the blueberry muffins in my cookbook.

mashed banana

Muffins aside, can I tell you what else is exciting? I got a new camera! Can you tell? Bueller? Bueller? Well, that’s ok. I can, and I’m thrilled about it. I bought my old camera during my last year of college and it was the best investment I ever made. Eight years and 88,000 (that’s eighty-eight thousand) photographs later, it was time to upgrade.

My new camera and I are still getting acquainted. I haven’t found the best settings or figured out all the fancy-pants features just yet (anyone want video?). We’ll get there. Photographing these banana muffins was a learning experience. A very tasty learning experience.

how to make banana muffins

The Best Banana Muffins

Here are a few reasons to love this banana muffin recipe (which happens to be more nutritionally redeeming than most):

  • These muffins are easy to make with basic ingredients. Only one bowl required!
  • They’re made with 100% whole grains, yet they’re fluffy and delicious. No one will know the difference.
  • They’re also naturally sweetened with maple syrup or honey, rather than loaded with refined sugar. The maple syrup (or honey) offers a touch of extra flavor, which I love.
  • A touch of cinnamon offers some warming spice flavor. These muffins will make your house smell amazing!
  • These muffins freeze well, too. Just defrost individual muffins in the microwave for 30 to 60 seconds, or until gently warmed through. You don’t want to overdo it.

banana muffin batter

Please let me know how your muffins turn out in the comments! I love hearing from you, and hope these banana muffins are your new favorite.

Craving more wholesome banana treats? Don’t miss my banana oat pancakes, vegan banana sconeshealthy banana bread and banana cake with cream cheese frosting.

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Watch How to Make Banana Muffins

Healthy whole wheat banana muffins - cookieandkate.com

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Maple-Sweetened Banana Muffins

  • Author: Cookie and Kate
  • Prep Time: 10 mins
  • Cook Time: 25 mins
  • Total Time: 35 minutes
  • Yield: 11 muffins

5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star 4.9 from 1785 reviews

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These whole wheat, maple-sweetened banana muffins are so fluffy and moist, I bet no one can guess they’re healthy muffins. They’re easy to make, too, with basic ingredients and only one mixing bowl! Feel free to add mix-ins of your choice, like chocolate chips or toasted nuts. Recipe yields 12 muffins.

Ingredients

  • ⅓ cup melted coconut oil or extra-virgin olive oil*
  • ½ cup maple syrup or honey
  • 2 eggs, preferably at room temperature
  • 1 cup packed mashed ripe bananas (about 3 bananas)
  • ¼ cup milk of choice or water (I used almond milk)
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • ½ teaspoon cinnamon, plus more for sprinkling on top
  • 1 ¾ cups white whole wheat flour or regular whole wheat flour
  • ⅓ cup old-fashioned oats (optional), plus more for sprinkling on top
  • 1 teaspoon turbinado (raw) sugar or other granulated sugar, for sprinkling on top

Instructions

  1. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit (165 degrees Celsius). If necessary, grease all 12 cups of your muffin tin with butter or non-stick cooking spray (my pan is non-stick and didn’t require any grease).
  2. In a large bowl, beat the coconut oil and maple syrup together with a whisk. Add the eggs and beat well. Mix in the mashed bananas and milk, followed by the baking soda, vanilla extract, salt and cinnamon.
  3. Add the flour and oats to the bowl and mix with a large spoon, just until combined. If you’d like to add any additional mix-ins**, like nuts, chocolate or dried fruit, fold them in now.
  4. Divide the batter evenly between the muffin cups, filling each cup about two-thirds full. Sprinkle the tops of the muffins with a small amount of oats (about 1 tablespoon in total), followed by a light sprinkling of sugar (about 1 teaspoon in total). Bake muffins for 22 to 25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into a muffin comes out clean.
  5. Place the muffin tin on a cooling rack to cool. You might need to run a butter knife along the outer edge of the muffins to loosen them from the pan. These muffins will keep at room temperature for up to 2 days, or in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. They keep well in the freezer in a freezer-safe bag for up to 3 months (just defrost individual muffins as needed).

Notes

Recipe adapted from my healthy pumpkin muffins.

*Oil options: I love coconut oil here. I used unrefined coconut oil and can hardly taste it in the final product. Olive oil might lend an herbal note to the muffins, if you’re into that (although, I tested with California Olive Ranch’s “Everyday” variety and couldn’t even taste it). Vegetable oil has a neutral flavor but the average vegetable/canola oil is highly processed, so I recommend using cold-pressed sunflower oil or grapeseed oil if possible.

**Change it up: You could really go crazy with add-ins here. Fold in up to ¾ cup chocolate chips, chopped dried cranberries or crystallized ginger and/or chopped nuts like pecans or walnuts. With add-ins, your muffins might require the full 25 minutes in the oven. Another idea? You could top your muffins with my maple glaze from my pumpkin scones recipe to make them more decadent.

Serving suggestions: These muffins are great on their own, with a pat of butter, or spread with almond butter. They would also be fantastic with homemade pecan butter or coconut butter.

Make it egg free: Substitute flax eggs for the regular eggs.

Make it vegan: Substitute flax eggs for regular eggs, use dairy-free milk like almond milk and use maple syrup instead of honey.

Make it gluten free: Bob’s Red Mill gluten-free all-purpose blend works well instead of the whole wheat flour.

Make it nut free: Use a nut-free milk.

Make it oat free: Simply omit the oats.

Make it lower in fat: I would argue that this bread contains a healthy amount of fat, but you can replace the oil with applesauce if you’re following a low-fat diet.

Nutrition

The information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice. See our full nutrition disclosure here.

This post contains affiliate links to Amazon, which means I’ll earn a small commission (at no cost to you) if you make a purchase through these links. Thank you for your support!

Kate and Cookie

HELLO, MY NAME IS

Kathryne Taylor

I'm a vegetable enthusiast, dog lover, mother and bestselling cookbook author. I've been sharing recipes here since 2010, and I'm always cooking something new in my Kansas City kitchen. Cook with me!

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Comments

  1. Caroline

    Beautiful, moist, nutty flavoured muffins. I used macadamia oil and replaced one third of the flour with sweet lupin flour. Used up some chocolate chips I had left over and making them again today to use up some walnuts. (I am on a binge to use up old ingredients in my kitchen!) Definitely five stars.

  2. Gemma

    Can I sub oil with peanut butter if I want peanut butter banana muffins?

    1. Cookie and Kate

      Hi Gemma, substituting peanut butter for oil would impact the texture, since it is changing the ratio of liquid in the recipe. It would also impact the leavening. I haven’t tried it, but if I was going to I would try Sally’s Baking Banana Peanut Butter muffins. Her recipes are tested and always turn out well for me.

  3. Ashlee

    I’ve used this recipe so many times and it never fails me! Thanks for sharing such a great recipe!

  4. Jocelyn

    These muffins were moist and fluffy with the perfect amount of sweetness! I used all purpose flour and extra virgin olive oil and they turned out great.

    1. Joan

      I wish I could leave a ten star rating ! These are the best ever banana muffins.
      I can hardly wait to try the pumpkin ones. Thank you.

  5. Jeannie

    The best banana muffin recipe! Made it the first time according to recipe — delicious! the second time added swirls of peanut butter — also delicious!

  6. Chelsie

    I ended up with up with 16 muffins. I used 3 bananas and didn’t measure – could that be why?

    1. Cookie and Kate

      Hi Chelsie, what size is your muffin tin? How full did you fill them? That will make a difference. I’m glad they still turned out.

  7. Sheila Lindner

    Hi can you add in frozen blueberries?

  8. KristinaG

    I have jumbo muffin tins. Would I need to increase the recipe? How much longer to bake?

    1. Cookie and Kate

      Hi Kristina, it depends on the size. If you have a 6 jumbo muffin tin, they are probably the same volume as a standard 12 muffin tin and you wouldn’t need to adjust the amount of batter. For baking time, I’d bake until a toothpick comes out clean. Start checking after an extra 3-5 minutes.

  9. eva

    Got a 5 star review from my church friends. Said “super moist”
    Thank you for your recipe.

  10. Shelley Harden

    Wonderful food.
    Especially your cinnamon muffins. They are delicious …. Almost addictive!

  11. Gretchen Wertz

    Best banana muffins recipe ever! I did change some things. I used 1 cup whole wheat flour and 3/4 cup of spelt flour. I used coconut oil and flaxseed eggs. Added walnuts. My husband loves them! This is a keeper Thank you very much

  12. Abbey

    Most delicious banana muffin recipe ever! Delicious fusion of moist fluffy texture and flavour. Thank you so much for sharing

    1. Eve

      I’d like to add dates, what should I change in the recipe? Thank you so much!

      1. Cookie and Kate

        Hi Eve, you can simple add chopped dates to the finished batter.

  13. Debra

    These muffins are soo moist and fluffy! They did not last long in my household! I made a vegan version using flax in place of the egg. Thanks for sharing the recipe!

  14. Laura

    Hi – this recipe looks wonderful! Just wondering if you think it would be possible to substitute brown sugar for the honey/maple syrup, as I don’t usually have these sweetners at home?

    Thanks!

    1. Cookie and Kate

      Hi Laura, I recommend the recipe as written. Maple syrup is sweeter than sugar by volume, so you can substitute at a 1:1 ratio, and you may need to increase the liquid slightly.

  15. Tina

    There isn’t any rising agent like baking powder so how will these rise?! I’m half way thetic making them and only just realised… what should I do?

    1. Cookie and Kate

      Hi Tina, these rely on baking soda for the leavening agent.

      1. Megan Becker

        These are by far the best muffins and a staple in our house! I’m wondering how to convert this into a loaf because the kids are requesting a loaf.

        1. Cookie and Kate

          Hi Megan, if you like the muffins you will like my banana bread recipe. It is made in a loaf pan.

  16. Jenny

    Good afternoon, thank you for the Muffin recipe, I made them a few weeks ago and everyone myself included liked them to the point friends asked for the recipe. Made them again today and they have hardly risen and quite dense, tried one and they taste like the previous batch.
    I used plain flour ( last time I used plain flour and the remainders of some chestnut flour I had to use up).
    Any idea where I went wrong please

    1. Cookie and Kate

      Hi Jenny, it sounds like you forgot to add the baking soda.

    2. Jenny

      Hi! this happened to me recently too and I realized i used baking powder instead of baking soda- maybe that was also what happened for yours?

  17. Jodie

    Amazing! These are SO delicious. Absolutely perfect. We used olive oil and soy milk. So moist! We make them for our toddler and she LOVES them. Thank you!

  18. Britta

    Hi! I love your banana bread recipe but wanted to make muffins for a brunch birthday party and that recipe led me here. Just wanted to say that I made a triple batch and they turned out great! I had multiple people complimenting them + asking for the recipe.

    They turned out more dense – likely from me over-mixing the large volume of dough I was working with – but a few people specifically liked that, so it was a win :) Thanks for a great recipe and I’ll be making this again soon!

    (P.S. Part of this x3 recipe was made into mini muffins and those turned out great too – baked for ~13/14 min. Kids loved them!)

  19. Mindy

    Found this recipe after realizing I had 3 bananas that had ripened much faster than anticipated. This is the best banana muffin I have ever had! My toddler is obsessed and so is my husband.

  20. Jeannie

    I’ve made this multiple times now, and my favorite is to swirl peanut butter just before baking

  21. Jamie

    These are possibly the best banana muffins I have made to date. They are so well balanced. I added chocolate chips because that’s how we prefer them in our house. My son also loved them and immediately asked for a second when he finished his first!!!

  22. Chris

    These muffins came out great!! We love the flavor with the maple syrup, much better than the previous recipe I’ve used. Delicious!

  23. Roksana

    I did not rate these yet, as I haven’t tried your recipe, but I’m wondering if I used a silicone muffin tray, would it impact the duration of time or temperature it’s baked at?

    1. Cookie and Kate

      Hi Roksana, you should bake for the same amount of time.

  24. Cherilyn

    I have used this recipe for YEARS and it is the best! I love all of your baked goods and feel good giving them to my kids.

  25. Jen

    Can I use whole milk yogurt in this vs the milk?

    1. Cookie and Kate

      Hi Jen, I recommend the recipe as written. If you do try the substitution, please share how it turns out.

  26. Jenny

    perfect… added the oats and walnuts…this one is a keeper

  27. Nicole

    These came out great! I make your blueberry muffins all the time so when I had overripe bananas I knew where to look for a recipe. I used white flour and about 1/3c honey but otherwise followed the recipe. They came out great! I only had 2 bananas so it made 10 muffins instead of 12.