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.
Updated by Kathryne Taylor on August 30, 2024
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.
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.
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.
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 scones, healthy banana bread and banana cake with cream cheese frosting.
Watch How to Make Banana Muffins
Maple-Sweetened Banana Muffins
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
- 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).
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
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I haven’t tried this yet but it looks delish!! Could I use rapeseed oil instead?? :)
I haven’t tried it, so I can’t say for sure. Let me know if you try it!
This recipe is awesome!!! I needed to adjust the flour bc I am at high altitude. I will be making these forever. Thank you for sharing!
Made them with grapeseed oil, maple syrup, and added in some semi-sweet chocolate chips — the amount in the recipe resulted in about 14 muffins for me actually! I loved how quick & easy it was to make (with minimal bowls = east cleaning, too!), and although I’m normally not a fan of banana bread or muffins, I’ve been enjoying them so much! Thanks for the great recipe :)
I made these muffins yesterday and they were so tasty and moist. My family devoured them and want me to make more today! I think I will try some add-ins today like dried cranberries and/or nuts maybe. Recipe did not disappoint and is a keeper for sure. Easy and delicious!!!
I really loved these muffins. So easy to make and delicious, although I’d use half the maple syrip and skipped sugar completely. A bit too sweet for me otherwise.
I’m not sure where I went wrong as I’m a baker but I felt the coconut oil overwhelmed all the other flavours in this recipe.
I’m sorry to hear you didn’t love it. Thank you for your feedback.
Made these tonight and added in some mini semi-sweet chocolate chips. Sooooo good!!!!!
You’re welcome, Jen! Thank you for your review.
Excellent recipe. I made this with maple syrup in my mini muffin pan and got 36 muffins They were so moist and delicious. Next time I will try it with honey
I made this recipe tonight OMG so delicious. Thanks for sharing
You’re welcome, Nicole!
My go to banana recipe. Turns out perfect every time!
I’m glad you love them, Jacqueline!
Ive used this recipe many times and it is awesome, i really like all the different options you give for different dietary needs too. i have a 1 and a half year old who is also a BIG fan. In fact i like many of your recipes but my favorite are your quick breads for sure, thank you! :)
You’re welcome, Angel! Thank you for your review.
These came out sooo good! I love this recipe, thank you!
You’re welcome, Jackie! Thank you for your review.
I used half molasses and half honey, added raisins! Thank you for recipe it was delicious!
You’re welcome, Cheryl!
My husband and I loved these muffins. I cut the salt on half and will probably omit the salt next time and I used a baking soda alternative due to heart health. I used whole wheat flour, almond milk, E.V. olive oil, and honey. I accidentally put in 1/2 cup oats, I sprinkled oats and cinnamon on the tops and the muffins turned out awesome.
I made these today with the help of my two toddler boys and they turned out great! I used liquid coconut oil, keto maple syrup and added pecans to half and choc chips to the other half… My boys gobbled theirs up (and me too )! I have a feeling these aren’t gonna last long on my counter! Thanks for the recipe!
That sounds fun, Nikki! Thank you for sharing.
I made these muffins tonight. I used fat free condensed milk and instead of vanilla extract, a half teaspoon each of banana and maple extracts. Added a half cup of chopped walnuts. They turned out amazing! Excellent texture and taste. This recipe is a keeper.
I’m glad you loved it, Sherry! Thank you for your review.
Absolutely LOVE this recipe! I have made these muffins a few times now. They are perfectly spongy with just the right amount of sweetness. That little sweet crunch on top thanks to the turbinado sugar: so delightfully DELICIOUS! Became a vegetarian early 2020 and love the results. I can not wait to try more of your recipes, thanks Kate!
Great muffins. Made 12 rather large. I added choc chips & walnuts. Will make again
I made these yummy things today for [probably] the 20th time. But this time, I added unsweetened shredded coconut to the batter and sprinkled a bunch on top instead of the oats (also added some chopped walnuts). They were great! I always add 1/4 tsp nutmeg to the batter as well. This is such a terrific recipe!
I love your recipes Kate! I made this one and substituted pumpkin for the coconut oil (I have a large garden and needed to use some up). It worked out great and the kids loved taking them in their lunches.
I’m glad they loved them! I appreciate your review, Crystal.
I made these and the men loved them in their lunch boxes. Didn’t really rise but never baked with whole wheat before.
What am just wondering what can I replace the eggs with for egg allergy?
Hi Marti, see my notes for making it egg free/ vegan. For your rising issue, how did you measure your flour and make sure you don’t over stir.
This is the most satisfying, healthy and light but delicious muffin recipe I’ve ever tried. Wow. So gratifying!!! I am saving this to remake forever.
These muffins are simply amazing. I used olive oil and chopped dried cranberries as an add in. Wow!
Sounds delicious, Carol!
These muffins are simply amazing. I used olive oil and chopped dried cranberries as an add in. Wow!
Hi, I’m in Australia. Whole wheat flour is that self raising flour whole meal or plain whole meal flour with no raising additive?
Thanking you kindly.
Hi Kelly, self rising doesn’t tend to work well in these recipes. You could try you the other option. Let me know how it goes!
Will definitely let you know Kate. Thanking you kindly. Kelly
Can I use Oat flour for this recipe.
Hi Fran, yes. Be sure to follow my How to Make Oat Flour instructions. I hope you love them!
Hi Kate,
Do you think I can use regular flour to make them?
Hi, all purpose flour has worked for others in the past.
Really easy and the results were delicious. I added sultanas.
So these were really yummy. I like that I had everything on hand. I went with the options of olive oil, coconut beverage, maple syrup, and I had Red Mill whole wheat pastry flour on hand, I went with the oats addition. I added a few dark chocolate chips to half. I wasn’t sure if they’d be “too healthy” tasting and dense. They were not! They were just right, a bit fluffy and they passed the husband test too! I will share the rest so I don’t eat them all.Thank you.
Yet another good recipe here
Followed and it delivered
Something I let the kids eat without a guilty conscience
Great recipe!Thank you.
These were easy as described. Great taste. A tad dry. I upped the bananas by 1/2 cup for a denser, moister texture. Also made the banana flavor a tad more “present”. Good recipe.
These were INCREDIBLE!
I used 1/2 cup of blueberry yogurt instead of the 2 eggs, since we were out of eggs. I also used all purpose flour, since that was all I have. They baked in 20 minutes for me, but our oven does run hot.
We LOVED the subtle hint of the coconut oil and honey!
These are so good! I combined honey and maple syrup for this recipe – I only had about half the needed syrup so I used honey to make up the difference. And they came out so delicious. My kids love them too. Great, easy recipe.
Thank you, Jenny!
Hi! Do you think I could replace the oil with melted butter? I have food sensitivities and can’t eat any of the common oils
Hi Kim, butter can work in place of coconut oil sometimes. I can’t say for sure without trying it.
I just made these muffins. Love them. I wanted to cut back on white sugar and white flour. This really fit the bill. I’m back looking to see what other recipes you have!!!
Hi Kate,
I made them again and they are amazing.. like real cupcakes.
Rise well and tasted soooo good. Not sure what went wrong the first time… but it is a hit forsure.
My favorite banana muffins of all time, and the family loves them! I have to avoid processed sugar and dairy, so these are perfect. They also freeze very nicely.
Delicious and healthy. Easy to make with everyday ingredients already in the pantry.
I don’t know if it’s me being on a strict diet or if these muffins are truly heavenly! I have diabetes and I am literally obsessing over pastries. I decided to google healthy muffin recipes and found this one. The only substitution I made is I used sugar free maple syrup. It’s incredible!
it’s so moist and perfect! By the way, this is a second recipe from this website that I tried and loved. The first one was vegetarian bean chili. I like how Kate is whole foods oriented. Me too!
These are amazing! I’ve made them twice now. Once, close to the original recipe, reducing the sugar a little, and now, for the second time, with more modifications, and both times, the flavor has been amazing. For the second time round, I used 1.25 cup white whole wheat flour, 1/2 cup almond flour, 4 oz. unsweetened apple sauce and 2 tbsp. honey, and almond milk. I also added about 1/3rd cup dark chocolate chips. The muffins were delicious, though I think I prefer the stronger taste of maple syrup in these, and will probably use that next time. 2 tbsp honey was on the less sweet side, but the chocolate chips compensated for that. If I didn’t use the chocolate chips, I would add more sweetener. Absolutely love these, and the fact that they are so customizable. Next time, I might try with more oats, since I love a chewier texture. Thank you for this, as well as your other AMAZING recipes.
We love them.
I sprinkled with coconut sugar and oatmeal.
Also used white flour as that is all I had.
Also used 1/2 maple syrup and honey and maple extract in the mix along with the vanilla extract
I’m wondering about the nutritional information. The saturated fats must be for the recipe with olive oil not coconut oil. With coconut oil the saturated fats are more like 5.5 g. I thought I was eating a low fat muffin. I think it is a bit misleading when you list the coconut oil first. Otherwise great muffins. I will have to make them with olive oil instead.
Hi Karen,I’m glad you enjoyed these muffins! More on Nutrition Disclaimer.
The muffins are a hit with my family!! Super moist and flavorful! I substituted the 1/2 cup Maple to 1/3 Date syrup, eggs to Flax eggs and milk to Flax milk. Also added 1/3 cup dark Chocolate chips. Thank you so much for the recipe!
Thank you for sharing, Jane!
This is my new go-to muffin recipe! I made the pumpkin version last weekend for company, and they disappeared in a flash. Made the banana ones today and hoping to freeze some. I added some dark chocolate chips and chopped walnuts and they are divine!
Hi, I am out of maple syrup and honey but I would love to make these muffins! Do you think I could substitute brown sugar in place of honey/maple syrup? Thanks so much for your advice!
I recommend the liquid sweetener for this recipe, sorry!
Made them tonight, other half needed a fix of something to go with the left over cream cheese icing I had for his birthday cake.
I made them as muffins, regular sized and bite size. I left the tiny ones in for half the time, still checking with a toothpick. They were all very good. I eye balled the honey amount, it was a bit less than the 1/2 cup required. I used gluten free flour in same quantity, and added the oats as instructed.
They were very good, not sweat at all, but if I had put in the chocolate chips they would have been sweater. However, the cream cheese icing had enough to give anyone a good fix of sugar..lol
They might be a bit dry, but again, icing helped. Maybe I left them too long? not sure
I would make them again for sure, thanks for the recipe!!
Tonia
TT32
Fresh out of oven banana muffins. Heathy and delicious! Your my go to for most things I make. Love the homemade taste.
Hi! Getting ready to make this but wanting to use Almond flour. Would the measurement be any different or same as regular flour. (This will be my first time using it)
HI Katina, I wouldn’t recommend almond flour. Instead, try my Gluten-Free Banana Bread (Made with Almond Flour)