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 was looking for a recipe to use up some over ripe bananas. So happy I found this one. Came out sooo good. For health reasons I swapped oil for applesauce. May have taken a bit away from the banana flavor but I’m ok with that. I used vanilla oat milk because I didn’t have any extract on hand and opted for the honey. It rose fluffy and moist. Looking forward to trying this completely vegan option. Thank you.
You’re welcome, Lisa! Thank you for your review.
This is so good and moist. I used 1/4 cup coconut oil, coconut extract instead, 1/4 cup oatmeal, added dark chocolate chips and walnuts. I added slice bananas on top and dark chocolate Thanks! Will make again
Being a New Englander from birth in Boston (the Berkshires now in retirement!) I always have maple syrup in the fridge and I also had 5 black bananas sitting on my counter that needed lovin’ when I saw your recipe. I added plenty of chopped walnuts and made small muffins (24) so my husband and I wouldn’t feel quite so guilty eating 2 or 3 at a time. They are truly scrumptious! And, even as a lifetime WW member, I’m making room for these every day ’til they’re gone!!! I’ll be making more for sure… maybe next week
I’m delighted you enjoyed them, Julie! Thank you for your review.
I made a batch of these today and a bit disappointed. They are dry and tasteless. I used super ripe (almost black) bananas, mix of maple syrup and honey. I used plenty of vanilla, a bit more banana than recommended too.
Hi Laura, I’m sorry to hear you didn’t enjoy this recipe. It sounds like there may have been to much flour. How did you measure it?
These are amazing! I never leave comments on recipes but these are so good I had to thank you! We mix in frozen blueberries. Our big family all love them. I usually make mini muffins for lunch boxes and they are perfect.
Great to hear, Claire! I appreciate your review.
This is my go-to muffin recipe. Hands down! I have made them as written and switched the banana with pumpkin puree, or carrot leftovers from juicing and even spare packages of baby food! We call them fruit muffins! I have done 1 tsp. of vinegar, instead of eggs. I have even topped them with soaked walnuts and sugar. So many variations! My kids like them as a cake or as muffins! I just SO much appreciate this recipe! Thank you! To you, and my sister-in-law for sharing it with me!
That’s great to hear! I appreciate you taking the time to review.
Howdy, I made these muffins & added chopped dates. They turned out great! A yummy recipe!! I prefer not too sweet anyway & the dates added an extra sweetness.
That’s great to hear, Faith! Thank you for sharing.
This is hands down the BEST healthiest banana oat muffin I have ever made. I ran out of wheat flour and I read one of your other articles that showed how to calculate the amount of oat flour to use to sub the proper amount. So I used 2.5 cups of oat flour to replace the wheat flour and I baked the muffins for 22 minutes and they were incredible!!!! These are my new favorite healthy muffins!!! Thank you!!
You’re welcome, Jay! Thank you for your review.
absolutely beautiful. I used apple sauce instead of oil ( never knew you could do this )added some chopped walnuts. Thank you so much .
Noeline
You’re welcome! Thank you for your review.
I just made these for my family for a vacation morning treat and they were delicious! I used melted butter instead of oil and increased cinnamon to one teaspoon and vanilla to two teaspoons. Otherwise followed the recipe with maple syrup for the sweetener. They were perfection. Will make again soon!
Delicious recipe, I made mine into a cake, in the oven for 35minutes for half the mixture above. Thanks.
Thank you for sharing, Patricia!
Just made this recipe using EVOO and half honey half maple syrup, added rough chopped almond and craisins and only did a rough mash on the bananas for texture. Turned out AMAZING!!! Can’t wait to try different mix ins!! Going to try applesauce instead of oil also to see how that works out. But this is a GREAT base recipe!!
I make these ALL THE TIME, and everyone who tries them loses their minds about them. And I am not a great baker. I think it’s super important to use very very ripe bananas, the blacker the better, and I also typically do a little bit more than is called for, I think. Don’t skimp is the bottom line. I also always use regular whole wheat flour, coconut oil, maple syrup, and add 1/2c pretty finely blitzed walnuts and 1/2 c chocolate chips. The crunchy sugar on top makes it next level but will turn sticky in an airtight container or if you don’t eat them day 1.
Thank you for commenting, Carly! I’m glad this one is a hit for you.
I made them for the first time today and they are so good! I mean what else should I have expected, it’s Cookie and Kate of course they would be delicious! Will definitely make again
I added chocolate chips, walnuts, and Demerara sugar on top. I used soft white wheat flour, and wildflower honey in place of maple syrup. They were plenty sweet. Used a jumbo muffin pan and got six from a 1X scale making. I will keep this recipe for the future.
These muffins were good, but need to be cooked at higher temperature. I have never baked anything at 325, but wanted to follow the recipe. Mine were in the oven for 30 minutes and never browned. I like for the outside to be brown and inside moist.
Hi. Would love to try this recipe out. Do you think adding protein powder would work? if yes, how much should I add? Thank you.
I haven’t tried it, sorry!
Superb!! I don’t normally leave comments but I just made these and waited for them to cool to try my first one….oh my…now to stop at one!! I used grapeseed oil, maple syrup and chopped dates for my add ins, they were moist and simply delicious. Will be making these again and again, thank you!
Thank you, Jo!
I came across this recipe on Pinterest. When I saw it was from Cookie & Kate, I knew it would be a keeper. You are definitely a trusted recipe source. ❤️
My kiddos love these muffins! I do coconut oil and maple syrup. Excellent way to use up those brown bananas. These muffins pack nicely for school lunches or snacks in the car.
Yummy! You can definitely tell they’re whole wheat – there’s no escaping that – but these are so moist and flavourful! Loved em.
I made these today for my family and shared some with my neighbors. Wonderful. Really moist and tasty. And oh so easy. Love only having to use one bowl. Much less clean up.
Delicious! I added frozen blueberries, so good!
Thank you for sharing how you made these muffins, Ellen! I’m delighted you enjoyed them.
Lovely recipe, and healthy too! I added some cocoa (unsweetened) and also sifted the flour, salt, cinnamon, cinnamon and baking soda together to get a more consistent mixture, then added the oats and mix ins after mixing the flour mix in. Beautiful muffins!
Wonderful to hear, Hannah! I appreciate your review.
So delicious!! I added frozen blueberries, and have added chocolate chips in the past !.
Love this recipe! The muffins had the perfect texture, a bit crispy on the outside and soft on the inside with a very nice flavor balance. I used regular flour because it’s what I had and tried the olive oil because so many previous comments did the same. Walnuts on the top added the perfect crunch. This will be my go to muffin recipe!
I make these all the time with allergen free chocolate chips! I sub flax egg to veganize and apple sauce for oil to make low fat and they’re great! Is the nutrition information for the original recipe available?
Hi Niza! The nutritional information is below the notes section.
Made these last night! Amazing! I substatuted flour for oat flour and they came out so great! Thanks for sharing:)
colleen
Great to hear, Colleen! Thank you for your review.
Hi Kate,
I just made the Maple Sweetened Banana Muffins today and they turned out almost perfect. The hiccup was my fault as I wanted to add the oats and only had the steel-cut, so they have a bit of a little seed crunch that some might find unpleasant. For the oil, I used 1/4 Cup of natural apple sauce, 1/8 C coconut oil and 1/8 C olive oil (because I only had this much coconut oil) and I love the taste! My bananas were ripe, which is a must for the natural sweetness. They rose beautifully and pulled out of the slightly greased muffin tin with ease! I also added walnuts as Banana Nut muffins are my favorite. Great recipe, which I found by Googling Healthy Banana Muffins.
Oh no! I’m glad they were still ok. I appreciate your feedback and review, Susan.
I don’t always have great success with muffins… but I had bananas that needed eating and a hankering for something sweet…made these with half and half maple syrup and really dark yummy honey… pecans and craisins…. And wasn’t expecting much because I really, really suck at muffins. I used my convection microwave and in no time those muffins were rising up and smelling great! They are gorgeous! I always have good success with your recipes.. and now this one will become my go to banana muffins recipe! Thanks!
These are yummy. I used Trader Joe’s organic olive oil and added chocolate chips. My new go-to recipe!
Great to hear, Pamela! I appreciate your review.
I followed the recipe almost to the T. Except . I did 2/3 cup maple syrup.
I used the almond milk.
I didn’t use any oats or add INS or even the turbinado.
However, this made me 15 muffins.
And about 6 or 7 of these were huge and needed to be cooked for like 27 minutes
I used the Amazon rainbow silicone muffin/cupcake cups.
It’s pretty good.
Not super sweet but it’s also not resembling bread like my healthy chocolate muffin attempt.
I eat cake batter. Don’t yell at me I know it’s not safe but it’s sooo good and I’ve been doing it since childhood.
Soo if you’re a lick the spoon clean type then I approve this cake batter.
Also, I might slather some dulce de leche on these or some Nutella.
All in all this goes good with my cup of argentinean Mate and almond milk sweetened with a little honey.
Recipe approved by the world’s pickiest eater.
It sounds absolutely yummy. However, I would like to know why you don’t add baking power, as well as baking soda.? I always add both in my banana loaf.
Fantastic recipe! I used oat flour in the place of whole wheat and the muffins came out amazing. I cut down the maple a touch since my bananas were over ripe. So healthy and simple. This will be a go-to recipe for my family from now on. Thank you!
That’s great to hear, KB!
Followed recipe as written, used maple syrup, avocado oil and added walnuts. Turned out deliciously moist with a tender crumb. Will definitely be making these again!
Thank you for the great recipe.
That’s great to hear, Fatima!
We just love this recipe! We add dates to ours. We also make big and mini, mini take about 12min. It is a go to in our house. I make a double batch always and freeze. Thank you!
I love to hear that, Erika! Thank you for your review.
Delicious! We make these regularly as mini muffins (12 minute bake time) and freeze them. My 2 year old daughter loves helping make (and eat) them. We use avocado oil, almond milk, maple syrup, and omit the sugar topping. They are the perfect amount of sweetness. Adding a tiny bit more banana creates the perfect amount of moisture for us.
We’ve also made the healthy apple muffins here and they are a close runner up to these.
Thanks so much, Kate, for creating this go-to recipe.
I’m wondering if you’ve made these by weighing the flour? I made them this morning that way and they were unedibly dense.
I’m sorry to hear that. How did you measure your flour?
Just made these right now!…taste delicious and not sweet at all and that’s good as I don’t like really like sweet desserts.
I used regular white flour, didn’t have whole wheat on hand, and I added walnuts and no sugar on top!
This will be my “Go To” Banana muffin recipe from now on!
I love to hear that, Karen!
I swapped bananas for equal cups of soaked mixed dried fruit and added another cup of mixed fruit that wasn’t soaked. I upped the cinnamon by 1 tsp and it turned out beautiful!
Thanks for an awesome recipe.
I’m glad it still turned out, Wendy! Thank you for sharing.
Just made these muffins. Delicious !!
Can I add protein powder in this recipe? And what other changes I will need to make to accommodate it?
I haven’t tried it so I an’t say for sure. Sorry!
I make these muffins all the time, we love them. I add toasted flax seeds in the batter and I sprinkle some on top before baking. Always moist and flavorful
That’s great to hear, Tracie!
I made this with avocado oil, added raw pecans because I didn’t have enough bananas and used sweet potato flour instead and they turned out delicious!!!
Great to hear, Kelly!
I made these with oatmeal flour needed to add 1 more cup. Without the consistency was like pancakes..
I also added chocolate chips..
Very good.. ty
Can I use plain flour instead? I feel like using wholemeal flour might make it a bit dense but that’s just my guess.
Sure, it should work. Let me know what you think!
Tried this recipe today because I had 3 very ripe bananas, it was
excellent. Very moist and tender muffins, and very easy recipe.
Thank you for sharing. I did add toasted pecans and used half honey and half maple syrup.
Great to hear, Marta!
This is a great recipe. I did change it a little. I didn’t use maple syrup or honey but instead added 1/2 cup of monk fruit sweetener because I’m diabetic. They were very moist and sweet. I will definitely make these often. My 3 year old loved them too. I also swapped coconut milk instead of the regular milk as well.
Yum! I used maple syrup and oat milk, plus added walnuts and chocolate chips. Great flavour combinations.
Great to hear, Grace!
I just pulled the muffins from the oven. I preheated at 375 and then went to 325. I only had all purpose flour, which I sifted, I used 1/4 maple 1/4 honey and I used coconut milk. I was tired and used the canola oil, but next time I’ll use oil. They turned out looking just like yours.
Thanks
oh these r perfect!! nice and sweet, super fluffy and flavorful. followed the recipe exactly, but halved. def making again