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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Easy, great flavor, tastes like homemade banana bread but in a muffin form (and a little healthier!). I used part coconut oil and part olive oil (realized I didn’t have enough coconut oil after I started the recipe!), King Arthur’s unbleached all purpose flour, cow’s milk, and maple syrup and they turned out yummy! They were a hit with all of the family members! I will make these again! Love this website and your recipes!
Great to hear, Amanda!
HI, CAN I USE SPELT FLOUR?
I know spelt flour can be used in my banana bread so this could work! Let me know.
These are soooo fluffy and delicious. I feel great making something for my kids lunchbox that has no refined sugar in it. Your right, my house smells fantastic and a touch Christmaseeee love it
HI, THIS RECIPE LOOKS GREAT, CAN I USE SPELT FLOUR?
I know my banana bread works with spelt flour, so it may work. Let me know!
Very strange – the amount for the oil is just a box – no amount given.
Is this just me?
Hi Jen, In the recipe card all ingredients and amounts are listed.
This is an awesome recipe Kate – thank you so much for sharing! I would estimate that I’ve made this at least 50 times over the past few years!
As my children don’t like the same add ins, I split my mixture at the end and mix in one chopped apple (thrown in the microwave for about 40 seconds to precook a bit) to one mix, and a handful of frozen raspberries to the other (with a raspberry or two on top which goes all lovely and jammy!). They are completely delicious and I love that they have lots of nutrition. A definite crowd pleaser!
I have also subbed gluten free flour in for when we have Coeliac friends over and they have turned out beautifully.
Hi Kate! I made these muffins twice, exactly the way you have them, and they turned out great! My go-to Banana muffin recipe from now on. I have other banana bread/muffin recipes but they are really heavy on the sugar, a little too much, so I am really happy to have found these. They freeze great and are also good warmed up a bit the next day.
These turned out so good! I used all purpose flour, and they were perfect. The sugar on top adds the perfect sweetness
Coconut oil tastes great, but man it is no good for you. Sooo high in saturated fats. Just something to consider when using it.
One tablespoon accounts for 60% of your saturated fat.
If I wanted to make mini muffins, how long would I bake?
I’ve been making these muffins for many years. My kiddos are now tweens and still eat them. They always come out great!
I make your pumpkin muffins all the time. I use Trader Joe’s gluton free flour and I put raisons in my muffins. So delicious. I can’t wait to try the banana muffins. 5 stars. Yum PS my daughter just sent me your cookbook.
I made the recipe exactly as directed; however, they turned out too dry. I used King Arthur whole wheat flour, California Olive Ranch Everyday, Quaker Old Fashioned Oats, not quick cooking. Could that have caused the muffins to be dry, the oats absorbed a lot of liquid? Loved the flavor but needs help!!
I made a few alterations based on dietary restrictions, food goals and what I had on hand. The result turned out fantastic!
I replaced the oats with cooked red lentils for some added protein (1/3 cup dry lentils then cooked and drained well). Doubled the vanilla and cinnamon, lentils can add an earthy flavour so this was done to mask that.
Used 4 bananas instead of 3 because I had 4 overripe bananas and thought why not throw the extra one in?! Opted for maple syrup rather than honey. Used avocado oil as that’s what I had on hand.
Used GF all purpose flour and doubled the baking Soda. I replaced the milk with 1/3 cup kefir for its acidic nature to react with the baking soda and create a light fluffy GF muffin.
My kids love these! I will definitely try this again but maybe stick to 3 bananas. My version is a touch sweet.
Very fun to make, but had little flavor in the end even with oats and sugar
So you basically just made an entirely different recipe then
Delicious!! My family loved them
This sounds delicious! How long would I need to cook for if making in a mini muffin pan? And would the temp need to be adjusted as well?
Delicious! Came out perfect as well! I also grease the tine with butter and then shake a thin layer of flour to coat it which helps a lot with removing front the tin with ease :)
Delicious, and works at high altitude as well! I have made these 3 times now at 9,318 ft and they come out perfect. The first time I used butter & white flour, obviously they were delicious. From then on, I used coconut oil & whole wheat white flour, and they were still so good. Both times I added chopped pecans and baked for 20 minutes. Try these, you’ll love them and won’t even miss the higher calorie options.
Love these muffins! I add walnuts and chocolate chips and bake in Parchment paper muffin cups! I used EVO, water and Maple and Maple Syrup!
My all time new favorite muffin recipe!
Thanks
Easy and taste great
I have two exchange students (boys age 15 and 16) who LOVE these muffins. Other cultures don’t sugar their children like Americans do, so they don’t crave sugar, and enjoy healthier foods and natural flavors. I make the banana nut and the pumpkin muffins with whole grain flour and use maple syrup (or honey). I freeze them in individual baggies so the boys can throw them in their sports bag for a pre or post sport snack. Fabulous recipes !!! Thank you !!!
I make these in cafe size muffins in patty pans and my daughter takes one of these out the freezer most days for her lunch at school, yum yum,
Thank you
I added white chocolate chips and dried cranberries. Great flavor and healthy muffins. Love them.
I used olive oil and substituted all of the honey/syrup for applesauce and these are fantastic!
I love how this recipe can adapt to be even more nutritious.
Oh and more than doubled the cinnamon!
How much applesauce did you use?
Made this recipe for my family who are visiting who are gluten free and lactose free so substituted accordingly but made the best, moist muffins ever. Thankyou so much!!
These were delicious! I just ate three as I couldn’t wait. They were so moist and the banana flavor really shines through. I was attracted to this recipe because it was a healthier option for my toddler, but it tastes like it has butter and sugar in it! Wow.
Made these little delights this morning…they were a hit. Definitely moist and fluffy, and with the addition of the toasted walnuts may even replace my tried and true banana nut bread recipe!
I can’t tell you how many times I’ve made these but they turn out perfectly every time! I love that the recipes uses 3 bananas some out these use 1 and you generally have lots of bananas on the counter not just one rando one left.
No processed sugar so I feel better giving them to my kids and even my husband who has a large sweet tooth loves these. My absolute GO TO recipe!
I bake using grams so it would be nice to have it there but it’s everyone’s choice who they write a recipe so I just ask my google home to make the conversion as I go through the recipe. I find a scale uses fewer dishes!
I would love to know the measurements you use! I’m struggling to convert the coconut oil measurement in particular, thank you in advance :-)
These sound delicious! Could substitute
melted butter for the coconut oil?
This recipe is wonderful. I left omitted the oatmeal, because I typically find that most muffin recipes calling for oatmeal, tend to be tasty, but a bit dry, in my opinion. I love that this recipe lends itself to using your imagination and creating a dish that works perfect for any family. I especially love the use of maple syrup and coconut oil. They MAKE this recipe! I made the healthy banana bread loaf before I found this recipe. They are both so fabulous!
Hello can I replace honey for Stevia ?
Really delicious! Great recipe, thank you!
Love it! ❤️ Fluffy and moist and not too sweet. It’s the best banana muffin recipe I’ve used so far. Many thanks. Will try some the few variations next time
I like this recipe
Can i use oat flour instead of whole wheat flour?
I am wondering if I can use oat flour for a certain amount of the regular or whole wheat flour? I’m working on getting more fiber and protein into my children. ☺️
Has anyone tried that?
Great recipe, will be my go to. Recipe made 6 xlarge sized muffins. I used melted butter (don’t use any seed oils). Added a little brown sugar and 1/2 the maple sugar, cranberries, chocolate chips but forgot the walnuts.
Also I whizzed the old fashioned oats to 1/2 their size to absorb more moisture. Great recipe to play with
I’ve made these many times now. They are fantastic and now I’m even trying to mixed berry muffins with this recipe. I love using maple syrup instead of white sugar, fantastic and will keep using this.
I loved that I got to put so many healthy things into one recipe! I made these for my toddler since I want to make sure she eats as little of the mass produced foods as we can get away with. I mashed in 3-4 TBS of almond butter to give it more protein, and some raisins for added sweetness and fiber. Thanks for making breakfast and snack time so easy.
Best muffins ever!! I’ve been making these incredibly delicious muffins for my family probably every week for over a year. They’re out of this world, healthy, and the go-to recipe I’m always asked to bring to gatherings and holidays. I’m so happy you’ve shared this recipe!! Thank you, from me and my family. (Quick note: they’re wonderful as-is, I use olive oil, and they also bake just fine without the oats if you decide to leave out oats)
THIS IS A KEEPER!!! I used olive oil, reduced the maple syrup to 1/3 cup, and added about 1/4 cup of shredded zucchini along with a handful of unsweetened coconut flakes. I also added 1/2 teaspoon of baking powder in addition to the baking soda. The muffins turned out moist, fluffy, and full of flavor. My 18-month-old devoured one in no time and asked for more. Thank you so much for sharing such a wonderful and tasty recipe!
Wow. Possibly the first wholemeal muffins I’ve made that were not dense and heavy. I used 3/4 wholemeal and 1/4 locally milled unbleached white. Used honey instead of maple syrup and had 4 over ripe bananas to use up. I added mixed spice for some extra flavour. They are delicious, light and fluffy. I will definitely make again, thinking replacing banana with grated Granny Smith apple could be good too.
Made with with Bob Mills Gluten free 1:1 flour and olive oil/Honey with walnuts. It is delicious! Will absolutely make these again!
These come out perfect everytime! Brilliant recipe
Loved this recipe! I made it this time with Spelt Flour and Soy Milk! So Moist! Yum.
Delicious soft and moist not too sweet, will make again!
This was excellent! I added chopped toasted pecans and chopped dates. Thank you!
I love these. I was going to try this time with chocolate chips and wondering if they will be soft inside after cooked or remain hard? I’d prefer that they soften and melt a bit.
Thanks!
Karen
Finally a recipe that says it’s the best and actually is the best!! These turned out sooooo goood! I used 1/4 honey and 1/4 maple syrup because I ran out of maple syrup and I used oatmilk and olive oil. So moist. A little extra cinnamon because I love it but I’m saving this as the perfect banana muffin recipe. Thank you!
Do you think I could use part apples if I dont have enough bananas?
Great recipe – this is my second time making these. Followed the recipe- but will probably use more cinnamon net time just because I like cinnamon
I’ve made these several times already and they are delish!! My 2 year old loves them. QUESTION: Has anyone tried replacing the oil with an alternative like apple sauce or greek yogurt? I have nothing against the oil but I ran out and is the only ingredient I am missing lol. I will try it anyways but I was curious.
I have a lot of ripe bananas in the freezer. Have you tried using frozen bananas? Any advice? Should I thaw them first?
Hi Aimee, you can use frozen ripe bananas, but you should defrost first.
I would suggest not suggesting alternatives like sunflower oil, and especially grapeseed oil, previously used in large industry machinery. They’re not for human consumption, especially grapeseed oil, on par or worse than canola and vegetable oils.
Trying this recipe right now. Hope it’s amazing! Thank you!