Healthy Banana Muffins
These healthy banana muffins are soft, naturally sweetened, and maybe most importantly, super easy to make! It takes just a few minutes of prep to make these healthy muffins for toddlers and kids.
Medically reviewed and co-written by Jamie Johnson, Registered Dietitian Nutritionist (RDN), and Lauren Braaten, Pediatric Occupational Therapist (OT).
Banana Muffins
Looking for a way to serve healthy muffins to your kids, but not looking to sacrifice flavor?
Here’s the muffin recipe you’ll make over and over again. These healthy banana muffins are naturally sweetened with maple syrup and bananas (of course!) and are super yummy and soft.
These banana muffins are baby, toddler, kid, and even adult-friendly. They come together quick, which is perfect for those busy weekends when you need to meal prep, but don’t have ALL DAY. Plus, they’ve freezer friendly and easily adjustable to make gluten or dairy free.
If you are looking for more easy and healthy muffin recipes for kids and toddlers, then be sure to check out these fan-favorite Blueberry Avocado Mini Muffins, Mini Pumpkin Muffins, these delicious Spinach Muffins, or the best ever Applesauce Muffins. You can also find more recipes and information in my best-selling cookbook, Little Foodies: Recipes for Babies and Toddlers with Taste.
Banana Muffin Video
Watch this video to see step-by-step instructions on how to make these muffins!
Reasons to Love these Healthy Banana Muffins
- baby, toddler, kid and adult-friendly
- easy to make
- great for school or packed lunches
- healthy
- freezer-friendly
- great for breakfasts on the go
- can be made gluten and dairy-free
- naturally nut-free
Banana Muffin Health Benefits
These banana muffins are nutritious and delicious, the perfect combo for feeding babies and toddlers.
- Bananas load these muffins up with potassium, B vitamins, vitamin C, and fiber.
- These muffins use maple syrup instead of sugar, which make them less processed and contain more vitamins and nutrients.
- Eggs provide fats and choline for brain and cognitive development.
Ingredients
Make sure to read the recipe card below for full ingredients and instructions!
- Flour: you can use all-purpose, white whole wheat flour, a mixture of 50/50 white and whole wheat flour, or gluten-free one-for-one flour.
- Banana: you will need 2-3 very ripe bananas (1 cup) with lots of brown spots.
- Maple Syrup: a good quality maple syrup to bring out the natural sweetness of bananas. You can also use honey (for babies 1 year and up) or agave nectar.
- Eggs: use 2 large eggs or substitute 2 flax eggs to make it vegan
- Oil/Butter: to make the muffins nice and moist. You can use coconut, avocado, vegetable, olive oil, or melted butter.
- Vanilla Extract
- Cinnamon
- Baking Soda
- Salt
Allergy Tips: to make these muffins gluten-free, you can use any one-for-one gluten-free flour blend. If you are looking for a dairy-free muffin option, you can use any plant-based milk you prefer such as almond, soy, hemp, oat, etc.
Step-by-Step Instructions
- Prep: Preheat the oven to 350° F. Spray or line a muffin tin.
- Whisk: In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon.
- Stir: In a large bowl, stir together the mashed banana, maple syrup, butter/oil, eggs, and vanilla extract.
- Combine: pour the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients and stir until just combined. Do not overmix.
- Fill Muffin Tin: Scoop the batter into the muffin tin 3/4 of the way full. Add any toppings you prefer.
- Bake: Place the muffin tin into the oven, and bake for 18-20 minutes or until just golden brown.
- Eat: Let cool for 5-10 minutes, and serve.
Best Way to Mash Bananas
One of the easiest ways to mash bananas is to simply peel and toss the peeled, ripe, bananas into a medium mixing bowl and mash with a potato masher until you reach a desired consistency. If you don’t have a potato masher, the next best option is to mash bananas with a fork.
Tools Needed
Toppings
Although these healthy banana muffins are completely delicious as is, feel free to experiment and mix in a few toppings. Toddlers and older kids love to help with sprinkling on their own toppings before baking!
- chopped walnuts
- chopped pecans
- chocolate chips
- white chocolate chips
- chopped strawberries
- blueberries
Mini Muffins
You can easily adjust these healthy banana muffins from regular size to mini muffins. Just bake mini muffins at the same temperature but decrease the baking time to 8-10 minutes. Mini muffins are one-third the size of regular muffins, which means that a muffin recipe that yields 12 large muffins will produce 36 mini muffins.
How to Store & Freeze
Once the muffins have cooled completely, store them in an airtight container. They will keep on the counter for up to 4 days and in the fridge for up to a week.
To freeze the muffins, place the mini muffins into a freezer zip-lock baggie or stasher bag and place in the freezer. They will keep for up to 3 months frozen.
Thaw frozen mini Banana Muffins overnight in the fridge or by gently warming them in the microwave.
Banana Muffins for Toddlers & Kids
These quick and easy muffins are also great for toddlers and kids. You can serve them as is, or with a smear of cream cheese, butter, or peanut butter for breakfast, snack, or packed into a school lunch.
Expert Tips
- Do No Overmix: I can’t stress this point enough – do not over mix the muffin batter, if you do they won’t rise in the oven and will become dense and hard. The dry ingredients should be just combined with the wet ingredients.
- Preheat Oven: Ensure the oven is fully preheated so the muffins cook through evenly.
- Let Cool: let the muffins cool for about 10 minutes before enjoying them and let them cool completely before storing.
- No Sticking: make sure you generously grease the mini muffin molds or use mini muffin liners so that the muffins don’t stick to the pan.
- Don’t toss those bananas: use up very ripe bananas with brown spots for the perfect amount of sweetness.
Get the recipe: Healthy Banana Muffins (20 minutes)
Ingredients
- 1 3/4 cup flour, all-purpose, white whole wheat, 50/50 white and whole wheat, or a gluten-free blend
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 cup mashed bananas from 2-3 very ripe bananas
- 1/3 cup maple syrup
- 1/3 cup melted butter or oil, avocado oil, olive oil, vegetable oil, coconut oil
- 2 large eggs
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup toppings (optional)
Instructions
- Prep: Preheat the oven to 350° F. Spray or line a muffin tin.
- Whisk: In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon.
- Stir: In a large bowl, stir together the mashed banana, maple syrup, butter/oil, eggs, and vanilla extract.
- Combine: pour the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients and stir until just combined. Do not overmix.
- Fill Muffin Tin: Scoop the batter into the muffin tin 3/4 of the way full. Add any toppings, if using.
- Bake: Place the muffin tin into the oven, and bake for 18-20 minutes or until just golden brown.
- Eat: Let cool for 5-10 minutes, and serve.
Notes
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9 Comments on “Healthy Banana Muffins”
Thanks. Made my muffin today. Really delicious. I like the fact that ufs not too sugary. I used brown sugar instead of maple syrup . It really came out well and also used 1/2 wheat and 1/2 all purpose flour. Thanks again for this lovely recipe
So happy to hear that you loving these banana muffins! Love your substitution of brown sugar and the mix of flours! YUM!
Absolutely delicious, my 16 month old loves them and so do I. We put some blueberries and raspberries on top too.
Can I use stevia instead of maple syrup? Don’t want to give my baby sweets
Instead of Stevia, I would recommend substituting no-sugar added applesauce instead of the maple syrup in these muffins.
Where does the baking powder come in?
Hi J! Thank you so much for bringing this to my attention. The recipe is updated! =)
I made this. Easy to make. Everyone liked it.
That’s great! Thanks Sarah!