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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Super easy to make and very quick to knock up a batch, one bowl, no faffing around melting butter. Tasted delicious and I’m not a fan of bananas. Both the children really enjoyed them too and I’d much rather let them eat these than always having really processed shop bought stuff. Added some chocolate chips to mine too which we loved.
Thanks for sharing, Laurie. I appreciate your review.
It’s AMAZING!!! my house smelled wonderful and my parents loved it!! Thank you!
You’re welcome! Thanks for your review.
Hi Good evening,
I have just tried baking the maple sweetened banana muffins and they look lovely and also taste delicious however I was so upset with the texture. I thought they came a little bit rubbery unlike my usual fluffy cakes. Could you please guide as to how they should’ve come. If they’re not supposed to be fluffy then that’s fine but if they are then I’ve done something wrong. I did use an electric mixer. That’s about the only thing I changed in your recipe.
Looking forward to hearing from you.
Regards
Lara
Hi Lara, I’m sorry to hear about your muffins! Thank you for including the detail about using an electric mixer. I believe that’s actually what caused your rubbery texture. If you over-mix quick bread recipes like this (same for pancakes, etc.) you will over-activate the gluten and end up with a rubbery texture. If you make it by hand, I think you’ll be surprised by how fluffy they can be. Please let me know if you try again!
I LOVE this recipe and make it constantly. The muffins freeze beautifully and so thaw quickly. This is my grab and go breakfast most morning. Okay, all mornings:) My question: to make this a low iodine recipe, I cannot use egg yolks but can use egg whites. Can I just use egg whites or should I add something else in, or would you just recommend using the flax eggs instead?
Hi Amy, so glad you’re loving these banana muffins! That’s a good question. I know flax eggs would work, so I feel confident recommending those (assuming they don’t contain iodine; that’s not something I’ve ever checked).
Hi could someone convert this recipe to metric (grams) please. Tried doing it myself but it’s too confusing because there are different conversion charts. Thank you
Hi Anna, I would recommend this conversion chart to help.https://www.myrecipes.com/how-to/metric-conversion-charts
would you be able to tell me the nutritional value per muffin based on your original recipe
thanks
Hi Donna! The nutrition information is below the notes section of the recipe. You just need to click to expand!
When I click expand it just gives a disclaimer on the computed nutrition, but no actual nutrition facts are shown. Loved these muffins so much!
When I expanded for nutrition information, all that was shown was a disclaimer, no actual nutrition facts. Loved these muffins! Just wondering how healthy it would be to eat 10 of them!
I am OBSESSED with this recipe!!! I really like keeping it simple, healthy, and leaving room for additions or easy switches, and this recipe checks all those boxes. I don’t even like baking, but I have made them about 5 times in the last couple of weeks and can’t get enough. I added chia seeds, chocolate shavings, and coconut flakes, plus switched out about half the allotted regular flour for coconut flour. Delicious!
Thank you, Page! I love all the variations you have taken.
Does the flour need sifting? Thank you in advance!
No need to sift. Check out this post on best way to measure flour! https://www.gimmesomeoven.com/how-to-measure-flour-correctly/
These are perfect! I’ve made a ton of “refined sugar free” muffins and haven’t quite gotten the level of sweetness I wanted. Well, this recipe nailed it! Only thing I did different was use AP flour (it was all I had )
These are definitely being added to my regular rotation AND being made into a double batch for post baby breakfasts/snacks!!
Wonderful, Jessica! Than you for sharing. I’m glad this recipe did the trick for you.
Delicious!! I used orange juice instead of milk bc I wanted them dairy free. Used honey and coconut oil. I’m definitely saving this recipe! Next time may try with walnuts. Thank you!!
Thank you for sharing!
Can I substitute almond flour for the wheat? Will it be moist or dry if I do ?
Unfortunately, it isn’t a 1:1 substitute. If you want to make it gluten free, I recommend the Bob’s Red Mill gluten free flour substitute.
I made them with whole wheat flour and maple syrup. I added chocolate chips to half the batch. Using the yellow scoop they took 14-16 min at 350F. I usually don’t like whole wheat flour, but the banana and maple flavour camouflaged the taste of the flour. I would definitely make them again!
Glad you liked it! I saw the one star and got nervous you didn’t like it. :)
I tried several times to give it 5 stars, but it just wouldn’t work. Then I couldn’t make the one star go away.
I just put these in the oven with regular flour as it was all I had. Sure hope they turn out.
How did it work for you, Kris?
They were delicious! Great recipe!
Oh dear – just popped these in the oven then noticed they were supposed to be in muffin cups rather than directly poured into the muffin tin. Guess I’ll bite my nails for the next 20 min or so…
How did they turn out?!
I made these with my 2 yr old. I hate bananas so i didnt eat one but everyone else loved them and they went down a treat! Will defo be making again! Thank u!
You’re welcome!
I have made these muffins many times now, and love them. This is my go to muffin recipe for ripe bananas. I put in a lot of different add ins. Today its walnuts and figs.
Oh I love your add-ins! Thanks for sharing, Cindy. I’m glad this is a favorite.
Had to leave a comment even though this is an older recipe. My little boy loves muffins, but they aren’t always the healthiest. I made these and he LOVES them. I gassed a tablespoon of hemp hearts, and did half maple syrup half honey. Delicious! This is the first time I have baked with coconut oil, I found it came out perfectly. I did bake at 350 for 19 minutes, which is my standard for my oven and baking muffins. Yum!
I’m so glad you left a comment! Thanks so much for your review, Christina.
I made these today. Delicious! I only used a 1/4C maple syrup and they were plenty sweet enough. My bananas were quite big so I probably could’ve left out the syrup altogether. I subbed the baking soda for 2 tsp of baking powder as it’s what I had on hand. Very tasty!
Thanks for sharing, Abby!
Happy Thanksgiving! Made these for my family yesterday and we agree that this recipe is a keeper. They baked up beautifully. The maple syrup added a wonderful, soft sweetness that we prefer over straight sugar and the turbinado crystals added some nice texture. Tossed some chopped walnuts in for a little more. Thanks for sharing!
Love that! Thanks, Cat!
Great recipe. Used coconut oil for the fat. I also used 1cup almond flour and 3/4 cup AP flour.
Great quick breakfast with a cup of coffee.
Thank you, Jim!
Followed the recipe, except didn’t have any vanilla. They still turned out fantastic, and made the house smell wonderful. Half of the dozen gone in the first afternoon… yeah we might need to make more. My wife already said she is going to stop buying store bought ones, and the kids are asking for seconds. So yeah, a success in my book!!
I’m glad you love them and that these will be a go-to! Thanks, Adam.
This is theeeee greatest banana muffin recipe of all time. Hands down. They are so light and fluffy and perfectly sweet. I prefer not to use maple syrup or honey in my baking, so I just substituted 1/2 cup of organic, raw sugar instead. I have made these 5 times; they are just that good. I’ve tried them with Bob’s Redmill gluten free flour, and it worked perfectly. I also added chocolate chips once and that was magical. They are also great with walnuts. These are a go-to crowd pleaser!
Thanks for sharing, Stella!
My babies loved it and it was easy to make. I will be trying more of your recipes.
Thank you for letting me know it was a hit with your family, Lade!
Iwant to make pumkin banana bread with almond flour can I subsitute it for whole wheat flour in your pumpkin bread recipe?
I wouldn’t recommend it. If you are looking for a gluten free substitute, Bob’s Red Mill Gluten free baking flour works well.
I substituted the oil with 1/3 c. plain Greek yogurt and omitted the nut milk. I also only added 1/4 c. maple syrup, as overripe bananas have plenty of natural sweetness. Delicious!
hanks for sharing, Cait! I’m glad you loved it.
I made these today and they were delicious! You wouldn’t know they had whole wheat flour unless someone told you. I always seem to over bake or under bake breads with banana, but these came out perfectly!
Right?! I love that about these, too. Thanks for sharing, Katie.
I made a triple batch of these muffins for my local Boys and Girls Club kids. I followed it exactly, only substituting coarse sugar for the oatmeal topping. They loved them hands down — and they are so healthy. I used olive oil. Thank you for creating such a superb, healthy muffin recipe (I call them “sugar tops” for the kids!).
I hope they just loved them! What a great idea to bring them and I love the name. :) Thanks, Judy!
My muffins came out delicious even if I did forget to add the vanilla! Next time, and I am sure it will be soon!
Great, Kerry! Thanks for your review.
Delicious! I did half and half on the honey and syrup and baked at 350 for 18 minutes and they came out perfect! Somehow they tasted like I buttered them even though they were plain- sooo good! Also, thanks for posting the link about how to properly measure flour. I used this and turns out I normally use way too much!
You’re welcome! Thanks for your review!
These are amazing. I tried it with spelt flour too and it was great! Since I don’t get flax eggs where I live, what do you recommend I use as a substitute instead? I’m not vegan, in case that factors into your recommendations.
Thanks for sharing! Eggs would be what I would recommend.
Sorry, my question wasn’t clear. Not eggs and not flax eggs :) I have an egg allergy and can only consume eggs when I take medication.
I’ve tried this recipe with both maple syrup and honey and I must say they are much better with the olive oil and honey mixture. These are the best banana muffins I’ve ever had and they are healthy at that! My husband loves them and didn’t even know they were good for him.
I love it! Thanks, Renee for sharing what you love about this recipe.
After making (and loving!) these muffins probably 20 times, I finally knew I had to comment and tell you how much I love them. The recipe is so forgiving- I have messed up the proportions (most recently adding double the milk) and they always taste fantastic. I have also had success with reducing the maple syrup to make them a bit less sweet. My partner is not a “sweet breakfast” person and he still loves these. Thank you for creating these, I know they will be a staple in my home for years to come.
I’m so glad you commented, Erika! Thanks for coming back to say just how much you love this recipe.
Love these muffins! So moist and fluffy. I cooked them for 22 minutes and they are perfect. I also used a combo of syrup and honey.
Thanks for your review, Katie!
Delicious muffins and they are my new favourite. I love the maple syrup, but seeing as my husband is a beekeeper,I usually opt for honey.
I love that! I get some local honey and it’s the best. :)
These banana muffins are so delicious, I made them today and they were a hit. They will become a staple in my house for sure. Great recipe Kate.
These muffins were really yummy! Thank you for sharing this recipe.
You’re welcome, Suzy!
Dare I say, I even ate 3 of them in one day! At least I shared them with my Mom and Husband. On to try more of your recipes…next up is the Hearty Sweet Potato, Arugula, Wild Rice Salad with Ginger Dressing.
These are amazing! I make a triple batch about once a month and just freeze them for quick breakfasts for everyone! Thank you for this and ALL of the other delicious recipes!
You’re welcome! I’m glad these are a go-to for you, MK.
I make this recipe ALL the time (gluten free with chocolate chips – for texture I use sliced almonds instead of oats). They are SO good! Question- do you think they’d freeze well for then thawing and eating later?
I think should freeze well! Checkout the comments to see if others recommend it.
Made these today and I loved them! I added some extra stuff (sunflower seeds, hemp seeds, dark chocolate and pecans) and they were delicious :)
I’m really glad you loved this recipe, Carolyn!
These muffins are wonderful! I’m always on the lookout for delicous egg free recipes for my allergic toddler. Do you happen to know what the bake time would be if I use a mini muffin tin?
Hi Alison, hope your toddler enjoys the muffins! I’m sorry, I don’t know the timing for mini muffins, but they’ll bake up significantly faster. No need to change the baking temp, just keep an eye on them.
I have made these as mini muffins a few times now and they’re usually done after 15 min
I was craving banana muffins and this really hit the spot! Absolutely delicious. I look forward to trying more of your recipes :)
Thank you!
These are TOO good! I made them gf, and I’m trying to pace myself and not eat a 4th today.
I’m glad you love them gluten free! Thanks, Cathy.
This recipe is AMAZING gluten free with 1:1 bobs red mill plus 1.75 t xanthum gum
Great to hear it worked so well gluten free, Heather!
Wonderful recipe…!
Thank you, Tresa!
Wonderful recipe…I just baked it and for some reason I didn’t use my hand mixer. Thank Jesus… it came out fluffy and delicious.. my son loves it!
Thanks Kate!
Hooray! I’m glad they came out so fluffy!
Oh my gosh!!! Definitely my new favorite banana muffin!! So so good!! :)
Great, Emily!
I replaced flour with coconut flour and as a result needed to add an extra egg, and a little more oil and milk. Muffins turned out a little more dense than a traditional muffin, but still tastes delicious. Also added some walnuts and sprinkled dark chic chips.
Coconut flour will create a denser, less moist result. But, I’m glad you still liked them! Thanks for sharing, Yasmin!
Well from one kate to another, these are FAB! My New Years resolution is(to do my best) to not add any reg sugar when baking so this was my first try with maple syrup and I’m so pleased with how amazing they taste. Granted I let my boys chocolate chips in half, BUT it’s a win and vote of confidence for me knowing I can bake with maple syrup. So thank you! The only slight change I made was using Greek yogurt for milk(since I didn’t realize how low we were and knew there would be fights over it once these muffins came out!) I also feel like we’re soul sisters based on your website name because I’m such a Cookie Monster myself! Thanks again and happy Tuesday!
From one Kate to another, thank you! I’m so happy you like them so much. I think chocolate chips would be amazing in these!
So good! They are a lot denser than I was expecting but taste great. They aren’t too sweet, and I like that the ingredients are simple- no running all over town to find weird things!
Thanks for sharing, Ashley!
I was diagnosed with gestational diabetes recently. These muffins helped get me through the last few months of my pregnancy. I do sub the oil with applesauce and I use almond flour. It still comes out delicious. I’ve even swapped out the bananas and used chopped apples instead. So versatile. Thank you for sharing this recipe!
I’m so sorry to hear that! I’m glad these muffins helped some. Also, congratulations on the baby!