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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Awesome recipe Kate. I made these for my daughters birthday and they were a huge success. I had a number of the parents asking me for the recipe :) It would probably make a great banana bread as well in a long pan.
Question: Do you have any idea of the nutritional values? Carbs, Protein, Fat etc.
I’d love to make a batch of these for my toddler. Will it turn out well with frozen berries mixed in?
Happy happy !!
Coz they came out awesome and fluffy plus its healthy with whole wheat flour and banana for my son who is a picky eater. Thanks!!
Just made these tonight. So. Good. This is going to the top of my favorites!!
I made it exactly as stated and I wound up with one dozen and 8 mini muffins (I had extra batter so had to use my mini tin). Not complaining about the bonus yield – just an FYI to others.
Can you provide the nuturtional values such as calories, carbs, Sugar protein, fat , fibre Etd. Thank you
I make these all the time. Delicious!!!! Thank you
Bought some almost-black, super ripe bananas cheap and was looking for the perfect recipe to use them up. I love your recipes so I came straight to your site and knocked up these…I can say that they did not disappoint! Added some sultanas and chopped walnuts, delicious! Yum, yum, yum! Thank you for creating the best recipes that hit the spot make time and time again!
I make this recipe at least once a month for the family, sometimes with chocolate chips, and other times with pieces of candied ginger. It’s delicious! Always a hit. I use 1/4 cup brown sugar and 1/4 cup maple syrup, and I’ve found that you can really use any type of flour (bread flour, gluten free, etc.) with little issue. Enjoy! Would recommend!
Hi there, I am curious why you have milk in this recipe but not in the banana bread recipe? I like the idea of adding oats and milk so could I use this recipe to make banana bread? How different are these two in taste? Thanks!
Great recipe! They turned out nice and fluffy with just the right amount of sweetness. I chose olive oil over the coconut oil and maple syrup over the honey. I also added some dark chocolate chips. Definitely my new go-to recipe. Thanks!
Could you please provide the nuturtion values.
Thank you
Thank you for sharing this recipe. I made them with agave syrup and extra virgin oil. It came out moist and tasty. The best part it is less in sugar.
I love these muffins! They make for a wonderful healthy snack! I’ve even tried slightly decreasing the honey and they still turn out fine!
Great recipe; there are a million banana muffins out there and this is top of list and healthy too. Thanks!
Love this recipe! It’s so easy, wholesome, and delicious. I’ve made it with white or whole wheat flour, and with honey or brown sugar – both substitutions work great. I’ve also tried adding walnuts and raisins. This is now my go-to muffin recipe. PS – I live in KC too :)
Love this recipe! I made it so many times and I like how unforgving it is with little substitutions and more/less of the ingredients. Comes out perfect everytime :)
Just found this recipe and made it today – they were so soft and delicious!
I used rice syrup as I didn’t have enough honey or maple, and added some dark chocolate chips to it, yum!!!
Will definitely be making these again :) Thanks so much!
Love this muffin recipe! I used unsweetened applesauce along with the honey and it turned out great! Thanks:)
Do you prefer honey or maple syrup when making your recipes?(since there is always an option) just wondering because I’m confused haha thank you!
Hey Kate! I love them both. If you like them both, just go with the first one listed in each recipe—the first option listed is always my favorite.
I used coconut oil, almond milk and honey – OMG!!! So good, kids love them too! They are super moist. I didn’t sprinkle oats on the top, just cinnamon and sugar. We will make these often.
I have never reviewed a recipe before, but this was so DELICIOUS that I just HAD to thank you! :D
These are so beautiful. I have no idea how many times I’ve baked these, but every time I do they are gone in less than a few days. Would definetly recommend!
I love this recipe!
I made them many times now, once i cut the maple syrup in half for a breakfast muffin, i like them less sweet in the morning and added nuts, oats and raisins.
I am about to make a bigger batch, whats the best way to store these?
Just made this recipe and I love it!! I didn’t have any almond milk and didn’t want to use regular milk, so I just put in a bit of apple juice and used slightly less honey. Worked perfectly!
My sister and I made these this morning. They are amazing! Thank you so much for the recipe.
Just made these muffins OMG! They are scrumptious! I used honey as a sweetener, coconut milk and some dessicated coconut and chocolate chips. I cooked them in mini loaf tin. Will definitely be making them again.
These are in the oven right now. I’m making them for my son who just turned 1 on the 10th. He’s allergic to dairy so I needed to make something dairy free and not processed (there’s always hidden milk). They smell awesome. Can’t wait for him to try them. I’m sure he’ll love them because banana is his all time favorite! I’ll make the pumpkin ones next. Thanks a bunch.
Decided on a whim to make muffins tonight and your recipe was the first that came up when I did a search for Healthy Banana Muffins. They were delish! Both kids made their way upstairs to sample and they loved them! I used coconut oil, and maple syrup. I also added a few chocolate chips to half the batch. My son asked if we can make these regularly. Thanks for the great recipe.
Thank you for letting me know, Stephanie! I’m glad you enjoyed the muffins.
My twin 4 year old boys and I made these today: 6 muffins with blueberries and sultanas and 6 with dark choc chips. Even my picky 8 year old daughter who hates bananas loved them. I’m about to make 2 more batches to put in lunch boxes during the week. Thanks for the recipe!
Thank you, Marji! That’s so nice to hear.
Can we skip vanilla
Yes
I made these muffins yesterday and YUM! This is such a wonderfully simple and tasty recipe, I can already tell it is going to be a new ‘go-to’! I have had some baking fails as of late but this has restored my confidence in the kitchen! So thank you for sharing this! xxxx
So glad! Thank you, Becca.
I used earth balance melt “butter” which has coconut oil in it and they turned out great. I am going to make these all the time – so moist and tasty!
Glad you enjoyed them! Thanks, Amanda.
These are wonderful. Best of all my girls love them. The picky one has no idea I used coconut oil. She is also an oatmeal hater and snarfed these down. Thank you.
Thank you, Jessica! I’m glad to hear it. :)
This is the first recipe I’ve made from your site and I’m hooked! These muffins are delicious and super easy to make.
Thank you so much, Ashleigh! I hope you enjoy the other recipes just as much.
Just a message to let you know that these have become my go-to muffins. I use rice malt syrup instead of the honey or maple, but I’ve also made them with both. Oh, and I add blueberries. They’re genuinely the best recipe I’ve found. Thank you!!
Thank you so much, Sarah!
Thank you for this recipe, my boys loved making them and eating them! I wondered if they could be frozen?
Yes, they freeze great!
These are so delicious and easy! I used Cashew milk and added in cocoa nibs and pecans. So yum! Thanks for the great recipe!
These are the yummiest ‘healthy’ muffins I’ve ever made. I’m so pleased with this recipe, I’ll be using it again and again. I used olive oil as hubby isn’t a huge fan of coconut oil and I used honey as maple syrup is SO pricey here in Bermuda I just couldn’t use a 1/2 cup at one go, lol! The topping is a must too. Going back for my second now :)
These are my go-to healthy muffins. I have tried so many variations and it never fails to turn out delicious! I just love them!
hi! i made these today. i used vegetable oil and maple syrup. They held their shape and mixed perfectly, they just seemed to be very bland and lacking in sweetness, even though i used very ripe bananas and added more maple syrup. Thanks xx
Love it, I have made them multiple times.
These are really good. Not too sweet. Moist, wholesome yumminess. Thank you.
Do these need to be refrigerated?
They’ll keep for just a couple of days at room temperature, a few days longer in the refrigerator, and for several months in the freezer.
Made it for my family last night, used gluten free flour instead – It turned out SO delicious – my family loved- its low in call, the whole batch (12) muffins is only 500 cal making it 41 cal for each
Thank you for the recipe.
Thank you, Nanda!
my friend did them and I Love it! my q is what if I wanna make them with gluten free flour,how much I need to use?
Delicious. Turned out perfect!!
Awesome! Thanks, Bronwyn!
These made 12 muffins for me (possibly because I just threw in 3 bananas instead of measuring it). I subbed molasses for honey, and all-purpose flour for whole wheat, but they still turned out amazing! Thanks for the recipe :)
Thanks, Lindsey! I’m glad they turned out well!
Hi Kate!
I love reading your posts! I’m excited to try this recipe. Can I add some natural peanut butter? If so, do I need to omit something else?
Thank you!
Krysta
Hi Krysta! Thank you for your note. I think you could add peanut butter. I’m not sure how much to suggest that you add, and I’m not sure that you need to omit anything else… I wish I could say for sure! Please let me know if you try.
These are delicious! I reduced to 1/3c maple syrup, used spelt flour, dairy milk & used 1 egg & 1/4c Apple purée (ran out of eggs!)
Made 18 smallish muffins (1Tbs batter)
Sorry, a soup spoon!
Thanks, Kara!
Just made these and they’re are so yummy!! Moist and sweet and so healthy. Thank you so Much
I think I’ll make these every week!!
That’s great to hear. Thanks, Naaila!
These muffins are delicious! We added some mini chocolate chips and my entire family loved them!
Thank you, Amber!