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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GREAT muffins. I made these gluten free with equal parts of almond meal/tapioca flour/buckwheat flour to replace the whole wheat flour. NO sugar! yes. thank you.
Thanks, Julie! I’m glad to know that flour blend works well!
i made this yesterday so easy and so tasty and healthy too my kids love it thank you so much i am looking forward to make more recipes from yours
Thank you, Valar! I hope you all enjoy the other recipes just as much. :)
It was my first attempt at baking and this recipe worked like a charm! I think the temperature and time for cooking mentioned above are perfect. Thanks for a lovely recipe.
Thank you, Supriya! Happy to hear it.
Just made these muffins and am thrilled. Even my fiancé who doesn’t especially crave baked goods loved them! I made mine with sprouted whole wheat flower, skim milk, honey, and added in chia seeds and walnuts. A+
Gonna go check out all your other muffin recipes now!
Thank you, Jessica! So glad you loved the muffins and hope you find more to enjoy here, too!
I made a double batch but did not double the honey – super moist and delicious! Thanks for the recipe!
Thanks, Kath! Glad they turned out well!
Just tried these muffins and they seem a bit bland. I used honey instead of maple syrup but followed everything else. Needs some acid or maybe more salt.
Sorry you’re not loving the muffins. You might like them more tomorrow; I find that baked goods generally taste better the next day. You could always top them with some honey, peanut butter or salted butter.
Just made these they are so good! i added some mini chocolate chips and made them as mini muffins and they turned out amazing!
Thank you, Peyton! Really happy to hear that!
Great recipe Kate! My hubby & I enjoyed the level of sweetness & my toddler loved it! Thanks so much for this recipe :)
Hi Kate!
I am dying to make these muffins but where I live I cannot get my hands on any whole wheat flour! I have searched high and low! Can I substitute wholemeal flour or anything else by any chance? If so what measurement would you recommend? Please help! :)
Hi Kate,
I just made these muffins for my 16 month old and they were wonderful! I actually used avocado oil since that was all that I had available, Greek yogurt for the liquid (all that I had again), and a mix of honey and maple syrup. I am always looking for great healthy recipes and thsee muffins were really fantastic!
Can I simply leave out the oats if my son is allergic or is that an integral ingredient in the success of this recipe? Thanks!
I made them without oats -still delicious!!
Super easy and quick recipe! The muffins turned out delicious!
Thanks from Brasília, Brazil
Just made a double batch of these- I am in love! They are absolutely delicious and I am so excited to give some to my friends and family to try!
Love your recipes ! – eager to try this one
Can I omit oats from recipe ? Would I need to add anything else in place of oats or use less liquid, etc
Thanks
I made these tonight using organic buckwheat honey- they are easy to make and taste fantastic.
These are my go to muffins. Easy, healthy and so delicious. I added ground flax, chocolate chips and toasted walnuts (lightly covered in coconut oil and maple syrup). I can’t stop eating them!! Thanks for a great recipe.
Oh my goodness Kate! This recipe reminds me just like my Nana Kate used to make her banana bread. I am so thankful I found your recipe and I can make this for my family and friends! Definitely a go to kind of snack. Much Love :)
These muffins were delicious! Thanks Kate!
Hi can I substitute spelt flour instead the wheat? Do this work?
These are YUMMY! Moist and flavourful! I added fresh blueberries and sprinkled oats and cinnamon sugar on the top before baking. Will use this recipe regularly from now on. Thanks!
I measured everything exactly as the ingredients it turned out that the result was just too dry so i added more milk and it came out pretty bad. Not impressed
I’ve made these three times and they have turned out wonderful each time! Give them a try one more time!
These were delicious thank you for the recipe! I somehow ended up with 16 muffins. I added chopped pecans in the batter and some on top as well.
Hi Kate, this is my new favorite banana cinnamon muffin recipe! Wish I had found it earlier. I made some adjustments to the ingredients such as using melted butter instead of cooking oil and link my recipe post back here, hope you don’t mind?
I made these today and they came out perfect! Thank you so much for this awesome healthy recipe… I love anything banana-ey!!
These were pretty tasty; thanks. I’m not sure that I’d call them healthy, though. I didn’t see any nutritional information included. Even without the sugar on top, I figured that there were 8 grams of sugar in each muffin, (based on pure maple syrup). I put walnuts on top to try to boost the protein content.
I made the maple-sweetened banana muffins yesterday and just tried one. Amazing! I added 1/2 cup mini chocolate chips and left off the sprinkling of oats and sugar on top.
This will be my new go to recipe for banana muffins.
Well Done!
I’ve made this recipe several times in the last couple of months! Super easy and delicious! I double the recipe so my kids can eat them for breakfast before school for a few days that is quick for our hectic mornings. Thanks!
Making these for the second time in a week! Substituted spelt for ww flour, and added chocolate chips. Used almond milk and maple syrup. Skipped the oat / sugar topping. Even the non-banana eater in our family loves these!
I added an extra egg by accident!!!! What can I do now???
Just made these and turned out delicious thank you so much! Feel like an accomplished baker
Made these muffins and they are wonderful! Very moist and sweet! I’m making another batch today! My favourite banana muffin recipe! Thank you ;)
OMG delish. I never ever bake and these were so healthy and tasty! I sent texts to all my friends immediately! Amazing job, cant wait to try your other recipes!
By far the best healthy banana muffin recipe I have ever used! Perfect! Added 1/2 cup chopped walnuts. Delicious!
Hi ☻
I just made those muffins : I used coconut oil and walnut oil and added cubed apples
it’s AMAZING
Thanks a lot for this recipe :D
Great recipe. Didn’t take any creative license and followed directions and quantities exactly. (I used melted coconut oil). Only change was using six-space large formate muffin pan which required 32 minutes at 325 degrees. These are delicious, savory muffins. Certainly not too sweet. All ingredients combine to offer gorgeous vanilla-cinammon-banana flavor. It’s tough to exact the full flavor of bananas in a muffin recipe and this is the recipe’s only shortcoming. But the simplicity of the recipe and very nice flavor makes up for it. Remarkable.
Wonderful recipe. I made it vegan by using flax eggs and vanilla almond milk. I also made it gluten free with 1 cup gf all purpose and 3/4 cup gf oat flour and 1/4 cup oats. Delicious :)
Can you list the nutrition info so I can track it?
This came out delish! It yielded 12 generous size muffins for me, and I followed the specs exactly. I also did the calorie calculator through SparkPeople and it came out to 185/muffin. Nice!
Thank you for sharing. :)
I have made these muffins twice now and have been a hit both times! The second time I was a little shy of 1 cup smashed banana, so I added a little bit of unsweetened applesauce for the difference. This worked great! Everyone in my family loves them. Thanks for the recipe.
Glad they were a success, Sarah!
I made these muffins yesterday and added walnuts and they were delicious. A lot of whole wheat recipes turn out dry but these were very moist. I thought using maple syrup instead of sugar would result in a boring muffin, but I was wrong! The muffin has just the right amount of sweetness, and there is no sugar rush after eating these due to the healthy ingredients. Also, I did not sprinkle sugar on them and found it was not needed.
Hi, Alice – I’m glad these came out better than your previous experiences! Maple syrup is actually sweeter than sugar, and a great all-natural alternative to white sugar. Thanks for the comment!
Great recipe! I love making healthy muffins, and my children love eating them. Healthy muffins are so much better than store bought because they taste like a real muffin, not cake. Banana muffins are one of my kids favorites and I was looking for a new recipe. These taste great and look pretty. If I would have let them my kids would have eaten the entire batch.
This makes me really happy! Steering kiddos away from sugary products can be tough, but so worth it in the long-run. So glad they (and you) enjoyed them!
My 3 year old and I loved the muffins! It was super easy and very tasty. A big plus was that it was without sugar. Great!
This is really nice to hear, Shannon! I’m glad you both enjoyed the muffins.
Made banana muffins with olive oil and honey…what is the carbs per serving for a diabetic.
Hey, Deb – Right now I don’t have nutritional/calorie counts available for my recipes, but I’m busy working on a solution.
Excellent!!
:)
Just came across your blog. I’m sad that I haven’t come across it sooner! These muffins are by far my new favourite for the family. I’ve found so many other cookies and muffins on your site that I’m pumped to try!
Happy to have you here, Kim! Let me know how the other recipes work out for you :)
I love these banana muffins and everyone who has tasted them agrees. Do you have any idea about how many Weight Watcher points they are worth?
Thanks,
Ellyce
So happy you & your friends enjoy them! Unfortunately, I don’t have nutritional info available for my recipes just yet. I’m looking for a solution, and will update about it once I find one. Thanks!
Great recipe! The muffins are tasty and moist. I found mine a little sweet for a breakfast muffin, so next time I’ll cut the maple syrup to half. (I used very ripe bananas, so that probably made them sweeter). Thanks for the recipe!
You’re welcome, Bri! And yes, feel free to adjust to your tastes, as always.
Delicious!! Tastes better than banan bread!!
Yess!!
Loved the recipe, made it with definite success. Used coconut oil…delish thanks!
:)
Hi Kate
I accidentally stumbled upon your website when I was looking for healthy banana muffins options and boy am i glad… these muffins were so easy to make and taste super delicious :)
cant wait to try out more recipes… spiced oatmeal cookies for this weekend :)
Thanks much..
Lakshmi
What a happy accident! Let me know how the cookies come out, okay? Thanks, Lakshmi!