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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These photos are beautiful! As soon as I opened this post I could instantly see the difference.
Thanks, Alyssa! Happy to hear it.
Your pictures look really crisp! Camera stuff is exciting. When I got a new lens for the first time it was like a whole new world. And videos yes please!
I love the pictures your new camera is taking, so pretty! It’s so exciting to get those things in the mail, I usually can’t tear open the boxes fast enough. I’m thinking these muffins need to go with me this weekend as we drive to Chicago for a family dinner, yum!
Thanks, Abby! Finding packages on the porch always feels like Christmas, doesn’t it?
Ooooh!! New camera! That’s so exciting. These photos are stunning and so are the muffins! Yum
Your pictures turned out beautifully. The muffins also look fantastic. Pinning for lunches next week. Can’t wait to try them.
I’d say your first learning experience with the new camera went very well. These pictures are stunning! I love the indigo background with the yellow naner. Ahh, you’re making me want to buy a new camera so bad!
And of course the muffins sound incredible too. That ingredient list is my idea of pure and healthy perfection!
Thank you, Sarah! :D
Those look awesome! Your new photographs look amazing to me, so bright and delicious :)
I made these maple banana oat muffins as a healthy pregnancy snack and they turned out so great! I added dried cranberries as suggested and maple syrup as the sweetener and they are the perfect sweetness. I also added a few chocolate chips (4 or 5 per muffin) to the top of the muffins before baking just cause I can’t have banana bread without the chocolate! These are so delicious I think they’ll replace my regular banana bread recipe which is much less healthy than these muffins.
Just made these using maple syrup. Very yummy, just enough sweetness!
Awesome! Thanks, Becca!
your vegan substitutions are a bit backwards ;-)
I just reread my instructions and I believe they are correct! Am I missing something?
You say replace your flax egg with a regular egg for vegan substitutions instead of saying you replace the regular egg with a flax one
She’s saying to replace regular eggs with flax eggs. There’s nothing wrong with it. It’s just how she wored it.
Crying happy tears for you!!!! Congrats! Photos are BEAUTIFUL.
I just made the pumpkin maple oat muffins this week (a staple in our house) and was wondering about using bananas. I’ll be making this soon!
I’ve switched to coconut oil in the last couple if months, and I’ve noticed that my baked goods turn out more dense than when I used canola or vegetable oil. Any tips for baking with coconut oil?
That’s an interesting observation, Johanna. I wish I knew why that is happening! Might just be the nature of coconut oil.
It has to do with the coconut oil cooling down & turning back to its solid form too quickly. I suggest googling tips for using coconut oil. I followed the tips a long time ago & had no troubles. Good luck!
Making these right now. Like, literally, making these right now :)
Hope they turned out great, Jenna!
Love your new camera! Everything looks wonderful (it always does, though)! I tried your Banana Trail Mix Bread a while back and it was an instant favorite, so I cannot wait to try these muffins!
Your pictures are gorgeous and these muffins look delicious!!!
I think that your photo’s are so much brighter- and I’m glad your enjoying your new camera!
Looks like a simple and wholesome muffin recipe! I will probably try using butter instead of coconut oil. Can’t wait to see how they turn out!
Thanks, Marie! Please let me know how they turn out with butter.
You photos are always amazing – and now even more gorgeous than ever! Can it even be possible that Cookie looks cuter than EVER??? Can’t wait to see what you whip up next — these muffins look super yummy!
Thank you so much, Amy! I think this camera does a better job of capturing Cookie’s cuteness, but she’s even cuter in real life.
Hurray for a new camera! Your photos are GORGEOUS! I love baking with coconut oil, and I will never turn down banana bread! Yum :)
The Halo dog gives me the ‘whatever lady’ look a lot too! I’m going to make these muffins tomorrow.
Haha! Cookie got a bite of muffin this morning and she was thrilled about that. Hope the muffins turn out great for you!
So cute! I know this might seem like what?!, but my cat loves to eat banana bread! He doesn’t eat bananas but he loves banana bread :)
Haha! That’s awesome. Cookie loves bananas and banana bread!
I can’t wait to try these muffins and I love that they are sweetened with maple syrup instead of sugar. great photos!
Hi Kate
I just made these lovely muffins. I think the receipe method leaves out the oil (probably meant to be beaten with the honey/maple syrup). I made a few changes, I used macadamia oil (low taste), kefir milk (because I always do!), 2 teaspoons of baking powder,1 teaspoon of cinnamon, halfed the maple syrup and added some chopped pecans. I used 3/4 cup sprouted wholegrain flour and wasn’t sure how it would go in muffins (I use it for bread making) and 1 cup white cake flour and they were just right.
Thanks for a great recipe. Have fun with your new camera!
I’m sorry about the oil omission! You were right about beating it with the oil. Thank you for pointing that out. I’m so glad you enjoyed the muffins!
It reads…
In a large bowl, beat the coconut oil and maple syrup or honey together with a whisk.
The photos look great! Not sure if it’s because you told us, but I feel like I can see a difference :) So excited to hear you stuck with Nikon. It’s likely I’ll be doing the same when new camera day comes for me, so I’d love to hear a little more about your experience as you get acquainted with it. (PS these muffins are making me wish I had ripe bananas right now!)
Thanks, Tessa! So far I’ve been very pleased with my decision. Every time I pick up a Canon, it’s like, how do I work this thing?!
Made these last night with honey and they are delicious. Enjoyed some for breakfast this morning. I added unsweetened coconut flakes and dried cranberries because I had them. So surprised the whole wheat didn’t make these heavy! I can’t seem to make bread with whole wheat without creating an inedible brick. Thank you for the recipe.
Thank you, Ellen! I’m so glad they turned out well for you. I just realized I forgot to include when to add the coconut oil, oops! Your version with coconut and cranberries sounds fantastic.
I love your new camera quality! And these muffins <3
Hi, this looks great!
I follow your recipe. I love them and your pictures too, but I would like to know which camara you bought, because I want to buy my first one.
Give Cookie a big hug from me.
A lot of greets from Germany,
Marion
Hi Marion, thank you for your kind words about my work! I’m now using a Nikon D750 camera with Nikon’s 50mm f1.8G lens. It’s an expensive camera, but a worthy investment for me since photos are integral to my work. Nikon and Canon both have tons of great cameras to choose from!
These come at a perfect time because I have loads of overripe bananas to use up. I was always a sucker for chocolate chip banana muffins growing up, so I just may have to add some chocolate chips to these :) Beautiful photos!
Soooo beautiful! These muffins look great! I know searching for a new camera takes FOREVER. And then you have to make sure you get a good price, read the reviews, etc. etc. I’ve been using the Nikon D3000 (I know really old! :( ) and I really want to maybe get a new camera, so this one looks really good! So glad you got a new one though! :)
Yep, camera shopping can be such a tedious process. So glad I finally bit the bullet! If it makes you feel better, my camera was even older than yours. :)
Lovely post, pics and recipe. I’m a nikon girl too :)
Grats on the new camera. I’ve always found your photos gorgeous, but I can see how clearer and more vivid they are now. If only I could grab those muffins from my screen…
Thank you, Joshua! :)
Congratulations on the new member of the Cookie + Kate family! I got my first ‘grown-up’ DLSR camera last year and I instantly fell in love, it certainly is like a first date :) It looks like things are going very well between the two of you judging by these gorgeous photos!
I can’t wait to make these banana muffins, and I’m deliberately leaving some of my freshly purchased bananas to ripen for baking them later in the week :)
Thanks Kate!
Thank you, Amy! Fancy new cameras are so exciting. Hope you love the muffins!
If I wanted to freeze them, should I freeze the dough before baking, or after they bake? How long would either way (dough or baked) last in the freezer? And if baking or reheating from the freezer, what should I do?
Hey Heather, great questions. I would go ahead and bake the muffins. Let them cool completely before freezing them in a sealed, freezer-safe bag. You can defrost them individually in the microwave in short bursts. Don’t overdo it or they’ll toughen up. If you want to defrost them altogether (which I have never tried), you could probably just place the muffins in the fridge overnight or remove them from the bag and let them defrost at room temperature.
I think you definitely made the right decision. The photos are gorgeous! Makes me just wanna lick my monitor right now.. :) I am a fellow Nikon owner and the 50mm lens is my go- to for food photography. Don’t know what I would do without it.
I just got that 50mm lens in the mail too!! I hear ya on obsessively tracking that shipments progress. Longest 3 days ever!!
I so want to try these muffins! They look absolutely stunning. And I love the oats sprinkled on top!!
New lenses are so exciting! Thanks, Rebecca!
I made these muffins over the weekend, as I was having a hard time finding a naturally sweetened, wholesome and simple banana muffin recipe. I topped the muffin with peanut butter for breakfast and I can say I have found THE recipe. My muffins turned out just like your photographs, both of which are delightful.
Thank you, Jennifer! We’ve been enjoying the same breakfast lately. :)
Hey Kate, I followed your recipe to the T, and they turned out wonderful! One thing that I did differently to make the muffins less dense and lighter is I added 1/2 a cup of unsweetened applesauce in the mixture…. and they turned out awesome!!! Thank you! :)
Glad they turned out well for you, Kalpana!
I got a new camera recently, and I’m probably still at 10% in understanding all it can do. In the meantime, I’ll probably make these muffins!
You’ll get there!!! Hope you love the muffins.
Hi Kate,I’m from Malaysia,maybe you have no idea about what country it’s.I have a ques about this receipe, are these the British muffins or the muffins like cupcake？
Hi Kylie from Malaysia! These muffins are definitely more like cupcakes, but not as sweet. They are not like English muffins.
I think it was Neitzche who said the full frame camera is the bridge between the Stone Age man and the Übermensch. It’s been a while since college though, so my memory could be serving incorrectly. Congrats on the upgrade, Kathryne! ;)
Your photos look beautiful. Yay for new cameras! :) So I got a new camera too, was forced into it because my 6 year old BFF camera basically broke (I think my toddler pulled it out of my backpack at a basketball game – doh). So I bought what I had been planning to buy, but it happened to be an incredibly busy month and I haven’t had much time to “play” with it. It’s got a few more bells and whistles and I’m slightly overwhelmed. :) I believe it is full frame…yet I don’t know if I know what that actually means. (ridiculous I know…)
PS…muffins look awesome! I love maple in baked goods!
PPS…I listened to your Chopped podcast last week and loved it. A lot of what you said resonated with me…so thank you :)
Thanks, Aggie! New cameras are exciting. I’ve definitely dropped my old one a time or two! Glad to hear that you appreciated my podcast. Thank you for listening!
SO exciting!! I’ve been thinking about pulling the trigger on a new camera myself, and your photos look so awesome that I really might do it this time. I’m just so indecisive!!
GAH. I’ll have to think it over over a muffin. That seems like the best way.
The photography looks just as amazing as these muffins look! Everything looks gorgeous Kate :)
How can I make this gluten free? Can i just substitute the exact amount with GF flour?
Yes, I think so, if you’re using a one-to-one GF flour blend!
This was really amazing.I made it a few days ago.it didn’t look as beautiful as yours(the top was flat) but definitely tasted good and eating them feels good beecause they are healthy.I got 13 muffins..don’t know how that happened cause I filled them even more than 2/3 of cups.
I will try these again..and again.thanks for the recipe
Thanks, Zahra! I’m sorry your tops went flat. That may have actually happened because you overfilled your cups. I don’t know how you ended up with 13 muffins, hmmmm!
The photos from the new camera came out gorgeously, Kate! I haven’t made muffins that are completely sweetened with maple syrup before. Can’t wait to try these!
These muffins turned out great! I made a double recipe with walnuts and chocolate chips. I put half in a loaf pan because I only have one muffin pan. I brought the muffins to my yoga class and left the loaf at home for my boys. They were a big hit with everyone. Thanks for another great recipe!
Awesome! Thank you, April! I never thought to bring food to a yoga class… that’s such a great way to share!
I made these muffins yesterday and I wanted to love them.. but they turned out hard and dry. I think the recipe is missing something like apple sauce? I followed the recipe exactly but my family didn’t like them.
Amber, I’m so sorry to hear that. I’ve made numerous batches of these muffins and others that are based off the same recipe, and none have turned out hard and dry. Are you sure you didn’t forget to add the oil? Over mixing the batter could also produce tough muffins. So bummed yours didn’t turn out well!
This is an excellent recipe!! I make banana bread/muffins a lot and this is one of the first recipes I’ve tried that is moist, fluffy, not too sweet, and uses whole wheat flour. Double thumbs!
Hooray! Thank you, Lydia!
I mixed up a batch of these this morning – yum! I loved that it was all in one bowl and my three-year-old loved sprinkling the oats on top. :o) I make banana muffins or bread all the time and this recipe will definitely be in the rotation! Thank you!
Thank you, Bet! Glad you all enjoyed them!
I made these today and they are sooo good! All the ingredients are easy to find and glad they are nourishing. My batch made 15 muffins! Thank you
Thank you, Sophie! So glad you’re enjoying them!