Healthier Yet Intensely Flavored Banana Muffins

I adore banana bread. It’s this moist, rich, flavorful quick bread that brings happiness with each bite. However, I find it difficult to self-regulate the amount I should eat. Seriously can eat a whole loaf in a day if I’m not careful because it’s just so amazing. And that is a lot of butter for one person! That’s when I decided to learn how to make banana muffins.

Now, this is time for a confession. Until just recently, I destroyed all muffins and they were flat and tough like really bad pancakes. And then, one day, something clicked in my head. The same thing that turns fluffy pancakes into flat sad coasters is the same thing that destroys muffins: over-mixing your batter. Keep that batter slightly lumpy and you’ll have pillowy soft muffins.

My first experiment went beautifully. I simply took the banana bread recipe and placed it into muffin tins. However, I quickly found myself eating just as much as the banana bread throughout the day. The quick bread recipe needed fixing, they had to be healthier.

Instead of butter, I chose to use oil for a much healthier option. There are people that love to tell you butter and other meat based fats are healthy for you and carbohydrates are evil. Plant based fats that are lower in saturated fats and high in mono and poly unsaturated fats are ideal for those wanting long-term, sustainable weight loss. Always choose plant based fats over animal ones whenever possible.

I’m actually so impressed, I am going to rework my banana bread recipe to see if I can replace some or all of the butter with oil. It was that delicious.

New to the site, a video tutorial for this recipe! I’m new to youtube and still learning how to film so feel free to make suggestions. Any tips are always welcome! In the meantime, check out this short video on how to make banana muffins.

Banana Muffins

A hearty banana muffin lower in sugar and fat yet rich in flavor. A great way to start your day!

Print Recipe

Prep Time10 minutes minutes

Cook Time18 minutes minutes

Servings12

Calories 175.6

Ingredients

• 1 ½ cups (225g) flour
• 2 large (218g) mashed bananas
• ¾ cup (150g) sugar
• 2 large (100g) eggs
• ⅓ cup (80mL) oil
• 1 tsp (4g) baking powder
• ½ tsp (2.5mL) vanilla
• ½ tsp (2.5g) salt

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 400F (200C.)
• Grease or line a muffin tin with paper cups.
• Stir together flour, sugar, salt and baking powder in a medium bowl.
• In a separate bowl, mash bananas with a fork.
• Add the bananas, eggs, oil and vanilla into the flour mixture. Stir until just combined.
• Divide batter equally into each muffin tin, about 3 tbs.
• Bake 16 – 19 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Notes

You can add up to 1/2 cup (56g) chopped nuts for added flavor and texture.

You can use self-rising flour.  Simply replace with equal amounts and omit the salt and baking powder.

Nutrition Facts

Banana Muffins

Serving Size

 

1 muffin

Amount per Serving

Calories

175.6

% Daily Value*

Fat

 

7

g

11

%

Saturated Fat

 

1.1

g

7

%

Polyunsaturated Fat

 

0.9

g

Monounsaturated Fat

 

4.4

g

Sodium

 

107.9

mg

5

%

Carbohydrates

 

27.3

g

9

%

Fiber

 

0.5

g

2

%

Protein

 

2.7

g

5

%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

* Calories provided as a courtesy and not guaranteed.