I have a serious infatuation with muffins! They are one of my most favorite breakfasts. Moist, light, and crumbly goodness crammed into a little fluffy muffin is pretty close to heaven for me. These Healthy Banana Muffins are NO exception. I really can’t play favorites though. I love my Pumpkin Muffins and Peach Muffins just as much.
I think my muffin addiction must be hereditary because my 2 year old daughter gets so excited while they’re baking! She keeps running over, looking in, and points while saying ‘cookies’. Yes, my sweet girl, they are just as amazing a freshly baked cookies.
There is one ingredient that ABSOLUTELY makes these whole wheat banana muffins above and beyond perfect. No… not the bananas (they’re obviously important too). No… not the whole wheat pastry flour that I constantly rant and rave about (it’s vital also). It’s the pure vanilla extract! It’s only 2 tsp worth, but makes these muffins out-of-this-world! I love waiting close to the oven while they bake because the vanilla, pure, and sweet aroma fills the air. Also, it makes a great and classy gift for those difficult to shop for. Christmas, hostess gift, housewarming? Perfect gift idea.
Healthy Banana Muffins
Ingredients
- 2 cups whole wheat pastry flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 2 tsp flax seeds optional
- 2 bananas peeled and mashed (or blended)
- 1/2 cup applesauce
- 1/2 cup honey or organic agave
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 1/4 cup milk of your choice... I used vanilla almond milk
- 2 tsp pure vanilla extract
Instructions
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Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
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In a large mixing bowl combine all the dry ingredients.
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In a separate medium-sized bowl, whisk together the bananas, applesauce, honey, olive oil, milk, and vanilla.
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Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and stir to combine.
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Fill lightly greased muffin pan with about 1/4 cup mixture. Bake for 20 to 23 minutes or until the tops have browned. The inside will be moist!
Top with a little natural peanut butter…. oh, it’s heaven.
Need more healthy breakfast ideas? Try my Breakfast Quiches… you can make a dozen or two and freeze them for up to 3 months or refrigerate up to 2 weeks. They are my husband’s favorite!
mmm I love banana muffins! These look so so good!
Ohmyheck KAMI!!! I have MISSED commenting on your blog – goodness gracious girl things have been wild! I am so sorry – but I still have been checking you out and you’ve had some AWESOME recipes coming my way. These look so yummy I’m definitely trying them – along with quite a few other things you’ve recently posted. Thanks for sharing your recipes! Thanks for making them TRUELY healthy 🙂 None of that “healthy… this and that.. with 1 1/2 c. white sugar…” jazz – you are the real deal girlie!
Thanks, Yvonne! I do laugh when I see other recipes posing as ‘healthy’ with lots of butter and sugar. Thanks for your sweet comment.
We made these muffins this morning and they were delicious!! I have tried your cranberry orange and blueberry banana muffins in the last week or so, and these were my favorite so far. I just tried the WW pastry flour, I’ve always ground my own, and can add my stamp of approval there….amazingly fluffy. 😉 Can’t wait to try more. Thanks!
Thanks for your kind comment, Jeannette! I definitely love light and fluffy muffins and WW pastry flour has become essential when making them.
My husband eats gluten free so I made a gluten free version today, and we LOVED them! I put a link to your site and this recipe on my blog, here’s the link if you want to check it out. Thanks for the great recipes!
https://thereislifeafterwheat.blogspot.com/2014/02/healthy-and-delicious-banana-muffins.html
Thank you for the feedback, Celeste! I will definitely check it out.
These are soooo good. We have made them a few times now and I can’t believe I am not eating the really sugary banana bread I love. It is so good to eat something and not have to feel so guilty
Yay, Christina! I love hearing this type of feedback.
Just made these, I didn’t have milk so used some yogurt and watered it down. Instead of flax seed I used chia seeds. They are great! And my 1 year old loves them too, will make again.
YAY! Thank you for sharing your success! My kids (4 years old and 16 months) loves these muffins too. Recently, I’ve been adding flax seed and chia seeds to make them power packed. Thanks again for your comment!