Banana Muffins Recipe
These banana muffins are perfect for school lunches or even work lunches!
It’s back to school season, and the binders and #2 pencils are everywhere.
Going back to school is becoming somewhat of a national holiday in this country. Similar to Christmas in that the kids get new stuff and us parents are left wondering what happened to our paychecks. Back to school ain’t cheap!
And then there’s the lunch dilemma….
Who knew packing a little lunch could be so stressful??!! But inevitably, it gets to the point where you just don’t know what to pack anymore. The kids are bored with the “same ol’, same ol'” and frankly, so are we. But it doesn’t have to be that way. Sometimes, all it takes is a new perspective or a tiny spark of inspiration to get us going again. Sometimes, all it takes is one recipe to get the excitement back into a lunch box.
And while these aren’t something I’d pack for Mini Chef on a daily basis, they sure do kick lunch box boredom to the curb on occasion.
YOU MIGHT ALSO ENJOY THESE CLEAN EATING RECIPES:
BANANA MUFFINS RECIPE:
Banana Muffins
Equipment
- Standard muffin pan
Ingredients
- 2 cups whole wheat pastry flour (affiliate link)
- 2 tsp. baking soda
- 1 tsp. ground cinnamon
- 2 large egg whites (or 1 whole egg)
- ½ cup honey
- 2 tbsp. oil (I used safflower)
- ¼ cup milk (any type except coconut milk)
- ¼ cup apple sauce (unsweetened)
- 2 medium ripe bananas (smooshed with a fork)
- 1 cup walnuts (chopped, optional – plus a few for garnish if you wish)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
- Note: I used a 12 muffin tin. If you don’t have muffin paper, spray the tin with olive oil so the muffins don’t stick.
- Mix all ingredients in a large bowl using an electric mixer. Make sure all ingredients get really well blended together.
- Pour the batter into the muffin tin or muffin papers. Fill only half way.
- Sprinkle nuts of your choice over the top and place in oven (Optional).
- Bake for 20 minutes or until cooked through.
Good for you, Tiffany. I think you will find plenty of people go back to school in their 30s. My great-aunt went to Normal School which was the usual teacher training when she graduated from high school in the 1920s. She had been teaching kindergarten and 1st grade for more than 30 years when the powers that be decided everyone had to have their Bachelors degree and a certain number of credits toward their Masters in order to continue teaching. No grandfathering in, even though she had been teaching longer than some of them had been alive. So in her mid-50s she went back to college and got her degrees.
Next year when our little ones go to preschool I’m planning to go back to school as well. I’ll be 61!
Banana muffins sound wonderful. I’ll try your recipe. We’ve got quite a few bananas in the freezer that got ripe faster than we could eat them.
Jodi – Then there’s always banana ice cream ~wink~.
Hey, these sound great! Just an extra tip – if you put a pan of water at the bottom of the oven while your muffins are cooking, they will have those nice round tops that the ones in the store have.
Adrienne – Wow! Great tip, thanks so much!
It’s so funny that you posted this because I was just thinking of turning your kiwi muffins into tropical ones with banana, kiwi, and mango next week!
They look great!
Brittney – Tropical would be yummy! Just be careful with the moisture from the fruit. If you are using that much fruit, you may need to reduce the liquid ingredients slightly to make up for it. Let me know how they turn out!
Congratulations Tiffany! I’m about the same age, and have been thinking about doing the exact same thing. I got a degree … in finance … worked in that field for a while, and am back to food!
Those muffins look perfect!
Alisa – Thanks! Education is never wasted. You should definitely go back!
OMG I was SO starting school this semester to get some classes underway to become a RD as well! I am one of those that never figured out what I wanted to be either. I am almost 26, but mad that I didn’t figure this out the first time in college. Having majored in Sociology, none of my classes transfer to the new program except the gen ed. It’s going to take me twice as long now..blah! I am excited, but discouraged that I couldn’t start because none of the classes I need are offered at night. I’ll have to quit working to go back. Congratulations though! It’s going to be so rewarding!
Valarie – I feel your pain. NONE of my previous classes transferred because they were from a quarter system, and now I’m in a semester system. Ugg. But you’re right. It’s worth it in the end! We can commiserate together! lol
These banana muffins were a hit with my family and my neighbours! In fact, the neighbour has requested more! I made a few mini muffins to keep on hand here – they freeze great! It’s amazing how moist they are!
Jill – They’ve never lasted long enough around here to try freezing. But it’s great to know that they freeze well. Thanks!
Made these tonight and they are AMAZING! I substituted applesauce for the oil and mixed about 1/4-1/2 cup of walnut pieces into the batter. I posted it up on my blog as well (with credit of course!). Keep ’em coming!
Jamie
Jamie – That’s great! I’m so happy you enjoyed them! They really were meant for blueberries!
I have to say, I love your blog! I’ve been eyeing this recipe for a while now and was wondering if you have a preference for honey or for agave. I know you say both works, but I was curious if one tastes better than the other in this particular recipe?
Lindsey – I’ve enjoyed them both ways. What it really comes down to is if you enjoy the flavor of honey, then go that route. If not, use the agave. There is some question if agave is truly clean or not. So use raw agave if you can get it and choose to go that route. But it really does come down to flavor preference. Personally, I love them with the honey.
Awesome! Thanks Tiffany, I’m about to put a batch in the oven 🙂
Yum! What did you decide to use?
I used the honey and they came out great! I have to admit, I cheated and added a little bit of brown sugar to the chopped walnuts to make a streusel on top but otherwise, I followed the recipe to a T. My sister who usually scoffs at all the healthy things I make, thought they were amazing and asked me to forward her the recipe! Thanks again 🙂
Linsey – That’s wonderful! Fantastic that your sister even liked them! Enjoy!
Hi Tiffany! I was wondering if any changes needed to be made if I poured the batter into a loaf pan instead of a muffin pan… would that affect the temperature or baking time? Thanks so much!
Kristi – I would make small loaves. It’s a wet batter which means it would need a longer baking time and you’d have to keep an eye on the top so it doesn’t burn. Maybe use some foil as a loose cover. Hope you enjoy it!
Hi Tiffany!
Thanks so much for this recipe! These muffins are amazing! I’m so glad I found your website; I love your recipes.
Kamla – Thanks for trying my recipes! I’m so happy you enjoyed them. Those are one of Mini Chef’s favorites too!
These are wonderful 🙂 My 15 month old and I are devouring them as I type lol. First clean eating recipe of yours I have made 🙂 Can’t wait to try more!
Jessica – That’s fabulous!!! Enjoy! 🙂
First off, let me just say that these muffins are great! I’ve made them so many times and I love the recipe just as is. I want to try them with pumpkin, though, so I’ve got 2 questions. 1) Any reason why it wouldn’t work to just sub the banana for canned pumpkin and 2) About how many cups does 2 bananas break down to? I’m thinking about 3/4 to 1 cup of pumpkin would be good, but bananas vary so greatly in size, I just wanted to see what the master chef herself had in mind :). Thanks!
Grace – Hmmm….. good question! I would go with 1 cup to start with. Let me know how they turn out!
I’m looking forward trying these muffins since my son can eat these with his allergies. Through caloriecount.about.com they worked out to be different: http://caloriecount.about.com/cc/recipe_analysis.php?process=resubmit&count=22
Jaime – Ya, that’s why I have the disclaimer at the bottom. I think every calorie counter I’ve plugged my recipes into comes out with different data. I use NutritionData because it has the most complete data. But it’s not always exact. Good for a ballpark # though!
These are amazing Muffins!!! I make them often and are a favorite around here!
Stefanie – Awesome!!! I’m so happy you’re enjoying them!
This is a muffin recipe i can sink my teeth into!
GFC – Fabulous!!! I’m glad you enjoyed them!
i made these muffins last night and enjoyed my first one this morning… these are fabulous!! and i’m a huge traditional banana bread fan, so i was wondering if i would like the clean version as much. makes me very happy i can enjoy it clean now. i’m also really excited to try them with pumpkin! thanks so much for sharing! 🙂
Jessica – Wonderful! I’m so happy you enjoyed them!
These are really good! I didn’t have canola oil so I used EVOO, and only used 1.5tbsp. I also didn’t have whole wheat pastry flour so I used regular whole wheat flour. Used agave, and skim milk and they turned out amazing!
Jeremy – That’s wonderful! I’m so happy you enjoyed them!
I have made these twice (once with banana and once with pumpkin). They are wonderful but both times they stuck to the muffin liners! I tried using different liners the second time and didn’t cook them as long but they still stuck. Any idea what I am doing wrong?
Melissa – They stick a little for me too. You might try spraying an non-stick muffin tin with some oil and cooking without the muffin liners. Hope that helps!