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.
These were awesome!! 🙂
Oh my, I never thought I’d say this, but I’m gonna clean up my act (in the kitchen, at least)! These muffins are AWESOME–and after reading through your site I came up with a few substitutions that I needed to make for them to work with what I have on hand. Thank you so much!
My pleasure! Enjoy!
Can I use coconut oil instead of Canola oil?
I love your website/blog – it’s been so helpful in the beginning stages of eating clean!
Sure can!
I just made these this morning and they are DELISH!! Thank you for a base recipe for muffins. I did have to make a few substitues whole wheat flour instead of pastry flour, coconut oil instead of canola plus in my reg banana bread I use sour cream to add moisture which I used 1/2 cup greek yougurt and came out just perfect. Cant wait to make them again with the WW pastry flour. Yumm and such a comfort food for this snowing day! I can also add they are toddler approved! Now i just waiting for the rest of my household to get up and try them! 🙂
Glad you enjoyed them. 🙂
I substituted WW flour for WW pastry and they came out a bit doughy/ chewy– When making again should I change anything? I also halved the recipe a bit and didn’t use an electric mixer… Thank you!
The switch in flour will do that. Use the pastry flour and it should be fine.
Hi! i love your recipes and tried many of them already, with regards to banana muffins… i live in UK and i can’t find whole wheat pastry flour:( is there any substitute for it?
It’s hard to say because I don’t know what is actually available in the UK. I know it’s often referred to as “whole meal”. We have something here called White Whole Wheat Flour that works. Maybe you can find that? You can use regular whole wheat. Just know that the muffins will be far more dense and bready.
Another amazing muffin recipe.. girl you are making me want to go to whole foods RIGHT NOW and buy everything needed for all your recipes! question though.. I am trying to get more protein into my diet and theres this whole new craze to protein muffins and pancakes and bla bla.. how would i be able to incorporate some protein powder in this recipe? any ideas??
You could just replace a small amount of flour for protein powder. Just watch which flavor you use.
We’ve made these numerous times now, and they are awesome! The only change I’ve made is to sub milled flaxseed for the egg whites (due to egg allergy). Thanks again for another great recipe!
Tracie – My pleasure! Glad they worked for you!
Instead of Safflower oil, could I use Coconut Oil or EVOO instead?
Meagan – Definitely!
I bought 40 lbs of bananas at our local auction this weekend for $5.00 and was in search of as many clean eating banana recipes as I could find! I made this recipe using a third (very large) banana instead of apple sauce, coconut oil instead of safflower oil and completely forgot the honey when I mixed it up. It still turned out well! 🙂
Danielle – Awesome!!! 😀 But wow! 40 pounds!! Slice some up and freeze for ice cream and try my 2 ingredients pancakes. Yum!
these sound amazing. so grateful for your site!!
Amber – Thanks! 🙂
made these this morning, subbed the oil for applesauce and didnt use as much honey because we were almost out. I also added blueberries, they were great!
laceybre – Awesome! 🙂
Hi,
Love your site! Just wondering what you would recommend having with a muffin to create a breakfast meal? Am starting a planned week of clean eating to see how I go and am doing lots of research!
Thanks.
Deanne – Depends on what you like, but it’s best to get some protein in there with those carbs. So maybe a hardboiled egg or piece of chicken. Even a protein drink. Just something to give some balance to the meal.
What’s the difference between whole wheat pastry flour and whole wheat flour. I’ve been researching clean eating and the recipes differ with these two ingredients. Thanks
Lora – Here’s an explanation: https://www.thegraciouspantry.com/clean-eating-flour/
I made these last night! They are delicious! I didn’t have pastry or white flour so I used half whole wheat flour and half spelt flour and added in 6oz greek yogurt and they turned out wonderfully.They were not too cakey and have a great flavor to them. Thanks for the awesome recipe!
Nicole – My pleasure!
Can u pls help – I am allergic to apples and agave nectar which alt of clean eating recipes call for – can u suggest any substitutes – clean eating is new to me.
Fiona – Agave isn’t clean. I removed it from all my earlier recipes. Use honey instead. For apple sauce, can you just puree another fruit? Mashed bananas work well in baking or sometimes I see apricot sauce in the stores. You could try something like that providing the ingredients are clean.
Would almond flour work? I also have whole grain oat flour.
Carrie – Sadly no because this recipe is dependent on the gluten in the wheat flour. I mean you could certainly try it, but I think you’d probably end up with a big mess.
Can I use oat flour instead?
Natalie – No, sorry. This needs gluten.
hi! would I be able to use maple syrup instead of honey? have read that maple syrup is sweeter than honey, will it affect the moisture of the batter if I cut down on the syrup? Thanks!
Kathleen – In my experience, it’s actually the other way around. Particularly in baking. Honey is sweeter. You could probably cut down a bit, but I wouldn’t cut down too much. Hope that helps.
My boyfriend and I love these! Thank you Tiffany 🙂
Lauren B – My pleasure! 🙂