Healthy Blueberry Banana Muffins

Easy to make and super flavorful, these healthier Blueberry Banana Muffins are tender, moist and are quickly becoming a breakfast staple in my household. Give this recipe a try for yourself – I promise you’re going to want to make them again and again!

It’s no secret that I absolutely love muffins. They are easy to make, bake quickly, and they’re perfect for snacking. My “research” (ahem) tells me that these Blueberry Banana Muffins are extra delicious when they are split open, toasted, and topped with salted butter and jam. Swoon.

reasons why we love this muffin recipe

This is one of my favorite muffin recipes to bake and my kids request them all the time. Here’s why they’re so great:

• Easy recipe. There’s no need to get out an electric mixer or blender to make these muffins. All you need is a couple of bowls and about 10 minutes to prepare them and less than 20 minutes to bake. So, in less than 30 minutes you can have freshly baked blueberry banana muffins. Winning!
• Healthier ingredients. These muffins are made with simple, wholesome ingredients that you probably already have on hand. Plus, I love that they’re a great way to make use of overripe bananas!
• Soft, moist, delicious. These muffins are nice and fluffy and plenty moist, thanks to the bananas! The blueberry/banana combination is absolutely perfect and the flavors really shine through in these muffins.
• Can be made in advance and freeze well. I love to bake these up the night before and wake up to wonderfully satisfying muffins. They last for 2-3 days stored in an airtight container at room temperature or up to 5 days stored in the fridge. They also freeze really well. Sometimes I meal prep these on Sunday and enjoy them during the week. Makes for an easy grab-n-go breakfast or snack!

ingredients needed for healthy muffins that taste delicious

Some of my favorite recipes to experiment with and make healthier are muffins and quick breads. They are so adaptable and it’s easier than you might think to make them lower in calories and fat.

Since the banana naturally adds sweetness and moisture to these muffins, you can hardly tell that they have been made healthier. Bananas are such a great ingredient in healthier baking recipes! Using bananas in bread recipes allows for a great reduction in fat and sugar.

When making most baked goods, I also like to replace a portion of all-purpose flour for whole wheat pastry flour or spelt flour. You can also choose to use all whole wheat flour, but your recipe will taste nuttier and be a bit more dense. White whole wheat flour is also a great option.

Because of those wonderful bananas, we’re able to reduce sugar and fat. I’m only using 1/4 cup of honey for my sweetener; where most muffin recipes use 1/2 to 1 cup of white or brown sugar. You can use another sugar substitute in this recipe, if you prefer, but I love the honey flavor it gives these muffins.

For the fat, just 1/4 cup melted coconut oil (olive oil or avocado oil works, too) is used. With the addition of applesauce, you won’t need very much oil to make for a super moist, delicious blueberry muffin.

how to make this recipe

Like most muffin recipes, these healthy blueberry banana muffins are very easy to whip up! Grab your muffin pan and spray it with cooking spray or line it with parchment paper liners. Now, let’s bake some delicious muffins!

1. Once you mash the bananas, start the batter by stirring together the mashed banana, applesauce, eggs, honey (or maple syrup) and oil.
2. In a separate large bowl, combine the flour, cinnamon, baking soda, baking powder and salt.
3. Combine the wet ingredients with the dry ingredients. Mix gently to combine, but don’t over mix.
4. Fill muffin tin. Spoon batter into prepared muffin pan, filling each cavity completely full.
5. Bake muffins. Place muffins in the oven for 5 minutes at 425ºF. After 5 minutes (without removing muffins), reduce heat to 350ºF and bake for 13 to 15 minutes more and until muffins are golden brown and toothpick inserted comes out clean or with just a few moist crumbs.
6. Cool and enjoy. Once cooked, remove muffins from the oven and let them cool in the pan for about 10 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely. These are incredible with nothing added, but we love to enjoy them with a smear of butter, peanut butter, jam or a drizzle of honey!

tips for baking perfect muffins

These muffins could not be easier to make, but here are a few tips so that they are perfect every time!

• Over-ripe bananas are awesome! Please, please, whenever you have bananas about to go bad, don’t throw them out! Peel them and put them in a baggie in your freezer until you want to use them for muffins, bread, or waffles. When you need them, take them out of the freezer and let them sit out for a bit or microwave them for about 45 seconds.
• Room temperature ingredients. When baking, it’s best to start with ingredients that are at room temperature. This helps everything mix together evenly without having to over-mix the batter.
• Measure the flour correctly. Too much flour can cause muffins to be dry and crumbly. Whisk the flour first, then spoon it into a dry measuring cup (don’t scoop) and level off the top (without shaking the measuring cup).
• Do NOT over mix batter. Whole grain baked goods can come out fairly dense. I have found that the biggest thing that helps avoid this is to not over-mix the batter. When you hear cooks on TV saying “stir until just combined,” they mean it. The more you mix, the denser they will be. When you add the wet ingredients to the dry, make sure you only just combine them, and then gently fold the blueberries into the batter.

muffin variations

There are so many different ways to add new flavors to these muffins! Here are a few of my favorite ideas:

• Chocolate. Feel free to make these chocolate chip blueberry banana muffins! Add about 1/2 to 1 cup of any type of chocolate chip to these muffins. You can even use different flavored baking chips – butterscotch or peanut butter would be great options.
• Fruit. Change up this recipe and use 1 cup diced strawberries, raspberries, peaches or another favorite into the batter for incredible fruity flavor.
• Add-ins. Customize these muffins by stirring in other ingredients such as chopped nuts, toasted coconut, dried fruit, coconut extract or almond extract.
• Streusel topping. Try a delicious streusel topping for your muffins by mixing together 1/2 cup all purpose flour, 1/4 cup brown sugar, 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon and 1/4 cup melted butter. Sprinkle the streusel over the top of your muffins, then bake as directed.

storage tips

These banana blueberry muffins taste so good just out of the oven, but they might even be more wonderful the next day after the flavors have a chance to settle and marry.

• To store. Let the muffins cool completely on a wire rack before placing them in a storage container. Next, line the bottom of an airtight storage container with a paper towel and place the muffins in a single layer on the paper towel. Finally, top your muffins with another paper towel to absorb the excess moisture. Store at room temperature for up to about 2 days in an airtight container. If you need to store the muffins for a longer period of time, I’d recommend keeping them in the fridge or the freezer. You can microwave refrigerated muffins for about 10-15 seconds to make them taste like they were freshly baked.
• To freeze. These muffins, like most, freeze wonderfully! Once completely cool, place the muffins in a resealable freezer-safe bag and freeze for up to about 3 months. Let them thaw at room temperature or rewarm gently in the microwave.

recommended tools for baking muffins

Here’s a few of my muffin-baking essentials:

Mixing bowls – Any mixing bowls will do the trick. I love this stainless steel, nonslip mixing bowl set from Target.

Nonstick muffin pan – This is where quality matters! I was given this muffin pan from Williams Sonoma and LOVE it. I don’t have to use paper liners and my muffins always come out so easily. As an added plus, there’s never cooked muffin left stuck to the pan, so it’s super easy to clean.

Cooling rack – I wouldn’t say a cooling rack is completely necessary, but it’s definitely nice to have one available. These allow for airflow and even cooling of your baked goods.

These healthy blueberry banana muffins bake up perfectly moist, tender and delicious. They also will make your whole house smell incredible! You guys are sure to love these muffins! They’re:

Tender
SO moist
Perfectly sweet
Easy to make
Naturally sweetened (!!)
& So delicious

looking for other delicious banana muffin recipes? Try these!

• Healthy Double Chocolate Muffins
• Chocolate Chip Banana Muffins
• Paleo Banana Blueberry Muffins from Bakerita
• One Bowl Blueberry Banana Oatmeal Muffins from Running With Spoons

If you try this blueberry banana muffin recipe, let me know! Leave a comment and if your family loves it as much as mine does, be sure to give it a five star ⭐️ rating! Also, tag @kimscravings on Instagram with a picture of your creation. It’s so fun to see what you’re cooking! Be sure to subscribe to our mailing list to receive more healthy delicious recipes straight to your inbox.

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Healthy Blueberry Banana Muffins

Yield: 12 muffins

Prep Time: 10 mins

Cook Time: 20 mins

Total Time: 30 mins

Easy to make and super flavorful, these healthier Blueberry Banana Muffins are moist, sweet and becoming a breakfast staple in my household.

Ingredients

• 1 cup mashed ripe banana (about 2 large bananas)
• 1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce
• 2 eggs
• 1/4 cup pure raw honey or maple syrup
• 1/4 cup coconut oil (other oils will work)
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup whole wheat pastry flour or white whole wheat flour
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup blueberries, fresh or frozen (do not thaw)

Instructions 

• Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Prepare a muffin pan with cooking spray or liners.
• In a large mixing bowl, combine mashed bananas (I mashed mine in my blender) with applesauce, eggs, honey and oil. Stir vigorously until the mixture is smooth.
• In a separate bowl, combine the dry ingredients - flour, cinnamon, baking soda, baking powder and salt. For best results, spoon flour into cup (rather than scooping with cup) and then level using the straight edge of a knife. Make a well in the center of the flour mixture and add wet ingredients. Gently stir until just combined. Don't overmix.
• Spoon batter into the prepared muffin cavities, filling each one completely full. Bake muffins for 5 minutes at 425 degrees F. and then with muffins staying in the oven, reduce heat to 350 degrees F. and bake muffins for 13-15 minutes more. The high heat will cause muffins to rise and then you will lower heat to cook the center of the muffin.
• Remove muffins from the oven and allow them to cool in the pan for 10 minutes before transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely. You might need to run a butter knife along the outer edge of the muffins to loosen them from the pan.

Notes

FLOUR: Feel free to use any combo of flour that you prefer. You can use all all-purpose flour or all whole wheat. My favorite whole grain flours to use in this recipe are whole wheat pastry flour, spelt flour or white whole wheat flour.

STORAGE: These muffins will keep at room temperature for up to 2 days, or in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. They keep well in the freezer in a freezer-safe bag for up to 3 months (just defrost individual muffins as needed).

CHANGE IT UP: Feel free to add in other favorite ingredients. Fold in up to 1 cup chocolate chips or chopped nuts. You can also swap out the blueberries for raspberries or chopped strawberries.

SERVING SUGGESTIONS: These muffins are great on their own, with a pat of butter, or spread with almond butter or jam.

MAKE IT GLUTEN FREE: Bob’s Red Mill gluten-free all-purpose flour blend works well.

Photos by Molly at Yes to Yolks

Author: Kim

Course: Breakfast, Snack

Cuisine: American

Serving: 1muffin, Calories: 161kcal, Carbohydrates: 24.9g, Protein: 3.3g, Fat: 6g, Saturated Fat: 4.3g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.2g, Monounsaturated Fat: 0.7g, Cholesterol: 30.8mg, Sodium: 56.8mg, Potassium: 104.2mg, Fiber: 2.2g, Sugar: 10.6g, Vitamin A: 105IU, Vitamin C: 2.2mg, Calcium: 45mg, Iron: 0.6mg

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This post was originally posted July 2018. It was updated June 2021 with new content.