I’ve yet to meet a person who doesn’t like banana muffins or really any banana baked good at that! For me banana muffins are a staple in the house so if you’ve been to my house, the family cottage, or my parent’s house, you’ve probably had a banana muffin or two! In every one of those freezers, I can guarantee you there are frozen ripe bananas packed in bags, ready to be baked.
I’m not as adventurous when it comes to healthy baking. I like my baking with full fats and feel I should enjoy what I’m eating in a baked good. Okay, I know what you’re thinking, you like the way healthy things taste, I get it, me too. I love healthy food, but not as much in my baking. I find it hard to get a gluten-free, vegan-free, sugar-free, etc., baked good that I actually like more than the other version. That being said there are some really good recipes too and when I find them I’m happy I can share them on the blog with all of you.
So if you’re looking for a healthier recipe that tastes both delicious and banana-ie, this healthy banana bran muffin is for you! Now I’m not going to go crazy and say they don’t have sugar, they do! But in my opinion, you need that sugar to balance some flavour with the bran and whole-wheat flour. Remember that sugar gets divided between 12 muffins, so really it’s not that bad.
Ingredients
- Bran
- All-purpose flour
- Whole-wheat flour
- Bananas
- Walnuts
- Egg
- Milk
- Brown sugar
- Vegetable oil
- Vanilla extract
- Baking powder & baking soda
- Ground cinnamon
- Salt
Also, Follow these Recipes
Feel free to add any of your favourite additions to these ‘healthy’ banana bran muffins. I love toasted walnuts, but you could add dried fruit, seeds, or nuts – whatever your heart desires! The fun part about muffins is you can play around and test new flavours together; perhaps dried apricots or dried cherries would be nice to add.
Let me know what you think about these muffins, maybe they aren’t healthy enough for you or are just right? What did you add to your muffins?
Your feedback matters to me so leave a comment below the recipe (and a rating). Happy baking!
Healthy Banana Bran Muffins
If you’re looking for a healthier recipe that tastes both delicious and banana-ie, this healthy banana bran muffin is for you! They are full of bran, whole-wheat flour, walnuts, and bananas. Add any dried fruit, seeds, or nuts as you please.
- Prep Time: 15 mins
- Cook Time: 20 mins
- Total Time: 35 mins
- Yield: 12 1x
- Category: Breakfast
- Cuisine: American
Ingredients
- 1 cup (120 g) bran
- 1 cup (120 g) all-purpose flour
- 3/4 cup (96 g) whole-wheat flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup (100 g) packed brown sugar
- 1/2 cup (65 g) walnuts, chopped and toasted
- 1 egg
- 1 1/4 cup milk
- 3 ripe bananas, mashed
- 1/2 cup vegetable oil (or melted butter)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 12 slices of bananas (optional, for topping muffins)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375˚F. Line a muffin pan with paper liners and set aside.
- In a large bowl, whisk together; bran, all-purpose flour, whole wheat flour, baking powder, cinnamon, baking soda, salt, and walnuts.
- In another large bowl whisk together brown sugar and egg. Add milk, mashed bananas, oil, and vanilla. Mix until well combined.
- Add wet mixture to dry mixture and mix together just until combined (don’t overmix).
- Spoon batter into prepared muffin cups and top with a banana slice.
- Bake in the middle of the oven for 20-25 minutes.
Notes
For the banana slices on the top it’s best to use a fresh banana that’s a little firmer.
Add 1/2 cup dried fruit; cranberries, apricots, raisins, etc.
Store muffins in a tin for up to 3 days.
Muffins freeze well in a freezer bag for 1-2 months.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 muffin
- Calories: 270
- Sugar: 11.4g
- Sodium: 98mg
- Fat: 13.9g
- Saturated Fat: 2.5g
- Unsaturated Fat: 0
- Trans Fat: 0
- Carbohydrates: 32.3g
- Fiber: 5.9g
- Protein: 6.4g
- Cholesterol: 16mg
Keywords: Banana, Muffin, Healthy, Breakfast, Bran
FAQ’s
Keep banana muffins in a tin at room temperature and consume within 2-3 days. Muffins are best enjoyed the same day. Banana muffins also freeze well store them in an airtight container or freezer bag and freeze for 1-2 months.
Yes, you can make banana bran muffins into a loaf. Simply follow your recipe as directed. Then, instead of adding batter to a muffin tin add batter to a lined or greased loaf pan. Bake time will differ and will take approx. 40-60 minutes.
If you don’t have any liners for your muffin tin you can either grease the tin with butter/oil or you can make your own liners using parchment paper. Cut large squares of parchment paper and press them into each cup. This will create a bakery style liner.
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Would you recommend baking these at a higher temperature for a few minutes and filling the muffin pan more like your chocolate chip muffins to have more like a bakery muffin?
Thank you
Hi Sue, I haven’t tried that method with this recipe before. I don’t see why it wouldn’t work though. If you give it a try let me know. Just follow the baking directions for the Bakery Style Chocolate Chip Muffins.