These light and moist Banana Oat Muffins are a hit with kids of all ages, and you can use any toppings you like. Naturally sweetened they can be a nutritious breakfast on the go, or a filling snack. With no butter, sugar or oil, these muffins are a lighter choice, but still bursting with flavour.
I feel like muffins have a bad reputation for being loaded with sugar and really not a healthy option - but they don't have to be! We love making these easy Oat Muffins that have no butter, refined sugar (just honey and the sweetness from the banana) or oil and they certainly aren't sacrificing on taste because of it.
You totally feel like you are eating something far more indulgent than you are, which is why I am happy giving them to our 2 year old as a snack.
If you are looking for some other muffin recipes, then try our Healthy Blueberry Muffins, Peanut Butter Banana Muffins, White Chocolate and Raspberry Muffins or Cranberry Orange Muffins.
Jump to:
Why you will love them
- Light and fluffy muffins - Sometimes healthier muffins can be a bit dense and dry, but these are light and moist.
- They smell AMAZING when baking - Who needs air freshener when you have muffins baking.
- Kids will enjoy making them - These are so easy to make, that it's a great opportunity to get kids involved in the kitchen.
- Easy to adapt - There are lots of ways to adapt these banana oat muffins with different fruit and chocolate combos. More on that below.
Ingredients needed
- Flour - This is the main bulk of the muffins and gives them that cake like texture. We used plain flour, as we have tried with wholewheat flour before but they are just a bit too dense.
- Oats - Rather than using just flour, we mixed some oats in to them for some extra texture and fibre. We used plain rolled oats.
- Spices - We used cinnamon and ground ginger as they add a nice warmth to the banana oat muffins. You could use nutmeg instead though.
- Vanilla - This adds lots of extra flavour. Use vanilla extract, not essence.
- Baking powder - This helps the muffins rise and makes them lovely and fluffy.
- Banana - This is used instead of butter and replaces some of the sugar. These do have quite a strong banana flavour, so these aren't something for the banana haters out there.
- Eggs - These help to bind everything together and give them that delicious muffin texture.
- Milk - We used almond milk, but a dairy milk would work too.
- Honey - This is what adds extra sweetness to the muffins. You could use maple syrup too. Feel free to adjust the amounts to suit your own tastes. We have called these no sugar muffins, although they do have honey in. Honey isn't equal to regular sugar, because it has a lower GI value than sugar, meaning that it doesn't raise blood sugar levels as quickly. It's also sweeter than sugar, so you may need less of it.
- Chocolate chips - These are a must in muffins, right? We used dark chocolate chips, but you could use milk or white. But you could leave them out if you wanted to.
- Berries - We used strawberries and blueberries and they make the muffins really vibrant.
- Almonds - These add a nice crunch to the top of the banana oat muffins. We used flaked almonds.
A full ingredients list with measurements is in the recipe card below.
How to make banana oat muffins - Step by step
One: In a large bowl, mix together the rolled oats, flour, cinnamon, ginger and baking powder.
Two: In a small bowl, mash the bananas and add the whisked egg, milk, vanilla and honey.
Three: Pour the liquid in to the oat mixture. Stir together until combined.
Four: Line a 12 hole muffin tin (or two 6 hole muffin tins) with muffin cases. Divide half the blueberries, strawberries, almonds and chocolate chips between them. Pour the oat muffin mixture into the cases until nearly full.
Five: Top with the rest of the almond, strawberry, blueberry and chocolate toppings. Put in a preheated oven at 180°C/350°F/Gas 4 for 30 minutes. Leave to cool for 30 minutes before serving.
Health benefits
Banana and oats are the key ingredients here, and they have lots of health benefits. Oats contain a type of soluble fibre called beta-glucan, which studies have shown can help to lower your cholesterol. They also contain iron, zinc, magnesium and B vitamins. If you are making this porridge with milk like we have, then the vitamin and mineral content increases, as does the calcium content.
Bananas are a great source of potassium, vitamin B6, fibre and carbohydrate, and some vitamin C too. They do have a lower water content than most fruit, so bananas typically have more calories as well as a higher sugar content compared to other non-tropical fruits.
Bananas are full of potassium, which is one of the most important electrolytes in the body, helping to regulate heart function as well as fluid balance. It is a key factor in regulating blood pressure.
Variations
The beauty of this recipe is that you can pretty much use anything you like. Once you have your basic oaty mixture as a base, then you can get creative. We wanted to add some berries for colour and then went with almonds for a bit of crunch and of course some chocolate chips - because what are muffins without chocolate chips?
Other great topping/filling options include dried fruit like cranberries, raisins or chopped apricot, other nuts like chopped pecans or walnuts, or swap the dark chocolate chips for white chocolate chips. Why not add in a little (not too much, otherwise the muffins will be too moist) shredded carrot or courgette for a veggie boost.
If you want something a little more indulgent, pour a little batter in to the muffin hole, then add a spoonful of our Homemade Healthier Nutella and then top up with batter. You have yourself some Nutella Banana Muffins. Want another muffin recipe? Try our White Chocolate and Raspberry Muffins.
Of course, you don't have to use any extra toppings at all, and could just keep these as plain muffins. That would save you some calories too.
What to serve with banana oat muffins
We usually serve these as a snack, so wouldn't usually serve them with anything else. However, we do love a hot drink or smoothie to go with one of these for an afternoon pick-me-up. Why not try one of these:
- Hot Chocolate Spoons
- Chai Tea Latte
- Banana Milk
- Cinnamon Coffee
- Apple Pie Smoothie
- Slow Cooker Hot Chocolate
- Cinnamon Mocha
Storage
Store: You want to make sure that the muffins don't go soggy when you are storing them, and paper towels are the key here. Simply line and air tight container with a paper towel, and it will act as a sponge for the moisture. Put the muffins on top of the paper towel and put the lid on and store at room temperature. They will keep for about 2-3 days like this.
Freeze: These freeze really well, so we often batch cook them and then keep them in the freezer for a handy snack. Just wait for them to cool completely and then put them in the freezer.
Defrost: You can then either defrost them at room temperature, or put them in the microwave for 30-60 seconds to defrost.
Reheat: If you want these warmed, then you can warm them in the microwave for 30 seconds.
FAQs
If you want to save yourself some time (even though these take barely any time at all to make), then you can make these muffins in a blender. Simply put all of the ingredients (apart from the blueberries, strawberries, almonds and chocolate chips) in to a high powdered blender and blend until smooth. Then you can just pour in to the muffin tin straight from the blender.
To make these vegan, use flax eggs instead of eggs, use a dairy free milk, swap the honey for maple syrup and make sure all your toppings are vegan. The flax eggs will change the consistency a little, but you will still have a delicious vegan muffin.
There are 180 calories per muffin and they are really filling.
Not only will kids love eating these, they will love helping to make these and adding their different topping combinations. If you are looking to get your kids more involved in the kitchen, then this is a good place to start as they can help to stir and put everything in the muffin tin.
If you use gluten free flour, and make sure that there is no cross contamination, then these can be gluten free.
If your bananas are not very ripe, then you might have a dry batter. Don't worry though, as you just need to add a couple of tablespoons of milk to loosen it up.
We used this 12 hole muffin tray. But you could use 2 6 hole ones if that's all you have.
Extra tips
• Give these muffins a nutrition boost by stirring a couple of tablespoons of flaxseeds in to the mixture.
• Make sure you use super ripe bananas as it will help the texture of the muffins and also make sure they are deliciously sweet.
• If you are using shredded carrot or courgette in your muffins, don't use too much as it will make the muffins too wet.
• You could make these just with oat flour, however they would be more dense.
• Use fresh baking powder - baking powder can lose its effectiveness if it is old or out of date and your muffins might not rise properly.
• Don't over-mix the batter. Just fold it until it is mixed through. Over stirring it can give you tough muffins.
• For even sized muffins, use an ice cream scoop to put the mixture in the muffin case.
• Check the muffins after 30 minutes. The edges should be golden brown and they shouldn't wobble in the centre, but all ovens cook differently. If they seem underdone, bake them an extra 5 minutes.
More banana recipes
If you’ve tried these healthy banana muffins with oats, let us know how you got on in the comments below.
Tag us in your creations on Instagram @hungryhealthyhappy - Use the hashtag #hungryhealthyhappy too.
Recipe
Banana Oat Muffins
Ingredients
- 180 g (2.25 cups) Rolled oats
- 120 g (1 cups) Plain flour
- 1 teaspoon Cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon Ground ginger
- 2 teaspoon Baking powder
- 2 Bananas - mashed
- 2 Eggs - whisked
- 250 ml (1 cups) Almond milk
- 1 tablespoon Vanilla extract
- 80 ml (0.33 cups) Honey - or maple syrup
- 30 g (0.25 cups) Dark chocolate chips
- 5 Strawberries - chopped
- 20 g (0.25 cups) Flaked almonds
- 100 g (0.66 cups) Blueberries
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 180°C/350°F/Gas 4.
- In a large bowl, mix together 180 g Rolled oats, 120 g Plain flour, 1 teaspoon Cinnamon, 1 teaspoon Ground ginger and 2 teaspoon Baking powder.
- In a small bowl, mash 2 Bananas and add the 2 Eggs, 250 ml Almond milk, 1 tablespoon Vanilla extract and 80 ml Honey.
- Pour the liquid into the oat mixture.
- Stir together until combined.
- Line a 12 hole muffin tin (or two 6 hole muffin tins) with muffin cases. Divide half of the 100 g Blueberries, half of the 5 Strawberries, half of the 20 g Flaked almonds and half of 30 g Dark chocolate chips between them.
- Pour the oat muffin mixture i to the cases until nearly full.
- Top with the rest of the almonds, strawberries, blueberries and chocolate chips.
- Put into the oven for 30 minutes. Leave to cool for 30 minutes before serving.
Notes
- Give these muffins a nutrition boost by stirring a couple of tablespoons of flaxseeds in to the mixture.
- Make sure you use super ripe bananas as it will help the texture of the muffins and also make sure they are deliciously sweet.
- If you are using shredded carrot or courgette in your muffins, don't use too much as it will make the muffins too wet.
- You could make these just with oat flour, however they would be more dense.
Jess
I love everything about these muffins! They are bursting with flavor and full of all my favorite things!
Kelly Anthony
I really like how you added ginger to your muffin recipe. My kids will love helping me make these and add their favorite toppings.
Tania | Fit Foodie Nutter
Such a perfect recipe to add to the summer picnic basket! Love how quick and easy it is and can't wait to try it with my daughter x
Alison
Thank you for leaving the directions to make these vegan and the beautifully illustrated steps to create these muffins. I also love that they're toddler approved! My toddler is going to love these! Thanks!
Lizzy
Thanks for sharing this awesome back-to-school breakfast/snack idea! Looks delish
Natalie
I love banana muffins, and with oats it makes them perfectly fit for breakfast! Looks so delicious and moist!
Cindy @ A Uniquely Edible Magic
These muffins are great! The photos are also gorgeous :)
kim
I love strawberry everything and these have the best flavor! So easy and tasty! I'll be making this one again for sure!
Danielle Wolter
These sound so delicious! I love the addition of fruit and chocolate chips!
Jacqueline Debono
Your daughter is so cute! I love all the fruit you use for these muffins, plus the fact that they have rolled oats and honey! I need to make some for my family!