Healthy-ish Peanut Butter Banana Muffins
These Peanut Butter Banana Muffins are one of my new favorite breakfast treats! They’re tender and moist, made with (mostly) healthful ingredients, naturally sweetened, filling, and so delicious. With your morning coffee or a glass of milk, these muffins are a wonderful way to start your day.
This muffin recipe is a healthy-ish twist on a classic banana muffin. Peanut butter and banana is such a classic combination that seemed perfect for muffins. Add in a sprinkle of chocolate chips and you’ve got yourself a real breakfast treat!
Muffins are, in my opinion, the perfect breakfast pastry. They’re basically cupcakes without all the frosting, that you can eat for breakfast. And I don’t know about y’all, but I’ve never had a “healthy” cupcake that tasted good. I have, however, had several healthful muffins that tasted absolutely delicious. These Peanut Butter Banana Muffins rank pretty high up there.
After several test rounds of this recipe, I’m excited to finally share it with y’all! And I hope y’all love it as much as I do.
My favorite thing about these muffins is that they’re naturally sweetened and aren’t overly sweet. The maple syrup, peanut butter, and bananas provide the perfect amount of sweetness. If you choose to use sugar instead of syrup, coconut sugar is a great option.
You can use smooth or crunchy peanut butter for these muffins. I also tried a batch with a mixed nut and seed butter I get from Costco. All of them yielded great results, but I prefer natural creamy peanut butter here. Natural peanut butter is a little more runny, and it retains more of the natural oils and flavors since it’s less processed. It mixes well and isn’t as sweet as others.
I also tried these muffins with a variety of flours and blends of flours. I found that good ol’ all-purpose flour worked best, as well as a good gluten-free flour blend. Almond flour was a bit too grainy for my preferences in this case.
How to Make Peanut Butter Banana Muffins
To make them, you will need:
- Mashed bananas
- Peanut butter
- Neutral, flavorless oil (avocado, canola, or vegetable)
- Egg
- Pure maple syrup or sugar (I used maple syrup)
- Flour
- Baking powder
- Baking soda
- Salt
- Chocolate chips (optional but delicious)
First, mash two large bananas in a bowl. Add a little lemon juice to prevent browning. Prepare your muffin tin by lightly greasing it or using muffin liners.
Next, combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a separate bowl.
Mix the oil, egg, peanut butter, and maple syrup (or sugar). Add mashed bananas and stir.
Add the dry ingredients (and chocolate chips, if using) to the wet, and fold until combined. Don’t over-mix it! It’s okay if the batter is a little lumpy.
At this point, you can chill the batter for 30-60 minutes if you’d like. It’s not necessary, but according to Handle the Heat, chilling your muffin batter leads to a higher rise and more tender muffin.
When you’re ready to bake your peanut butter banana muffins, scoop the batter into your prepared muffin tin. Fill each cup about 3/4 full. Bake the muffins at 350ºF for 20-22 minutes, or until golden on top and a toothpick inserted comes out clean.
Cool in the tin for 5 minutes before turning out onto a wire rack to cool completely.
Store the muffins in an airtight container at room temperature for a few days, or wrap and freeze them for longer storage.
Did you like this recipe? You might also like:
- Apple Cider Muffins
- Double Chocolate Pumpkin Muffins
- Orange Cardamom Scones
- Easy Breakfast Casserole
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Healthy-ish Peanut Butter Banana Muffins
Ingredients
- 2 large bananas, mashed
- 1/2 cup peanut butter
- 1/2 cup neutral oil (canola, veg, avocado)
- 1 large egg
- 1/2 cup maple syrup or sugar
- 2 cups flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp kosher salt
Instructions
- Prepare your muffin tin by lightly greasing or using paper muffin liners.
- Peel and mash the bananas in a small bowl. Add a little lemon juice to prevent browning.
- Combine the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt in a bowl.
- Combine the oil, egg, peanut butter, and syrup/sugar in a mixing bowl and whisk until combined. Fold in the mashed bananas.
- Fold in the dry ingredients (and chocolate chips, if using). Don't over mix the batter!
- Cover and chill the batter for 30 minutes, if desired.
- While batter is chilling, preheat the oven to 350ºF.
- When ready to bake, scoop the batter into the muffin tin, filling each cup about 3/4 full.
- Bake for 20-22 minutes, until golden on top and/or a toothpick inserted comes out clean.
- Let cool for 5 minutes in then tin, then turn them out onto a wire rack to cool completely.