Naturally Sweetened Banana Muffins
Ooooops! Sorry guys, I’m afraid I made us a batch of muffins again… Truth is, I’ve been on kind of a muffin kick lately. You know just how much I love my muffins to start with, right?
Well, I recently came to the realization that, despite creating all kinds of different flavor combinations in the past, a few true classics were missing from my repertoire, namely Carrot Muffins, Chocolate Zucchini Muffins, and the even more popular, plain and simple but super delicious Banana Muffins!
Sure, I’ve made a couple different banana breads in the past, one that’s entirely paleo friendly and one with spelt flour, both versions being absolutely delicious, if I may say so myself. I’ve also made Banana Blueberry Muffins and Banana Oatmeal Muffins, but I’ve never really made plain old banana muffins, you know, the kind that tastes JUST like banana bread but in the highly portable and conveniently, individually sized shape of a muffin.
HA! Something had to be done to fix the situation. And so I immediately got to work and created this recipe.
I think I pretty much nailed it, if you ask me.
Sweetened with nothing but bananas and a little bit of honey, these guys still have loads to offer in the flavor department.
They’re sweet, but not overly so, have a dense yet somewhat fluffy texture to them, with a mouth feel that’s a bit of a cross between cake and bread. They certainly will let you believe that you are treating yourself to a nice slice of Banana Bread, without ever allowing you to totally forget that they are actually good for you…
Definitely a keeper recipe in my book, one that I will be making on a regular basis, too!
For now, I can’t think of a much better way to use up those over ripe bananas that keep piling up on the counter…
To make them, start by preheating your oven to 425°F and line a 12 cup muffin pan with paper liners. Then, in a large mixing bowl, combine the dry ingredients and mix well with a flat whisk until evenly combined; set aside.
In a separate bowl, combine the bananas, buttermilk and avocado oil. If you didn’t have any avocado oil on hand, you could also use an other kind of neutral tasting oil, or even melted coconut oil. Just stay away from extra-virgin olive oil… somehow I don’t think that it work all that well!
Mash the bananas roughly with a whisk — you could also use a potato masher, if you found that easier — and then mix until all the ingredients are well combined.
You don’t have to mash the bananas until they are perfectly smooth and all the lumps are gone. Having a few small chunks of banana left in the batter is actually a good thing… just wait until you bite into one of them as you enjoy one of your yummy muffins. I’ve no doubt that you’ll totally agree with me!
Next, add the beaten eggs and whisk until they are very well incorporated, about 30 seconds.
Once the eggs are mixed in, throw in the dry ingredients all at once…
And then mix delicately with a rubber spatula until all the ingredients are just blended, no more.
Overmixing the batter at this point would make for really tough muffins… not what I would call desirable!
Divide the batter equally between the muffin cups; you’ll find that the batter will mound slightly higher than the paper cups, but that’s perfectly normal.
If you preferred smaller muffins, however, you could also divide the batter between 18 to 24 paper cups instead. Of course, you’d need to adjust cooking time accordingly…
Place the pan in the 425°F oven for 10 minutes and then lower the oven temperature to 375°F. Bake the muffins for another 8 to 10 minutes, or until the tops are nice and golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the center of a muffin comes out clean.
Let the muffins cool for a few seconds in the pan and then remove them to a cooling rack to cool completely.
Store the finished muffins in a cool dry place in an airtight container for up to a week.
Naturally Sweetened Banana Muffins
Ingredients
Wet Ingredients
- 4 large very ripe banana, about 500g | 17.6oz
- 1/2 cup unpasteurized honey
- 1/2 cup buttermilk
- 1/3 cup avocado oil
- 3 large eggs, beaten
Dry Ingredients
- 3 cups whole wheat flour
- 1 cup chopped walnuts
- 1 tbsp baking powder
- 1-1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1 tsp salt, I use Himalayan salt
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 425°F and line a 12 cup muffin pan with paper liners.
- In a large mixing bowl, combine the dry ingredients and mix well with a flat whisk until evenly combined; set aside.
- In a seperate bowl, combine the bananas, buttermilk and avocado oil; mash the bananas roughly with a whisk (or potato masher) and then mix until all the ingredients are well combined.
- Add the eggs and whisk until very well incorporated, about 30 seconds.
- Throw in the dry ingredients and mix delicately with a rubber spatula until just incorporated, no more.
- Divide the batter equally between the muffin cups; the batter will mound slightly higher than the paper cups, that's perfectly normal. If you preferred smaller muffins, you could also divide the batter between 18 to 24 paper cups, instead. Of course, you'd need to adjust cooking time accordingly.
- Place the pan in the 425°F oven for 10 minutes and then lower the oven temperature to 375°F. Bake for another 8 to 10 minutes, or until the tops are nice and golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the center of a muffin comes out clean.
- Let the muffins cool for a few seconds in the pan and then remove them to a cooling rack to cool completely.
- Store in a cool dry place in an airtight container for up to a week.
Nutrition
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8 Comments on “Naturally Sweetened Banana Muffins”
Love anything with banana! Been meaning to ask you how you are feeling now that you have re-introduced grains into your diet? I’ve been struggling with trying to stay grain free. I feel ok if I eat a little but can tell – when I over do it my body complains!
I can’t say that I’ve really seen much of a difference, Ann. Lucky for me, it would appear that my body handles grains fairly easily! Never complains…
Awesome recipe! Would it make it difference if I took out the walnuts? (Due to Tree nut allergy) or is there anything I can sub it for if it does??
You could leave them out entirely, Jennifer, that wouldn’t be a problem at all. Or you could replace them with another kind of nut, or raisins, or chopped dates even!
Sounds delicious. What other flour would you recommend? I don’t eat wheat. Thank you.
Not sure, Joyce, but if it were me, I would go with 2 parts almond flour, 1 part coconut flour and 1 part tapioca starch, and use the same amount that the recipe calls for. I can’t guarantee for sure that it’ll work because I haven’t actually tested it, but that’s definitely what I would do if I were to replace the wheat flour.
Hope this helps. Let me know how it goes if you end up giving it a try!
Looks amazing! Would buckwheat flour work do you think?
Not sure… due to the fact that it doesn’t contain gluten, buckwheat flour would definitely yield very different results. Of course, it would also affect the flavor. Best way to find out for sure is to give it a try! Be sure to let me know how they turned out if you end up trying it!