This recipe for healthy blueberry banana muffins has lived on my website since 2013. I’ve made a few changes to the original recipe, and can assure you they are better than ever! They’re wonderfully wholesome and soft, and are quick and easy to make without a mixer. Every bite is filled with juicy blueberries and sweet banana flavor, and you can use nondairy milk to keep the muffins dairy free.
When it comes to muffins, do you have a favorite flavor? There are so many different varieties out there, from egg muffins to chocolate muffins, that it’s pretty much impossible to choose. It’s part of the reason I developed this muffin recipe as a base batter for infinite flavors! But if banana muffins and blueberry muffins are both in your Top 5, let me tell you…
Why You’ll Love These Healthy Blueberry Banana Muffins
- Quick and easy—no mixer required
- Wholesome and satisfying
- A kid-friendly baking recipe
- Packed with plump, juicy blueberries
- A glorious combination of banana muffins and blueberry muffins
- Dairy-free recipe if using nondairy milk
- Nut-free recipe, so perfectly acceptable for school lunchboxes!
Big, sugary dessert-like muffins are a wonderful treat (looking at you, pumpkin crumb cake muffins!) but a healthier muffin that’s also easy to make and fabulously delicious is the type I choose on a weekly basis. Today’s recipe is a favorite kid-friendly baking recipe (easy to mix & quick to bake), and they freeze wonderfully.
On the same note, whenever a reader asks me for kid-friendly recipes that are also on the healthier end of the baked goods spectrum, I always suggest muffins. Muffins are quick, manageable, portable, acceptable for breakfast and snack time, and usually require very little clean-up.
These blueberry banana muffins fit the bill. They’re just sweet enough so kids gobble them up, but are made with better-for-you ingredients like whole wheat flour, coconut oil, and bananas.
Key Ingredients You Need & Why:
- Flour: I suggest using white-whole wheat flour or a combination of all-purpose and whole wheat flour (I usually use a cup of each). If you use ALL whole wheat flour, expect a denser texture.
- Mashed Banana: Banana naturally sweetens the muffins. Just like when you’re making banana bread, it’s best to use super brown, speckled bananas—the riper, the better. You can use frozen and thawed bananas, too. See How to Freeze & Thaw Bananas for Baking for some tips.
- Brown Sugar: The taste and texture benefits from a little brown sugar. If you want to skip all refined sugars, you can substitute coconut sugar.
- Honey or Pure Maple Syrup: Honey or maple syrup finishes up the job of sweetening these muffins, and adds some moisture as well.
- Coconut Oil: Instead of butter or vegetable oil, use melted coconut oil. You can always rely on oil to keep your baked goods moist, especially when they’re made with drying ingredients like whole wheat flour.
- Egg: The egg acts as a binder for the ingredients, and also helps keep the muffins soft.
- Milk: You can use any kind of milk, dairy or nondairy, you have on hand. I usually use almond or oat milk to make these muffins.
- Blueberries: Can’t have blueberry banana muffins without blueberries! You can use either fresh or frozen berries here. If using frozen, do not thaw.
You also need these baking basics: baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, salt, and vanilla extract.
Don’t like banana? Try these blueberry oatmeal muffins instead.
Today’s muffin batter comes together in just minutes with simple kitchen tools: a couple mixing bowls, a whisk, a spatula, and a muffin pan. (If you need a recommendation, this muffin pan and this muffin pan have both held up well with very regular use.)
Expect a thick batter. As with ALL muffin recipes, do not over-mix it! Only mix the batter until the wet and dry ingredients are *just combined* and no more flour pockets remain. Over-mixing your batter will activate the gluten in the flour and overdevelop it, deflating the air bubbles in the process. This results in a tough, hard, dense muffin—not soft and fluffy like you are aiming for.
Let’s not forget those blueberries. Add a heaping cup (more like a cup and a quarter) of fresh or frozen blueberries to the batter. If you’re using frozen blueberries, don’t let them thaw, or else you will have some muddy-purple muffins that look a bit less appealing! Fold them in gently with a spatula, so they’re evenly distributed in the batter.
I love sprinkling the tops of the muffins with a little coarse sugar before baking, a finishing touch I always add when making these healthy apple muffins, too.
3 Helpful Tips
- Expect a semi-thick batter. Thick batter helps ensure the muffins lift UP rather than spread OUT.
- Add an optional coarse sugar topping. You can use coconut sugar, something like Sugar in the Raw, or sparkling coarse sugar (usually sold as sprinkles). Or don’t add anything at all, the muffins are plenty delicious without a topping!
- Bake at an initially high oven temperature. Bake the muffins for 5 minutes in a very hot oven. Then, keeping the muffins in the oven, lower the oven temperature. This initial high oven temperature quickly lifts up the muffin top. Once the temperature is lowered, the centers of the muffins bake. I do this in all my muffin recipes.
Are These Blueberry Banana Muffins Healthy?
I’d say these are a healthy-ish muffin. Like my flourless peanut butter oatmeal cookies, they are made with some healthier alternatives to traditional baking ingredients, but still include sugar. When it comes to labeling recipes as healthy, use the best judgment for YOU.
Healthy Blueberry Banana Muffins
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 22 minutes
- Total Time: 45 minutes
- Yield: 12 muffins
Description
These are soft and moist blueberry banana muffins made with a few healthier ingredients like whole wheat flour, mashed bananas, coconut oil instead of butter, and a little honey. See Notes for freezing instructions and how to make mini muffins.
Ingredients
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- 2 cups (250g) all-purpose flour or whole wheat flour, or a mix of both (spooned & leveled)
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup (230g) mashed banana (about 3 medium or 2 large ripe bananas)
- 1/2 cup (100g) packed light or dark brown sugar (or coconut sugar)
- 1/4 cup (85g) honey or pure maple syrup
- 1/4 cup (56g) coconut oil, melted (or vegetable oil/avocado oil)
- 1 large egg, at room temperature
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 2/3 cup (160ml) milk (dairy or nondairy), at room temperature
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- 1 and 1/4 cups (175g) fresh or frozen blueberries (do not thaw)
- optional: 1 Tablespoon coarse sugar for sprinkling on top
Instructions
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- Preheat oven to 425°F (218°C). Spray a 12-count muffin pan with nonstick spray or line with cupcake liners. (If you need a recommendation, this muffin pan and this muffin pan have both held up well with very regular use.) Set aside.
- In a large bowl, whisk the flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt together. Set aside.
- In a medium bowl, mash the bananas with a fork. Once mashed, whisk in the brown sugar, honey/maple syrup, coconut oil, egg, vanilla, and milk until combined.
- Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and whisk until everything is just combined. Fold in the blueberries. Expect a semi-thick batter. Spoon the batter evenly into the muffin cups, filling them all the way to the top.
- Bake for 5 minutes at 425°F (218°C); then, keeping the muffins in the oven, reduce heat to 350°F (177°C) and continue baking for another 15–18 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. The total time these muffins take in the oven is about 20–23 minutes, give or take. (For mini or jumbo muffins, see Notes for baking instructions.)
- Allow the muffins to cool for 5 minutes in the muffin pan, and then transfer to a wire rack to continue cooling.
- Muffins stay fresh covered at room temperature for a few days, or in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.