Whole grain banana muffin recipe
Banana bread is one of my favorite ways to use overly ripe bananas. Nothing smells quite like it while the banana bread is baking! As bananas ripen, some of the starches turn to sugars (both forms of carbohydrates). That makes riper bananas taste sweeter.
Banana muffins are an even better choice. They’re already portion controlled and you can easily freeze the leftovers to reheat later.
I took a basic recipe and replaced the all purpose flour with whole grain white flour (sometimes called whole wheat pastry flour). I added some raw oats for extra fiber and used Greek yogurt instead of butter or oil. Using yogurt keeps the fat in this recipe to a minimum. This recipe also uses less than ¼ cup of total sugar since the bananas are so naturally sweet.
Adapted from AllRecipes.com.
Ingredients
- Cooking spray
- 1 cup whole grain white flour (see note)
- ¼ cup old fashioned oats
- 2 tsp. baking powder
- ½ tsp. baking soda
- ¼ tsp. salt
- ½ tsp. cinnamon
- ⅛ tsp. ginger
- ⅛ tsp. nutmeg
- 3 medium very ripe bananas, mashed (about 1 cup)
- 2 tbsp. granulated sugar
- 1 tbsp. light brown sugar
- ¼ cup fat-free Greek yogurt
- 1 egg
- 1 tsp. vanilla extract
- ¼ cup walnuts, chopped (optional)
Directions
- Preheat oven to 350 F.
- Spray muffin tin with non-stick spray or use cupcake liners.
- Combine dry ingredients (flour through nutmeg). Whisk to combine.
- Combine bananas, sugars, yogurt, egg, and vanilla. Mix well.
- Pour the wet ingredients in to the dry. Mix gently just until combined. Stir in nuts, if using.
- Spoon into muffin tins, filling two-thirds full. Bake 18-20 minutes, until edges begin to brown.
- Cool in muffin tin for 5 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack to cool completely.
Approximate nutrition information per muffin: 107 calories, 3 grams fat, 19 grams carbohydrate, 3 grams fiber, 3 grams protein
To make these into a healthy dessert, add ½ cup of dark chocolate chips to the batter, which adds 45 calories per serving.
Note: Whole wheat white flour, also called whole wheat pastry flour, can be found at most grocery stores. It acts more like all purpose flour in recipes than regular whole wheat flour. If you can only find regular whole wheat flour, use half whole wheat and half all purpose.
How do you use up overripe bananas? I also peel and freeze them. Later I add them to smoothies!
