These lightly sweetened oatmeal banana muffins are hearty, healthy and delicious. Honey-sweetened and tasty with white OR whole-grain flour, they are the perfect easy breakfast or snack that you can make ahead and freeze.
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Hello friends!
I’m popping in today to share these amazing oatmeal banana muffins. We have been making these muffins for years and they are always a huge hit. Hearty and filling and naturally sweetened (with honey + banana), they make a great healthy breakfast or afterschool snack.
Make sure you use ripe bananas for this recipe. Ripe bananas should have brown spots on them. Like cheetahs. Cheetah bananas, we like to call them.
If your family is anything like mine, bananas don’t last long enough to ripen regardless of how many I buy. I have to hide them in the deep dark corners of the basement somewhere or they magically disappear even when they are still green. But trust me on this and hide them away, my friends. These muffins are totally worth it.
Even with the ripe bananas, these muffins are not super duper sweet. They definitely are nothing like the “cupcake without frosting” muffins that grocery store bakeries sell. They fall more along the sweetness of a bread or biscuit. I actually really like them that way because they are perfect for adding a dab of butter and a drizzle of honey or jam. If you like them a bit sweeter, feel free to increase the honey slightly.
These muffins are not heavily banana flavored. With just one banana, it is very subtly there, more to add sweetness than to taste like a banana muffin. If you are looking for a stronger banana flavor, more like banana bread check out these banana bread muffins.
Some muffin making equipment that I love
I like to use this #20 cookie scoop (aff. link) to scoop muffin batter into muffin tins. It makes it super easy (with little mess). These wilton muffin pans (aff. link) are what I normally use. They are inexpensive (currently $9!) and do the job well.
I normally don’t use muffin liners in this recipe, because they tend to do just fine with just the cooking spray method. But when I use them, these are my favorite plain jane parchment muffin liners (aff. link). They may look basic, but they do a good job.
We love the muffins plain (which is how we usually make them), but adding chocolate chips is a really good idea too. I can’t think of too many muffins (or baked goods in general) that don’t improve with a bit of chocolate though. Yum.
Substitutions & Freezing Instructions
It’s easy to substitute whole grain flour for all or part of the all-purpose flour in this recipe. The whole-grain flour makes the muffins a bit denser, which gives them a bit more substance and a very tasty flavor. It’s a great way to add whole-grains into your diet. We like to use white wheat flour or a combination of ground brown rice, barley, and spelt.
I often double or triple this recipe to make muffins to freeze. We like to keep them stocked for fast and easy breakfasts, lunches, and snacks. It is best if the muffins frozen the same day as they are made. Just wait until they are completely cool and then pack them into gallon ziplock bags. We reheat our frozen muffins in the microwave for 30 seconds.
Word of warning. As I was testing this recipe one morning, I didn’t have the self control to wait until the muffins cooled completely before digging in. Ten minutes later as I was scurrying around the kitchen I was informed by my kids that my chocolate mustache was very becoming. Good thing they told me BEFORE I had to leave the house. Phew!
Okay my friends! I’m off. As always, I’d love to hear how you like the recipe or any of your own variations. Enjoy.
Oatmeal Banana Muffins {Honey-Sweetened}
These lightly sweetened oatmeal banana muffins are hearty, healthy and delicious. Honey-sweetened and tasty with white OR whole-grain flour, they are the perfect easy breakfast or snack that you can make ahead and freeze.
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups (5.25 ounces) quick cooking oats
- 1 ¼ cups (6.25 ounces) all-purpose flour see note
- 4 teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 large egg
- 1 large ripe banana (about 4.5 ounces) peeled and mashed
- ¼ cup (3-ounces) honey see note
- ¾ cup milk
- ½ cup neutral flavored oil like canola, vegetable or avocado oil
- chocolate chips for sprinkling, optional
Instructions
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Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Line a standard 12-cup muffin tin with paper liners or grease with nonstick cooking spray.
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In a medium bowl, combine quick oats, flour, baking powder, and salt and whisk to combine. Set aside.
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In another medium bowl, whisk the egg lightly. Then add mashed the banana, honey, milk, egg, and oil, and whisk to combine.
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Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and add the wet ingredients add a handful of chocolate chips, if desired. Stir lightly with a wooden spoon or rubber spatula just until the dry ingredients are moistened. Do not overbeat or muffins will be tough and shot through with tunnels.
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Divide the batter evenly between the muffin cups (I like to use a #20 cookie scoop). Sprinkle tops with chocolate chips, if desired. Bake in preheated 425 degree oven for 15 minutes or until the muffins are lightly brown, tops spring back to the touch, and inserted toothpick comes out clean.
Recipe Notes
1. I often make this recipe with part or all whole-grain flour (same weighted amount) and the muffins are hearty, healthy and delicious.
2. Make sure the banana is plenty ripe. It should have brown spots on it like a cheetah. We call them cheetah bananas. 😉
3. For crystallized honey, heat it in the microwave for about 30 seconds so that it incorporates better into the batter as you mix it.
4. I often double or triple this batch to make muffins to freeze. It is best if frozen the same day as made (cool and pack into ziplock bags). We reheat our frozen muffins in the microwave for 30 seconds.
Recipe Source: Heather @ The Cook’s Treat
All images and text ©The Cook’s Treat
Disclaimer: post contains affiliate links for items on Amazon.
