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These Healthy Peanut Butter Banana Muffins are naturally sweetened with maple syrup, and packed full of healthy ingredients you can feel good about. They make a perfect after workout snack, make ahead breakfast or a snack for kids and toddlers!
Now that my one year old has entered the picky eating phase, I am constantly looking for ways to sneak healthy foods into his diet. I started making my baby these Healthy Peanut Butter Banana Muffins a few months ago and he loves them! And I will admit, I have a hard time resisting them too. I have been known to eat one of these healthy muffins as a post workout snack more than once!
A healthy muffin recipe
I wanted to make a nutrition packed banana muffin for my toddler, but I also wanted it to taste good! I reduced the sugar as much as possible with these Peanut Butter Banana Muffins. There is 1/4 cup of maple syrup in these muffins, which equals 1 teaspoon of maple syrup per muffin. I also decided to use full fat plain greek yogurt and milk in these. Since I am primarily feeding these banana muffins to my young toddler I tried to pack as many healthy calories in there as possible. You can use lowfat or fat free dairy if you prefer.
Normally when cooking baby led weaning recipes I try to leave out the salt, but with these the tiny 1/4 teaspoon makes a huge difference taste wise. If you are making these Peanut Butter Banana Muffins for a baby under 12 months, you might want to leave the salt out. But since adults can eat these muffins too, I decided to use the small amount of salt to make them taste better.
What makes this Peanut Butter Banana Muffin Healthy?
I made these whole wheat muffins using white whole wheat flour. White whole wheat flour has the same nutritional content as whole wheat flour but is milder tasting and paler in color. So this muffin still has the nutritional benefits of whole wheat, but the taste may be preferable to something made with regular whole wheat flour especially for kids.
Because these banana muffins have peanut butter, they are higher in protein.
These muffins have no processed sugar and only 1/4 cup of maple syrup. I have made these without any maple syrup but they don’t taste great without it. As written, this recipe only has 1 teaspoon of maple syrup per muffin.
How many calories does a Peanut Butter Banana Muffin have?
These Healthy Peanut Butter Banana Muffins have 187 calories, 6 grams of fat, 7 grams of protein, 25 grams of carbs and 3 grams of fiber per muffin.
Are these muffins freezer friendly?
Yes! Peanut Butter Banana Muffins freeze wonderfully. I love that I can make these muffins ahead of time, then individually wrap and freeze them. They also make great healthy snacks or breakfasts on the go for adults!
More toddler and baby meal ideas
Sweet Potato Kale and Black Bean Patties
Healthy Peanut Butter Banana Muffins
Ingredients
- 2 ripe large bananas mashed
- ¼ cup pure maple syrup
- 1/2 cup whole milk Plain Greek Yogurt
- 1 large egg
- 1/2 cup whole milk
- 1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 ¾ cups white whole wheat flour
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425°F degrees. Line a 12-count muffin pan with muffin liners or spray with nonstick spray. Set aside.
- In a medium bowl, mix the mashed bananas, maple syrup, yogurt, egg, milk, peanut butter and vanilla together until smooth..
- In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, cinnamon, baking soda, baking powder, salt. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and stir until just combined. Do not overmix the batter or you will have tough muffins.
- Evenly distribute the batter between the muffin cups. (I use an ice cream scoop for easy portioning). Bake for 5 minutes at 425°F degrees. Keeping the muffins in the oven, reduce the oven temperature to 350°F and continue to bake for another 12 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Recipe adapted from Sally’s Baking Addiction
My family loves these muffins. I have a 3 year old daughter and 9 month old son. My son is a picky eater compared to my daughter, but he loves these muffins as much as she does. They are great with breakfast or as a quick snack. They are easy to make and I make them very often. These muffins are so yummy. Thanks for sharing the recipe.
I’m so happy you love them!
i’ve been searching for a muffin tecipe that my 17 month old likes and these were the winner! they are really yummy and have the perfect amount of sweetness. i added some chopped banana in the batter and love how they turned out! thank you!
Hi Kalynn – so glad to hear that you loved them!
Will these also be good for babies… my son is almost 11 months old ??
Hi Kristen -many readers feed these to their babies who are between 6-12 months. My son was just over one year old when I started making these for him. Use your best judgement based on what your son is able to eat, but there is nothing in these that is particularly off limits for babies. Don’t use honey as that something babies under 12 months shouldn’t eat.
This is a great recipe! Love how they turned out! I subbed with gluten free oat flour and tossed in some chia seeds for added nutrition. Subbing with oat flour did not make a difference and they came out perfect! Very tasty and highly recommend!
So glad to hear that!
These are SO GOOD!!! I added some ground flax seed for some extra omega’s and it turned out really well! My little girl loves them too!
This might be a silly question but when I turn the oven down, do I start the timer when the oven hits the lower temperature or do I start the timer right away? Thank you in advance!
hi, start the timer right away! Hope that helps!
I have made these muffins many times. I think your recipe is the best healthy muffins recipe I can find on the Internet. They are perfect. Thank you. I know that this recipe was geared toward your toddler .. but, I love adding chopped walnuts for a different texture in there.
So happy you love them!
Absolutely love this recipe and used it a million times. Any idea on how to cook it in the mini bite size silicone trays? Sometimes my boys don’t eat a whole one.
So glad you love it! I haven’t tested these in mini muffin pans but you would need to adjust the cooking time, I would probably start checking them at 8-10 minutes.
if i don’t have white whole wheat flour, what can i use for a substitute?
The best substitute is whole wheat pastry flour, but you can also use regular whole wheat flour (they will be a little more dense) or all purpose flour (they will be lighter). Or a mix of both.
Been reading the comments and have seen people use almond flour with mixed results. I need to make these gluten free due to celiacs and was wondering if anyone recently has done that, what flour was used, and if there was a difference in the amount of flour. I would enjoy a low sugar healthier muffin!! Thank you!!
We have made these at least 10 times already. This recipe is awesome! I ran out of eggs last time I made it and replaced the egg with 1/4 cup applesauce and it was just as amazing. We also sprinkle chocolate chips on top and the toddler LOVES them and asks for them all the time. Best recipe ever!
So happy you love them!
Thank you for this recipe! We’ve made these about 2 times a month for almost a year now. Keeping them in the freezer and microwaving them for 30 seconds to defrost. I use regular cupcake tins for size and bake the second step for only 9 minutes. Today for the first time I am trying an add in of blackberries. Wish me luck. Of this recipe takes the addition of berries it is the perfect toddler muffin base.
Hi Lynn, so glad you loved them. let us know how it turns out with the blackberries. I have added blueberries to these before and it worked well.