This post may contain affiliate links. Please read our disclosure policy.
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
Love love love this. Easy to make, soft, all gone quickly.😜
So glad you love them!
Just made these muffins! They are so soft and fluffy. Taste really good as well. I made them for my toddler with mini muffin pans. The batter generated 48 mini muffins. I’ll definitely make this again! Thank you for the delicious recipe!
So glad you loved them!
Did you change the cooking temp or time with the mini muffins?
I’d love to make these as they look gorgeous!
I’m
In the UK, can you suggest what size cup I need to use.
Or suggest weight/fluid Oz for ingredients.
I’m never clear how big a ‘cup’ is.
I’m only fluent in grams.
Sorry to be a pest!!
Hi Emma – I haven’t done the calculations myself, but here is an easy chart to help with conversions! https://www.allrecipes.com/article/cup-to-gram-conversions/ Hope that helps!
Tasty and healthy muffins
So glad you liked them Claudia!
I absolutely love these muffins! I make them at the begining of each week and use them for grab and go snacks. Delicious! What do you wrap them with to freeze? Thanks!
Hi Jess – I’m so glad you love them! I individually wrap them in plastic wrap after they have cooled – I use the press and seal kind. Then I put them all in a freezer bag. I have also skipped the plastic wrap and just put them all in a freezer bag, but they do get some ice crystals on them if I freeze them that way.
Thank you!!
Made minis and they were great! The batter was a little sticky and stuck to the wrapper, but overall they were very yummy! 😋
So glad you loved them Chelsea! I use parchment paper wrappers and nothing ever sticks to them, definitely worth checking them out!
Hi Megan! This recipe looks AMAZING! I was wondering if it would be OK to just leave out the maple syrup? Im looking things to make that would be diabetic friendly.
Hi Gillian – so I did try it once without the maple syrup and I thought they were pretty bland. I found that 1/4 cup of maple syrup was the absolute lowest I could go and have them still taste pretty good. That being said, if you don’t eat very many sweet things, the taste might be OK for you. The recipe will still work, I just can’t promise that it will taste great. You might want to use an extra banana or some applesauce to help add back a little sweetness? Although I haven’t tried that, so I can’t be sure about how they would turn out. Let me know if you give it a try!
I just love these tasty muffins. My daughter and I enjoy making them together, but really love eating them more! They are great because they are delicious, but also guilt free! Get on and make them, you won’t regret it.
So happy you love them Annie!
Light, fluffy and yummy! Also easy and quick to make. I was worried they would be dense but no. I used crunchy peanut butter, which was nice, and all purpose flour as that’s what I had. Next time I think I will try a quarter or half cup of whole wheat flour.
I’m so happy to hear that you loved them!
I loved making these muffins! Very delicious. If I wanted to make them sweeter, would 1/4 cup Splenda work okay with the recipe?
Hi, I haven’t tried it so I can’t be sure. I think it would work though!
Hi! Is there a substitute if I don’t have plain yogurt??
I think sour cream would be the best substitute. But I have also had readers use applesauce, although I’m not sure how that would turn out as I haven’t tried it myself.
Really moist. I used almond flour because I am a ceoliac. Topped with shredded coconut and coconut sugar for crunch. Delicious. Thanks
So happy you loved it! That topping sounds great. I’m glad to know it works with almond flour.
Did you use the same amount of almond flour?
It’s a good thing I added chocolate chips. I could not taste the peanut butter, nor the bananas. The cinnamon overwhelmed both.
What can I use if I don’t have maple syrup??
Hi Emily, you can use honey or brown sugar.
Delicious!!!
So glad you loved them!
Is there something I can swap for the Greek yogurt?
Hi Tara – regular yogurt or sour cream would probably work, but I haven’t tried it so can’t be sure.
Do you think I could make these with all purpose flour? And if so would it be the same amount?
Hi Stacey – yes, you can and it would be the same amount.
Anyone tried as a quick bread/in a bread loaf pan? Wonder about temp/timing. Thanks!
I made these as a mini muffin and did the initial hot burst for 3m30s and then baked for another 6 minutes and they came out perfectly. I did find them not at all sweet which is fine but my older child will want them a bit sweeter. Otherwise super fluffy and lovely, just might add a bit more maple syrup and maybe a bit more cinnamon bc we love cinnamon.
Hi Sydney – so glad you liked them! You can definitley add more maple syrup – one version I made had 1/2 cup, I just reduced it as low as possible for babies. I think they would also be great with chocolate chips!
Has anyone tried making these with gluten free flour?
Hi Kristin – I haven’t tried it so I can’t be sure! An AP gluten free cup for cup flour might work!
I just doubled the recipe and put them in the oven! They smell amazing! Can’t wait to try them!
So glad you to hear that! Hope you loved them!
Do you know the measurements if I want to make these lactation friendly? The oatmeal, flaxseed meal and brewers yeast?
Hi Michele – I haven’t tried it, but I think you could swap out some of the flour for blended oats (oat flour) and flaxseed meal, and then just add the brewers yeast in addition to the other ingredients. Great idea!