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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
They taste great but they wont cook through and need to eat them with a fork. I am NOT a very good baker but I followed directions completely and have no idea what i did wrong. Help!
I made these, but I substituted 3/4 cups of whole-wheat flour for rolled oats, I also used natural crunchy PB, and I realized I had no cinnamon so I used nutmeg. Oh and I added 2 TBS of milled flax seed. all in all they were good. I did mini muffins, I put the oven on 400 to preheat, then turned it down to 350 (like she said) when i put them in, and baked them for 12 mins.
toddler approved, she ate 2 immediately, and cried for more! Success.
So glad she liked them!
Added chocolate chips & they were a hit! Will make again!!
So glad you love them!
I made these for my family yesterday morning and everyone loved it! My family had eaten all of them by the time I went for seconds! I’m going to make them again today or tomorrow, and was wondering if I made a double batch if I could freeze some of the batter. These are definitely a new family favorite. Thank you!
Hi Sonya – I have never frozen the batter, but I usually freeze the muffins after baking for quick snacks. Just allow them to cool completely, wrap and freeze. They can be reheated in the microwave or defrosted at room temperature. SO glad you love them!
Listen, these are not very good. Y’all so wrapped up in anything low cal or high protein that this muffin tastes good to you?? it doesn’t even taste like anything. I give 2 stars because I guess they weren’t horrendously dry?? They do look like the picture?? But they just don’t taste good lol. If you’re looking for a healthier muffin recipe, keep looking, there is much better out there, coming from someone who spends every free moment baking.
Hi “Anon” – sorry you didn’t like them! But as you can see from the reviews, lots of people love them. Three years later and my kids still devour these. These were really made for toddlers so they are very low sugar. But if you prefer a sweeter muffin, you can add more maple syrup or sugar.
Have to respectfully disagree. They’re my family’s favorite muffin! Not dry at all.
You might have to work to train your taste buds to enjoy lower sugar baked goods, if you reduce your overall processed sugar intake-you will
be amazed at how sweet a little maple syrup tastes, like in this recipe!
So glad to hear you love them Emily!
I really love the smell and taste, but my muffins wouldn’t cook through the middle? Too soft… not sure if it’s the almond flour? Kept trying to put back in the oven but they sunk in the middle and a bit mushy in the middle. Will have to try again with wheat flour :/
Hi Valerie – I haven’t tested these with almond flour so I can’t really make suggestions there. These were tested with wheat flour.
I just tried this recipe, amazing! I love it because it is not too sweet. Muffins traditionally made were not meant to be like a cupcake (which is typically how they are made nowadays). There is obviously a subtle sweetness. I also subbed 1/4 cup of flour for an equal amount of protein powder and I used honey instead of maple syrup, because that is what I had on hand. Other than that! I did it the exact same way and they are amazing! I will maybe add dark chocolate chips next time to see how that goes! Thank you for saving me from wasting two perfectly good bananas!!! You are a lifesaver!
I’m so glad you loved them!
Definitely a hit! Incredibly soft and fluffy, and not overly sweet at all! The amount of banana flavor to nut butter (I used almond) is perfect; a nice hint of both. To be honest, I can barley tell they were “healthy”!
I’m so happy you loved them!
I had three bananas that needed to be muffins or trash, and I was browsing my pinterest board and found this recipe! I decided to give it a shot. I did use three bananas, whole wheat flour, sunflower butter, vanilla yogurt and unsweetened vanilla almond milk. It’s definitely not a sweet muffin, you’ll need to add sugar or another sweetener for a more defined taste, BUT my three year old is devouring this straight out of the oven and we are not a super crunchy family by any means! (Read: we don’t do whole foods, they’ve never eaten sunflower butter, I’m slowly switching them to better foods.) This is being printed and put in my recipe album tonight! Thanks for the great recipe!
Hi Heather, I am so happy your child loves them! They are a favorite in our house too.
My toddler loves them took a nap with it in his hand !!
Oh yay! That is so cute!
Hello, did you use natural peanut butter or regular peanut butter?
Hi, I use natural peanut butter.
I love these. I omitted the Maple syrup and added in another banana. I had to add a little more milk for the right consistency. They turned out being 150 calories and added some SF chocolate chips on top
Very nice muffins. Even better with chocolate chips!
Me, my husband, my 3 and 1 year old loved these! I used oat milk, 1/4 white sugar (instead of maple syrup), whole wheat flour, and added mini chocolate chips and they’re yummy!!
So happy you loved them!
Made these and everyone loved them. Thank u for your recipe.
So amazing!! The whole family loves these. So so good.
I made these yesterday because I needed to use up some bananas and Greek yogurt and thankfully found your recipe.
They are so light and fluffy. Perfect!!!
Thanks so much!
UH-mazing! I used 3 small/medium bananas. Whole wheat pastry flour. Everything else the same. ( generous on the pb). My sons and I love these. Thank you.
How many minutes to bake if using a mini muffin cups?
I substituted sun butter for the peanut butter so that I can pack for nut-free daycare. My 18-month old loves them this way and with the recipe as written. Thank you!
Yay, so glad they love the muffins. That’s a great tip about he sun butter !
These muffins came out beautifully. So light and fluffy. And I can clearly taste the peanut butter and banana. And an added plus, my kids love them. I’ll be holding on to this recipe.
So glad you loved them!