Moist, sweet, and healthy banana muffins with applesauce and whole wheat flour. This recipe uses two ripe bananas, if you want to use three ripe bananas, make this banana bread.
I've been creating muffin recipes for about 15 years, and I believe homemade muffins are one of the best snacks for my family. Next, try these quick orange muffins sweetened with honey or these whole wheat apple chocolate chip muffins.
Jump to:
Ingredients needed
These muffins are dairy-free; there is no milk or butter in these muffins (which also makes them more affordable). This healthy banana muffin recipe works with no butter and no oil because of the applesauce.
I like these muffins because they are a good source of whole foods (bananas, apples, whole wheat) and a good source of nutrition and fiber for your body. As applesauce and bananas are already sweet, I added only a bit of maple syrup, making me happy to feed these muffins to my toddlers.
Things to note about some of the ingredients:
- Banana: You will need one cup of bananas (about 2 bananas) for this recipe; perfectly ripe bananas give the best flavor. If you have a little less than one cup, top up the measuring cup with some applesauce until you get 1 cup of fruit. This will make the banana muffins moist. If you are looking to use up some ripe bananas, let me recommend my favorite cookie recipe brownie cookies.
- Unsweetened applesauce: You can use store-bought or homemade for this recipe. Look for unsweetened applesauce if you are buying it from the store.
- Whole wheat flour: Any whole wheat flour will work. I like to use red fife flour as it is commonly found in my house, and it has increased nutrition and fiber. If you want to use white flour, add an extra ¼ cup.
- Cinnamon: This gives the muffins a great flavor to make the banana pop. Cinnamon also helps balance blood sugar levels. If your applesauce contains cinnamon, you can reduce the cinnamon in the recipe to 1 ½ teaspoons (instead of 2 teaspoons).
- Maple Syrup: I really love the flavor of using maple syrup to sweeten baking (if you like that too, make these sweet potato brownie). You could also make this recipe with honey.
Step-by-step photos from my kitchen
Step 1: First, whisk together the whole-wheat flour, cinnamon, baking soda, baking powder, and sea salt. You want to make sure it is evenly combined so you don't get a salty bite!
Step 2: In a blender container, place the applesauce, eggs, banana, maple syrup, and vanilla. (Alternatively, this step can be done by mashing the bananas by hand and mixing well - I find the blender makes it a better consistency, though). Blend together for 10 seconds on low until everything is blended together well into a smooth liquid.
Step 3: Pour the wet ingredients from the blender container into the bowl with the flour mix.
Step 4: Using a spatula, stir everything together in big, gentle folds only until everything is combined and no flour pockets remain. There may be a few flour streaks left.
Step 5: Grease or line a muffin pan with liners. Fill a 12-count muffin tin and use a ⅓ cup measure to fill each cup generously to the top. Top each muffin with a slice of banana if desired. Bake at 350 Fahrenheit (175C) for 15-18 minutes. They are done when a toothpick is inserted and comes out clean (not with wet batter).
Top tip
Don't overmix the muffins: It's key to only stir the flour mix and the wet ingredients gently with a big fold motion using a spatula about 12 times. There may be a few flour streaks left, that is alright as long as there are no pockets of flour. Overmixed muffins will not rise as much or be as fluffy - instead, they will be squat and dense.
Optional add-ins and variations
These muffins are super tasty without any add-ins, but they are next-level tasty with your favorite nut, dried fruit, or chocolate! Add one of these options to the muffins when you are folding the dry and wet ingredients together.
- Chocolate Chips: Oh, we all know chocolate chips and bananas are an awesome combo! Add ½ cup of chocolate chips to the batter.
- Raisins or Dried Cranberries: Add ½ cup dried craisins or raisins; it complements the cinnamon so well!
- Chopped walnuts: These banana muffins are tasty with walnuts in the muffins or sprinkle them on top!
More healthy muffins
Still have more ripe bananas, make these banana oatmeal cookies! For more fruit-filled muffins, check out these healthy muffins all with fruit!
Did you like this recipe for whole wheat banana muffins with applesauce? Let me know down below the recipe! And give this recipe a star rating. I love hearing from you, and it would totally make my day.
Whole Wheat Banana Muffins with Applesauce
Ingredients
- 2 cups whole wheat flour
- 2 teaspoons cinnamon use 1 ½ teaspoon if there is cinnamon in your applesauce
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ¾ teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon sea salt
- 1 cup unsweetened applesauce
- 2 eggs
- 1 cup banana (about 2 bananas) note about measuring bananas below*
- ⅓ cup maple syrup or liquid honey
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 banana sliced (optional, for on top)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit (175C). Prepare a 12-count muffin tray by greasing it or use muffin liners (if using silicone liners grease them so the muffins don't stick). Whisk together the whole-wheat flour, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda, and sea salt.
- In a blender container, place the applesauce, eggs, banana, maple syrup, and vanilla. (You can alternatively do this step by just mashing the bananas by hand and mixing everything well; I find the blender makes it a better consistency, though). Blend for 10 seconds on low until everything is blended into a smooth liquid.
- Pour the wet ingredients from the blender container into the bowl with the flour mix (if using add-ins, add now - see notes below). Using a spatula stir everything together in big gentle folds only about 12 times. Do not overmix.
- Using a ⅓ cup measuring cup, fill each muffin liner all the way to the top. Top with a slice of banana if desired. Bake at 350 Fahrenheit (175C) for 15-18 minutes, they are done when a toothpick is inserted and comes out clean and dry.
- Let the muffins cool in the tray for 5 minutes before placing them on a cooling rack. I love eating these muffins warm. Eat within the next few days if kept at room temperature, or within a week if kept in the fridge. If frozen, eat within 3 months.
Notes
Nutrition
Danika Vanderpyl, C.H.N
I create snack recipes with healthy ingredients that are mostly already in your kitchen. I'm certified in Holistic Nutrition and I care about giving my kids real food. Let me share my nutrient-dense easy snacks with you.
Carla @ Foodie Digital says
Fabulous recipe, so easy and super delicious (and healthy too with the whole wheat flour). The crumb was moist but not mushy! I sprinkled a bit of demerara sugar on top of the batter before baking to seal the deal for my kid and it worked!
Danika Vanderpyl says
Love the sugar on top, somehow sugar always does the trick. Glad you enjoyed these.
Naomi L says
Really great recipe. I love how it's simple and healthy. I didn't use a blender and found they still turned out well, just a few bigger banana chunks than what you would get if you blended it. The apple sauce added excellent moisture to the muffins. I added walnuts for some crunch. I will be making these again.
danikavanderpyl says
Thanks for sharing what you thought of these muffins Naomi!
Shayla Knoch says
These are delicious and turned out great! They made more than the recipe said for me, maybe because I used silicone muffin liners? Thanks Danika!
danikavanderpyl says
Thanks for sharing! Glad you enjoyed these Shayla!!
Alex says
Just made these for breakfast and they are so easy to make and tasty. Thank you!
danikavanderpyl says
Awesome to hear Alex!
Amanda says
So good, I did chocolate chips and pecans for add-ins, loved them! My boys really love them too!
danikavanderpyl says
Yum love those add ins. Great to hear your kiddos enjoyed them too.