These lightly sweetened muffins are packed with whole grains, heart-healthy walnuts, rich cocoa powder and ripe bananas.
My two year old loves drinking smoothies for breakfast so inevitably we end up with a few extra ripe bananas each week. Normally I freeze them for future smoothies but there is something about a snowy weekend that gets me in the baking mood. In lieu of making my favorite chocolate chip cookies, I decided to be a good girl and create a healthy breakfast muffin packed with bananas, oats and a little chocolate for good measure.
This recipe is adapted from Honest Fare to make them slightly less sweet with an extra dose of Omega-3′s from flax seed meal and walnuts. Because they are made with less sugar, they won’t cause that addictive “OH-MY-GOD-I-NEED-1000-MORE” response. If you’ve ever had more than one Girl Scout cookie in a sitting, you know what I’m talking about.. 
These muffins are perfect for on-the-go snacking or a healthy breakfast to eat during your commute or in the school drop off line. Oh and PS: they taste incredible with a smear of creamy natural peanut butter on top. You can thank me later.
No fork required.
- Serves: 12
- Serving size: 1 muffin
- Calories: 220
- Fat: 11.2 g
- Saturated fat: 1.6 g
- Unsaturated fat: 9.6 g
- Trans fat: 0
- Carbohydrates: 27.1 g
- Sugar: 9.2 g
- Sodium: 302 mg
- Fiber: 4.1 g
- Protein: 5 g
- Cholesterol: 15 mg
- 1¼ cups oats
- ½ cup plain yogurt - low fat
- ½ cup skim milk
- 1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
- ⅓ cup brown sugar
- ¼ cup cocoa powder
- ¼ cup flax seed meal
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ tablespoon cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon nutmeg
- ¼ teaspoon ground cloves
- 2 ripe bananas - mashed
- ⅓ cup oil
- 1 egg
- ½ cup chopped walnuts (or chocolate chips)
- Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees and line a muffin tin with 12 baking cups.
- In a large bowl, mix together oats, yogurt and milk. Set aside to soak for 10 minutes.
- Meanwhile, whisk together remaining dry ingredients in a small bowl: whole wheat pastry flour through ground cloves.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together mashed bananas with oil and egg. Add to the soaking oat mixture and stir to combine.
- Slowly add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients. Stir in walnuts or chocolate chips.
- Using an ice cream scoop or ¼ cup measuring cup, pour batter evenly into 12 lined muffin tins. Bake until toothpick comes out clean, about 18-20 minutes.
- Let cool in pan 2 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
Recipe adapted from Honest Fare.
Um I LOVE them! And I’ll take a dozen, please
Let’s make it a BAKERS dozen!
Chocolate and bananas are awesome enough. Then you go and add in that peanut butter, and I’ll have to hide these from myself so that I won’t be able to eat them for lunch and dinner too.
I’m sorry I couldn’t resist!!
What kind of healthy oil do you use? Or can do you ever substitute your oil for applesauce?
I use canola oil or coconut oil (melted). I have substituted oil for applesauce but you have to be careful with that because it can really make for a dry baked good. I would almost prefer yogurt over applesauce.
These sound super easy and super delicious!
Easy is my middle name – haha.
Loving these healthy muffins Liz – I’m always stashing overripe bananas into my freezer for banana bread, cookies, and muffins – these would be a great healthy breakfast or snack!
haha I do the same!! I always try to keep a good stash on hand, especially of the really sweet ripe ones.
I need a healthy muffin recipe for my little muffin-man scarfing down everything he can find pre-teen! Perfect
Tell me about it – sometimes I feel like my 2 year old eats like a teenager!! Nervous about having two boys eating me out of house and home sooner than later – haha.
This snow has totally put me on baking over drive too! It’s been a while since I’ve made muffins, but they are some of my faves. The PB smear is definitely necessary.
What is with this snow and making me want to bake all day?! It’s not great. LOL Stay warm friend!
Oh Liz, it’s like you can read my mind….or my stomach…or both!!! Love these muffins!
haha I’m so glad I could please!! Stay warm friend!
LIZ! I love these, just what I needed at this moment. Just shared them to Facebook so everyone can enjoy these lovlies.
Oh thank you Cathy!! I hope you enjoy!!
I’ve been looking for a good banana recipe and want to try these tonight. I have flax seed but not the milled flax. Do you think the seeds would work?
Thanks, they look great!
If you don’t have milled flax seed I would either grind them in a spice grinder or skip them and replace with more flour. You could still add the seeds for crunch but they need to be in more of a “flour form” to work in this recipe. Hope that helps!
Hi Liz! I just made your pumpkin oatmeal chocolate chip muffins this weekend, and per usual…they are amazing. I have worked my way through making almost all your smoothies (green smoothie addict now), and your chicken shawarma (OMG, so good!!) Thanks for the awesome recipes! This will be on my list for Saturday baking!!
Oh my goodness thank you so much for your sweet words!! I’m so glad you’re enjoying everything!!!! I wish I had a pumpkin muffin right now!!
Keep me posted if you try anything else!
Wondering if I could use regular whole wheat flour instead of the pastry flour? Also, if I were to make mini muffins for my “mini me”
what would be the cooking time? They look delish!
You absolutely could although I highly suggest you buying a bag of whole wheat pastry or white whole wheat flour for baking. It results in a much lighter baked good (or pancake or muffin) but you still get all of the whole grain goodness.
As for turning these into mini muffins, I have never made them (embarrassingly I don’t own a mini muffin tin!!!) so I couldn’t tell you with confidence. I would just start monitoring them and take them out when a toothpick comes out clean. So sorry I don’t have a firm answer on that one!!
I’m digging these! I’m a tad bit obsessed with muffins:)
Ha you and me both! It’s like cake in the form of breakfast.
Liz these are perfect! I looovee the cocoa powder addition and the yogurt. My kids wouldn’t know what to do if I gave them an overly sweet muffin, they’d probably go into sugar shock
I usually sub applesauce for oil in my baked goodies, do you think that would work in these?
Pinned onto my Healthy Treats to make ASAP board. ;}
haha same thing here!! You are welcome to try using applesauce but I’ve already lightened these muffins so much that I would be cautious. If you do, please let me know how they turn out!
These are my favorite kind of muffins – hearty and wholesome with a good kick of health. That last photo with the peanut butter is making me want to bake a batch right now!
Oh man the peanut butter took it to the next level!!
These would make my Friday morning sooo much better!!
Wouldn’t they though? Wish I could mail you some!
Maybe I need a snowy weekend to get in the baking mood? These look incredible. The kids beg me for muffins, I am such a bad mom for not baking them for them! I love that these are full of all good things
Dude if I were you I’d be making strawberry ice cream!!!
I am LOVING all that is happening in this recipe, so healthy yet so delicious! You got it going on! Mmmmm!
Thank you so much!!
Hi Liz, I’m in the middle of making these and noticed there is no baking soda or powder in here. Is this correct?
Oh my goodness Ann – there should be two teaspoons baking powder and one teaspoon baking soda. I am updating the recipe right now! I am so sorry and have no idea how I could have left such key ingredients off the list!! Please forgive me!!
Why haven’t I ever put peanut butter on a banana muffin? You are a genius! These muffins look like my kind of breakfast!
Peanut butter makes all things banana better.
These look perfect! Chocolate and bananas are so perfect together!
I know right? Enjoy!
We eat a lot of muffins around here. I am definitely saving these for later–love the chocolate and banana combo!
Your boys would love these! Hope you’re feeling good!
Always looking for healthy baking recipes, and I LOVE bananas and chocolate! Can’t wait to try these!
Let me know what you think!!
I refuse to have breakfast that doesn’t include a smear of peanut butter, so I love that these are so accommodating! And good for me too.
You and me both sista!!
I’ve been trying for months to get some ripe bananas around here! I’ve been buying more than 20 at a time and 5 days later, they’re gone. Seriously. I don’t know where they’re going. I have at least one smoothie a day but geez!
Um, anyway. The muffins look great! Love their healthy-ness.
Omg maybe they are hiding with the lemons that randomly disappeared from my grocery store for 2 months!?
Hahaha. Did you ever get an explanation for that? Were they out everywhere in the region or just *your* store? Maybe they were messing with you.
And I like to think I have a baby chimpanzee around. He’d just hiding! I’ve named him Oscar Jr.
No!! No idea what happened?!?!
This looks easy and tasty! Perfect for anytime snacking!
Thanks Paula!
Seeing that smear of PB on the muffin literally made me drool a little. Can’t wait to make these & repeat your PB idea!
heck yes!!! I heart PB.
Just confirming that these are indeed AMAZING. Made a batch last night, along with your slow cooker banana walnut oatmeal for an easy breakfast today. Thanks for providing SO many easy, delicious, and clean recipes! Gratefully, your neighboring Ohio reader.
Oh i’m so thrilled Katie!! Thank you so much!!
Yum, these look perfect and so irresistible!
These look delicious, and I so want to make them! Can you tell me if you use rolled oats or oat bran in the recipe?
I hope you try them! I used rolled oats.
trying to cook healthier food for my family and came across your website- loving all the healthy recipes! Is wholewheat pastry flour the same as normal wholewheat flour? (I’m from the UK and haven’t heard of this) thanks!
Oh thank you I’m glad you like it! No it’s not the same – it is better for baking and has a lighter end result. If you can’t find, I suggest using half regular white flour and half regular whole wheat flour.