These Whole Wheat Banana Muffins are soft and fluffy in texture, made with less sugar and butter than most banana muffins, and are full of delicious banana flavor.
Banana muffins are so great to have on hand to add to quick breakfasts or throw into a lunch bag for a snack. My Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins and Double Chocolate Banana Muffins are both super delicious but sometimes you need a lighter muffin without as much sugar and fat.
These healthier banana muffins are made with part whole wheat flour, only contain ¼ cup of butter, and are mostly sweetened with ripe bananas. My Olive Oil Banana Bread also has less sugar for another good breakfast option.
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⭐️ Why You Need to Make This Recipe
- Light & Fluffy - These muffins have a pleasant fluffy texture despite the lighter ingredients.
- Less Sweet - These muffins contain less sugar than most muffin recipes with only ½ cup of brown sugar added.
- More Fiber - Whole wheat flour adds fiber.
🧈 Ingredients
Here are the ingredients needed to make these healthier banana muffins.
- Salted Butter - Only ¼ cup of butter is used in total.
- Mashed Bananas - 2 full cups of mashed ripe bananas make these muffins moist and sweet.
- Applesauce - Provides moisture and substitutes fat.
- Flour - A mixture of all-purpose flour for texture and whole wheat flour for fibre.
- Add-ins - These muffins are great with chocolate chips, chopped pecans or walnuts, or even raisins added for a twist.
See the recipe card for the full list of ingredients with measurements.
📃 Instructions
Step 1: Cream together the softened butter and brown sugar.
Step 2: Add the vanilla, applesauce, mashed bananas, and eggs. Mix until incorporated.
Step 3: Add the flour, baking soda, and salt.
Step 4: Mix on low speed just until combined. Do not overmix! Stir in add-ins, if using.
Step 5: Distribute evenly between a 12-count muffin tin that has been greased or lined with muffin liners. Top with chocolate chips or banana slices if desired.
Step 6: Bake in a preheated oven for 20-25 minutes or until a tester inserted into the center comes out clean.
Let cool in the muffin tin for 10 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to finish cooling.
💡 Top Tip
Serve the muffins warm with butter, peanut butter, almond butter, or Nutella for an extra yummy treat!
❓ Recipe FAQs
You could reduce the sugar to ¼ cup or use coconut sugar in place of brown sugar, but be advised that the texture will likely be less soft and moist if you do reduce the sugar.
Yes! Keep in mind the nutritional information for this recipe is based on no add-ins but you could add some if you want!
Yes. Seal in an airtight container and freeze for up to 2 months. Thaw for a few hours before serving.
Stored in an airtight container at room temperature, these muffins will stay fresh for up to 3 days.
🍌 More Banana Recipes
Looking for other recipes that contain bananas? Try these:
If you tried these Healthier Banana Muffins or any other recipe on my website, please leave a ⭐️ star rating and write a little note telling me how it went in the comments below. Thank you!!
📖 Recipe
Whole Wheat Banana Muffins
Equipment
- 12-count muffin tin(s)
- parchment paper muffin liners
- measuring cups & spoons
- mixing bowls
- electric handheld mixer
Ingredients
- ¼ cup salted butter softened
- ½ cup brown sugar *
- ½ cup unsweetened applesauce
- 2 cups mashed ripe bananas
- 2 eggs
- 1 cup whole wheat flour
- ½ cup all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- optional: ½ cup chocolate chips or chopped nuts
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350℉. Spray a 12-count muffin tin with nonstick cooking spray.
- In a medium bowl, beat together the butter and brown sugar with a handheld electric mixer on medium speed until creamy, about 30 seconds, add the vanilla, applesauce, mashed bananas, and eggs and beat until combined.
- Add the flour, baking soda, and salt and beat on low speed until all the flour is mixed in. Fold in chocolate chips or nuts, if using.
- Scoop the batter into the prepared muffin tins filling each cup almost to the top. Bake in the preheated oven for 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
- Let the muffins cool for 10 minutes before taking them out of the tin to finish cooling on a wire rack.
Notes
- You could reduce the sugar to ¼ cup or use coconut sugar in place of brown sugar, but be advised that the texture will likely be less soft and moist if you do reduce the sugar.
Casey W.
These are great! I definitely added the chocolate chips, though I left out the optional nuts so that I can feed these to my 1-yr-old also. I filled my 12 muffin cups right to the top so that I wouldn't have to bake any extras, and they turned out like beautiful bakery-style muffins. I think I'll add some cinnamon next time because I love a little extra flavour, but the recipe is yummy just as you wrote it.
Naomi
So glad you enjoyed this recipe, thank you for leaving a review!
Naomi
Rebekkah
your blog is so cute!! these muffins look great!
Naomi
Thanks so much, Rebekkah!
Naomi