These Healthy Banana Oatmeal Muffins are quick and easy breakfast muffins filled with healthy wholegrains and the most delicious fluffy texture. They are also vegan and made with no added sugar. Therefore, they only contain 3 grams of sugar per serving to keep your blood sugar levels steady all morning while enjoying a lovely banana bread muffin.
I love to bake with ripe bananas because they are a powerful source of vitamins and potassium while being cheap and tasty. I’ve made many flavors of banana muffins, like my 3-Ingredient Banana Muffins, Oat Flour Banana Muffins, or Sugar-Free Vegan Banana Muffins.
They are a quick way to have a small snack that doesn’t have all the negative effects of most commercial snacks. I almost always have a stack of muffins on my benchtop for the family to enjoy!
Why You’ll Love These Muffins
These banana oatmeal muffins are a healthier twist to the regular oatmeal muffins recipe because it’s naturally:
- Egg-free – you don’t need flax eggs or egg replacers in this easy vegan banana muffin recipe.
- Dairy-free
- No sugar added
- Vegan
- High fiber from wholegrain oats and white whole wheat flour.
Ingredients and Substitutions
All you need to make these banana oatmeal muffins are a few pantry staple ingredients.
- Ripe Bananas – Using dark bananas with ultra-black skin is the key to making sugar-free banana oatmeal muffins. In fact, ultra-ripe bananas are very sweet and therefore add sweetness to the muffins without having to add sugar to the recipe.
- White Wholewheat Flour or all-purpose flour. Feel free to use a gluten-free all-purpose flour blend if desired.
- Old-Fashioned Oats – Prefer old-fashioned rolled oats, they are the kind that gives the best taste and texture to these muffins.
- Baking Soda and Baking Powder – for a fluffy texture.
- Cinnamon – for classic Fall flavors.
- Walnuts – Optional but it adds healthy omega fatty acids and a delicious crunchy texture to the muffins.
- Apple Cider Vinegar or lemon juice.
- Almond Milk or any non-dairy milk you love including coconut milk or oat milk.
- Canola Oil – Canola oil has the highest levels of omega-3, but you can also use light olive oil or melted coconut oil.
- Vanilla Extract – for more flavor.
Add-Ons
Like for any muffin recipe you can play with flavor and texture by stirring 1/2 cup of some of the below ingredients into the batter:
- Dark Chocolate Chips
- Pecans or walnuts – finely chopped
- Shredded Coconut
- Shredded Carrots
- Dried Raisins or cranberries
How To Make Healthy Banana Oatmeal Muffins
- First, peel and mash the ripe bananas into a puree using two forks or a potato masher.
- Measure the amount of mashed bananas to ensure the perfect oatmeal muffin texture – not too dry not too dense.
- Place the mashed banana in a large mixing bowl with almond milk, canola oil, apple cider vinegar, and vanilla extract. Whisk to combine.
- Add rolled oats, cinnamon, baking soda, and baking powder, and sift the flour on top of the bowl.
- Stir with a spatula until the batter is fluffy and smooth. If you want to add chopped nuts, add them halfway through and stir to fully incorporate them. The trick to making these vegan oatmeal banana muffins rise quickly is to bake the muffins at a high temperature first before decreasing it later. The shock of temperature at the beginning makes the muffins rise to perfection. Then, they gently bake in the center creating the perfect airy, fluffy moist banana muffin crumb.
- Preheat the oven to 390°F (200°C). Line a 12-hole muffin pan with muffin cases and using oil spray, oil each paper case.
- Fill each muffin cup with about 1/3 cup of batter or up to 3/4 of their level.
- Sprinkle some extra old-fashioned rolled oats on top of each muffin before baking if you like.
- Bake the muffins in the center rack of the oven for 5 minutes at 390°F (200°C).
- Then, reduce the heat to 350°F (180°C) and keep baking for about 20 to 25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the muffins comes out clean.
- Let them cool down for 10 minutes in the baking tray then transfer the muffins to a cooling rack.
Serving The Muffins
These healthy banana oatmeal muffins are the best breakfast for busy mornings or to fill a kid’s lunchbox.
They are delicious on their own, but you can also top up the muffins with a drizzle of peanut butter, or almond butter to add protein to the muffins.
Allergy Swaps
If you have some food allergies but still want to try this banana oatmeal recipe, I have listed some options for you below:
- Gluten-Free – Pick a gluten-free certified oats brand and use your favorite gluten-free all-purpose flour blend – the best contains added xanthan gum. Also, make sure the baking powder is wheat free.
- Oil-Free – I didn’t try the recipe with an oil replacement, but usually, you can replace oil with the same amount of almond butter or dairy-free Greek yogurt, or unsweetened apple sauce.
Storage Instructions
You can store the banana oat muffins for up to 4 days in the fridge, in a sealed cake box. These muffins freeze very well and can be kept fresh for up to 3 months in a zip-lock bag or sealed container in the freezer. Thaw on a wire rack at room temperature the day before.
Rewarm the muffin in a toaster oven or serve at room temperature.
Frequently Asked Questions
I listed below the answers to your most common questions about these banana oatmeal muffins.
Absolutely, you can add 1/2 cup of granulated sweetener you love along with the dry ingredients.
the best are unrefined cane sugar, coconut sugar, or brown erythritol for a sugar-free option.
Yes, you can use any banana for this recipe, but since it has no sugar added, I recommend adding 1/2 cup of sugar with the dry ingredients if your bananas are not ripe.
If not, the muffins won’t be sweet at all.
I didn’t try this option, but you should be able to replace all-purpose flour with oat flour with no problem.
However, the muffins will probably raise less and be more fragile.
Yes, this recipe makes 24 mini muffins. Grease two 12-hole mini muffin tins and fill each up to half their level. Bake the mini muffins on the center and lower rack, both at the same time for about 15 to 20 minutes.
Swap the pan from levels halfway to ensure they bake at the same speed.
More Healthy Muffin Recipes
If you like healthy muffins, you’ll love these:
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Healthy Banana Oatmeal Muffins
Ingredients
- 1 ⅓ cup Mashed Banana - about 3 medium ultra ripe bananas (black skin for best sweet flavor)
- 2 teaspoons Apple Cider Vinegar
- ⅓ cup Unsweetened Almond Milk - or any plant-based milk
- ⅓ cup Canola Oil - or melted coconut oil
- 2 teaspoons Vanilla Extract
- 1 ¼ cup All-Purpose Flour - Note 1. Learn how to measure flour accurately.
- 1 cup Old-Fashioned Rolled Oats - or quick oats
- ¼ teaspoon Salt
- 1 teaspoon Cinnamon
- 2 teaspoons Baking Powder
- 1 teaspoon Baking Soda
Optional
- ½ cup Cane Sugar - or coconut sugar
- ½ cup Chopped Walnuts
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 390°F (200°C). Line a 12-hole muffin pan with paper cases and lightly spray oil spray n the cases. Set aside.
- Peel and mash bananas and measure the exact amount of mashed bananas needed in the recipe. Then, place them in a large mixing bowl.
- Combine mashed banana, apple cider vinegar, almond milk, canola oil, and vanilla extract. Stir until everything is well combined. Set it aside.
- In another mixing bowl, whisk together flour, rolled oats, cinnamon, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and optional sugar.
- Stir the dry ingredients into the wet and fold in the finely chopped nuts, if used.
- Fill the muffin cases up to 3/4 their level and sprinkle extra rolled oats on top of each muffin, if desired.
- Place the muffin pan in the center rack of the preheated oven and bake for 5 minutes at this temperature, then reduce the temperature to 350°F (180°C) and keep baking for 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the muffins comes out clean or with a little crumb on it meaning the muffins are ready but still moist.
- Cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then release and cool down on a wire rack.
Storage
- Store in a cake box in the fridge for up to 4-5 days or freeze and thaw the day before eating.
Can I use plant butter in place of the oil?
Sure!
It’s very good .
My question is : can I bake on bread pan or cake pan ?
Thanks Fatima
It should work too but take longer to bake. Check often, keep baking until golden brown on top and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
Hi! I would like to make these as mini muffins for snacks for my toddler. Do you have any suggestions about how the baking time might need to be changed? Also, should I still start them off at 390 degrees? Thanks!
I’d change the baking time to 20-25 minutes – check the texture with a toothpick after 18 minutes at the same temperature! Note that for toddlers, I also have a simpler mini banana muffins.
Question: in step three says add optional coconut sugar to the wet ingredient, then in step four it says and sugar if used… So, do I add sugar to the wet or the dry ingredients? I’ve made them twice and once, added to the dry and once to the wet. Can’t say I noticed the difference. Thanks. Just want to make sure I do your recipe justice. 🙂
It works in both cases, but I’ve clarified the recipe
Hi Nice recipe but it says Coconut Sugar in the instructions but not in the ingredients list unless I need stronger glasses?
Coconut sugar or cane sugar are in the list of optional ingredients. They are not necessary, but useful if you like your muffins very sweet.