My first morning on our Tahoe family vacation last week, my eyelids groggily peeled open as my alarm sang out its annoying tune right next to my ear shortly after the sun peeked out over the trees. I padded downstairs to find my parents huddled around their laptop on the smaller sofa, whispering to each other to avoid waking me. I curled up sleepily on the larger couch and eventually asked, “What hike are we going to do today?”
As a little kid, I grew up visiting campgrounds in both Yosemite and Lake Tahoe’s Emerald Bay once a summer. We’d string up the poles to pitch our tent, swim in the nearby icy cold lakes and streams, and toast marshmallows over a crackling fire for s’mores every night.
But the highlights during the day were always the wide assortment of dusty mountain trails we climbed through and hiked. Although the rest of our family stopped camping each summer sometime while I was in high school, my dad continued with his buddies, and because they now backpack twice a year, he knows most of the day-trip trails and always comes 200% prepared.
While I rubbed the sleep out of my eyes, he and Mom decided on the Five Lakes Trail. It left out of Alpine Meadows, fairly close to the ski lifts, so after a brief breakfast and short drive over, we slathered on sunscreen, slid on sunglasses, and started the 1000-foot climb up the hot dusty rocks.
We spotted the first lake barely an hour after locking the car, despite multiple shady water breaks. With the mosquitoes out in full force, we spritzed on plenty of bug spray before continuing, pushing our way through barely marked “trails” in the underbrush to pass by the second lake.
We stopped for a few minutes at the third, awed by the breathtaking view, then snapped a few pictures at the fourth before finally resting at the fifth lake. Dad pulled out bags of peanuts and honey mustard pretzels to snack on while Mom recalled last summer, when she and Dad hiked the same trail but got hopelessly lost somewhere after the first lake (which is why Dad bought a new GPS this year!).
Eventually, we rallied and started back down the steep mountainside, reaching the bottom less than three hours after we began, with our shoes and the backs of our legs covered in a thick layer of dirt. We drove home to shower, and Mom offered to pop over to the grocery store for deli meat to throw together our own healthy sandwiches at the cabin.
She returned with multiple bags, and we unpacked whole grain bread, pickles, pepperoncinis, spinach, and Dijon mustard, along with the sliced ham and turkey. Out of the last bag, Mom pulled out a huge carton of fresh strawberries, mentioning, “They looked too good!” So we all grabbed six or eight of the oversized berries to eat alongside our sandwiches.
As the freshest, sweetest, and juiciest I’ve tasted yet this summer, I snuck just as many to snack on while I drove home a few hours later!
When I eased off the freeway, I stopped by the grocery store before heading back to my house. I needed to pick up my own strawberries—I was still hungry for more after how perfect those tasted! After powering through over half of the carton, I decided to bake something with the rest…
…so I created these Healthy Strawberry Banana Muffins! Practically bursting with the sweet taste of summer, these skinny breakfast treats are moist and flavorful—nothing like the normal bland cardboard taste you’d expect from whole wheat baked goods. Plus they come together in mere minutes, so you can easily have a healthy breakfast on the table by the time everyone else in the house rolls out of bed!
HOW TO MAKE HEALTHY STRAWBERRY BANANA MUFFINS
Let’s go over how to make the best healthy strawberry banana muffins! Like many of my other muffin recipes, this one is really straightforward and made with only wholesome, clean eating ingredients. That’s right: they contain NO butter, refined flour or refined sugar!
With only a tablespoon of coconut oil, most of the fluffy and super moist texture in these strawberry banana muffins comes from mashed banana and Greek yogurt. Greek yogurt is my favorite ingredient in healthier baking; it adds all of the moisture of oil while keeping these strawberry banana muffins low fat and and low calorie. Plus it sneaks in a little extra protein boost too!
Tip: Do NOT use purely yellow bananas. Try to choose the ripest, spottiest banana you can find. The darker the skin, the more natural sweetness in the fruit. The ones that are almost entirely brown or black are perfect. They have a stronger and sweeter banana flavor, and they make your muffins more tender too!
I only added 2 tablespoons of honey to this muffin batter. Between the mashed banana and juicy diced strawberries, there was already plenty of natural sweetness!
As soon as the timer buzzed, I nearly burned my fingertips breaking into one hot out of the oven. Moist and tender, with the bright taste of summer, it took lots of willpower not to devour three more!
If you and your loved ones manage to leave a few on the cooling racks, pop them in a zip-topped bag and store them in the fridge. They taste just as satisfying chilled, but you can also stick them in the microwave for a few seconds to warm them back up. Or try what my mom always does: slice one in half, lay a small pat of butter on each side, and put the halves in the toaster oven until the butter melts and seeps into the cracks.
Pure sweet and buttery bliss!
So take advantage of summer’s sweet berries and bake these Healthy Strawberry Banana Muffins! They’re the perfect lazy weekend breakfast or healthy mid-morning office snack. Yes, skip those bakery muffins in the break room—you won’t miss the fat or calories in these healthier ones!
And when you make your own, remember to snap a picture and share it on Instagram using #amyshealthybaking and tagging @amyshealthybaking IN the photo itself! (That guarantees I’ll see your picture! 🙂 ) I’d love to see your healthy strawberry banana muffins!
Healthy Strawberry Banana Muffins
Ingredients
- 1 ¼ cups (150g) whole wheat flour or gluten-free flour* (measured like this)
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- ¼ tsp ground nutmeg
- ¼ tsp salt
- 1 tbsp (14g) coconut oil or unsalted butter (melted and cooled slightly)
- 1 large egg (room temperature)
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- ½ cup (130g) mashed banana (about 1 medium — see Notes!)
- 2 tbsp (30mL) honey
- ¼ cup (60g) plain nonfat Greek yogurt
- ¾ cup (105g) whole strawberries, diced (about 10-11 medium — see Notes!)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 325°F, and lightly coat 8 muffin cups with nonstick cooking spray.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt. In a separate bowl, whisk together the coconut oil or butter, egg, and vanilla. Stir in the mashed banana, honey, and yogurt, mixing thoroughly until no large lumps of yogurt remain. Add in the flour mixture, stirring just until incorporated. Fold in the strawberries.
- Divide the batter between the prepared muffin cups. Baked at 325°F for 22-24 minutes, or until barely firm to the touch and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool in the pan for 5 minutes before turning out onto a wire rack.
Notes
View Nutrition Information + Weight Watchers Points
These are amazing! I’m so happy to have found a healthy blog with recipes that actually turn out….I’m a very experienced baker and am usually disappointed in the quality of recipes on the Internet. My toddler loved these (she’s eaten 5 since yesterday) so you know they’re good 😉 excited to make more of your stuff, Amy.
Oh my goodness, that means SO much to me Paige — both your glowing comment and the fact that your daughter has already eaten 5 of these muffins! Thank you so much! 🙂 Your daughter is so lucky to have you to bake her healthy homemade treats. I can’t wait to hear what recipe you two decide to try next!
I’ve been trying to eat healthier and have been craving a really good moist muffin. I am going to make these this morning! I’ll let you know how they come out. PS: it’ll be my first time ever baking anything from scratch. ??
Oh my goodness Jennifer, I’m absolutely honored that you selected my recipe as your first one to bake anything from scratch!! That means SO much to me! ♥ I can’t wait to hear what you thought of these muffins!
They came out so good! So light and not overwhelmingly sweet! Perfect for my healthly morning start. I’m trying to be lil healthier! I found you on IG and tagged you in the picture of them! 🙂
I’m so glad you liked the muffins Jennifer!! Thanks for tagging me on IG too! 🙂 I can’t wait to see what other recipes you try!
Hi Amy ! Great recipe for banana muffins you have shared. Do you have any recipe for egg less muffins or any substitute for egg ? TIA 🙂
Thanks Kalpana! While I have very few egg-free recipes, I absolutely love Ener-G as an egg replacer, and it works in almost all of my recipes. Even better, it’s inexpensive, shelf-stable, and keeps for ages! For each egg white, use 1½ teaspoons of Ener-G + 2 tablespoons of warm water, and for each egg yolk, add an additional ½ tablespoon of butter or oil. My brother is allergic to eggs, so I actually use it quite a bit! 🙂 I’d love to hear what you think of these muffins if you try them!
Hi Amy,
I made the Muffins for a friend’s baby shower yesterday and everybody loved them? I had to share the recipe quite a lot as so many of my friends wanted to try them too:)
Katja x
I’m so glad everyone loved the muffins Katja! I’m truly touched that you made my recipe for such a special occasion — and that you shared my recipe too. Thank you! 🙂 I really hope your friend enjoys her new bundle of joy when it arrives!
I think I’ll be using this delicious recipe for my Healthy Living class. Never thought of Greek yogurt, genius!!
Thanks Katie! 🙂 I can’t wait to hear what you and your classmates think of the muffins!
Hi! I was wondering if it would be possible to sub the yogurt for almond milk but a lesser amount maybe? My son is allergic to dairy and I wanted to make these for him, but the taste of dairy free yogurt is awful haha so I was hoping there was another way to make these dairy free.. thank you! ?
Oh no! If at all possible, I do recommend using dairy-free yogurt to ensure the muffins come out with a moist and tender texture, rather than dry or tough. What dairy-free yogurts have you tried with your son? My brother is lactose intolerant, so we’ve tried our fair share and do have a few favorites that I’d be happy to recommend, based on your son’s taste preferences! 🙂 Otherwise, you can sub additional banana for the Greek yogurt. That’s a better sub than almond milk to make sure the texture is as close to the original recipe as possible!
Hi again;) I already made those muffins a few weeks ago and loved them. Wanted to make them again yesterday evening but didn’t have any berries and the stores were already closed so I had to improvise and wanted to share: Instead of the strawberries I used grated apples, carrots, chopped almonds and some raisins. Simply delicious. I love that the recipe is also great for basic muffins and allows you to add in whatever you basically like that day?
I always love seeing your comments Katja! 🙂 I love the sound of that combination! I need to remember that… Apples + carrots + raisins = now in my memory! ?
can i freeze them after i bake them ?
Yes! These muffins freeze really well. 🙂 I can’t wait to hear what you think of them Chantalle!
Hello, uh oh, just cooked these muffins and used the cup measurements. Realised when I read another post that USA measurements were used.I’m in Australia and our measurements are different. They didn’t turn out TOO bad as I’ve just eaten TWO. I will attempt to make them again using grams.Do you think I could use chick pea flour? Keep up the good work.
I’m glad the muffins still turned out okay, Anne! I hope your next batch turns out even better! 🙂 I don’t recommend using chickpea flour in this recipe. The muffins won’t rise properly. 😉
I tried to make these as mini-muffins and they did not turn out well (much to my 3 year old’s disappointment!). They were very very obviously not cooked through out after 24 minutes. What would you suggest to try differently for mini-muffins?
Adding to say: I threw them back in but they are still not cooked through out. The top is baked but the bottom is still so smushy that the wrapper just rips the bottom right off the top. Not so good!
I really appreciate your interest in my recipe Jess! That’s so strange that the mini muffins weren’t done… Did you make any modifications? Did you use fresh or frozen strawberries? Also, the ¾ cup of strawberries is supposed to be measured when the strawberries are still whole, not when diced! (See my Baking Basics here for more info!) So if you measured the diced strawberries, there would be about 1 ½ times as many as there should be, and that extra moisture would definitely cause the muffins to stay raw after baking for that long. Lastly, if you’re going to use liners, then coat them with cooking spray first! Low-fat muffin batters like this one will stick to liners like superglue, which is why the wrapper ripped the bottom of the muffin from the top. 🙂