Once or twice a month, my dad drives across town to cook with my grandma. He stops by Trader Joe’s on the way and picks up a few bags of groceries to create the healthy meals, then spends the next few hours mixing, cooking, and baking while Grandma chats and taste tests.
Two or three hours later, Dad packs up the majority of the food into individual servings to freeze for Grandma to reheat for her daily lunches and dinners. The menu usually consists of sweet ’n sour chicken, turkey burgers, pasta sauce, plus a few other dishes that rotate in and out. But Dad always makes sure she has plenty of fresh fruit and veggies for snacking in between meals too.
After stopping by last weekend, Dad brought back a few overly speckled bananas and told me, “These were too ripe for Grandma. Think you can use them?”
“Of course!” I replied… Yet my indecision kicked in immediately afterward. I thought about making my favorite banana bread or cupcakes, but since neither seemed to hit the spot, I decided to sleep on it and bake the next day instead.
As my feet pounded the pavement on my morning run, my mind mulled over the different possibilities. With a chilly breeze blowing, “Gingerbread!” floated into my head. After two miles, I still couldn’t shake that craving, so I finally decided to combine the two.
The result? These Banana Gingerbread Muffins! So soft and tender, they’re practically bursting with the spicy ginger flavor of fall, while the sweet banana slices bring a refreshing lightness to the rich pastries. Even without any refined flour or sugar, these healthy muffins still taste like an indulgent treat!
The dry ingredients are all of your usual suspects: flour (gluten-free works too!), leaveners, salt, and spices. You’ll need both ground cinnamon and lots of ginger. That’s where all of the spicy flavor comes from, so be generous! If you’re a huge ginger fiend, you could even add some diced crystallized ginger to the batter too. (Darn, why didn’t I think of that sooner??)
With only 1 tablespoon of butter and an egg, the majority of the moisture comes from mashed banana and Greek yogurt. Both create that soft, tender texture for a fraction of the fat and calories, so they’re perfect for healthier baking—especially with the indulgent holiday season quickly approaching!
It wouldn’t be gingerbread without molasses, so don’t skip it! Molasses brings out the spicy ginger flavor and adds a depth and color you just can’t match with brown sugar. It’s shelf-stable and keeps for ages, and it makes for a lovely addition to granola or whole wheat bread too.
Between the strong flavors of the molasses and ginger, you can’t actually taste the banana inside of the muffins, which is why I added those cute sliced ones on top! You’ll want a banana that’s perfectly ripe for those, mostly yellow with just a few brown speckles. Slice it really thinly and carefully lay the pieces on top of the raw batter before placing the muffin tins in the oven. While baking, the banana sugars come out and start to caramelize. Those fruit slices are the best part of the entire muffin!
Full of cozy fall flavors, these Banana Gingerbread Muffins are perfect for chilly morning breakfasts, light mid-morning snacks, and… Road trips. My parents stole the last two for their drive up to their cabin—definitely a sign of a successful recipe!
And with another ripe banana sitting on my counter, it’s already time to make more.
These muffins are bursting with cozy fall flavor! The spicy ginger and rich molasses make the muffins taste very rich, while the sweet banana spices on top bring a refreshing lightness to the treats. Store any leftovers in zip-topped bags in the refrigerator for up to 6 days.
- Preheat the oven to 325°F, and lightly coat 8 muffin cups with nonstick cooking spray.
- In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, ginger, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. In a separate bowl, whisk together the butter, egg, and vanilla. Stir in the mashed banana, molasses, and yogurt. Add in the flour mixture, stirring just until incorporated.
- Divide the batter between the prepared muffin cups. Place 3 banana slices on top so that they’re just barely touching in the center of the batter. Bake at 325°F for 24-29 minutes, or until barely firm to the touch. Cool in the pan for 5 minutes before carefully turning out onto a wire rack. (Note: The banana slices will be hot and will squish if they’re touched, so try to only touch the muffin when removing them from the pans.)
Notes: For the gluten-free flour, I used as follows: ¾ cup (90g) millet flour, ¼ cup (35g) brown rice flour, 3 tablespoons (23g) tapioca flour, and 1 teaspoon (3g) xanthan gum.
For a vegan version, substitute coconut oil or Earth Balance buttery sticks for the unsalted butter, 3 extra tablespoons of mashed banana for the egg, and non-dairy yogurt for the Greek yogurt.
{gluten-free, vegan, clean eating, low fat, low calorie}
I am wondering what I could use instead of Molasses as I am allergic to it. I use Stevia because of an allergy to any sugar. These sound amazing but want the full flavor. I also have to use an egg substitute because of allergy to egg. What do you suggest?
This is my favorite egg substitute, and it works perfectly in this recipe! However, it’s virtually impossible to have the exact gingerbread flavor with sugar substitutes because molasses is half of what creates its iconic flavor. You’re welcome to substitute stevia, but the flavor won’t quite be the same. 🙂 I’d love to hear what you think if you try these muffins Helene!
Thank you for your response. I so appreciate it. I will give it a try and let you know how it turns out.
My pleasure Helene; I’m looking forward to hearing what you think! 🙂
I’m not much of a baker, so this might be a stupid question but could I do these as mini muffins instead? Would the cooking times be the same?
There’s no stupid questions when it comes to baking Lisa! 🙂 Yes, you could make these as mini muffins instead! I’d recommend one banana slice per muffin instead of the three that you see in the photos. They’ll finish baking sooner, and I’d start checking on them after about 10-12 minutes. (They may take longer than that, but I don’t want you to accidentally overbake them!) I can’t wait to hear what you think of the muffins!
Hi Amy,
All these recipes look amazing.
I have been trying to shy away from all purpose flour and whole wheat flours, I was wondering if I could use almond/oat/bran flours or any others instead?
Thank you and I look forward to trying some of these =)
I really appreciate your interest in my recipe Cyndy! I’ve already included the best gluten-free (aka non-wheat based!) option in the Notes section underneath the Instructions. It can be easy to miss! 🙂 I can’t wait to hear what you think of these muffins!
Hi Amy,
I just make the muffins and they went great! it’s my first time baking things and i’m wondering if i can put more molasses in the muffins and how much because here in Peru i think the taste of the molasses is lighter than the US and i couldn’t feel the sweetness of the muffins.
I really appreciate your interest in my recipe Carmen! I’m glad you enjoyed the muffins. 🙂 If you want the muffins to be sweeter, I’d actually recommend adding honey, maple syrup, or agave instead of more molasses because each of those is sweeter than molasses. I’d say 2-ish tablespoons to start. The baking time should be slightly longer, but the muffins will be done when the tops feel firm to the touch and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. 🙂
thank you so much for your response! next time i’m gonna try it!
It’s my pleasure Carmen! I can’t wait to hear how that goes! 🙂
Your muffins looks delicious!! Going to try them today!! But I was wondering if they will freeze ok? Wanting to make a big batch! Also would it be ok to use maple syrup? Or do you really recommend molasses?
Yes, these muffins freeze well! Molasses is required to achieve the true gingerbread flavor. You can sub maple syrup, but they won’t quite taste the same. 🙂 I can’t wait to hear what you think of these Savannah!
Hi Amy! This recipe looks awesome!!! I’d like to make a banana gingerbread loaf this weekend.. do you think I can make it the same way? maybe doubling the quantities?
That sounds so fun Serena! I think if you doubled the recipe and used a 9×5″ loaf pan, that should work. The baking time will increase, but I’m not sure by how much… The loaf will be done when the center feels firm to the touch and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. 🙂 I can’t wait to hear how your loaf turns out!