After a weekend getaway in early March for a wedding and a brief visit with my parents, I flew back to Southern California on Monday afternoon. I stopped by the supermarket on my way from the airport to my house, completely in shock over the barren baking aisle shelves that had been overflowing with ingredients just a few days before, and then headed to my grandma’s house.
For every trip I take back home, my amazing grandma sweetly offers to watch my dog. It took a little while for my pup to finally warm up to my grandma’s two small dogs, but they get along really well now, with the three of them exploring the backyard and curling up on the sofa and even sleeping in the same bed together at night.
Of course, that would be my grandma’s bed… Which leaves very little room for her!
When I picked up my dog after this particular trip, my grandma reported that she had been an excellent houseguest, just like usual, as she handed me my container of dog food and the food bowl. Grandma also sent me home with a gift…
A bunch of speckled bananas! She knows how much I love baking with them, so whenever the ones on her counter get too ripe to eat, she passes them along to me.
Although I usually whip up a loaf of my favorite banana bread, I knew I’d need to get a little creative with these particular bananas. The grocery store had been out of eggs and Greek yogurt, two staple ingredients in my classic banana bread recipe!
After a little brainstorming and a bit of tweaking, the same sweet familiar smell started wafting through my kitchen, yet instead of a loaf of banana bread in my oven…
It came from these Healthy One-Bowl Banana Mini Muffins! They have the same deliciously sweet and fruity flavor as my favorite banana bread, as well as the same supremely moist and cake-like texture. However…
These healthy banana mini muffins contain no eggs, butter, dairy, refined flour or sugar! They’re also 35 calories!
And with how much I loved them… I immediately baked a second batch with another bunch of brown bananas on my counter as soon as I finished them all!
HOW TO MAKE THE BEST HEALTHY BANANA MUFFINS
Let’s go over how to make the best ever healthy banana muffins! It seems like you’re really enjoying the one-bowl recipes I’ve been sharing recently, and that makes me happy… Because one-bowl recipes usually result in fewer dishes to wash! 😉 So I decided to make this healthy eggless and dairy-free banana mini muffins recipe another one-bowl recipe too!
To start, grab your favorite mixing bowl and some overripe bananas. The bananas MUST be overripe! They should be completely brown or black with no visible yellow. There’s a reason for this…
Nerd Alert #1: Ripe Bananas
Completely brown or black bananas contain a lot more natural sweetness than the pure yellow ones! They’re also softer, moister, and have a stronger fruit flavor.
Therefore, using incredibly overripe bananas results in a stronger banana flavor, really moist muffins (with the same texture as cupcakes!), and means you don’t need to add too much additional sweetener. I call that a win-win-win!
Note: If you use yellow (or mostly yellow) bananas, your mini muffins will be drier, blander, and not taste nearly sweet enough. So pretty, pretty please… Be patient and let your bananas completely overripen before using them in this recipe!
Next, you’ll add a small amount of melted butter, melted vegan butter, or melted coconut oil. Unlike many traditional recipes that call for ¼ to ½ cup of oil, you only need ½ tablespoon for this recipe. That really helps keep your healthy banana muffins low calorie and low fat!
Tip: If you use vegan butter (like this!) or coconut oil, then your healthy banana muffins will be completely vegan, dairy-free, and egg-free!
At this point, in most traditional banana muffin recipes, you’d add an egg or two… But not in these! That’s right — your healthy banana mini muffins contain no eggs!
Nerd Alert #2: Egg Replacer
Instead of eggs, you’ll use… Mashed banana! It doesn’t just provide fruit flavor and natural sweetness. The mashed banana also acts as an egg replacer by adding moisture and binding the other ingredients together, so it also makes these healthy banana mini muffins eggless! Such a fun baking trick, right?
Also unlike traditional recipes? No sugar goes into these healthy banana muffins! You’ll use one of my favorite ingredients to sweeten them instead: liquid stevia. Stevia is a plant-based, no-calorie sweetener that contains nothing refined or artificial (aka it’s clean eating friendly!). It’s also really concentrated. You just need 1 teaspoon to sweeten the entire batch, which is the equivalent of nearly ½ cup of sugar!
Tip: Many stevia brands and products have a different sweetness level, so use the same one I do for the best results! I buy it online here because that’s the best price I’ve found, and I love how I don’t notice any strange aftertastes like with some other stevia products. (You’ll also use it in all of these recipes of mine too — it’s not a one-time-use ingredient!)
Nerd Alert #3: Secret Ingredient!
Now it’s time for a slightly surprising ingredient… Plain white vinegar! No, I haven’t lost all of my marbles. Not yet, at least. 😉
The vinegar (an acid) reacts with the baking soda (a base — you’ll add that in a moment!). When these two ingredients react, they create air bubbles (carbon dioxide, to be exact!). The air bubbles help your healthy vegan banana mini muffins rise, and they also create a more tender texture… The same moist and tender texture as cupcakes!
By the time your mini muffins finish baking, all of the vinegar will have reacted with all of the baking soda. Therefore, you can’t taste vinegar at all in your fully baked muffins — I promise!
To keep these healthy banana muffins dairy-free and vegan, I used unsweetened vanilla almond milk in the batter. Some of my family members are lactose-intolerant, and this is their favorite non-dairy milk that they always keep in the fridge! I love it too, along with unsweetened cashew milk (the latter is so thick and creamy!). Almond milk works perfectly in nearly all of my baking recipes that call for nonfat milk as well!
Only three more ingredients left… aka the dry ingredients! Those are white whole wheat flour, baking powder, and baking soda.
In case you haven’t heard of it before… White whole wheat flour actually exists, and it’s not a combination of white (aka all-purpose) flour and regular whole wheat flour! Instead, it’s made by finely grinding a special type of soft white wheat (hence the name!), whereas regular whole wheat flour comes from a heartier variety of red wheat.
They both have the same health benefits (like extra fiber!), but white whole wheat flour has a lighter taste and texture… Which lets the moist, tender, and cupcake-like texture of your healthy vegan banana mini muffins truly shine!
Tip: I also provided my two favorite gluten-free alternatives in the Notes section of the recipe, if you’d like to make your healthy vegan dairy-free banana mini muffins gluten-free instead!
Nerd Alert #4: Baking Powder & Baking Soda
Wait! Stop! Don’t add the baking powder and baking soda to your bowl just yet. Once you’ve added the flour, sprinkle the baking powder and baking soda over the top of the flour, and then stir them all in together. Do not just dump them in!
Sprinkling helps prevent clumps of baking powder and baking soda. Clumps would make your muffins rise unevenly… So if you sprinkle these two leavening agents, then you’ll get the best rise and best texture imaginable in your healthy banana mini muffins!
One last thing! Low fat batters like this one tend to stick to muffin liners (and muffin cups!) like superglue, so generously coat your liners or pan with nonstick cooking spray before dolloping in the batter. This ensures that your muffins pop right out of the pan and the liners easily peel away!
Tip: If you forget to spray your paper muffin liners — or you just don’t coat them well enough — then seal your mini muffins inside of an airtight container, and refrigerate them for 24+ hours. This helps loosen the liners so they peel away better!
Then after a quick trip into the oven…
It’s time to enjoy your delicious breakfast muffins! 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 banana muffins!
Healthy One-Bowl Banana Mini Muffins
Ingredients
- 1 ¼ cups (325g) mashed banana (about 2 large or 4 small — see Notes before beginning!)
- ½ tbsp (7g) coconut oil or stick-style vegan butter, melted
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 tsp liquid stevia
- ¼ tsp salt
- 3 tbsp (45mL) plain white distilled vinegar
- ½ cup + 2 tbsp (150mL) unsweetened vanilla almond milk
- 2 ¼ cups (270g) white whole wheat flour or gluten-free* flour (measured like this)
- 1 ½ tsp baking powder
- ¾ tsp baking soda
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Coat 36 mini muffin cups with nonstick cooking spray. If using liners, then line 36 mini muffin cups with paper liners, and coat the liners with cooking spray. (See Notes below if you’d prefer to make 12 standard-sized muffins!)
- In a medium bowl, stir together the banana, coconut oil or butter, vanilla, stevia, and salt. Stir in the vinegar. Stir in the milk. Add the flour. Sprinkle the baking powder and baking soda on top of the flour (to avoid clumps and make sure the muffins bake evenly!). Stir until just incorporated.
- Divide the batter between the prepared paper liners. Bake at 350°F for 12-15 minutes or until the centers feel firm to the touch and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean or with a few crumbs attached. Cool in the pan for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
Notes
View Nutrition Information + Weight Watchers Points
You may also like Amy’s other recipes…
♡ Healthy One-Bowl Blueberry Muffins
♡ Healthy Peanut Butter Banana Oatmeal Breakfast Cookies
♡ Healthy Banana Pancakes
♡ Healthy Banana Waffles
♡ Healthy One-Bowl Chocolate Chip Banana Bread
♡ The Ultimate Healthy Chocolate Mini Muffins
♡ …and the rest of Amy’s healthy muffin recipes!
This is the bestest ever details recipe I have ever come through.. with all types of substitutes and options.. very detailed and easy to understand recipe.. thnks a lot dear Amy.. lots of love from India..
It’s my pleasure, San! I’m so glad you find all of my notes useful. 🙂 I’d love to hear what you think of these muffins if you try making them!
Hello Amy,
I have gone gaga over your website for the past few hours. Read almost all recipes and even noted down a few tips mentioned by you.
It always pains my heart to put so much sugar and butter during baking. Your recipes are definitely my game.
Going to try out some really soon. Will let you know how they turn out.
Thank you!
I’m truly honored that you’re interested in my recipes, Apurva! That means the world to me that you’ve spent a few hours looking through them and taking notes. I’m really excited to hear what recipe you decide to try first and what you think of the treats, whether it’s these mini muffins or anything else! 🙂
Hi Amy!,
My name is Haylee and I’m 11 and I love your recipes my family and me are trying to eat healthier and all these things are perfect even though these things e we need to grocery shop for there really East things to buy. 😊 Anyway I love your recipes and quarantine is the best time for your recipes to help our immune system get stronger and help us get stronger too! So plz keep up the good work I support you!!
You’re so sweet Haylee — I’m incredibly honored that you and your family are enjoying my recipes! It means a lot to me that you’re considering making many of them, especially right now. Thank you for taking the time to let me know! 🙂 I can’t wait to hear which one you decide to try making next and what you think of it!
Hi
i’d like to make some of your recipes but do not use liquid stevia what could l replace it with and what would
be the measurements for it.
Thank you
I’m so honored that you’d like to try my recipes, Joanne! I’ve actually provided alternatives for the liquid stevia already in the Notes section of my recipes (located directly underneath the Instructions). For this particular recipe, I’ve included 6 different substitutes in the Notes section. I know it can be easy to miss that section! 😉 I can’t wait to hear what you think of these muffins — or any of my other recipes you decide to try!
These muffins r amazing love them sm! 🙂
Keep up the good work with all the healthy recipes!
I’m so glad you loved these muffins, Sivaanjali! Thank you for taking the time to let me know — that truly means a lot! 🙂
Is it possible to use oats in place of flour?
Applesauce for butter?
Thank you!
I’m honored that you’d like to try my recipe, Karen! I actually don’t recommend either of those. Applesauce instead of butter will make these muffins gummy. It’s such a small amount of butter (1/24 teaspoon [1.4 calories] per mini muffin or 1/8 teaspoon [4.2 calories] if you make standard-sized ones!), but it actually makes a BIG difference in their texture. It makes them really moist and tender!
I typically don’t recommend using oats or oat flour as a substitute for wheat-based flour in my muffin recipes either, including these banana muffins. This is because gluten is the protein in wheat-based flours that helps baked goods rise and maintain their shape while cooling. Oats and oat flour lack that, so when you substitute either for wheat-based flours in my recipes that rise (like cupcakes, cakes, muffins, quick breads, etc!), your baked goods will often turn out denser and may collapse while cooling. Does that make sense?
While I really don’t recommend regular oats, if you don’t mind that texture difference with oat flour (where your muffins may collapse and turn out denser), the flavors will still remain the same if you substitute it for the wheat flour in this recipe! 🙂 I’d love to hear what you think if you decide to try making these banana muffins! (And if you’re really craving banana oatmeal muffins, then I actually have a recipe for chocolate chip banana oatmeal muffins over here, if you’re interested!)
Thanks Amy… Sincerely aporeciate your feedback & dirrction😎
Will likely try your oat recipe too
Have a safe & happy day
Karen
It’s my pleasure, Karen! I’m always happy to help! 🙂 I can’t wait to hear what you think of these or my banana oatmeal muffins! It means a lot that you’d be interested in trying my other recipe too!
Hola! Is it possible to use almond and or coconut flour for these?
I’m honored that you’d like to try my recipe, Jessica! Coconut flour won’t work because it behaves so much differently than any other flour. As for almond flour, I typically don’t recommend that substitution in my muffin recipes, including these banana mini muffins. This is because gluten is the protein in wheat-based flours that helps baked goods rise and maintain their shape while cooling. Almond flour lacks that, so when you substitute it for wheat-based flours in my recipes that rise (like cupcakes, cakes, muffins, quick breads, etc!), your baked goods will often turn out denser and may collapse while cooling. Does that make sense?
However, if you don’t mind that texture difference with almond flour (where your muffins may collapse and turn out denser), the flavors will still remain the same! 🙂 I’d love to hear what you think if you decide to try making these mini muffins!
Hi Amy,
Love your recipes and can’t wait to try them! I don’t have the liquid stevia that you mentioned but I do have the Great Value brand granulated stevia that measures cup by cup like sugar. You mentioned in your notes that liquid stevia can be replaced with half a cup of granulated sugar so I am assuming I can use about half cup of my granulated stevia. But won’t that make the batter thick? Shouldn’t I be increasing the quantity of milk instead of reducing it to 6tbs? Sorry if my question sounds silly! I’m new to baking.
Not a silly question at all, Pratibha! I’m honored that you’d like to try making these muffins, and I’m happy to help! 🙂 I’m really glad you asked — those types of stevia that say they measure cup-for-cup like granulated sugar don’t actually measure cup-for-cup. They only sweeten cup-for-cup like granulated sugar, but they don’t dissolve or absorb liquids the same way that granulated sugar does. This means that you often need to make different modifications to the recipe!
Because of the way granulated sugar dissolves in liquids (and coconut sugar and brown sugar as well!), it actually contributes to the liquid volume of the batter. That’s why you’d need to reduce the liquid volume if using granulated sugar!
However, when using Great Value’s “cup-for-cup” stevia sweetener, you should actually use the full amount of milk. That product is really airy and fluffy, so it doesn’t create nearly as much “liquid” volume as granulated sugar… It basically adds nothing to the liquid volume whatsoever! So I’d recommend using ½ cup of your Great Value granulated stevia and the same amount of milk (½ cup + 2 tablespoons).
Does all of that make sense?
I’d love to hear what you think of these muffins if you try making them!
Hello I’m so excited to make these babies buuuut I wanna make only 12 mini muffins 🙁 what would be the measurements?
I’m honored that you’d like to try my recipe, Michelle! To make 12 mini muffins, divide all of the ingredients by 3. The baking temperature and time remain the same. 🙂 I’m excited to hear what you think of them!