Healthy One-Bowl Banana Mini Muffins

 
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

© Amy's Healthy Baking

Yields: 36 mini muffins or 12 standard-sized muffins

Although I might be biased, these are the BEST banana muffins I’ve ever had! They’re supremely moist and tender (basically like cupcakes!) with such a bright and irresistible sweet fruit flavor. They taste even better, moister, and sweeter after they’ve been refrigerated for 24+ hours — if you have the patience and self-control to wait that long! Leftovers will keep for at least 1 week if stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator, and they freeze really well too!

5 from 9 votes

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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

Use overripe bananas that are completely brown or black! Do not use yellow (or mostly yellow) bananas. If you do, then your muffins won’t be nearly as sweet or as moist. (See Nerd Alert #1 in my blog post above for more information!)

 

Measure the mashed banana by grams or by cups — NOT by bananas! Not all “medium” or “small” bananas are the same size.

 

This is my favorite stick-style vegan butter. Any oil will work in place of the coconut oil or vegan butter. Regular unsalted butter will also work.

 

I highly recommend using the liquid stevia! It’s one of my favorite ingredients (you’ll use it in all of these recipes of mine!), and I buy it online here because that’s the cheapest price I’ve found.

 

If you prefer not to use stevia, substitute ½ cup (180mL) of pure maple syrup, agave, or honey for the liquid stevia AND reduce the milk to 2 tablespoons (30mL) if using any of those liquid sweeteners. Alternatively, substitute ½ cup (96g) of coconut sugar, brown sugar, or granulated sugar in place of the liquid stevia AND reduce the milk to 6 tablespoons (90mL). (The batter should be fairly thick!)

 

The vinegar reacts with the baking soda to help your muffins rise and give them a more tender texture. You can’t taste the vinegar in the fully baked muffins — I promise! (Just don’t taste the raw batter!)

 

Any milk may be substituted for the unsweetened vanilla almond milk.

 

Whole wheat pastry flour, regular whole wheat flour or all-purpose flour may be substituted for the white whole wheat flour.

 

For the gluten-free flour, use the following blend: 1 cup (120g) millet flour, ¾ cup (90g) tapioca flour, ½ cup (60g) brown rice flour, and 1 ½ teaspoons xanthan gum. Most store-bought gluten-free flour blends (like this one!) should work as well, if measured like this.

 

Remember to measure the flour correctly, using this method or a kitchen scale. (← That’s the one I own and love!) Too much flour in the batter will make your muffins dry and crumbly, rather than moist and fluffy.

 

TO MAKE 12 STANDARD-SIZED MUFFINS: Follow the recipe as written, except in Step 1, coat 12 standard-sized muffin cups with nonstick cooking spray. (If using liners, then line 12 standard-sized muffin cups with paper liners, and coat the liners with cooking spray.) In Step 3, bake the standard-sized muffins at 350°F for 18-22 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.

 

{gluten-free, dairy-free, egg-free, vegan, clean eating, low fat, low sugar}

DID YOU MAKE THIS RECIPE?I'd love to hear what you think of it in a comment below! If you take a picture, tag @amys.healthy.baking on Instagram or use the hashtag #amyshealthybaking.

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!