Healthy Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins Recipes

Healthy Banana Muffins are moist, fluffy, and so sweet! A handful of chocolate chips makes them a little indulgent, without going overboard. Made with honey, whole wheat flour, and protein packed Greek yogurt, these are perfect for breakfast or as an afternoon snack. This is a great recipe you’ll want to use over and over again!

Healthy banana muffins with chocolate chips for a little indulgence. The greek yogurt adds protein and keeps the muffins moist. You’ll love these easy banana muffins — made without butter or refined sugar! This is the only banana muffin recipe you’ll ever need!

Last week I asked you what kind of recipes you’d like to see more of in 2019 and while I received a variety of requests, the most common response was for “healthier baking recipes”. I actually love baking healthier treats, so I was thrilled to see you wanted more of them. I’ll be posting one healthy baking recipe each month! And we’re kicking things off with these healthy banana chocolate chip muffins! They’re bakery-style muffins that are moist, sweet, and have perfectly domed lids.

Hi friends! I’m finally back in Chicago after two weeks of travel and am SO excited to get back in the kitchen and develop summer recipes for you. In fact, developing creative, healthy recipes is my favorite part about my job. It’s where my mind works it’s magic the most and often when I feel most fulfilled. I LOVE LOVE LOVE being able to bring you delicious, nourishing recipes for you to share with your friends and family. It just makes my heart happy.

So what makes these banana muffins healthy? A couple of things! First off, we use 100% whole wheat flour in this recipe. Then we add in protein packed Greek yogurt, heart healthy olive oil, and 1 whole cup of mashed bananas. And finally, we sweeten these delicious muffins with honey and just a kiss of coconut sugar. So while I wouldn’t claim these muffins to be health food, they are made with healthier ingredients you can feel good about.

There’s also a handful of chocolate chips because chocolate makes everything better… right? RIGHT ↓

Speaking of healthy recipes, these banana muffins were a blissful experiment that came to life back in 2013. They were the result of me always trying to make something new for my mom for breakfast. I used to make her muffins every week so that she could bring them to work and these healthy banana muffins became one of her favorites in the entire world. We’d make them together, often adding in heart-healthy toasted walnuts for a dose of healthy fats. To this day, they still make an appearance in my kitchen every month or two.

Safe to say my muffin obsession started with these babies. They’re packed with protein thanks to greek yogurt and are naturally sweetened with only honey and bananas — okay and a few chocolate chips because chocolate chips deserve to be in every diet out there.

Ingredients

•  1 tablespoon flaxseed meal — OR 1 large egg (if you do not need the muffins to be vegan)
•  3 large overripe bananas — about 11 ounces (1 1/2 cups mashed)
•  1/3 cup unsweetened applesauce
•  2 tablespoons canola oil — or melted cooled coconut oil*
•  1/3 cup coconut sugar or light brown sugar
•  1/4 cup pure maple syrup
•  1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
•  1 teaspoon baking soda
•  1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
•  1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
•  1 1/2 cups white whole wheat flour
•  1/2 cup dark chocolate chips — mini or regular (I used mini; dairy free if you’d like the muffins to be vegan)

Instructions

1. In a small bowl, stir the flaxseed meal together with 2 1/2 tablespoons water. Set aside for 5 minutes to thicken. (This creates a flax egg. If you are using a regular egg, you can skip this step and add the egg with the applesauce in Step 3.)
2. Place the rack in the center of your oven and preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly coat a standard 12-cup muffin tin with nonstick spray.
3. Mash the bananas in the bottom of a large bowl until mostly smooth. Double check to ensure you have the 1 1/2 cups called for in the recipe. Whisk in the flax egg (or regular egg if not using flax), then the applesauce and oil. Whisk in the coconut sugar, maple syrup, and vanilla. Sprinkle the baking soda, cinnamon, and salt over the top, then stir gently until combined. Gently stir in the flour until barely combined, then fold in the chocolate chips, reserving a few for sprinkling on top if desired.
4. Divide the mixture evenly among the muffin cups and sprinkle on any reserved chocolate chips. Bake for 22 to 26 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center of a muffin comes out clean and the tops spring back lightly when touched. Place the pan on a wire rack and let cool for 5 minutes. Gently remove the muffins from the pan and place them on a wire rack to finish cooling completely, or enjoy immediately.

Recipe Notes

• *If using coconut oil, be sure all of the ingredients are at room temperature and the coconut oil has cooled, or it will resolidify when it mixes with the cold ingredients.
• I haven’t yet experimented with making these muffins gluten free. If you’d like to try, I would recommend starting with a 1:1 baking blend like this one.
• Store muffins in the refrigerator for up to 5 days or at room temperature for 3 days, according to this guide for How to Store Muffins.