These low sugar banana muffins made with whole wheat flour will give you all the characteristics of a muffin, but without all the extra sugar and refined flour. These are sweet enough to taste good, but not so sweet that you wonder if they’re cupcakes instead of muffins.
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Do you have extra bananas laying around that are going brown and spotty? These are the perfect bananas to make into delicious banana baked goods like these whole wheat low sugar banana muffins, whole wheat banana bread, or healthy banana bars.
This recipe was adapted from our healthy chocolate banana muffins. And we used this banana muffin recipe as a base for our low sugar pumpkin muffins.
What's Cool About This Recipe
- Reduced sugar: We have reduced the sugar in this recipe to make it lower sugar. The bananas also give the muffins natural sweetness.
- Small batch: Makes 6 muffins, you can easily double the recipe for 12 muffins.
- Tender and Moist: The yogurt and the bananas help keep these muffins tender, moist and yummy.
- 100% whole grain: We use soft white wheat flour (whole wheat pastry flour) for these muffins.
Ingredients and Substitutions
- Whole wheat flour: Flour milled from soft white wheat, or hard white wheat
- Cinnamon: Adds extra flavor to the muffins.
- Nutmeg: Nutmeg pairs exceptionally well with bananas, and gives the muffins some extra flavor.
- Baking soda: Used to make the muffins rise, do not substitute for baking powder.
- Salt: We add a little salt to help bring all the flavors together.
- Overripe banana: The bananas need to have lots of brown spots on them.
- Organic cane sugar: We like to use raw organic cane sugar but brown sugar or coconut sugar should work as well.
- Plain greek yogurt: Unflavored and unsweetened greek yogurt or whole milk yogurt. Sour cream will also work.
- Egg: We use regular chicken eggs.
- Oil: We usually use avocado oil or olive oil. Whatever oil you use in your baking should work.
- Vanilla extract: We love adding a bit of vanilla extract to add another layer of flavor.
- Ad-ins (optional) Ad ins we like to put in our banana muffins are chocolate chips, chopped pecans or chopped walnuts.
See recipe card for quantities.
Variations
- Bake into mini loaves and glaze with sour cream icing or cream cheese glaze. Bake at 350°F for 30-35 minutes. Makes 2 mini loaves (5x3x2 inch).
- For mini muffins, bake at 400°F for 8-10 minutes. Makes 12-18 mini muffins.
Instruction Photos
Overview of instructions with photos. See recipe card for quantities and full instructions.
Step 1: In a small bowl stir the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt together.
Step 2: In a medium bowl mash the banana well with a fork, potato masher or using an electric hand beater.
Step 3: Add the sugar, yogurt, egg, oil and vanilla extract to the mashed banana. Stir together until well combined.
Step 4: Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and stir just until well combined. Fold in any add-ins you’re using.
Step 5: Divide the batter evenly between 6 well greased standard size muffin cups.
Step 6: Bake at 400°F for 14-16 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean. Let cool in the pan for a couple minutes.
Transfer the muffins from the pan to a cooling rack.
Tip: To remove stubborn muffins from the cups, let the muffins sit in the cups for 5-10 minutes. Turn the muffin tin on its side with the muffins facing away from you and, gently tap it on the cupboard. Turn it once and tap again, tap all four sides until the muffins release from the tin.
Serving Suggestions
Muffins are a great treat to enjoy on their own for breakfast, snack or dessert. Some things to serve them with are:
- Serve for breakfast with a bowl of hot cereal or eggs
- Eat warm spread with butter or honey butter
- Frost the top with chocolate frosting or vanilla frosting
Storage
Store the cooled muffins in an airtight container at room temperature for 2-3 days, or in the refrigerator for up to a week.
Tip: Place a paper towel in the container with the muffins to soak up excess moisture and keep the muffins from going sticky.
How to Freeze
Wrap individual muffins (make sure they are cooled completely) in a few layers of plastic wrap and place in a freezer safe resealable bag or container. Freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw at room temperature or in the refrigerator.
Tips From Our Kitchen
These muffins don’t get along very well with muffin paper liners, they stick to them, unless they are cooled completely. If you want to use them we suggest greasing them.
Double the recipe if you want 12 muffins
Use bananas that are plenty ripe (more brown than yellow on the peelings).
If you bake using convection mode then reduce the baking time by a couple minutes.
If you bake in a light colored stainless steel pan increase the baking time by 2-4 minutes. See our tips post for lots more whole wheat muffins baking tips.
FAQ
There are a few reasons whole wheat muffins turn out dry. (1) You could have got too much flour in the batter. Using a kitchen scale to measure your ingredients will give you the most accurate results. (2) You may have over baked the muffins. Try reducing the baking time by 1-2 minutes.
This is usually from using old, rancid whole wheat flour. We recommend milling your own flour, or purchasing from a small milling company. Storing your flour in the refrigerator or freezer will help keep it fresh.
More Whole Wheat Quick Bread Recipes
📖 Recipe
Low Sugar Banana Muffins
Ingredients
- 1 cup (120 g) soft white wheat flour whole wheat pastry flour
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ⅛ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ⅛ teaspoon sea salt
- ½ cup (140 g) mashed overripe banana 1 large or 2 small bananas
- ¼ cup (52 g) granulated cane sugar
- ¼ cup (64 g) plain greek yogurt
- 1 large egg
- 3 tablespoons (36 g) oil avocado oil or mild olive oil
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- ⅓ cup (60 g) Chocolate chips or Chopped nuts optional
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400°F with the rack in the center or upper third position.
- In a small mixing bowl, combine 1 cup (120 g) soft white wheat flour, 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon, ½ teaspoon baking soda, ⅛ teaspoon ground nutmeg, and ⅛ teaspoon sea salt.
- In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together ½ cup (140 g) mashed overripe banana, ¼ cup (52 g) granulated cane sugar, ¼ cup (64 g) plain greek yogurt, 1 large egg, 3 tablespoons (36 g) oil , and ½ teaspoon vanilla extract.
- Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix until combined, fold in ⅓ cup (60 g) Chocolate chips or Chopped nuts , if using.
- Divide the batter evenly between 6 greased standard size muffin cups.
- Bake for 14-16 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean.
- Let cool in the pan for a couple minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool.
- Serve warm or cool completely before storing.
Notes
Nutrition
We calculate these nutritional facts using an estimate and they can vary drastically between ingredients used and measuring technique. So, they are not intended for medical use.
Esme Slabbert
Amazing, love muffins, so pinned this to try out later.
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Jessica
I made this recipe today substituting coconut sugar for cane sugar, fresh milled hard white wheat for soft white wheat. I also made them in the blender. They came out beautifully.
WholeWheatKitchen
Awesome!
Izzie
This recipe is freaking AWESOME!! All I had on hand was hard red wheat, and these still turned out super moist and fluffy! They have a great flavor and aren’t overwhelmingly sugary, so they feel right at home as a little sweet addition to a savory breakfast - especially with a little peanut butter on them! They also rose beautifully, so they look like they’re straight from a bakery with their cute little round tops. Next time I make them, I’m going to double the recipe!
WholeWheatKitchen
That’s so amazing to hear! Thank you for letting us know!