Blueberry Banana Muffins
These healthy, refined sugar-free blueberry banana muffins are packed with juicy blueberries and hearty oats. These easy one-bowl muffins are perfect for snacking and breakfast on the go.
Muffins are a snacking staple in this house. They’re perfectly portable, great for lunchboxes, nutritious, and filling.
Healthy versions like these banana oatmeal chocolate chip muffins and these raspberry muffins are always a hit in the house, and disappear in no time. These moist and delicious banana blueberry muffins are the latest iteration.
Why are these the best banana blueberry oatmeal muffins?
- Tons of blueberries! As you can see in the photo above, I don’t skimp on the blueberries in these muffins. Actually, I’ve found that you can pack a lot of blueberries into a muffin before it starts to affect their structural integrity. And those juicy pockets of sweetness are just to die for.
- No refined sugar. These muffins are naturally sweetened with maple syrup and ripe bananas.
- One bowl. The batter for these muffins is quickly whipped up in one bowl for speed and easy cleanup.
- Super moist. Thanks to lots of bananas, some plain yogurt and heart-healthy olive oil, these muffins are ULTRA moist without being heavy.
Note that these muffins are definitely NOT of the ultra-sweet variety. Ripe bananas and maple syrup make them just sweet enough in my opinion, but if you’re looking for a more indulgent bakery-style muffin, I’d give these Cinnamon Roll Muffins or Cranberry Orange Muffins a try.
Making healthy banana blueberry muffins
You might be wondering what makes these muffins healthier. If you’re looking to incorporate more whole foods and less refined sugar into your diet, these simple banana blueberry oatmeal muffins are perfect.
Here some more ways in which these muffins are better for you than sugar-laden bakery muffins.
- This recipe uses olive oil, rich in healthy monosaturated fats and antioxidants, instead of butter or canola oil.
- I have also used maple syrup instead of refined sugar.
- Additionally, rolled oats, plain yogurt, and banana are all staples of a good healthy diet.
- More than that, the hero of this recipe, blueberries, are high in antioxidants, and help in lowering cholesterol levels, and blood pressure.
Ingredient Notes
Blueberries
You can use fresh or frozen blueberries for this recipe. However, if you are using frozen blueberries, do not thaw them in advance because they will break down and bleed into the batter, staining the muffins purple.
Also, a lot of recipes will have you coat the blueberries in flour before adding to the batter, to keep them from sinking to the bottom, but this isn’t necessary in this case. The batter is more than thick enough to keep the berries suspended.
Bananas
Use super ripe bananas, they yield the softest (and sweetest) muffins. Be sure to mash them thoroughly, or even purée them with an immersion blender.
Olive Oil
I use olive oil in this recipe, and I don’t find that you can taste it in the baked muffins. But if you prefer, you can easily substitute it with any other oil or melted butter.
Yogurt
I use plain yogurt in this recipe, but buttermilk or sour cream are good substitutes. If you want to make these muffins completely dairy-free, you can use coconut yogurt or any other vegan yogurt.
Step-by-step Instructions
- Take a large bowl and add your eggs, yogurt, maple syrup, olive oil, and mashed bananas. Whisk till well combined.
2. Add in your flour, oats, salt, baking powder, and baking soda to the wet batter. Stir well to combine.
3. Fold the blueberries into the batter.
4. Grease a standard 12-cup muffin tin with olive oil or cooking spray and set it aside. Add in the muffin batter to the greased tins till they are almost full.
5. Top it off with more blueberries and oats.
6. Bake the muffins for 20-23 minutes, or until the top springs back when pressed or a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
7. Let the muffins cool in the pan for 10 minutes before transferring them to a cooling rack.
Recipe Tips and Tricks
- Use super ripe bananas for the best flavor and moist muffins. Always make sure to mash your bananas well before you add them with the rest of the ingredients. I sometimes even purée them with an immersion blender
- Don’t overmix! Overmixing the batter will result in muffins that are dense and chewy rather than moist and fluffy.
- Always allow muffins to cool for a few minutes in the muffin tin before transferring to a cooling rack.
- Measure your flour properly. When measuring your flour, give it a good swirl to aerate it. The flour should then be spooned into the measuring cup and levelled with a knife. If you dip the measuring cup directly into the flour, you can end up with a lot more flour than you need (and heavy, dense muffins!).
Storage
In a sealed container, these muffins will keep for approximately a week refrigerated and about 2-3 days at room temperature.
You can also freeze them, and they will keep in the freezer for about 2 months.
Blueberry Banana Muffins
Ingredients
- 2 large eggs
- 1/4 cup plain yogurt
- 1/2 cup maple syrup
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 1 cup mashed banana from 2-3 bananas
- 1 1/2 cups all-purpose
- 1/2 cup rolled oats
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 ½ cups blueberries fresh or frozen*
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350F. In a large bowl, whisk together eggs, yogurt, maple syrup, olive oil, and mashed banana.
- Add the flour, oats, salt, baking powder, baking soda and stir to combine. The batter will be thick.
- Fold in the blueberries.
- Grease a standard-size 12 cup muffin tin with olive oil or cooking spray. Divide the batter between the muffin cups (they will be almost full). Top each muffin with extra blueberries and a sprinkle of oats if desired.
- Bake in the preheated oven for about 20-23 minutes, until the top springs back when pressed, or a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
- Cool in the pan 10 minutes and transfer to a wire rack.
Would like to make this in a 8×8 pan What would I do different
Thanks
It should be fine if you just increase the baking time – I would start checking around 35 minutes 🙂