These healthy blueberry banana muffins are better than ever! They’re wonderfully wholesome and soft, and are quick and easy to make without a mixer. Every bite is filled with juicy blueberries and sweet banana flavor, and you can use nondairy milk to keep the muffins dairy free.
. These changes are reflected in the printable recipe below; see recipe Notes for old version.
When it comes to muffins, do you have a favorite flavor? There are so many different varieties out there, from egg muffins to chocolate muffins, that it’s pretty much impossible to choose. It’s part of the reason I developed this muffin recipe as a base batter for infinite flavors! But if banana muffins and blueberry muffins are both in your Top 5, let me tell you…
Big, sugary dessert-like muffins are a wonderful treat (looking at you, pumpkin crumb cake muffins!) but a healthier muffin that’s also easy to make and fabulously delicious is the type I choose on a weekly basis. Today’s recipe is a favorite kid-friendly baking recipe (easy to mix & quick to bake), and they freeze wonderfully.
On the same note, whenever a reader asks me for kid-friendly recipes that are also on the healthier end of the baked goods spectrum, I always suggest muffins. Muffins are quick, manageable, portable, acceptable for breakfast and snack time, and usually require very little clean-up.
These blueberry banana muffins fit the bill. They’re just sweet enough so kids gobble them up, but are made with better-for-you ingredients like whole wheat flour, coconut oil, and bananas.
Don’t like banana? Try these blueberry oatmeal muffins instead.
Today’s muffin batter comes together in just minutes with simple kitchen tools: a couple mixing bowls, a whisk, a spatula, and a muffin pan. (If you need a recommendation, this muffin pan and this muffin pan have both held up well with very regular use.)
Expect a thick batter. As with ALL muffin recipes, do not over-mix it! Only mix the batter until the wet and dry ingredients are *just combined* and no more flour pockets remain. Over-mixing your batter will activate the gluten in the flour and overdevelop it, deflating the air bubbles in the process. This results in a tough, hard, dense muffin—not soft and fluffy like you are aiming for.
Let’s not forget those blueberries. Add a heaping cup (more like a cup and a quarter) of fresh or frozen blueberries to the batter. If you’re using frozen blueberries, don’t let them thaw, or else you will have some muddy-purple muffins that look a bit less appealing! Fold them in gently with a spatula, so they’re evenly distributed in the batter.
I love sprinkling the tops of the muffins with a little coarse sugar before baking, a finishing touch I always add when making these healthy apple muffins, too.
I’d say these are a healthy-ish muffin. Like my flourless peanut butter oatmeal cookies, they are made with some healthier alternatives to traditional baking ingredients, but still include sugar. When it comes to labeling recipes as healthy, use the best judgment for YOU.
These are soft and moist blueberry banana muffins made with a few healthier ingredients like whole wheat flour, mashed bananas, coconut oil instead of butter, and a little honey. See Notes for freezing instructions and how to make mini muffins.
