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These banana protein muffins are soft and fluffy, and full of gooey chocolate chips. They are made in one bowl and ready in 25 minutes or less, and are packed with protein for the perfect healthy breakfast or snack!
Muffins are such a great snack to pack for lunches or grab and go for breakfast. I love making my one bowl banana bread recipe into muffins, but sometimes I crave something a little healthier. Enter these banana protein muffins!
These muffins are undetectably healthy and refined sugar free. They’re also packed with protein from both protein powder and whole wheat flour, with the option to add even more protein by adding hemp seeds! They can be made with regular whey protein or your dairy free protein of choice!
Why These Are The Best Banana Protein Muffins
- They are so yummy but you’d truly never even know that they are made using all healthy ingredients and no refined sugar!
- These muffins can be made with any kind of vanilla protein powder (I use this vegan protein powder)
- These banana protein muffins take 25 minutes from start to finish and are freezer-friendly, so they’re perfect for meal prep!
- This recipe can easily be made vegan or gluten free (substitutions can be found further down in the post)
- This recipe can be made with or without a mixer!
Ingredients Needed
- Bananas: the bananas for this recipe should be overripe (with black spots on them). I usually use overripe bananas from the freezer - be sure to let them thaw and come to room temperature before baking.
- Egg: to make it vegan, you can use a flax egg.
- Protein Powder: you can use any neutral flavored or vanilla flavored protein powder that you like (whey protein or vegan protein works fine). I use this vegan protein powder.
- Whole Wheat Flour: This recipe uses whole wheat flour, but you can also use all purpose flour. To make the gluten free banana protein muffins, you can use 1-1 gluten free all purpose flour or oat flour. Notes for substituting oat flour are in the recipe card at the bottom of this post.
- Applesauce: Be sure to use the unsweetened kind! Melted butter (regular or vegan) or melted coconut oil will also work.
- Maple Syrup: you can also substitute with an equal amount of honey.
Step By Step Instructions
Note: Full ingredient measurements and instructions can be found in the recipe card at the bottom of this page.
Step One: Preheat the oven to 350°F. Lightly spray a muffin tin with cooking spray or fill with muffin liners.
Step Two: Add mashed bananas to a large bowl. Whisk in the vanilla, maple syrup, and applesauce, then mix in the egg.
Step Three: Pour in the protein powder, whole wheat flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and hemp seeds (if using) and mix until just combined (don’t over-mix). The batter will be thick.
Step Four: Stir in the chocolate chips or chopped chocolate, then fill the muffin tins ⅔ of the way full. Bake for 12-15 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle of the muffins comes out clean. Let cool in the muffin tins for 5-10 minutes then transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely.
FAQs and Expert Tips
If you want to make these muffins vegan, use a vegan protein powder and simply swap out the egg for one flax egg (1 tablespoon ground flaxseed + 2 ½ tablespoons of warm water. Let sit for 10 minutes or until the texture is gel-like).
Yes! To make the muffins gluten free, you can swap the whole wheat flour with gluten free 1-1 baking flour or use gluten free oat flour. If using oat flour, be sure to substitute by weight, not by volume.
Absolutely! Grease and line an 8x4 loaf pan with parchment paper, then bake at 350°F until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. It should be ready in around 30-40 minutes, but start checking it early to make sure it doesn’t get overbaked.
The number will vary depending on the protein powder you use, but using vegan protein, the amount comes out to 6 grams of protein per muffin.
Absolutely! For more protein and healthy fat, feel free to add chopped up nuts, pumpkin seeds, chia seeds, or even dried cranberries or raisins to the muffins.
Expert Tips
Properly measure your flour - Too much flour will lead to dry protein muffins, and no one wants that! I strongly recommend weighing both ingredients with a kitchen scale or using the scoop and level method.
Mash the bananas until smooth - the smoother your bananas are mashed, the smoother the muffin batter will be - otherwise you can end up with chunks of banana in the muffins. Also make sure to measure the bananas after they are mashed.
Don't over-mix - Never over-mix your muffin batter as this can affect their light and fluffy texture!
Sprinkle more chocolate chips or chopped chocolate on top of each muffin before baking - because more chocolate is never a bad thing!
Freeze the muffins after baking to keep them fresh - I always, always do this, because the muffins taste so fresh every time! Once the muffins are completely cooled, I like to freeze them in a ziploc bag and then each morning when I want one, I take one out of the freezer and either let it thaw at room temperature or microwave it for 15-25 seconds. Microwaving the muffins gives you that warm, freshly baked muffin experience every time!
Storage and Freezing Instructions
The banana protein muffins can be stored in an airtight container or ziploc bag for up to 3 days, but for the ultimate freshness, I recommend freezing them. Freezing the muffins right away seals in their freshness, and then you can take out individual muffins the night before or the day that you’d like to eat them.
More Muffin Recipes You'll Love
If you make this recipe, let me know how it went in the comments below, I’d love to hear from you! You can also tag me on Instagram or Facebook so I can check it out!
Banana Protein Muffins
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 cup ripe mashed bananas SEE NOTES
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ¼ cup maple syrup (or honey)
- 5 Tablespoons unsweetened applesauce
- 1 egg
- 1 cup whole wheat flour, white whole wheat flour, all purpose flour, or gluten free 1-1 baking flour SEE NOTES
- ½ cup vanilla protein powder of choice (I use vegan vanilla protein powder)
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ⅓ cup chopped semisweet chocolate or semisweet chocolate chips (optional)
- 1 Tablespoon hemp seeds (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Lightly spray a muffin tin with cooking spray or fill with muffin liners.
- In a large bowl, add mashed bananas. Whisk in the vanilla, maple syrup, and applesauce, then mix in the egg.
- Pour in the protein powder, whole wheat flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt and mix until just combined (don’t over-mix). The batter will be thick. Stir in the chocolate chips or chopped chocolate and hemp seeds (if using).
- Fill the muffin tins ⅔ of the way full, and sprinkle more chocolate chips on top if desired. Bake for 11-15 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle of the muffins comes out clean.
- Let cool in the muffin tins for 5-10 minutes then transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
The calorie information provided for this recipe is an estimate. The accuracy of the calories listed is not guaranteed.
Tiffanie
I made these to east for my breakfast this week with my eggs and they are SO good!! They satisfy my sweet tooth and I love all the healthy ingredients in them. Super easy to make, all of my kids are jealous that I won’t share… I have a dairy allergy so not sharing this time haha. I’ll double the batch next time. Also, these are just as good reheated.
Gabby
Hi Tiffanie! Yay I am so happy to hear that you loved the muffins! Thanks so much for the review 😀
Jo
Agree with others’ comments. It’s easy to make. I made a batch with coconut oil substitute. It turned out great! Thank you for the recipe and thanks to those who leave their comments!
Gabby
Hi Jo! I am so happy to hear that you loved the muffins! Thanks so much for taking the time to leave a review 🙂
Linda
So easy to make...and deliciou!
Gabby
Hi Linda! Yay! I'm so happy to hear that you loved the muffins! 🙂
Morgan
The perfect snack!! I made these with a couple substitutions and they turned out perfectly. In lieu of applesauce I used coconut oil and opted for half vanilla and half chocolate (with greens) protein powder. These muffins are delicious and huge bonus points for how easy they are to make! I love to bake but hate cleaning my kitchen afterwards. Few dishes were used and I was able to clean my entire kitchen and wash the dishes before the muffins came out of the oven - winning!!!! Will 100% be making these regularly!
Gabby
Hi Morgan! I'm so happy to hear that you loved the recipe and found it easy to make, and I'm glad the substitutions worked out! Chocolate protein powder sounds delicious too 🙂 Thanks so much for taking the time to come back and leave a review!
Lorna
These are fantastic! I made a batch with a flax egg for my vegan daughter and another batch regular and both were delicious. Satisfied my sweet tooth too.
Gabby
Hi Lorna! So happy to hear that you both loved the muffins! Thanks for the review 🙂