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.
I originally published this recipe in 2013 and have since added new photos and made a few small updates to the recipe, so the muffins are more moist and flavorful. 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…
Why You’ll Love These Healthy Blueberry Banana Muffins
- Quick and easy—no mixer required
- Wholesome and satisfying
- A kid-friendly baking recipe
- Packed with plump, juicy blueberries
- A glorious combination of banana muffins and blueberry muffins
- Dairy-free recipe if using nondairy milk
- Nut-free recipe, so perfectly acceptable for school lunchboxes!
One reader, Nicki, commented: “These yummy muffins are excellent! They are not too sweet, full of flavor, and soft and moist… just perfect! ★★★★★“
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.
Key Ingredients You Need & Why:
- Flour: I suggest using white-whole wheat flour or a combination of all-purpose and whole wheat flour (I usually use a cup of each). If you use ALL whole wheat flour, expect a denser texture.
- Mashed Banana: Banana naturally sweetens the muffins. Just like when you’re making banana bread, it’s best to use super brown, speckled bananas—the riper, the better. You can use frozen and thawed bananas, too. See How to Freeze & Thaw Bananas for Baking for some tips.
- Brown Sugar: The taste and texture benefits from a little brown sugar. If you want to skip all refined sugars, you can substitute coconut sugar.
- Honey or Pure Maple Syrup: Honey or maple syrup finishes up the job of sweetening these muffins, and adds some moisture as well.
- Coconut Oil: Instead of butter or vegetable oil, use melted coconut oil. You can always rely on oil to keep your baked goods moist, especially when they’re made with drying ingredients like whole wheat flour.
- Egg: The egg acts as a binder for the ingredients, and also helps keep the muffins soft.
- Milk: You can use any kind of milk, dairy or nondairy, you have on hand. I usually use almond or oat milk to make these muffins.
- Blueberries: Can’t have blueberry banana muffins without blueberries! You can use either fresh or frozen berries here. If using frozen, do not thaw.
You also need these baking basics: baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, salt, and vanilla extract.
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.
3 Helpful Tips
- Expect a semi-thick batter. Thick batter helps ensure the muffins lift UP rather than spread OUT.
- Add an optional coarse sugar topping. You can use coconut sugar, something like Sugar in the Raw, or sparkling coarse sugar (usually sold as sprinkles). Or don’t add anything at all, the muffins are plenty delicious without a topping!
- Bake at an initially high oven temperature. Bake the muffins for 5 minutes in a very hot oven. Then, keeping the muffins in the oven, lower the oven temperature. This initial high oven temperature quickly lifts up the muffin top. Once the temperature is lowered, the centers of the muffins bake. I do this in all my muffin recipes.
Are These Blueberry Banana Muffins Healthy?
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.
I Have Plenty of Healthier Muffin Recipes:
- Peanut Butter Banana Muffins
- Morning Glory Muffins
- Whole Wheat Banana Walnut Muffins
- Applesauce Muffins
- Chocolate Banana Muffins
- Blueberry Almond Power Muffins (GF)
- Healthy Bran Muffins
Healthy Blueberry Banana Muffins
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 22 minutes
- Total Time: 45 minutes
- Yield: 12 muffins
- Category: Muffins
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Description
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.
Ingredients
- 2 cups (250g) all-purpose flour or whole wheat flour, or a mix of both (spooned & leveled)
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup (230g) mashed banana (about 3 medium or 2 large ripe bananas)
- 1/2 cup (100g) packed light or dark brown sugar (or coconut sugar)
- 1/4 cup (85g) honey or pure maple syrup
- 1/4 cup (56g) coconut oil, melted (or vegetable oil/avocado oil)
- 1 large egg, at room temperature
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 2/3 cup (160ml) milk (dairy or nondairy), at room temperature
- 1 and 1/4 cups (175g) fresh or frozen blueberries (do not thaw)
- optional: 1 Tablespoon coarse sugar for sprinkling on top
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425°F (218°C). Spray a 12-count muffin pan with nonstick spray or line with cupcake liners. (If you need a recommendation, this muffin pan and this muffin pan have both held up well with very regular use.) Set aside.
- In a large bowl, whisk the flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt together. Set aside.
- In a medium bowl, mash the bananas with a fork. Once mashed, whisk in the brown sugar, honey/maple syrup, coconut oil, egg, vanilla, and milk until combined.
- Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and whisk until everything is just combined. Fold in the blueberries. Expect a semi-thick batter. Spoon the batter evenly into the muffin cups, filling them all the way to the top.
- Bake for 5 minutes at 425°F (218°C); then, keeping the muffins in the oven, reduce heat to 350°F (177°C) and continue baking for another 15–18 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. The total time these muffins take in the oven is about 20–23 minutes, give or take. (For mini or jumbo muffins, see Notes for baking instructions.)
- Allow the muffins to cool for 5 minutes in the muffin pan, and then transfer to a wire rack to continue cooling.
- Muffins stay fresh covered at room temperature for a few days, or in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.
Notes
- Freezing Instructions: For longer storage, freeze the muffins in a freezer-friendly container or bag for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator, then warm up in the microwave if desired.
- Special Tools (affiliate links): 12-count Muffin Pan (like this one or this one) | Cupcake Liners | Glass Mixing Bowls | Whisk | Silicone Spatula | Cooling Rack
- Why the initial high oven temperature? Like I recommend for most muffin recipes, bake the muffins for 5 minutes at a very hot temperature. Then, keeping the muffins in the oven, switch to a lower temperature for the remaining bake time. This initial high temperature will quickly lift the muffin tops so they’re extra high, then the centers will bake during the lower temperature bake time. This trick makes beautiful bakery-style muffins every time.
- Milk: You can use any milk, dairy or nondairy.
- For a jumbo muffin pan: 425°F for 5 minutes, then reduce to 350°F for 22–25 minutes for a total of 27–30 minutes. Makes about 6. For mini muffins: 350°F (whole time) for 12–14 minutes. Makes about 36–40.
- Loaf Pan: I haven’t personally tested it this recipe as a loaf, but the volume of batter is enough for a 9×5-inch loaf pan. I’m unsure of the best bake time, but you can follow this zucchini bread recipe as a guide.
- Updated in 2023: I made a couple small updates to the recipe, so the muffins are more moist and flavorful. To make the old version, leave out the baking powder, vanilla, and coconut oil. Add 1/4 cup (60g) Greek yogurt and another 1/2 cup (about 63g) of flour.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 muffin
- Calories: 195
- Sugar: 17.7 g
- Sodium: 171.4 mg
- Fat: 5.7 g
- Carbohydrates: 35.3 g
- Protein: 3.6 g
- Cholesterol: 15.5 mg
Reader Comments and Reviews
Can you substitute strawberries for blueberries in this muffin?
Hi Diane, absolutely! You can use the same amount of chopped strawberries.
Love this recipe – translates beautifully into gluten and dairy free! (No yogurt or butter really makes it easy.) I subbed a 1:1 gluten free baking flour and used oat milk and they came out perfect. I did increase the cinnamon a bit as I personally dislike the taste of gluten free flour and wanted to mask it more. Next time might opt for frozen wild blueberries as they tend to be sweeter than the fresh ones in my area.
Can one use honey or maple syrup or dates in place of the granulated sugar?
Hi Maryann, I’m sure you could replace the brown sugar with coconut sugar, but I haven’t tested it with maple syrup or dates. There is already maple syrup (or honey) in the batter, so adding more may throw off the texture. Let me know if you test anything!
It was great! Got nervous when the muffin tops hadn’t rised after a while but they came out perfectly; used a slightly smaller muffin mold so I got 15 out of recipe. Worked well when adding raspberries too. Just trust the process!
I added melted butter instead of oil but they came out good
I’m “one of those people” who does not like muffins! What?! But these? A different muffin planet! I only made them for my grandchildren but guess who loved them most? Me. Will make them on repeat. No substitutions. All whole wheat, dairy, maple syrup, coconut oil.
These turned out SO WELL. I made 24 mini muffins and 3 regular sized muffins (the regular sized ones are so big and fluffy!!!). I put the regular muffins in first at 425, then added the minis in when I turned it down I took both pans out after 17 minutes at that temp (opening once to check).
I used half all-purpose and half whole wheat flour. I had 1.25 cups mashed banana, so omitted the maple syrup/honey, and they are plenty sweet and moist. I only had about 1/3 cup frozen small blueberries (whoops), so added in raisins until I reached a scant cup total of add-ins. The flavor reminds me of bran muffins – must be the raisins! I don’t like to substitute but I took a chance, and these are delicious. (Also my egg and milk were straight from the fridge.)
This is my family’s favorite blueberry muffin recipe! It’s such a great way to use bananas. I skip the honey and sugar on top and we find it perfectly sweetened. Thank you for another great recipe!!
This is probably my fifth “keeper” recipe of Sally’s, and as with the others, I had success on my first try. Only thing I did differently was use canola oil (don’t keep any coconut on hand). I went for the maple syrup option and used 2 medium sized bananas. Baking time was increased by a couple of minutes, but the result is the epitome of moistness with just the right amount of sweetness. If this is the healthy option, you really don’t need to “indulge” with others!
So good! Thank you for this
Can I make this into a loaf? My banana (yours ) uses brown sugar but the muffins don’t. I’m trying to make blueberry banana bread.
Hi Kerry, we’re sure it could be. We haven’t tested it, but the volume of batter would be enough for a 9×5 inch loaf pan. We’re unsure of the best bake time, but you can follow this zucchini bread recipe as a guide.
This recipe is definitely a keeper.
I used half each all purpose and wheat flour, olive oil and half each honey and real maple syrup. So moist and tasty.
I liked it, but I would add more cinnamon the next time i make it; used an extra banana as an egg substitute and it worked great
Can you use gluten free flour for this recipe?
Hi Laura, we haven’t tested this recipe with gluten free flours, but some readers have reported success using 1:1 flour substitutes (like Cup4Cup). If you try it, let us know how it goes!
Yes, this can be made gluten free. I use King Arthurs Measure for Measure 113 g per cup ( 227g ) for 2 C. If you use Bobs Red Mill ( AND you choose to bake by wt) look up the wt . If not, baking by wt, just follow Sallys team directions for measuring flour That is important, . I am not a member of Sallys team. But I have had very good success using the swap for King Arthurs Measure for Measure. No other changes needed.
Okay so I usually don’t leave comments but I have to this time! First of all, I’m not a regular baker but I saw two bananas in my kitchen going bad and found this recipe. They turned out to be sooooo good and ultra moist. I added half a cup of cocoa powder as well and followed the exact same recipe. Thank you, Sally!!!!
Not sweet enough for me and I didn’t like the texture.
This is so delicious. I made it just as written with honey, avocado oil, and almond milk. I added the streusel topping from your peach streusel muffins. So yummy! Thanks for another great recipe!
It was most delicious!!!! Thank you so much!!
This recipe is sooo good! I used frozen blueberries and had to bake them 5 minutes past the 18 at 350. But they turned out perfect!
Hello! I am currently working with an allergist and searching for recipes that use at least 2 eggs per batch. I love the muffins on this website, but it seems most only call for one egg. Would this (and other muffin recipes on this site) be ruined if I used 2 eggs instead of 1 but kept all other ingredients the same? Any recommendation would be much appreciated!
Hi Jenny, Our master muffin recipe uses 2 eggs and you can make many different flavors using it. We don’t recommend using two eggs in any recipe that only calls for one without modifying the rest of the recipe. Hope this helps!