One of the very first muffin recipes I ever attempted to make “healthy” was my banana chocolate chip muffins, and the only reason those were better than a typical muffin was because they had coconut oil and oat flour.
Although of all the chocolate pretty much negated any “healthy” points I may have earned.
My family still loves those muffins, but when I had a bunch of bananas going brown a bit quicker than I thought they would, I wanted to make something that tasted more… sophisticated. Just a smidgen more grown-up maybe?
Something that reminded me more of fall and less of chocolate and truly were healthier than a typical muffin. How about banana nut muffins with crumb topping?
I should clarify that I have nothing against chocolate whatsoever. I’ll happily indulge in a chocolate zucchini mug cake, black bean brownies or a bowl of 5 minute chocolate hummus any day of the week. Put a batch of strawberry chocolate granola on the counter and I assure you, I’ll eat the whole thing, grabbing one handful at a time when I pass by the kitchen.
But sometimes it’s nice to not have chocolate too.
Or should I say, sometimes it’s nice not to be tempted to eat a whole pan of something when you’re already indulging and bulging a little more than you should be thanks to everything pumpkin season.
Am I right?
Healthy Banana Nut Muffins
In my effort to make a grown-up banana nut muffin that still tasted like a YUMMY banana nut muffin, I started with a great basic recipe and made some changes, mostly following the rule of halves:
- Flour: Half of the all-purpose flour is swapped for whole wheat flour. More whole grain means more fiber which is good all of the time, but especially in a season of indulging.
- Butter: Half of the butter is replaced with some yogurt (here’s how to make homemade yogurt). Like chocolate, I have nothing against butter, but I’m adding butter in with the crumb topping, so it would be wise for my waistline to take some out of the batter.
- Sugar: Not half, but ALL of the processed sugar is being replaced with honey and maple syrup. It’s my goal to eat less processed sugar this year, and my 50/50 substitution trick works in almost any baking recipe. In our banana nut muffins though, we’re cutting the amount nearly in half too.
Afraid I halved the flavor too? Oh no my friends, because there are two magical words still left to discuss: crumb topping.
When you were a kid, did you ever pick the crumb topping off of a coffee cake? Guilty as charged here and I won’t even pretend I didn’t do it. I got no shame – crumb topping is the best!
The reason why crumb topping rocks so much is because it’s the trifecta of baking: flour + butter + sugar. Everything taste better with flour, butter and sugar!
In the case of our banana nut muffins, you simply combine them in a bowl, crumble them on top of the nuts and muffin batter and let the oven do its magic.
When the timer goes off, you have a perfectly moist banana nut muffin with a delicious balance of pureed banana and chunks of banana in every muffin. Meaning unlike most banana nut muffins, YOU CAN ACTUALLY TASTE THE BANANA.
You have nuts (hopefully pecans) that are slightly warm, slightly toasted and slightly crunchy that are a spot on match for the muffin underneath them.
And then you have the crumb topping, tying all of the above into a neat little package ready for you to consume.
Yes, I think the goal is achieved here. Banana nut muffins that are grown-up and sophisticated and lighter on the waistline yet still packed with flavor. Proven by the fact that both kids AND husband alike went back for seconds at breakfast and then ate the rest for a mid-morning snack.
MORE HEALTHY AND EASY MUFFIN RECIPES
- Banana chocolate chip muffins
- Pumpkin chocolate chip muffins
- Corn dog muffins
- Banana nut muffins with crumb topping
- Buttermilk Oatmeal Muffins
Banana Nut Muffins with Crumb Topping
Banana nut muffins topped with pecans and a brown sugar crumb topping. They’re easy to make, naturally sweetened and packed with banana and fall flavors.
- Prep Time: 15 mins
- Cook Time: 20 mins
- Total Time: 35 minutes
- Yield: 21–23 muffins 1x
- Category: Breakfast
- Method: Oven
- Cuisine: American
Ingredients
Muffins
- 1/2 cup whole wheat flour
- 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
- 3/4 tsp baking soda
- 3/4 tsp baking powder
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp cinnamon
- 1/8 tsp nutmeg
- 2 bananas, slightly overripe
- 1/3 cup honey + maple syrup*
- 3 Tbsp butter, melted and cooled
- 1 1/2 Tbsp Greek yogurt
- 1 egg
- 1/2 tsp vanilla
- 1/4 cup pecans, chopped
Crumb Topping
- 6 Tbsp all-purpose flour
- 2 Tbsp granulated sugar
- 2 Tbsp brown sugar
- 3 Tbsp butter, melted
- 1/8 tsp cinnamon
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350F and line a muffin tin with liners.
- In a small bowl, combine flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg, Whisk to combine. Set aside.
- In a separate small bowl, mash 1 banana with a fork until clumpy, but not pureed. Set aside.
- In a bowl of a standing mixer, combine 1/3 cup honey/maple syrup and 1 banana. (Tip: You need 1/3 cup of sweetener total, so to save on dishes, I fill a 1/3 measuring cup halfway with honey and then top it off with maple syrup.) Using the whisk attachment, turn the mixer on medium-low and set the timer for 3 minutes. The mixture should be very smooth and very well combined when the timer goes off.
- Add the melted butter, Greek yogurt, egg, and vanilla and mix well, scraping down the sides of the bowl if needed.
- Fold in the mashed banana and dry ingredients with a spatula until JUST combined.
- Divide the batter evenly between 12 muffin tins. Each muffin tin should be about halfway full with about 2 heaping Tbsp of batter each. Gently tap the muffin tin on the counter to pop any air bubbles.
- Sprinkle the pecans evenly over the muffins. Set aside.
- In either of the bowls you previously used, combine the granulated sugar, brown sugar, cinnamon, and melted butter for the crumb topping. Mix together using a fork OR the whisk from the batter.
- Using your fingers, pinch off some crumb topping and break it apart over the muffins.
- Bake the muffins for 18-20 minutes, or until a toothpick entered in the center comes out clean.
- Best served warm but keep well for a couple of days in a container with a lid.
Additional Recipe Notes
I use a muffin scoop and these silicone muffin liners because efficiency and quick clean up is a must for this busy mom. (And I’m sure you can relate!)
This recipe works great doubled or even tripled to make extras for the freezer. You can even freeze the batter before you bake if you prefer. Batch cooking and freezer cooking are my best friends in the kitchen.
More muffins!
- Gluten-free Banana Bread
- Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip
- Zucchini Bread Muffins with Apples and Carrots
So good!
Hi, I was wondering if you could use 3 bananas instead of two. Would it affect the banana muffins or would it be fine?
They’d be a bit more moist, but nothing to complain about in my book!
I am so excited for this recipe!! I love muffins but realized they’re basically cupcakes masquerading as being healthy. So I’m exited to find healthier ones that taste like banana. And banana nut with crumb topping is right up my alley. Thank you, Tiffany!!! 🙂
Planning to make them soon. Thanks for all the notes.
Do you have the nutritional info on these?
These look spectacular! I can’t wait to make them… I must ask why you do not include the metric version of the recipe?? I have switched to using a scale weigh every ingredient as opposed to measuring (which is tedious and inaccurate). I will spend time to make the conversion myself. Please include the metric version of your delicious recipes in the future… To all who bake get a $10 kitchen scale on Amazon and make the switch! You will never go back to measuring once you see how much easier and more accurate it is to use the metric version of any baking recipe!
Hi Fino! Although most of the world uses metric, we don’t here in the US so I’ve never baked that way!
This looks delicious and I am excited to add these to our morning routine! One question, the ingredients say baking soda and baking powder, but I only see baking soda in the instructions. Can you tell me if I should add both or just the baking soda? Thanks!
Sandy
You need both, Sandy. I’m sorry about that!
Great – thank you! I made them yesterday with just baking soda (and Millet flour because I was out of whole wheat) and they turned out fantastic! So much so that my husband requested that I make them for his teacher breakfast tomorrow. So it looks like I will be making them again today, this time with the baking powder 🙂 Thanks again for a fantastic recipe.
Sandy
You’re so very welcome Sandy!