Applesauce Banana Muffins are naturally sweetened and made easy in one bowl. Moist and delicious healthy banana muffins your family will love for breakfast or snack.
Other favorite banana muffins include these almond flour banana muffins and kodiak banana muffins.
When it comes to baked goods, simplicity is key. These healthy banana muffins with applesauce, whole wheat flour and no refined sugar win every-single-time. Along with applesauce banana bread, they are our family favorite and I can guarantee they will be yours too!
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Low fat: Banana applesauce muffins do not need much oil or butter thanks to applesauce.
- Low sugar: Naturally sweetened with ripe bananas and a touch of maple syrup, these healthy muffins contain only 10 grams of sugar.
- Whole grain: Using 100% whole wheat flour or spelt flour adds both fiber and nutrients you don’t get with white flour.
- Easy recipe: Made in one bowl, with simple ingredients.
- Light and fluffy: Both adults and kids love these banana muffins with applesauce!
Reader’s Review
These are so good! I used maple syrup (not honey) and sprinkled them with chopped honey roasted pecans and a cinnamon and sugar mix before baking. They are so moist and delicious!!
Traci Marschalk
Ingredients for Applesauce Banana Muffins
- Bananas: Choose very ripe bananas that are yellow with many brown spots to brown patches. Here is a quick tutorial how to ripen bananas faster if your bananas are not quite there yet. Previously frozen bananas are OK too, just make sure to thaw them first.
- Flour: I have tested this recipe with whole wheat flour and spelt flour. You should be OK with white whole wheat flour or whole wheat pastry flour in same amount.
- Sweetener: Maple syrup, honey, agave or any other liquid sweetener works.
- Applesauce: Either sweetened or I like to use unsweetened applesauce, it adds moisture and sweetness. You can substitute it with 2% and higher fat Greek yogurt but keep in mind your banana muffins will be less sweet. Add a touch more sweetener or just make my Greek yogurt banana muffins.
- Egg: For lift and binding. You may try to replace it with a flax egg or chia egg.
- Oil: Avocado oil, olive oil, grapeseed oil works. Coconut oil is great too although it has to be melted first and then measured. A little bit of oil is necessary to avoid rubbery texture.
- Baking staples: Baking soda and baking powder for leavening, and salt for taste.
- Vanilla: Pure vanilla extract for extra flavor. You can also add 1 teaspoon of cinnamon for warmth.
How to Make Banana Applesauce Muffins
This healthy banana muffin recipe comes together in less than 30 minutes.
- Combine wet ingredients and leavening agents: In a large bowl, lightly whisk an egg. Add bananas and mash well with a potato masher. Add applesauce, maple syrup, oil, vanilla, baking powder and soda and salt, then whisk to combine or I use the same masher to “whisk”.
- Add flour and gently stir until well incorporated. Give the muffin batter a few stirs and let it sit for a few seconds. Then stir in a different direction again. Try to stir from the very bottom to avoid patches of flour in the muffins.
- Bake the muffins: Using a trigger cookie dough scoop, fill each muffin pan opening with batter almost full. Bake banana muffins for 22 minutes in preheated 375 F degrees oven.
- Cool the muffins: After baking, let banana muffins cool for about 5 minutes and then transfer to a cooling rack to cool off completely.
Tips for Best Results
- Follow the recipe: Dry to wet ingredients ratio has to be maintained. Do not use dry sweetener like brown sugar or white granulated sugar, please.
- Other flours: If you want to use all-purpose flour, I recommend 1 3/4 cups. Do not use coconut flour because all flours act differently. For gluten free versions, check out my almond flour banana muffins and oat flour banana muffins.
- Do not over mix the batter: Vigorous mixing will result in gluten development in the flour. Banana applesauce muffins will come out rubbery and tough.
- Muffin tin liners: Be sure to use parchment paper liners and not just paper liners to prevent sticking. If using no liners, be sure to spray your muffin tin well and make sure it is truly non-stick one.
- To avoid sinking in the center muffins: Measure 1 1/2 cups of mashed banana, use fresh baking powder and next time add a tad more flour, if you had collapsed centers.
Variations
You can add 1/2 cup to 1 cup of these add-ins without any other changes to the recipe.
- Nuts: Chopped or in pieces walnuts, pecans, almonds, or pistachios.
- Chocolate chips: Mini chocolate chips would go a long way and you will have to use less of them.
- Blueberries: Fresh blueberries or frozen blueberries work great. You might love my healthy blueberry banana muffins too!
- Dried fruit: Raisins or dried cranberries.
- To make mini banana muffins: Bake mini banana muffins for 15 minutes and do a toothpick test. If it comes out with muffin batter on it, bake longer, if necessary.
- Would you like a banana bread? Check out my banana bread with applesauce.
How to Store
Store: To prevent banana muffins from drying out, place in a resealable bag or airtight container and store muffins on a counter for 3 days. Afterwards if any left (never happens to us), refrigerate for another 3 days.
Freeze: Bake and cool the muffins and freeze the same day to ensure freshness. Freeze muffins for up to 3 months. To thaw just remove banana muffins from the freezer and let defrost in a bag for a few hours or overnight on a counter.
More Banana Muffin Recipes to Try
- Greek yogurt banana muffins
- Banana carrot muffins
- Healthy banana oatmeal muffins
- Banana protein muffins
- Pumpkin banana muffins
- Healthy banana chocolate chip muffins
Applesauce Banana Muffins
These Banana Muffins with Applesauce are naturally sweetened and made easy in one bowl. Moist and delicious healthy banana muffin recipe!
Equipment
Video
Ingredients
- 1 large egg
- 3 large very ripe bananas, 1 1/2 cups mashed
- 1/2 cup applesauce, sweetened or unsweetened
- 1/4 cup maple syrup, or honey
- 3 tablespoons mild oil, I use avocado oil
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 1/3 cups whole wheat or spelt flour
- Cooking spray, I use Misto
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees F and spray non-stick 12 muffin tin with cooking spray. Set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl, lightly whisk the egg. Add bananas and mash well. Add applesauce, maple syrup, oil, vanilla, baking powder and soda and salt; whisk to combine.
- Add flour and gently stir until well incorporated. Do not over mix otherwise muffins will be tough.
- Fill each opening almost full with batter (I used regular ice cream scoop) and bake for 22 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the centre comes out clean.
- Let muffins cool for about 5 minutes and then transfer to a cooling rack to cool off completely.
🎉 Last step! If you made this recipe, please leave a review and let us know what you think!
Notes
- Store: Refrigerate in an airtight container for up to 1 week.
- Freeze: In an airtight container or bag for up to 3 months. Thaw on a counter for a few hours or overnight.
Nutrition
Serving: 1muffin, Calories: 107kcal, Carbohydrates: 24g, Protein: 3g, Fat: 1g, Saturated Fat: 1g, Cholesterol: 14mg, Sodium: 179mg, Fiber: 2g, Sugar: 10g
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Did you make this recipe?Mention @ifoodreal or tag #ifoodreal!
These are soooo yummy! I will definitely make them again! I did add 1/4 cup chocolate chips
Made according to the recipe using coconut oil, maple syrup and whole wheat flour. Had about 1 3/4 cups of banana. These are so good! In my oven they cooked in about 16 minutes. I wouldn’t change a thing about this recipe. It is terrific!
Absolutely the most delicious banana muffins!
So happy to hear, Liz!!! These healthy banana muffins seem to be a reader favourite! I guess I’m so used to them. We make them almost every few weeks here. Enjoy!
I woke up one morning and thought – I have some bananas that will go off soon. So I googled ‘healthy banana muffins’ and this came up first. Luckily, I had most of the ingredients in my pantry. I switched out golden syrup for maple, white flour for wheat flour, and sunflower oil – mostly because I am in the UK so these are easier to find. This recipe was so simple. And more importantly DELICIOUS! I also did half with a sprinkling of chocolate chips on top and those are great too. Thanks for the recipe!
Great “one morning in UK” story, Amanda. 🙂 Thanks for sharing. Enjoy!
Tried this recipe — it was super easy to make. Simple ingredients from the pantry , no complex baking process , no creaming of eggs and sugar and looking out for consistency — a simple beautiful recipe so easy to put together and mighty quickly. My 15 mo old loved it ! Great way to have her eat nutrient dense food.
She is allergic to eggs but i have been asked to challenge her system by giving her small amounts of egg. This recipe does just that by having just one egg for around 25 mini muffins almost.
I used liquid jaggery instead of maple sryup and the flavour was great. Next time i will try adding more fruits, sprinkle on some nut powder etc.
Thank you so so much for the recipe! You are a life saver …
You are very welcome! Creaming eggs and sugar is for cupcakes or cakes. No way we should suffer for muffins that way. So glad your baby enjoyed them. What is “liquid jaggery”?
Its unprocessed sugar that is en-route to becoming the white table top crystalline sugar… its made by boiling sugarcane juice to high temperatures…since its unprocessed it retains all the nutrients from the base plant and is known for its iron content and a general ability to heat the body (hence widely used to make desserts in winter)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jaggery
Excellent! Made mini banana muffins using the avocado/maple syrup/WW Flour combo. Also, realized I had no eggs and just added a 4th banana to the mix (I’m bananas for bananas so…worked for me). Made about 34 mini muffins and it turned out great! Thank you. Next time I will try with the honey as I love my sweets 🙂
PS. My 1st recipe I’ve made from your site was just a couple hours ago…the “No Bake Black Beans” and waiting for it to harden in freezer. I accidentally liked my finger and literally cringed when it hit my mouth waiting for the black bean taste…and OH MY….to my pleasant surprise, the batter had no black bean taste & it tasted great! I have made about 3 variations of black bean brownies in the past (2 fails) and I can attest to the batter not having the best flavor…Seeing the batter was yummy, I am confident those will turn out great. Looking forward to sharing with the kids & hubby tonight …hmmmm or am I 🙂
Perfect! Sounds like you figured it all out. That’s what I like to see – people making my recipes work and adapt to their circumstances. You should try my other black bean brownies. Last time some of the kids called them “beautiful” LOL. Black beans are amazing for so many reasons!
I have made this recipe at least 10 times and it comes out perfect every time! I make these and put them in a large zip lock bag for our busy family to be able to grab on the way out the door for breakfast. My teenage daughter and husband love them. I made some for my brother-in-law who LOVES banana bread and he actually ate them for his dinner one night because he “could not wait until breakfast”. Thanks for sharing this quick, inexpensive and delicious recipe.
Oh wow. The best compliment I could have received. Awesome!
I would definitely make these wonderful muffins again. I used maple syrup in them rather than honey, and they avoid that overly sweet taste so many banana muffins have, yet are delicious. I also added about 1/3 cup of chopped walnuts, which I mixed in with the flour before adding it to the liquid mixture. As the batter stuck to the cupcake cups I used, I would not use the paper cups again – just grease the non-stick muffin pan well. I would also cook the muffins a tad longer than 22 minutes – probably 25 or so.
Makes total sense. Glad you liked them. And yes ovens vary.
I just made these this evening. Super simple. Came out so very nice and moist. I used coconut oil and maple syrup options. As per another comment; my muffins also stuck to the paper cups so I will be sure to place the batter directly in the tray next time. I also did not have three bananas so added a bit of peanut butter. I will definitely make again and next on my agenda is the healthy banana bread recipe which also appears to be simple. Thank you for these healthy choices.
You are very welcome, Chris! Parchment paper cups work better than paper. But I usually use silicone tin and these healthy banana muffins slide right out after cooled.
My toddler and I love these. Plenty of sweetness for us. We probably could have even halved the honey to cut the sugar content a bit more. Will make again! Thank you!
You are so welcome, Annie!!!
I have searched for a good healthy banana muffin recipe. Finally found it! Even my kids love them!