Whole Wheat Banana Nut Muffins

Delicious and Healthy Recipe for Breakfast Muffins

Muffins are a quick and easy breakfast food, but homemade muffins are even better. This recipe for banana nut muffins is healthy, moist, dairy-free, and most importantly easy to make. Banana nut muffins are a great way to use up ripened bananas to avoid putting them in the trash. It’s a great way to escape from the routine of banana bread or smoothies.

These banana muffins use healthier ingredients compared to conventional muffin recipes, while still delivering a quality indulgence. Whole chunks of banana and crunch from the nuts add texture that will delight. 

Below, I explain the functionality and purpose of each ingredient used in this recipe as well as any variations you can try. Learn basic food science skills while you bake a healthy recipe and reduce your food waste. 

Tip: You can save the banana peels and soak them in water for a few days to give to house plants or just compost them. 

Recipe Makes 12 Muffins

Equipment:

• Standing mixer – Hand mixer or mixing by hand will also work
• Muffin trays
• Wooden spoon or rubber spatula
• Ice cream scoop (optional)

Ingredient Highlights

• Whole Wheat Flour
  • Less Refined that All-purpose flour
  • More nutrition in whole wheat flour including fiber, protein, iron, 
  • Provides earthy flavor
  • Whole wheat flour has a shorter shelf life than all-purpose flour, you can make this recipe over and over again!
• Brown Sugar
  • Dark Brown Sugar vs Light Brown Sugar
    • Dependent on the content of molasses in the sugar
    • Dark Brown sugar has more molasses while light brown sugar has less
    • Molasses is the syrup made as a by-product of sugar extraction
  • Not as refined as granulated sugar, and contains trace minerals
  • Don’t recommend as a source for nutrition because we should limit our refined sugar intake
• Bananas
  • Bananas are high in sugar, and have high glycemic load
  • Bananas add sweetness without adding refined sugar 
  • Green bananas have more fiber in them than regular bananas
  • Ripened bananas (older bananas) are best for cooking as they release the most water and have higher sugar content
• Eggs
  • Eggs serve three purposes
    • Leavening
    • Emulsifying
    • Texture
  • Can use a vegan alternative such as aquafaba (also known as chickpea broth) or flax-meal, but disclaimer we haven’t tested the recipes. 
• Walnuts
  • Add texture as well as protein
  • Whole walnuts can be expensive, buy them in “pieces” from stores like Trader Joe’s or Imperfect Foods. This saves on your cost, and prevents food waste
  • If you have whole nuts of any variety, chop them up into bite-size pieces
  • Variations
    • Can also use pecans or Brazilian nuts
    • If you have a nut allergen, you can remove this ingredient without consequence
    • If you’re a fan of chocolate chips, you can sub 1:1 with chocolate chips to make banana chocolate chip muffins
• Vegetable oil
  • In the US, vegetable oil is very sustainable due to its small food miles footprint
  • Most times made from corn or soybean oil
  • Grown domestically and processed domestically
  • Avocado oils and coconut oils have much larger carbon footprints and coconut can impart a coconut flavor to the finished product.
  • These oils are also very expensive
  • You can sub for olive oil but it may impart some flavor 
  • Soybean oil and corn oil both have very neutral flavors. 

Procedure:

1. Pre-heat oven to 375ºF
2. Spray muffin tray with a non-stick spray like PAM® 
3. Take two bananas from the set and place them in a standing mixer with the paddle attachment
4. Mix on low speed until mashed
5. Cream together bananas and brown sugar until smooth and homogenous (about 2 minutes)
6. Add eggs one at a time while the mixer is going
7. Then add vegetable oil slowly while mixing.
8. In a separate bowl, mix dry ingredients including whole wheat flour, salt, baking soda, and cinnamon
9. Blend or Whisk dry ingredients together until homogenous
10. Combine dry ingredients 1 cup at a time while blending, adding when fully incorporated
11. Add Vanilla extract, mix, and turn off the mixer
12. In a separate bowl, mash bananas with a fork and add walnut pieces
13. Fold in the mashed bananas and walnuts into the mixture with a rubber spatula
14. Then with ice cream scoop, scoop into pre-sprayed muffin tins
    1. Tip – using cooking spray means you don’t need a muffin liner

15. Bake at 375ºF for 12-16 minutes, or until it comes out clean with a fork or toothpick
16. Enjoy!

Leave a comment below if you like this recipe, or if you made it, share it on instagram and @madetosustain. Enjoy!