Whole Grain Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins
If you want a fabulous healthful muffin with just the right amount of chocolate, these whole grain banana chocolate chip muffins are for you!
I woke up two Tuesdays ago and knew immediately at the onset of brain functioning that I needed to figure out a recipe for whole grain banana chocolate chip muffins.
I was unable to think about anything else.
Maybe the success of these healthy applesauce oat muffins was subconsciously driving me to figure out another stellar, healthful muffin to throw in my kids’ lunchboxes. I don’t know.
No matter the motivation, the result of several test batches is a crazy delicious banana chocolate chip muffin.
My {then} Baby Cam devoured them. Like, threw a full-on tantrum on the floor, lowering her head ever so gently to the tile before the screaming began, because I wouldn’t let her have a third, and my sweet 4-year old Ty-guy politely stepped over his flailing sister to ask me if he could have her requested muffin instead (upping his muffin intake to soaring levels).
They’ve been made several times since then and have graced lunchboxes, after-school snack sessions, sneak-out-of-the-freezer-cravings and a few playdates.
While they won’t win any awards in the looks department – kind of homely, really – maybe that’s not such a bad thing since I already mentioned that their plain counterparts have pretty much rocked our world.
If you are looking for an indulgent, sweet, fluffy fluffiness of a muffin, you probably ought to not make these. They are soft and moist but the presence of whole wheat flour is alive and strong and these definitely fall into the “muffin” category, not the “cupcake-posing-as-a-muffin” category.
Otherwise, if you want a fabulous healthful muffin with just the right amount of chocolate to help the world go round, then by all means make them. Hope you love them as much as we do!
One Year Ago: Pumpkin Cheesecake Crumble Bars
Two Years Ago: Classic Macaroni and Cheese
Three Years Ago: Decadent Chocolate Cheesecake
Whole Grain Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins
Ingredients
- 2 medium (about 226 g) bananas, peeled and mashed
- ⅓ cup (71 g) packed light brown sugar, optional, see note
- ½ cup plain yogurt
- 1 large egg
- ½ cup (113 g) unsweetened applesauce
- 1 ½ cups (213 g) whole wheat flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ⅓ to ½ cup (38 to 57 g) mini chocolate chips
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Lightly grease a 12-cup muffin tin or line with cupcake liners (lightly grease the muffin liners if using).
- In a large bowl, whisk together the bananas, sugar, yogurt, egg, and applesauce.
- In a small bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and chocolate chips.
- Fold the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients and stir just until combined. Don’t overmix.
- Spoon the batter evenly into the muffin cups. Bake for 16-18 minutes until a toothpick inserted in the center of a muffin comes out clean.
- Remove the muffins from the tin and let them cool completely on a wire rack.
Notes
Recommended Products
Recipe Source: Mel’s Kitchen Cafe
Hello, could I use almond flour or oat flour instead of the whole wheat flour? Thanks so much!
I haven’t tried that but you could definitely experiment!
I love these muffins They are just what a muffin should be. This time I made because I needed to use up some overripe bananas and some yogurt that was almost gone. But alas, I was out of applesauce (and apples)! So I subbed in melted butter. Oh boy, were they yummy! Thanks for another perfect recipe!
These were amazing!! I may or may not have eaten like 5 for lunch when we made them haha! Our bananas were really ripe and so we didn’t use any sugar and they were delicious!
Just wanted to share! I made these today & didn’t have yogurt, so I subbed the same amount of reduced fat sour cream. It worked great! Also, didn’t have super big bananas so I added a quarter of an avocado (these are mostly for my toddler- so she can use the extra fats!). Lastly added a tablespoon of milled flax seed. The toddler, & her parents, love them!
Awesome! Thanks for detailing your changes!
It’s the bomb.
Simple, delicious, healthy – Perfect! Love this recipe. Thank you for posting this wonderful recipe. Anytime I can make a snack/dessert with no fat and little sugar, it is a win-win for me. I usually make this with mini-chocolate chips. Also, if I use fairly watery store bought applesauce, then I add a little more flour (a tablespoon or two) to thicken the batter a bit. Discovered this when I went to make these and did not have any applesauce on hand, Made some applesauce, then made the muffins which rose more than usual. Apparently my homemade applesauce was thicker than the store bought I had been using.
If I could stuff these into my own Christmas stocking, I would. They turned out amazing…moist, light and sweet. A couple of things that helped me:
-I used thawed bananas that had been frozen, so the bananas were very ripe and almost liquid-y when thawed
-doubled the recipe—turned out perfect
-used half the brown sugar it called for
-instead of yogurt, I used homemade buttermilk (1 cup milk plus 1 tbsp of white vinegar)
Thank you Mel and merry Christmas to all!
I would like to re-rate this recipe and give it a five stars. Reason being:-
1) the more I eat these muffins, the more I like it.
2) it still tastes very good for a week.
This muffin has got a simple taste. Therefore, based on my own preferance, adding the chocolate chips is a must. Its worth taking the time to bake these muffins as they’re really healthy.
Had to make these twice this weekend because they were such a hit! Didn’t add brown sugar at all and they tasted amazing!!
Hi Mel!
I pretty much live off of your recipes and funny comments! Thank you so much for changing my life. I’ve recently been watching a show called cutthroat kitchen. I decided that you would rock that show. You should really consider applying to be on the show. 🙂
http://www.foodnetwork.com/shows/articles/get-cast-how-to-be-on-food-network.html
Haha, you are too sweet! I think I’d be scared to death to do that…
I’d love weight measures on this one. I’m always terrible at figuring out what “average sized” is, and I think my measurements may be way off because of it!
I hate yogurt so I only buy the Cho bani tubes for my kids. Can I sub something else for the yogurt so I don’t have to buy it just for this?
You could try sour cream or buttermilk.
My boys and I loved these! They were so fluffy and moist. Definitely my go-to when I have bananas that need to be used up.
I completely forgot the egg when making these (I’m a pretty unfocused baker sometimes) but they turned out amazing and actually a little fluffier than the ones in the photo. This will definetly be a go to recipe for a long time! Thanks for sharing!
These were gross. I followed your recipe and did not over-mix the batter. They are very dry and hard, my two year old did not enjoy them. He likes your applesauce oat muffin recipe. I think I will stick to that one.