I’m going to start this by saying that I am not an expert baker. I really don’t bake often, but I started playing around in my kitchen the other night with a bunch of brown bananas that I had, and I made these banana flax muffins that I ended up liking so much that I just had to share. Using a ton of mashed banana in the batter creates a soft, sweet, and moist muffin with very little added sugar and oil—two ingredients that are usually found in abundance in muffins.
Reasonably Delicious
These Banana Flax Muffins are not like those giant cupcake-in-disguise muffins that you find in your local cafe. They’re a bit more reasonable, with a moderate sweetness and just the right amount of moisture. So like, if the giant cafe muffins were a pair of Louboutin stilettos that you pine after, these Banana Flax Muffins would be the cute pair of leopard print flats that you actually wear on a regular basis. Fun, but still reasonable enough for daily use.
Add a Streusel Topping
Okay, if you want to make these muffins just a little more fancy, I suggest adding a streusel topping. You can find a recipe for a simple streusel topping in my Streuseled Sweet Potatoes recipe. Simply mix up the streusel and sprinkle it over top of each muffin before baking. Super easy and it adds a bit more flair.
Can I Use Whole Wheat Flour?
I’ve only tested these muffins with all-purpose flour, but generally speaking, when you replace all of the all-purpose flour in a recipe with whole wheat you get a heavier, drier, more dense end product. It’s probably possible to tweak the recipe to make it work with whole wheat flour, but that would take some testing. Just doing a straight substitution probably will not give very good results.
Looking for a great banana bread recipe? Check out my Yogurt Banana Bread!
Banana Flax Muffins
Servings 6Ingredients
- 3/4 cup mashed ripe bananas* ($0.34)
- 1 large egg ($0.25)
- 2 Tbsp brown sugar ($0.08)
- 1/2 tsp vanilla ($0.14)
- 2 Tbsp olive oil ($0.32)
- 1 cup all-purpose flour ($0.11)
- 1 tsp baking powder ($0.04)
- 1/4 tsp salt ($0.02)
- 1/4 cup ground flaxseed ($0.12)
- 1/4 cup chopped walnuts (optional) ($0.57)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 425ºF. In a medium bowl whisk together the mashed banana, egg, brown sugar, vanilla, and olive oil.
- In a separate medium bowl, stir together the flour, baking powder, salt, flaxseed, and walnuts.
- Pour the wet ingredients into the bowl of dry ingredients and stir them together just until no dry flour remains on the bottom of the bowl. Avoid over stirring the batter.
- Line six wells of a muffin tin with paper liners, then divide the batter evenly between the six wells. It should fill the wells almost to the top.
- Transfer the muffins to the oven and bake at 425ºF for five minutes, then reduce the heat setting to 350ºF without opening the oven door, and bake for an additional 20 minutes.
- After baking, remove the muffins from the tin to allow them to cool. Enjoy the muffins immediately, or allow them to cool completely and then store in an air-tight container in the refrigerator.
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Notes
Nutrition
How to Make Banana Flax Muffins – Step by Step Photos
Begin by preheating the oven to 425ºF. In a medium bowl, whisk together 3/4 cup mashed ripe banana, 1 large egg, 2 Tbsp brown sugar, 1/2 tsp vanilla extract, and 2 Tbsp olive oil.
In a separate bowl, stir together 1 cup all-purpose flour, 1 tsp baking powder, 1/4 tsp salt, 1/4 cup ground flaxseed, and 1/4 cup chopped walnuts.
Pour the wet ingredients into the bowl of the dry ingredients, and stir them together just until no dry flour remains on the bottom of the bowl.
Make sure not to over stir the muffin batter, as this can create a rubbery texture in the baked muffins and an unusual peaked shape in the muffin tops.
Line six wells of a muffin tin with paper liners, then divide the muffin batter between the six cups.
Bake the muffins at 425ºF for five minutes, then lower the temperature (without opening the oven door) to 350ºF, and bake for 20 minutes more.
Remove the banana flax muffins from the tin to allow them to cool (leaving them in the tin lets condensation collect and can create soggy bottoms.
Enjoy the banana flax muffins warm, or allow to cool completely and then store in an air-tight container in the refrigerator.
Yum!! I doubled the recipe and after reading all the comments, I made a few changes. I had so much fun with the muffins! I used half wheat flour and half almond flour. I added some cacao powder (maybe 2 tbsp) I added an extra tbsp of brown sugar because several people commented they were not very sweet, and the recipe called for 1/2 cup of walnuts; I split them and added 1/4 of dark chocolate chips. I also added 1/2 tsp of cinnamon. And because I changed up the flour, I used slightly rounded teaspoons of the baking powder to add a little extra. I thought they baked beautifully and taste great!! Oh and because of the almond flour, I sifted all the dry ingredients! They really came out nice and fluffy! I’m excited to enjoy these and know that they shouldn’t shoot my blood sugar through the roof and there are some actual health benefits to them! Thanks for another great recipe!!
These are great! Not too sweet and the walnuts add some extra texture and flavour. They also work if you add a vegan egg alternative and still rise well. I also added a grated carrot for extra moisture and flavour. Cinnamon or nutmeg would probably work well. I’ll make them again.
This is a great recipe for people looking for a muffin that is less sweet than those cakes you get at bakeries. I added a small amount of cinnamon to the dry ingredients. The perfect thing to give me some energy before snow shoveling this lazy Saturday morning. I think I will try someone else’s suggestion of smearing some peanut butter on top when I eat the leftovers.