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.
See how we calculate recipe costs here.
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.
I love making a double batch of these on Sundays for weekday breakfasts. I used half white, half whole wheat flour, and add a sprinkle of cinnamon. I also used whole flax seeds because I like the crunch. A great way to use up some frozen bananas.
These were amazing, tasted like a legit bakery muffin. I chopped my walnuts into tiny pieces and toasted them in a hot skillet. The batter seemed REALLY dry and I was worried I messed something up, but they came out perfect! I did top with the streusel per the recommendation in the intro.
These were okay, but they came out a bit dry. I feel like more banana and/or more olive oil would have helped.
So I made these on a whim because I have a TON of ground flaxseed in my pantry, some super ripe bananas, and we are all stuck inside for quarantine on this super rainy day. Oh my gosh Beth! Such a super easy recipe and it’s the perfect amount of sweetness. I subbed a flax egg for the egg (since eggs are hard to come by at the moment) and it worked great! I love your blog, it’s been a source of many MANY successful cooking adventures in my kitchen. Thank you thank you!
These were so easy so make and besides being delicious, there were just enough for a couple of days for my husband and me! I made them just like the recipe called for! Perfect! Now, I’ll try some variations from the comments to change them up a bit! Thank you SO much!
I measured the banana and used a large egg but batter came out very dry and i had to add 1/4 cup buttermilk, by that time batter was overmixed. Made the streusel topping which was good but recipe on the other page made too much for the 6 muffins.
SO GOOD! I’ve made these 4 times now. They’re a big hit with the husband too who was, at first, very skeptical about flax and anything healthy-sounding. Perfect for someone who is a novice baker. I can’t recommend this recipe enough!
Glad to hear it Millie! Now I need to try them on my anti-flax crew :P
So yummy! I swapped out the walnuts for semi-sweet chocolate chips and they’re delicious! I love all your recipes!
I substituted whole wheat flour for the all purpose flour, I used 3/4 whole wheat flour, added 1 tbsp milk and 1 tbsp orange juice. They turned out great! Not dry at all.
I meant to say 3/4 cup whole wheat flour
Oh also I subbed in melted coconut oil instead of olive oil
Amazing! So easy and delicious, I added frozen wild blueberries to mine and it was wonderful
You’ve already got two vegan egg baking replacements (mashed banana and ground flax) in these, so I wonder if they’d work without the egg? I’ll have to give it a try and report back!
Hi Teresa – any reports on how it went without the egg?
SO GOOD! My batter came out a bit dry, so I added another small splash of olive oil and (what was supposed to be small) splash of almond milk. These muffins are just so good! Not too sweet, but sweet enough where I actually want to eat them.
Since I was diagnosed with cancer, I am trying to eat healthier and one of the things I have been doing is adding flaxseed to my diet. I was so excited when I found this recipe. These hit the spot! My husband and my kids love them …win-win! And I have been using up all my frozen ripe bananas. These are awesome. The only change I made was to put a little lemon zest in them and I may try them with whole wheat flour next time. So many of your recipes are put in my repeat list. Keep up the good work, I really appreciate your blog.
I made these today for grab-and-go breakfasts. I doubled the recipe and was not disappointed. I rly love that your site calculates adjustments for you. This was amazing, like all of your recipes. Thank you!
PS—I used nonstick spray instead of paper cups and they were just perfect.