These peanut butter banana muffins taste like a treat, but they’re made with whole wheat flour, Greek yogurt, and naturally sweet honey and bananas. Adding mini chocolate chips and drizzling with melted peanut butter is optional, but definitely recommended!
I originally published this recipe in 2013 and have since added new photos, a video tutorial, and more helpful success tips. I also made a few small changes to the recipe, which are reflected in the printable recipe below.
I’m bringing back a favorite! Hard to believe these muffins have been a repeated staple in my kitchen for so long. I now exclude the added brown sugar and sweeten them exclusively with honey, which improves the taste and means there isn’t any added refined sugar. Except for those chocolate chips… a necessity! 😉
One reader, Sam, commented: “These muffins were DELICIOUS and SO EASY to make! I had all the ingredients already in my kitchen! They were so warm and best eaten right when you take them out of the oven! I melted peanut butter with some honey for added sweetness to add on top of the muffins! Everyone in my house loved them. ★★★★★“
Why You’ll Love These Healthier Peanut Butter Banana Muffins
- Made from basic ingredients
- Super moist with loads of peanut butter flavor
- Quick and easy, just like regular banana muffins
- Nutritional boost from whole wheat flour and Greek yogurt
- Naturally sweetened with bananas and honey
- Like banana bread, they’re a delicious way to use up your spotty bananas
Ingredients You Need & Why
- Bananas: Bananas naturally sweeten the muffins. Make sure you’re using super-brown-speckled bananas—the riper, the better. Same goes for regular banana muffins. You can use thawed frozen bananas in this recipe—read about how to freeze and thaw bananas for baking.
- Honey: I love honey and peanut butter together, and try to combine the two as often as possible. Feel free to swap maple syrup or agave in its place. Using liquid sweetener, as opposed to dry like granulated or brown sugar, also keeps the muffins extra moist and tender. And if you have any leftover, make a batch of homemade honey butter to enjoy with your muffins!
- Greek yogurt: I love to add protein-packed Greek yogurt to muffin recipes because it gives them a soft interior without all the fat from butter.
- Coconut Oil: Just a smidge! The muffins taste a little rubbery without *some* oil.
- Egg: An egg helps to bind the ingredients together. (Plus adds a little more protein!)
- Almond milk: Or any type of milk, dairy or nondairy, you prefer.
- Creamy peanut butter: You can use natural (with the oil stirred in) or processed peanut butter in these muffins, but stick to the smooth creamy kind. Crunchy peanut butter makes for crumbly baked goods.
- Cinnamon, vanilla extract, salt, baking powder, & baking soda: Flavor and rising essentials.
- Whole wheat flour: I like to use whole wheat flour when I can, particularly when I make healthier versions of my favorite treats, like this whole wheat banana bread. These muffins can also be made with all-purpose flour, or a mix of both. I usually make them with a mix of both, as pictured.
- Chocolate chips: Optional, but recommended! Grab a bag to make these muffins and then make a batch of Nutella swirl peanut butter banana bread to use up the rest.
Using Whole Wheat Flour Instead of All-Purpose
Whole wheat flour has a big nutritional advantage over refined white flour—it’s richer in protein, fiber, and minerals. It’s also heavier and heartier than white flour, so it works especially well in muffin recipes, which naturally have a denser texture than cake—take these morning glory muffins, bran muffins, or these applesauce muffins, for example.
Whole wheat flour absorbs a lot of liquid, so it can dry out your baked goods. But in this recipe we’re canceling that out with the super moist content of the mashed banana.
How to Mash Bananas
I started doing this a while ago and it’s been a total game changer whenever I make banana muffins, breakfast cookies, banana bread, or chocolate banana bread. Just use your mixer to mash bananas! Peel and break the bananas into chunks, place in your mixer, and beat until mashed. Beat the rest of the wet ingredients right into this bowl, then beat in the dry ingredients. So easy.
If you’d rather not use the mixer (it really isn’t necessary for this recipe), just mash the bananas in a big bowl with a fork or even a potato masher. You need 1 cup (230g) of mashed banana, which is about 3 medium or 2 large ripe bananas.
How to Make Peanut Butter Banana Muffins
The process is really easy. Whisk the wet ingredients and dry ingredients together in separate bowls, then combine it all. Fold in the chocolate chips, if using. The batter is pretty thick.
Success Tip: When you fill your muffin liners, make sure you fill the cups until practically full. They won’t overflow (like if you overfill the liners for vanilla cupcakes), because you’ll bake them at two different temperatures. This is my high-temperature trick for sky-scraping muffin tops. Start baking the muffins in an extra-hot oven; the initial burst of high heat raises the muffin tops straight up. After 5 minutes, reduce the oven temperature to cook the centers of the muffins for the remaining bake time. It’s such a simple trick that produces beautiful, bakery-display-case-worthy muffins.
You are just going to love these muffins. They are PACKED with flavor, moisture, and warmth. Lightly sweetened, cinnamon-spiced, and enough peanut butter flavor to make a peanut butter cup jealous.
Are These Peanut Butter Banana Muffins Healthy?
I’d say these are a healthy-ish treat. Like my banana chocolate chip breakfast cookies, blueberry banana muffins, or these peanut buttery no-bake chocolate fudge oat bars, they are made with some healthier alternatives to traditional baking ingredients, but still include sugar. When it comes to labeling recipes as healthy, use the best judgment for YOU.
Print
Peanut Butter Banana Muffins
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
- Total Time: 40 minutes
- Yield: 12 muffins
- Category: Muffins
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Description
These peanut butter banana muffins taste like a treat, but they’re made with whole wheat flour, Greek yogurt, and naturally sweet honey and bananas. Adding mini chocolate chips and drizzling with melted peanut butter is optional, but definitely recommended!
Ingredients
- 1 and 3/4 cups (220g) whole wheat flour or all-purpose flour (spooned & leveled), or a mix of both
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup (230g) mashed bananas (about 3 medium or 2 large ripe bananas)
- 1/2 cup (170g) honey (or pure maple syrup)
- 1/2 cup (120g) plain Greek yogurt (or regular yogurt; any fat content)
- 2 Tablespoons (28g) coconut oil, melted and slightly cooled
- 1 large egg, at room temperature
- 1/3 cup (80ml) unsweetened almond milk (or your preferred type of milk, dairy or nondairy)
- 1/2 cup (125g) creamy peanut butter (non-oily natural style is OK)
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- optional: 1/2 cup (113g) mini chocolate chips
- optional: 1/4 cup (63g) creamy peanut butter, melted
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425°F (218°C). Spray a 12-count muffin pan with nonstick spray or line with cupcake liners. Set aside.
- In a medium bowl, whisk the flour, cinnamon, baking soda, baking powder, and salt together. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, whisk the mashed bananas, honey, yogurt, coconut oil, egg, and milk together until combined. Then whisk in the peanut butter and vanilla extract until smooth.
- Pour in the dry ingredients and stir gently until just combined—you can start with a whisk and then switch to a spatula if it becomes too thick to whisk. Try not to over-stir the muffin batter or your muffins will have a tough (not soft) texture. Fold in the mini chocolate chips (if using). The batter will be thick.
- Spoon the batter into the muffin cups, filling them to the top. Bake for 5 minutes at 425°F, then, keeping the muffins in the oven, reduce the oven temperature to 350°F (177°C). Bake for an additional 15 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. The total time these muffins take in the oven is about 20 minutes, give or take. Allow the muffins to cool for 5 minutes in the muffin pan, and then transfer to a wire rack to continue cooling.
- Drizzle muffins with melted peanut butter, if desired.
- Muffins stay fresh covered at room temperature for a few days, then transfer to the refrigerator for up to 1 week.
Notes
- Freezing Instructions: Freeze baked & cooled muffins for up to 3 months. Thaw in the refrigerator or at room temperature before enjoying. Warm up in the microwave if desired.
- Special Tools (affiliate links): 12-count Muffin Pan | Cupcake Liners | Glass Mixing Bowls | Whisk
- Yogurt: You can use nonfat or low-fat plain yogurt, Greek or regular. You can also use sour cream.
- Milk: You can use any milk, dairy or nondairy.
- For a jumbo muffin pan: 425°F for 5 minutes, then reduce to 350°F for 22–25 minutes for a total of 27–30 minutes. Makes about 6. For mini muffins: 350°F (whole time) for 12–14 minutes. Makes about 36–40.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 muffin
- Calories: 225
- Sugar: 16.2 g
- Sodium: 214.7 mg
- Fat: 9.1 g
- Carbohydrates: 32.9 g
- Fiber: 3.2 g
- Protein: 6.3 g
- Cholesterol: 15.9 mg
Reader Comments and Reviews
Hello, This is a different version of the recipe that used to be on this link. It was “skinny banana muffins”. The recipe had 1/4 honey and no coconut oil. Where can I find that recipe. I love that recipe and for the most part was able to recreate it. Thank you!
Hi Tammy, this recipe has been slightly updated. For the older version, use 1/4 cup honey and 1/4 cup brown sugar instead of 1/2 cup honey. And leave out the coconut oil.
Another great recipe! I made these gluten free, reduced the honey, and swapped 1/4 flour with Pb2 protein powder. They came out delicious!
Is there a non-dairy substitute that you use to replace greek yogurt?
Hi Shirah, we haven’t tested it ourselves so we’re unsure of the result, but you could try a plant-based yogurt instead. Let us know if you give it a try!
These muffins are so delicious! They are just sweet enough and so moist!
Can you imagine making these muffins and getting to put them in the oven forgetting to add the single egg sitting on the counter! Was I upset? Yes! But I baked them anyway. They came out of the oven looking fabulous and tasting so good, even tho I had no mini chips in them. They were very light and so good, I couldn’t believe it. And definitely making them with the egg next time! Thank you so much for this wonderful treat!
I don’t like banana flavors but my family does, so I made it as written with maple syrup instead of honey. We really liked the recipe (I did too!) but felt there could be more of a peanut butter flavor. We are peanut butter fiends. The texture of the muffins came out great. I always get one more cupcake or muffin than what you list when I make your recipes. Works for us!
Our family devoured these faster than any other muffin recipe! Fantastic and I felt good about feeding it to our kids!
These turned out great! We just got back from vacation and had brown bananas on the hanger. We were low on some ingredients so I had to substitute sour cream for the Greek yogurt and sugar for the honey. Still fabulous and just as pretty as the pictures! (I’ll be using this start high truck in all my muffin recipes from now on! Thanks!)
Could I make a 1:1 swap of peanut butter for tahini? Would I have to alter the recipe if I made this swap? Thank you
Hi Jake, that swap should be OK. I don’t think any other swaps would be necessary.
Thank you for the response! I made the recipe as is, only swapping tahini for the peanut and the oil in the jar of tahini for the coconut oil in the recipe. Excellent and easy recipe and not too sweet, so excellent for breakfast.
Do you know of any substitutions for the banana (like in the Good Morning Sunshine cookies you can sub applesauce and an egg)? I’m allergic but these look delicious!
Hi Mary, applesauce should work just fine.
I’m so excited to try these muffins! I was wondering if you can replace the coconut oil with canola oil? Thanks!
Any oil like canola, olive, or vegetable would work, or even melted butter.
Can I make these with almond flour instead of regular flour?
Hi Jody, I don’t recommend it unless you adjust the wet ingredients. If you’re looking for muffins made with almond flour, these blueberry almond flour muffins are a favorite.
I’m not sure if I’d call these skinny based on the amount of peanut butter in them, but my gosh, they are so fluffy and tasty.
This recipe sounds delicious. I would love to bake this in a loaf pan. What would be your recommendation for baking time and temp?
Hi Linda, we’re unsure of the exact bake time, but you can use the baking time and directions from our banana bread as a guide. Keep a close eye on it and use a toothpick to test for doneness. Enjoy!
This recipe is a favorite! Do you have suggestions for making mini muffins instead of full size?
Hi Kaleigh, for mini muffins, bake at 350-degrees for 11-13 minutes. Glad you enjoyed these!
Do you know how many mini muffins you would get?
Hi Randi, for mini muffins, bake at 350°F (whole time) for 12–14 minutes. Makes about 36–40.
My grandsons are allergic to peanut butter
Can I substitute with almond butter?
Hi Jacquie, a swap with creamy almond butter should work just fine here.
I made these with the bananas and just subbed sunflower seed butter. They taste great but have turned an unappetizing mottled black color. The pumpkin version I made above did the same thing the day after I baked them. Any thoughts on why that happened?
Hi Joan, We’ve made these muffins many times and haven’t had them turn any colors, so our best guess is that it’s the sunflower seed butter. We have heard that it can turn green when baked, any chance yours is more green than black?
Could you use gluten free flour?
Hi Casey, I haven’t tested them with gluten free flour, though it’s usually a fine 1:1 substitution.
OOPS! one more thing with the sunbutter pumpkin variation. I also used 1/3 whole wheat flour.
I changed these to Sunflower seed butter, (nut allergies) pumpkin muffins and they are terrific. I added 1-2 T more brown sugar with the honey since pumpkin is not as sweet as banana, and I added pumpkin pie spice. I did use the chocolate chips. Great breakfast food with a bit more protein than plain pumpkin muffins.
This was the second time I made these muffins and they turned out great again! Super simple to make and delicious. I used dairy-free yogurt (almond based) but followed everything else and they were moist and yummy! I live at a higher altitude so baked them four minutes less when I turned the oven down to 350F.
I make these muffins all the time. They’re a family favorite. This time, I ran out of creamy peanut butter and used crunchy instead. It was so delicious! I don’t think I’ll go back to creamy peanut butter again.
So delicious! You’d never know these are skinny muffins. Great peanut butter flavor, especially with the chocolate chips mixed in!
Hello, the recipe looks delicious but I don’t have a cupcake pan. Is it possible to bake it like a cake? Thanks!
Hi Tom! We haven’t tested these muffins in a cake pan, but fear it could turn out quite dense. Let us know if you give it a try!
So good. We’ve already eaten three fresh out of the oven.
Hi Sally, I love these muffins! Quick question: what is the nutritional information for these muffins? Thank you!
Thank you so much for this information!
Hi Sally,
The very best peanut butter muffins I have ever tasted. My grandchildren loved them. They are a hnit now in our family.
My grandkids and their parents loved these. I have made two batches since last week. I’m making my second batch of your Skinny Banana Blueberry Muffins (in the oven) right now. My husband can’t decide which of the two is better♥️♥️♥️ Love your recipes.
What if I do not have sour cream or yogurt? What can I use instead? I have buttermilk.
Hi Felicia, If you wish to use buttermilk you should replace BOTh the yogurt and the milk with buttermilk. Happy baking!
This is the first peanut butter muffin recipe that I actually LIKE! they are so moist and they actually do taste peanut butter!
Thank you so much!
I love these! A true muffin, not a cupcake in disguise as a health food. 🙂
I only had 1 banana so used an individual cup of applesauce to make up for the missing banana. I’m looking forward to making these again when I have 2 bananas! The peanut butter flavor was delicious and the muffins were not overly sweet. It was subtle and makes these perfect for breakfast with some yogurt and fruit. ❤️❤️
Hi sally! I made this recipe as is and it was amazing! My kids have requested peanut butter jelly muffins – is there a way to incorporate store-bought jam in this recipe instead of chocolate chips?
Thanks!
I haven’t tested it out but you can try swirling some on top of the batter, or layering some in the middle (if it disappears when baked you can try to take a note from my raspberry swirl pound cake and mix some jam with a little bit of batter). Or you can simply cut a hole in the center and fill them like I do with my peanut butter and jelly cupcakes. Let me know what you try!