Looking for something to do with those overripe bananas sitting on your counter? Baking is always a good option! Try making these easy banana protein muffins for a tasty snack recipe that the whole family will love. With less than 200 calories per muffin and 6 grams of protein each, they’re a great healthy way to satisfy the sweet tooth.
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How to make banana protein muffins
These are pretty simple to make! Don’t be fooled by the ingredient list – though it looks long, just about everything on here is something you’re likely to have on hand in your pantry or fridge. Here’s what you’ll need to gather up to make this:
- Bananas – You’ll want overripe ones for this recipe – they should have ample brown spots or even be turning quite brown, as in the photo below. These bananas have had more of their starch turn to sugar, which will sweeten the muffins. They are also softer and easier to mash.
- Cinnamon
- Vanilla
- Oil of choice – I like avocado oil for it’s neutral flavor, but you can also use canola oil, vegetable oil, softened coconut oil, or whatever you prefer.
- Egg
- Brown Sugar
- Flour
- Vanilla Protein Powder
- Baking powder
- Baking soda
- Salt
- Milk
- Dark chocolate chips
The only thing that might not be a staple in your house is the protein powder. I used this vanilla whey protein powder but you can use any vanilla protein powder that you’d like.
Once you’ve got all your ingredients together, it’s as simple as mixing ‘em all up in a bowl, pouring them into a muffin tin, and baking the muffins! No special techniques or anything, easy peasy.
Nutrition benefits
I like these banana protein muffins because they’re a step up nutritionally from your average muffin recipe. The bulk of the sweetener is the mashed bananas, along with a little brown sugar and a small amount of dark chocolate chips – but less of the later than you might find in a standard muffin recipe.
And of course, you’re adding protein powder to this recipe to boost the protein content. Now keep in mind, I wouldn’t necessarily call these “high protein” muffins. Each muffin contains 6 grams of protein.
But to give comparison, most homemade muffins made with white flour and no protein powder are only going to clock in around 2-3 grams, so you’re at least doubling what would be in there.
While there are higher protein muffin options out there, I find they often lack the taste and texture that this version has – so these are a great compromise.
These are also the perfect serving size for a snack or dessert when you’re craving a sweet treat. They clock in at 193 calories, and because they have that blend of carbs, fat, and protein – they’ll help you stay full longer while satisfying your sweet tooth.
Recipe FAQ
Here are some common questions that may arise as you prepare this recipe:
Yes! Just place them in a freezer safe bag and pop ‘em in the freezer. When you’re ready to eat one, defrost it for about 30 seconds in the microwave. While they’ll be good indefinitely from a food safety perspective in the freezer, for quality purposes I’d recommend keeping them in there for up to 2-3 months.
Yes. To do that, you’ll want to use a flax egg rather than a regular egg. You’ll also want to use a milk alternative (like almond milk or soy milk) rather than regular milk. Double check that the dark chocolate chips you choose are vegan (i.e. Enjoy Life). And lastly, choose a plant-based protein powder rather than a whey protein powder.
I haven’t tried it, but I would imagine you can use a gluten free flour blend (like King Arthur’s or Jovial) that measures 1:1 in place of the flour here.
For a lower calorie version, use a brown sugar substitute, reduce the oil by half and substitute the other half with applesauce or additional mashed banana, and eliminate the chocolate chips. Note that the taste and texture will vary from the original.
More Healthy Muffin Recipes
Looking for more muffins that have a nutritious spin? Try one of these options:
- Pumpkin protein muffins
- Almond flour banana muffins
- Coconut and watermelon muffins
- Apple cheddar muffins
Alright, now that you’ve got all the key info, it’s time to get baking! I hope you enjoy these as much as my family did. Even my kiddo is a huge fan of these.
If you get a chance to make ‘em, please feel free to leave a recipe rating or comment letting me know your thoughts.
PS – Looking for more ways to use up your ripe bananas? Check out this roundup of 20 different overripe banana recipes!
Chocolate Chip Banana Protein Muffins
Ingredients
- 3 ripe bananas, mashed
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 1/4 cup oil of choice (avocado, canola, coconut, etc)
- 1 egg
- 1/3 cup brown sugar
- 1 1/4 cup flour (ideally whole wheat, but all-purpose flour works too)
- 1/2 cup vanilla protein powder (I used whey)
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/2 cup milk
- 1/3 cup dark chocolate chips
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 12-count muffin tin.
- In a large bowl, combine the bananas, cinnamon, vanilla, oil, egg, and brown sugar. Mix well.
- Add the flour, protein powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Stir the ingredients until just combined.
- Add the milk and mix until everything is combined. Fold in the chocolate chips.
- Pour the batter evenly into each spot in the muffin tin, filling almost completely. Bake for approximately 20 minutes, or until muffins are golden brown on top and a knife pulls out clean. Let cool for a few minutes in the pan, then remove from the pan and allow to finish cooling. Enjoy.
Notes
Nutrition
Share: What’s your favorite type of muffin to bake? If you tried these banana protein muffins, what did you think?
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I tried these because I would like to incorporate more protein in my diet and I expected them to maybe not taste the best because they are a healthier option. Boy was I wrong, these muffins are delicious. Such a great recipe I will definitely reuse this. Of course I put double chocolate chips because I’m a chocolate lover. 🙂
Thanks for leaving such a lovely comment Sydney! I’m so glad you enjoyed these muffins – they’re a favorite at our house too. We like to freeze a batch so we can pull them out for snacks. 🙂 And doubling up on the chocolate sounds delish!!
These were phenomenal! I made mini muffins and the whole family raved. They were some of the fluffiest muffins I’ve ever had!
I’m so glad your family enjoyed them! 🙂 Thanks for taking the time to leave a review.
Hands down the BEST banana bread muffins I’ve had – and to have a great macro ratio too- can’t beat it! I used orgain creamy vanilla protein and dark choc chips. So good, so moist and 7/7 kids loved them too!
Thanks for such a great review Amanda! I’m so glad you (and the kids!) enjoyed them. 🙂
This sounds great! Have you tried using chocolate protein powder instead of vanilla?
I haven’t personally tried it in these muffins but I bet it would taste good!
These were actually really good! However, when I opened my brown sugar it was hard as a rock 🙁 so I didn’t add any. They still seemed to cook up good though!
I’m glad they worked well even without the brown sugar! As a quick tip – if you take the hardened brown sugar and place it in the microwave with a moistened paper towel on top, then microwave in 20 second intervals, it usually can help get it back to that soft texture you need. 🙂
Can you use vanilla almond milk??
Yep!
Family fav! I make 2-3 batches at a time and put them in the freezer for before or after school snacks, kiddos love them!
So glad you enjoy them! We like to freeze them too; makes it really convenient to grab one for breakfasts or snacks.
THESE MUFFINS ARE SO GOOD, it’s so hard to make muffins with protein powder without them being super dry but this recipe achieved that! Will definitely be making again 🙂
I’m so glad you enjoyed them Sadie!! They’re a favorite in our house, even with my 6 year old!
Sorry to say that these were terrible. Bland flavor, odd rubbery texture, and the fake vanilla taste of the whey protein powder was unpleasant. Only saving grace was the 10 or so yummy dark chocolate chips I sprinkled on the tops. I will not make muffins with protein powder again.
Hi Kara – I’m sorry to hear you didn’t have luck with this recipe – I know that can be a bummer! These are a favorite in our house and we haven’t experienced a rubbery texture. A few troubleshooting ideas that may help you or others reading this. Were the bananas ripe enough? It’s important to use bananas that have a lot of brown spots or are even potentially turning a little black on the peel. If they’re not ripe enough, the texture of the bananas will be starchier (and less sweet), which can lead to blandness and a different texture. Also, the quality may depend on the type of protein powder that you choose – different powders use different sweeteners (i.e. regular sugar vs. xylitol vs. stevia vs. splenda and so on) — if you find any particular type of sweetener off-putting, it’s probably best to choose a protein powder without that sweetener. Just some thoughts that might help! 🙂
Turned out great!
So glad to hear it! 🙂
Mayne try a different protein powder? I used Orgain Vanilla Protein powder. My muffins are moist and taste just like banana bread.
Made these as pancakes this morning for a cousins sleepover of 5 boys (6-13 years old). Total win!!! A few changes we made:
* 4 bananas not 3 (they were all frozen together and we work with what we’ve got)
* made it eggless with a substitute bcs of an allergy
* used 1 cup milk not half a cup to get more of that pancake consistency.
Some blueberries were added by the 10 year old helper chef and that was fun. Thanks so much for this recipe!
Awesome! Glad you got creative and made pancakes with this recipe – great idea 🙂
This recipe was awesome! I did make one little change, instead of using oil I used applesauce and they came out excellent! I definitely recommend this recipe.
I’m glad you enjoyed it! Thanks for sharing how you modified it in a way that worked for you. 🙂
These are great. I used chocolate protein powder instead of vanilla but otherwise followed your recipe exactly. I made mine in a mini muffin tin and baked for 10 minutes. Delicious!!
So glad you enjoyed them Annie! They’re definitely a favorite in our house as well. Love the sub with chocolate protein powder.
This recipe work well for non baker it came out so wellI made second batch. This time blueberries
I’m so glad you enjoyed them! Thanks for taking the time to comment 🙂
These muffins are fabulous! My 17 yo is dairy free and tries to eat very healthy, so to accommodate his diet I made a few substitutions. I used avocado oil, Ripple unsweetened original in place of milk and Enjoy Life dairy free chocolate chips. My family loved them so much that I made 130 of the muffins for my son’s whole football team for after their morning workout. Teammates have been asking for the recipe all day! Love these, thank you!
I’m so glad you enjoyed them! How awesome that you made ’em for the whole football team – I bet the team loves you, haha!
These were so good!! Are you able to re calculate nutrients based on substitutions? I used coconut oil instead of oil, I substituted brown sugar for the same amount of erythirol (I’m sure I butchered the spelling) and a tsp of pure maple syrup since I didn’t have brown sugar. I didn’t look at carbs before eating… I should have only had half. Any suggestions to cut down on carbs?
Hi Sara. I did go ahead and do a quick calculation on your substitutions, but in the future you can use a site called Cronometer to do them yourself. 🙂 With the subs you made, each muffin = 172 cal, 7 g fat, 27.5 g carb, 2 g fiber, 8 g sugar, 6 g pro. The carbs are the same as the original recipe because erythritol still contains carbohydrates, however typically those on low carb diets don’t count those carbs since they don’t usually have a measurable impact on blood sugar and don’t contribute calories. So if you go by net carbs (total carbs minus fiber and sugar alcohols), this would be about 20 grams net carbs per muffin.
As far as suggestions to cut carbs – You already substituted the sugar which helps cut net carbs. You could also try substituting half of the flour for almond flour and see how that pans out. I haven’t tried it yet, but imagine it might work – just can’t guarantee that, haha. I would also suggest adding an extra egg if you try making this substitution.
Hope that helps!