Today, I’ve got another healthy, delicious muffin recipe that’s perfect for school snacks or breakfast on the go! My oatmeal banana chocolate chip muffins are full of extra nutrients and a guilt free pick me up throughout the day.
Muffins are one of my favourite snacks and I absolutely love baking with banana. These muffins are one of the first recipes I started working on and I’ve made them countless times but I never got around to posting them for whatever reason. My kids love them and I love being able to pack healthier treats in there lunches.
My oatmeal banana chocolate chips muffins are made with whole grains plus oatmeal to help keep you full and also have no butter and less sugar than a traditional muffin. I promise they’re not lacking in taste in any way though. They’re so simple to make that even the kids can make them!
If you love muffins like me, check out my bakery style oatmeal muffins or my apple butter muffins for an amazing Fall snack. If you’d like something with some veggies, try my cream cheese filled carrot muffins.
Quick Oats vs Rolled Oats
In this recipe, we’re using quick oats as I find they bake into the batter better and aren’t nearly as chewy. I have not testing the recipe using rolled oats but they may make the muffins a little dryer and will give them a chewier texture.
How Ripe Should Bananas Be?
They should at least have brown spots but preferably even a little more ripe. Frozen overripe banana also works perfect and is typically what I use!
How Many Bananas Do I Need?
As bananas typically vary in size so much, for this banana snack cake, I recommend measuring by weight to get the perfect texture cake! If you don’t own a scale, then measure your mashed banana in cups as I’ve written in the recipe card.
How to Properly Measure Flour
So when it comes to measuring flour, the most accurate and easiest way is to use a kitchen scale. I always use a scale and could never go back to measuring in cups. It’s such a hassle and way more dishes!
If you don’t own a scale, there are a couple steps to properly measure flour as it becomes compacted just sitting in the bag or container. I highly recommend you follow these as just scooping flour out of the bag can potentially lead to at least an additional 1/4 cup of flour. This equals dry and dense baked goods which is not what anybody is going for.
1. Fluff the flour by giving it a mix with a whisk or fork.
2. Spoon the flour into your measuring cup.
3. Level the excess flour off using a butter knife. (With the back of the knife level to the top of the measuring cup, run it over top, pushing the excess flour back into it’s container.)
4. Repeat until you’ve measured the amount the recipe calls for.
How to Store Muffins
When storing these oatmeal banana chocolate chip muffins, follow these steps:
- Fully cool the muffins, otherwise they’ll get gummy and soggy.
- Place a paper towel on the bottom of an airtight container or bag.
- Put the muffins on top of the paper towel.
- Lay another paper towel on top of the muffins.
- Seal and keep at room temperature for up to 3 days.
How to Freeze Muffins
If you want to freeze these, follow these steps:
- Fully cool the muffins
- Place a paper towel on the bottom of an airtight container or bag.
- Put the muffins on top of the paper towel in a single layer.
- Lay another paper towel on top of the muffins.
- Seal and keep at room temperature for up to 3 days.
- To eat, take amount you need out and let thaw at room temperature for 2 hours or heat in the microwave in 20 second increments. Be cautious if using the microwave when feeding children or toddlers, it can leave hot spots.
Benefits of Whole Wheat vs White Flour
When baking healthier snacks, treats or breakfasts, I’m a big fan of using whole wheat flour instead of all purpose flour, also known as white flour. There are many benefits to this including a higher concentration of minerals like copper, magnesium and iron. This is important for me personally as like many women, I’ve had issues with low iron in my life.
There is also a larger source of B vitamins in whole wheat flour which provides energy. Whole wheat flour has a higher protein content as well as more fibre, both of which can keep you feeling full longer. Another great thing about whole wheat flour is it can add a little extra flavour bringing a hint of nuttiness to certain bakes.
The only cons of using whole wheat flour that I know of is sometimes it can make a recipe more dense, which is why I typically add more moisture to my recipes. In doing this, I generally don’t notice that I’m eating a whole wheat flour muffin instead of a white flour muffin.
The other downside is I know everybody doesn’t keep whole wheat flour on hand. Well, I never used to either and now I can’t imagine not having it in the house. I buy a large 10kg bag for the exact same price as an all purpose bag of flour and have never had it go bad on me. I highly recommend keeping some on hand so you can make guilt free muffins, quick breads or whatever you want! In saying this, if the recipe doesn’t call for it, I don’t recommend swapping whole wheat flour for white flour, they’re generally not a 1 to 1 substitute.
If you’d like more information on the nutritional benefits, head to https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/what-should-you-eat/whole-grains/. There are lots of great sources of nutritional information on the Harvard website that is backed up by multiple sources.
Baking Tips
- Make sure not to overmix the batter or you will end up with a very tough, dense muffin. Gently fold the batter until just combined.
- Ensure all your ingredients are at room temperature for the best bake and texture.
- I recommend quick oats, not rolled oats in this recipe.
- These tend to be harder to get out of the wrapper when they’re warm so try and wait until they’re fully cooled to unwrap. I usually can’t wait and just eat it right off the wrapper.
- Whenever making any kind of baked good with banana, ensure the bananas are overripe, with brown spots on the skin, or they won’t incorporate as well into your recipe. They also won’t bring as much flavour. If you don’t have any bananas at this stage of ripeness, often grocery stores will sell the overripe bananas for this purpose. This to me is a win win as it also helps reduce food waste!
- I create my recipes based off weights so I recommend measuring by weights if you own a scale. It’s actually so much easier and makes for much less cleanup. I wish I had baked by weight from the beginning, I could never go back now.
More Banana Recipes
Today’s song is one I’ve been listening to nonstop lately and is so addictive. Here’s Learn to Lose by Bakermat ft. Alex Clare. Happy baking!! **Disclaimer: Liv’s Little Muffins owns no rights to this song.
Don’t forget to leave a STAR REVIEW if you try my recipe! Follow me on Facebook or tag me on instagram @livslittlemuffins. Find more ideas on my Pinterest or Whisk.
Oatmeal Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups (180g) whole wheat flour
- 2/3 cup (80g) quick oats
- 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1 1/4 cup (275g) mashed overripe banana
- 2 large eggs
- 1/3 cup (60g) light brown sugar, packed
- 1/4 cup (45g) canola oil (or other neutral oil) (optional, helps keep muffin from sticking to wrapper)
- 1/3 cup (105g) unsweetened applesauce
- 1/2 cup (110g) unsweetened oat milk (or any kind of milk)
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup (80g) chocolate chips (I like mini chocolate chips)
Instructions
- In a medium mixing bowl, add the flour, oats, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Whisk to combine and set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl, mash the banana then mix in the eggs and sugar. Whisk until well combined. Add the oil, applesauce, milk and vanilla extract and whisk until combined.
- Add the dry ingredients into the wet mixture and fold until almost combined. Add the chocolate chips and fold to combine, just don't overmix! Let batter rest for 30 minutes and preheat the oven to 425℉ while you wait.
- Line or spray 12 muffin tins. Fill each tin to almost overflowing. Use all of the batter! As we've rested the batter, it won't actually spill out the sides.
- Bake at 425℉ for 5 minutes and then without opening the oven door, drop the temperature to 350℉ and bake for an additional 15-18 minutes or until they spring back when touched or a toothpick comes out clean. These tend to stick to the wrapper when warm so try to wait until they're cooled. Once fully cooled store in an airtight container for up to 3 days and enjoy!
