Make quick work of breakfast or snack time with this satisfying (and so yummy) Protein Banana Muffins recipe. It’s a delicious mix of nutrients and perfect to make ahead and share with the kids.
Protein Banana Muffins
After hearing such rave reviews for my Protein Banana Bread, I knew I had to make a similar muffin recipe—because there is just something about kids and muffins! This recipe gets its sweetness from ripe bananas and protein from eggs, yogurt, and peanut butter (though there are lots of allergy swaps!), so it’s both delicious and so satisfying.
The texture is moist and fluffy, the method just involves stirring everything together, and you can enjoy homemade muffins for days to come.
Table of Contents
Your toddler won’t eat? Help is here!
Sign up for our email updates to get tips and ideas sent to your inbox.
Ingredients You Need
Below is a look at the ingredients you need to make this easy muffin recipe so you know what to have on hand and ready to go.
- Whole-milk plain Greek yogurt: Whole-milk fat, will yield the creamiest results.
- Banana: Very ripe bananas with brown spots work best here to ensure the muffins have a lot of natural sweetness and banana flavor.
- Maple syrup: I like to use maple syrup here for a little sweetness. You can use honey for kids over age 1, or you can use sugar and add 2 tablespoons milk.
- Peanut butter: Creamy unsweetened peanut butter adds protein and beneficial fats to this recipe. If you prefer to make it without nuts (or without the peanut butter flavor) you can use melted unsalted butter. Use another nut butter such as almond butter as an alternative if you’d like.
- Eggs: Eggs help the muffins hold together. I use large eggs in my baking.
- Vanilla extract: Vanilla extract, either pure or artificial, adds lovely flavor in the mix with the rest of the ingredients.
- All-purpose flour: Using this type of flour ensures the muffins are light and moist. You can use whole wheat flour, though you’ll want to decrease the amount just slightly. See the Notes at the end of the recipe for the information.
- Protein powder (optional): You can add protein powder—plant-based, whey protein powder, homemade protein powder, or a kids protein powder—to this recipe for additional protein if you’d like. Remember that kids usually get enough protein in their diets without trying too hard, but if you are concerned or you want the muffins to be more filling, it’s an option to add more.
- Baking powder and soda: This ensures the muffins rise properly and bakes through.
- Optional: Dark chocolate chips, chopped walnuts, or blueberries.
Step-by-Step Instructions
Below is an overview of how to make this recipe so you know what to expect from the process. Scroll down to the end of the post for the amounts and timing.
- Add the wet ingredients to a medium bowl or large bowl.
- Whisk together to combine into a smooth mixture.
- Add the dry ingredients to the bowl and stir gently to combine.
- Divide the batter among the prepared muffin pan and bake until lightly golden brown around the edges.
How to Store
Once cooled, store in an airtight container for up to 3 days at room temperature. Store in the fridge in an airtight container for up to 5 days. Warm slightly to serve from the fridge if desired.
You can also freeze the muffins in a freezer bag with as much air removed as possible for up to 3 months. Thaw at room temperature or in 15-second increments in the microwave.
Best Tips for Success
- I like using whole-milk Greek yogurt in this recipe, as it has the most protein.
- Feel free to add chocolate chips to the batter or stir in some blueberries.
- Peanut-free: Use melted butter for the peanut butter.
- Gluten-free: Substitute cup-for-cup gluten-free flour in place of the wheat flours.
- Make these as mini muffins by decreasing the baking time slightly.
- Protein powder (optional): You can add protein powder—plant-based, whey protein powder, homemade protein powder, or a kids protein powder—to this recipe for additional protein if you’d like.
Related Recipes
Breakfast
Mini Banana Scones with Coconut
Breakfast
Best Banana Yogurt
Breakfast
Baked Banana French Toast Sticks
Snacks
Healthy Banana Cookies
I’d love to hear your feedback on this post, so please rate and comment below!
Protein Banana Muffins
Ingredients
- 1 cup whole-milk plain Greek yogurt
- 1 cup mashed banana (very ripe; about 2 large)
- ½ cup creamy peanut butter (or melted unsalted butter)
- ⅓ cup maple syrup (or sugar plus 2 tablespoons milk)
- 3 eggs (lightly beaten)
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 1½ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ⅓ cup protein powder (optional)
- mini chocolate chips (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Coat a standard muffin pan with nonstick spray.
- In a large bowl, stir together the yogurt, banana, peanut butter, maple syrup, eggs, and vanilla.
- Add the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt.
- Gently stir the yogurt mixture into the flour mixture.
- Divide the batter among the prepared muffin pan, using about ¼ cup in each muffin.
- Bake for 14-16 minutes or until the edges are lightly golden brown and a cake tester inserted into the center comes out clean. Let cool for a minute or two, then remove from pan and cool completely on a wire rack before serving.
Equipment
Notes
- Once cooled, store in an airtight container for up to 3 days at room temperature. Store in the fridge in an airtight container for up to 5 days. Warm slightly to serve from the fridge if desired.
- You can also freeze the muffins in a freezer bag with as much air removed as possible for up to 3 months. Thaw at room temperature or in 15-second increments in the microwave.
- I like using whole-milk Greek yogurt in this recipe, as it has the most protein.
- Feel free to add chocolate chips to the batter or stir in some blueberries.
- Peanut-free: Use melted butter for the peanut butter.
- Gluten-free: Substitute cup-for-cup gluten-free flour in place of the wheat flours.
- You can use a regular 9×5-inch loaf pan or a mini loaf pan. They work the same; the only difference is the baking time.
- Protein powder (optional): You can add protein powder—plant-based, whey protein powder, homemade protein powder, or a kids protein powder—to this recipe for additional protein if you’d like.
Can you take out some flour and substitute coco powder?
I haven’t tried that with this recipe, but generally I usually reduce the flour by 1/4 cup and add 1/4 cup sifted cocoa powder.
Hi Amy,
I love this recipe and has always turned out great. However this time I added protein powder and all the muffins tops sank after baking. They were fully cooked at the base, so no idea why this happened! Any thoughts? Thank you!
Hi- It could be possible that the variety of protein powder was heavier or denser than the one I used and weighted down the batter a bit. If they cooked through, they should be fine to eat though so enjoy!
Wow these exceeded my expectations!! I followed the recipe exactly with the exception of honey instead of maple syrup. I used IHeartMacros vanilla whey protein and this is the first time I’ve ever had a tender moist muffin that included protein!!! These have officially been added to my “make again” Pinterest page!
How long should I bake for if using a loaf pan?
The loaf version is here: https://www.yummytoddlerfood.com/protein-banana-bread/
It was more than I expected, it didn’t fit into 12 big tray for muffins. I need to add extra two plus all was full to the maximum. The
Do you think sunflower butter would work, or would it be weird?
It will work similarly, just will make it have that flavor undertone so don’t use it if you don’t like it:)
Hey Amy do you take off the wrappers before you store them or do you leave them on and store them?
Hi-
I don’t use muffin liners but you can leave them on when you store them. If that’s not what you meant, let me know!
Yum!! I made these with peanut butter chips instead of chocolate and it was so good!
These are fantastic. My entire family loves them. Im concerned about the metric conversion though. 1 c of mashed banana is more like 200 g, not 75 g. When I put 75 g of mashed banana on the scale it looked like 1/4 c.
I’ll check that the conversion is right, thank you!
Any tips on using Whole wheat flour instead?
I would use 1 1/4 cups and expect to get one less muffin. Enjoy!
My favorite recipe of yours – which is saying a lot!! This one is just sooooo easy though. First time I made it I followed exact recipe but added blueberries instead of chocolate chips. Yesterday I used applesauce instead of banana and cashew butter in place of peanut butter. This is absolutely the best!!
5 stars because I know this recipe is good, even though I utterly ruined it through my own inability. Amy, help me haha I messed up this recipe… first, they came out extremely eggy. Second, I swapped butter for peanut butter and the muffin tins were all sopping in butter after I baked. As you can tell, baking isn’t a skill of mine but I’d love to give them another shot! Thank you!
Oh no! Using the same volume of butter as peanut butter isn’t a great idea since, as you experienced, it’s probably more than the batter can handle. Did you follow the recipe the first time when you felt they were eggy?
These truly came out so so delicious!! The muffins are light, fluffy, slightly sweet and meets all the criteria for a high nutrient dense muffin for my 3.5yo toddler and 7mos old, even my husband and I loved them! I used agave instead of maple syrup and added a few chocolate chips. For the baby, I scooped some batter out before I added the agave and the chips. Great recipe, thank you! 🙏🏻 🧁
These truly came out so so delicious!! The muffins are light, fluffy, slightly sweet and meets all the criteria for a high nutrient dense muffin for my 3.5yo toddler and 7mos old, even my husband and I loved them! I used agave instead of maple syrup and added a few chocolate chips. For the baby, I scooped some batter out before I added the agave and the chips. Great recipe, thank you! 🙏🏻 🧁
Made these and my 3.5 year old loves them! The whole family does!! Thank you for sharing these amazing recipes!
Can you sub whole milk yogurt for Greek?
I haven’t tested the recipe that way, so I can’t say for sure. Regular yogurt has more liquid than Greek so it might take a little longer for them to bake through.
Made them twice this week – I love them as a quick snack and so does my 5 year old!
My kids helped me make these and the whole family loves them! I love that there is added protein in them. They freeze great and are so handy for quick breakfasts or after school snacks.
I will say, I was confused at step 6 when you mentioned the mini loaf pan.
These sound wonderful! My 2.5 year old has decided he doesn’t like muffins anymore though and I am wondering if these could be made into pancakes instead?
I haven’t made this recipe as pancakes but it might work similarly. Let me know if you try it
These are a new favorite! I love to have these before my workout and the kids have been loving these as a snack after breakfast! We subbed the flour for out flour and they came out just fine!
I made these muffins because that’s what I was looking for, but was confused about reference to loaf pan and serving size being one slice?
Fantastic recipe. Super easy and delicious! I baked my muffins for about 19 minutes and they came out perfect. I added the mini chocolate chips to the tops of six of the twelve and it’s a nice little pop of sweetness, but I think we’ll try some inside the batter next time! Looking forward to the next batch as mini muffins! Thanks Amy!
Excellent recipe, thank you!!
yummy and perfect! just made these with KA Gluten free measure for measure flour, raw almond butter, and plain almond milk yogurt–using all the same amounts. Turned out great. So excited for a GF muffin!
These are amazing! I planned on making them as-written but my husband threw the bananas away before I could get to them. Used applesauce instead and they are delicious! Used just a couple of tablespoons of maple syrup and left out the protein powder since they are primarily for my 8 month old but they were still subtly sweet. And so fluffy! The baby and I both loved them. Will make again!
How could I edit the recipe to use breastmilk?
I haven’t tried making these with milk in place of the yogurt. Is that what you’re hoping to do?
HUGE hit in this house! Toddler (who mostly survives on air), husband, 10 month old, grandpa – everyone loved these! Made recipe as-is, did mini muffins for 11 mins, and they turned out perfectly. Thank you!
I’m so glad to hear that!
Really really want to make these but need them to be egg free. Anyone have any luck with that?
These muffins turned out perfectly and are so delicious! My boys absolutely devoured them, thank you for such a great recipe filled with protein!
I’ve made these twice as mini muffins, subbing ingredients to make them dairy, wheat, and nut free (I used coconut yogurt, oat milk, 1 to 1 GF flour, and Sun Butter) without the protein powder, and they are SO SO good! It’s hard to find recipes that I can make allergen friendly for my son and still come out great so THANK YOU for this recipe!
I’m so glad to hear that!
Do you think I could sub pumpkin for the banana? Or applesauce? Love all of your recipes!
Of those two I’d go with applesauce so you get some natural sweetness. Enjoy!
Hi! Your post mentions decreasing flour amount if subbing whole wheat flour and to check the notes for more info, but the notes don’t mention anything about this swap and what adjustments to make.
Apologies! For whole wheat flour, use 1 1/4 cups. (So reduce by 1/4 cup.)
Can I use another nut butter? My little one is allergic to peanuts!
Sure, use whichever you prefer.
Can’t wait to try these. Could you use coconut based yogurt instead of Greek yogurt?
Yes, though I have only tested it with thicker Greek-type yogurt, but I think it should work really similarly.
Can’t wait to try! I couldn’t find the amount of whole wheat flour to use in place of all purpose in the notes. Can you let me know what that adjusted amount would be?
Thank you!
Apologies! For whole wheat flour, use 1 1/4 cups. (So reduce by 1/4 cup.)
Can’t wait to try! Could I sub honey for syrup? And if adding protein powder do you need to add more liquid?
Fine to use honey. I don’t add more liquid but you can add two tbsp milk if you’re concerned. Enjoy!
Hi! Thanks for these! So good. I loooove bananas in baking and any kind of muffins! Can I use more banana instead of maple syrup?
Sure, that should be fine. Enjoy!
These look great! The nutrition facts show 10g protein in each muffin. Is that with or without the addition of the option protein powder?
Any ideas for increasing fiber content? I usually throw in chia seeds to most of my kids baked goods but they are also packed with protein. So didn’t want to go overboard and have little hulks running around haha
The protein is without the powder. You might be able to add some hemp seeds (or serve with a berry smoothie!)