Mix up a batch of these easy-to-make Sugar-Free Banana Muffins to share with your baby or toddler come breakfast or snack time. You don’t need any special ingredients and they are super moist and flavorful. (P.S. There’s a vegan option too!)
Sugar-Free Banana Muffins
When we’re feeding babies or toddlers (or ourselves) and looking to minimize added sugars, it can be hard to find homemade snacks and breakfasts for kids that still taste great. So I did my best to ensure that these muffins are delicious in their own right and just happen to have zero added sugars. I’ve made these a handful of times now and both of my girls enjoy them (aged 3 and 7), as well as the baby. And I do too!
Ingredients in Sugar-Free Banana Muffins
Ingredients in Sugar-Free Banana MuffinsTo make these healthy banana muffins you’ll need:
- mashed banana
- egg
- coconut oil
- milk
- pure vanilla extract
- whole wheat flour
- rolled oats
- cinnamon
- baking soda
- baking powder
TIP: You’ll want to be sure to use very ripe bananas with a lot of brown spots to ensure that the muffins are flavorful and naturally sweet.
How to Make Sugar-Free Banana Muffins Step-by-Step
Here’s a look at the process involved in making this recipe. (See the full recipe at the bottom of the post for the specifics.)
- Mash the bananas with a fork or potato masher until smooth.
- Add to a bowl with the rest of the ingredients.
- Stir together.
- Divide among a mini muffin pan and bake!
Dairy-Free Banana Muffins
To make these muffins dairy-free, use nondairy plain unsweetened milk.
Egg-Free Banana Muffins
To make these egg-free, you’ll simply omit the egg and add additional oil. So easy and delicious!
Gluten-Free Banana Muffins
To make these muffins gluten-free, use gluten-free flour blend. I like the one from King Arthur best.
Will my older kids like these too?
I like to make these with half topped with mini chocolate chips and half plain to make them delicious for all ages. My girls love them with a sprinkle of mini chocolate chips (and I do too!) though you don’t have to do that—they’re impressively sweet on their own (though clearly not as sweet as a traditional banana muffin with added sugar.)
Baby Muffins with Bananas
Babies and toddlers under two are advised not to have added sugars and while that recommendation isn’t always possible to follow, these muffins are a great option for little ones. The textures is moist, so if you break them up into little pieces, babies eating finger foods can eat them too.
TIP: If your baby seems to have a hard time moving bready textures in their mouths, try topping each bite with a little applesauce or plain yogurt. And offer sips of water too.
Tips for Making the Best Sugar-Free Banana Muffins
- Use very ripe bananas with brown spots for the best flavor and sweetness.
- Gluten-free: Swap in gluten-free flour blend for the whole wheat to make them gluten-free.
- Egg-free: Omit the egg and use 1/2 cup total coconut oil.
- Use melted butter or canola oil instead of coconut oil if needed.
- Be sure to stir your batter together thoroughly. If you can see the oil, you need to stir it more. It should be uniformly mixed.
- Store in an airtight container at room temperature for 24 hours or in the fridge for 3-5 days or in the freezer for up to 3 months.
- To serve from the fridge, warm for 5-10 seconds in the microwave to soften slightly.
I’d love to hear your feedback on this recipe if you try it, so please comment below to share!
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Be sure to use very ripe bananas (with lots of brown spots!) for the best flavor and natural sweetness. (I updated this recipe December 2020 to ensure the most reliable results. The original version of this recipe is the “Egg-free” option in the Notes if you loved that. In the main recipe, I reduced the oil, added an egg, increased the baking soda a smidge, and reduced the baking time. They’re great!)
Ingredients
- 1 cup mashed very ripe banana
- 1 large egg
- 1/4 cup melted coconut oil, slightly cooled
- 1 cup milk (dairy or nondairy)
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1 cup whole wheat flour
- 3/4 cup rolled oats
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 degree F and grease a 24 cup mini muffin pan.
- Place all ingredients into a medium bowl. Stir well but gently. Be sure to stir your batter together thoroughly. If you can see the oil streaking through the batter, you need to stir it more. It should be uniformly mixed and look like one consistent color.
- Divide batter among the prepared muffin pan.
- Bake for 14-16 minutes or until a cake tester inserted into the center comes out cleanly.
- Let cool for a few minutes in the pan, then transfer to a wire rack to cool fully.
Notes
Store in an airtight container at room temperature for 24 hours or in the fridge for 3-5 days or in the freezer for up to 3 months.
Egg-free: Omit the egg and use 1/2 cup of the oil. Bake for 18-20 minutes. (This is the original version of the recipe. The muffins may be a little flat on top but they’re still delicious!)
To bake as full-size muffins, divide the batter among a standard size muffin tin and bake for 18-20 minutes.
To serve from the fridge, warm for 5-10 seconds in the microwave to soften slightly.
Use very ripe bananas with brown spots for the best flavor and sweetness.
Swap in gluten-free flour blend for the whole wheat to make them gluten-free.
Use melted butter or canola oil instead of coconut oil if needed.
If you can see the oil, you need to stir it more. It should be uniformly mixed without any visible streaks of oil.
I wanted to love this recipe. I like that it has no added sugar. However, despite following the recipe exactly, and then even bumping up the time, the mini muffins were just too soggy. I think maybe the banana ratio is a bit too high for the amount of flour/oats? It seems like no matter how long they’re cooked, the amount of banana will keep them mushy. I may tweak it a bit as I think this recipe definitely has potential!
★★
Thanks for letting me know. I just retested these last month three times and didn’t have this issue, so I am unsure of why they were soggy. You could reduce the milk to see if that helps though.
my 10-month-old daughter loved this recipe! thank you!
★★★★★
I’m so glad!
These are delicious! My son has egg allergy and I use butter or canola oil and they turn out great either way. Sometimes I use whole wheat flour and I’ve also used cup4cup gf flour and they’re great with both, too. Thank you for always having such great recipes and including allergy friendly options!
★★★★★
This recipe was a big flop for me. The mixture was just too wet from thr full cup of milk in it! I made large muffins, but they took more than 30min to cook and were still wet in the middle. I did use super ripe bananas so maybe they mushier than the recipe expected. I also greesed the muffin tins but they still stuck a tiny bit and ended up breaking in half becuase the muffin was still too moist in the middle. I wish everyone else better luck. Could the author maybe edit the recipe or put a note thar this is not appropriate for regualr muffins only mini muffins?
★★★
Thanks for your feedback. I haven’t tested this recipe muffin in a full size pan but it does work very nicely in mini muffin pans as the recipe is written. I will add a note about not using full-size!
Made these with my 3 year old daughter and my 6 month old baby had them as her first muffins! Everyone loved them!
★★★★★
Absolutely fantastic! Best foundational recipe for baby banana breads I’ve found. (And I’ve tried a bunch.) Instead of a muffin pan, I use rectangular Silicon soap molds to bake 12 mini loaves and they turn out perfectly moist and clean up is sooo easy. Highly recommend the molds. We’ve added fresh fruit, all kinds of nuts and even chocolate chips. Deeelicious every time. Ohhh and. A smearing of cream cheese on a fresh cut loaf is divine! Enjoy!!
★★★★★
So.. I’m a professional baker, and I mixed your recipe to the T, and it was verrrrrrrry wet. Look at how many wet ingredients you are putting in alongside dry. Unless you use whole wheat that’s dry to begin with, which may still be wet, they will be dense.
Nonetheless, I like the idea of a simple recipe, so I changed it to work for me.
It should be noted I was not baking for a toddler, so I added some probably non-toddler foods. But again, this is just what worked for me with this recipe. If you wanted to keep it toddler friendly, I’d say just up the flour until a thicker batter, maybe try 3/4 of a cup. If you’re ok with eggs, that’d help to add one too.
I used all purpose flour, and added another 1/2 cup of it. I also added 1/4 cup more oats, and 1/4 more banana.
I added an egg as well, as that helps it rise and make it muffin like, which is just extra protein right?
I also ended up adding about a cup of sunflower seeds for the heck of it.
Then I baked them in sprayed large muffin pans for about 25-30 minutes.
These weren’t dense or oily and rose beautifully.
So the recipe does work just.. with a bit of tinkering to really make it the perfect easy muffin.
★★★
Hi! Can this be cooked in a microwave? We don’t have an oven.
I haven’t tried it that way but I think probably not.
These were so good! I actually did add about 1/4 cup of maple syrup to make a little sweeter, and used a cup of gf flour instead of wheat, and used tsp pumpkin pie spice instead of just cinnamon- but they came out perfect and me and toddler both loved them!
I’m so glad!
The sweetness was good, but I followed the recipe exactly, mixing thoroughlt, and using fresh baking powder & soda and they came out flat and way too greasy.
★★
Can you tell me what kind of oil you used? I cannot replicate this issue when I make them and if I cut down on the oil they are very very dry but I would like to figure out what caused this. Thank you
I have tried this recipe soooo many times now, following instructions exactly, and my muffins always turn out flat and completely wet and uncooked inside 🙁 I don’t know what I’m doing wrong…
The most likely culprit would be baking soda not being active or perhaps expired if you could check that?
They taste great but mine deflated and they ended up the shape of a hockey puck. I did add finely chopped walnuts and chia seeds so I’m not sure if the weight contributed to the flat shape? Or chia seeds?
★★★★★
It is possible that those additions would change the shape!
My toddler is going through a very picky phase and has his first molars coming in. So it’s safe to say he’s not eating much lately. However, he is currently enjoying these! They were very easy to bake and quick, too. Thanks for another great recipe! They are a hit!
★★★★★
Hello – I am about to make these but I only have a muffin tin that’s for regular sized muffins. Should I just keep these in the oven a bit longer?
Yes, typically full size muffins take 16-20 minutes to bake.
My little girls love these. I add less milk and put in about 3/4 of a carrot. They are delicious and very nutritious. Thanks for the recipe.
★★★★★
Great!
Just baked a batch! They taste great but they didn’t rise very well. Perhaps my baking powder/soda were too old. I added ground flax and chocolate chips. However, so far my toddler-hating-muffin approves of these! That’s a huge win! She’s not liked all the other muffins I’ve tried! Thanks!
I’m glad she likes them!
Flavour is good, but is the coconut oil ratio correct? Mine turned out verrrry greasy. And I used less than was stated?
Can you tell me specifically what kind of coconut oil you used? I’ve never had this issue and when I tried using less oil they were very hard. Perhaps the batter needed to be stirred together more thoroughly?