Healthy Strawberry Banana Muffins

Healthy strawberry banana muffins are whole grain and naturally sweetened and perfect for a fruit-filled breakfast, lunch or snack time treat!

 

We are just a couple of days away from spring break and I am SO ready!

Give me the beach, give me the sunshine and sand, give me the days and days without (much) work to do. And give me down time with my family.

In the meantime, let's talk muffin mania.

We’ve been on a kick recently of my healthy chocolate chip muffins and my healthy double chocolate banana muffins in the house.

(You can check out all of my healthy muffin recipes here.)

We love them but it's been bordering on chocolate overload. (Is that possible?) So I’m happy to be bringing you a fruity twist to muffins today with my healthy strawberry banana muffins. ❤️

They are light and airy, with the perfect amount of sweetness and strawberry flavor.

They are also whole grain, naturally sweetened and don’t use any butter or oil.

So they’re great for a lighter baked good that you can snack on anytime of day!

My kids can devour 2-3 of these for breakfast but we also send them for school lunch or have them as an after-school snack.

I love that they are portable for busy days!

Plus, they are super low-fat and only about 100 calories per muffin - can't beat that!

I also really love that they only require 1 ripe banana, since those are a precious commodity in my house.

We make lots of banana bread baked oatmeal, whole wheat peanut butter banana bread and whole grain banana applesauce bread here.

And it can be tricky to use up just a single really ripe banana. (Though I have a collection of ripe banana recipes that you can browse based on how many ripe bananas you have to use. )

So let's get to baking.

I’ve got some notes, tips and substitutions for you on how to make strawberry banana muffins coming up. Just trying to be helpful.

If you’d rather just skip to the recipe, simply scroll right on through the rest of the text. The recipe card is near the bottom of the page, above the comments section.

Ingredient Notes:

• Flour: I use a white whole wheat flour but regular all-purpose flour would be fine as well. You can also do half whole wheat flour and half all-purpose flour if you like.
• Oats: I use old-fashioned rolled oats. Quick cook oats should work fine too.
• Yogurt: I use nonfat plain Greek yogurt here. You could also use a 2% or 5% Greek yogurt if you prefer. (See below for how to make these vegan.)
• Add-ins: Finally, you could add in some chocolate chips - maybe ½ cup or so - if you wanted to give these a chocolate spin!

Also, pro tip: As with all of my low-fat muffin recipes, I think it helps to use liners AND to spray them with a nonstick cooking spray.

It ensures all your glorious muffin deliciousness will stay together, and not get stuck to the pan or to the liner.

Want to make vegan strawberry banana muffins? Totally do-able.

Vegan Substitutions:

- Substitute a flax egg for the egg. (See here for how to make a flax egg.)

- Use agave or maple syrup in place of the honey.

- Use your favorite non-dairy yogurt, such as soy or coconut milk yogurt, in place of the Greek yogurt. This may slightly change the flavor, but the muffins will still be delicious.

Oh, and if your vegan yogurt substitute is on the thin or runny side, be sure to strain it to thicken it up so it has a consistency more like Greek yogurt. Daiya apparently makes a vegan Greek yogurt if you can find that.

And now, some tips on how to store your extra muffin goodies!

(That's my sweet boy's chunky little hand reaching for one)

Storage Tips:

• You can store these muffins at room temperature, in a bag or container, for 1-2 days.
• After that, I like to put them in the refrigerator. (I do this with any baked good that uses banana because I find it can start to turn if it sits out too long.) They’ll keep in the fridge for another 3 days at least.
• Or, you can freeze these strawberry muffins for up to 6 months. I wrap each muffin in a strip of aluminum foil and then place them in a freezer-safe ziptop bag (that’s labeled!)
• Defrost overnight in the fridge or just pop a muffin into the microwave (once the foil is removed) straight from the freezer and warm it for 30 seconds or so.

I hope you give these a try next time you are in a baking mood or looking to meal prep some healthy breakfasts or snacks for the week.

I think you’ll love them!

XO,

Kathryn

P.S. Need more delicious strawberry recipes? Try healthy strawberry scones and strawberry yogurt cake. Or my favorite savory recipe, farro, kale and strawberry salad.