These healthy banana flax seed muffins are loaded with nutritious ingredients like bananas, flax seeds, yogurt and whole wheat flour. They’re great for breakfast, school and office snacks. Throw some chocolate chips in and they’d also make a terrific healthy dessert!
Bananas are a staple fruit that I always have at home. Because of their natural sweetness, they are great for baking, desserts and frozen treats. Every time I see ripe bananas on my counter, I start thinking of banana pancakes, banana waffles and healthy brownies (made with bananas). Also, I love adding them in frozen treats like vegan mango ice cream and blueberry frozen yogurt.
This time as I looked over at my bunch of ripe bananas, I remembered a bag of whole wheat flour that I needed to use up and thought it’d be great to make a healthy batch of muffins. To up the nutrition I looked around my cupboards and took out some flax seeds and found some yogurt in my fridge. Score! A perfect combination for some healthy muffins.
What are the health benefits of bananas?
- Contains fiber which promotes regularity and digestive health
- High in folate and antioxidants such as vitamin C
- Rich in potassium which can help manage blood pressure
Why is whole wheat flour healthy?
- Rich in B vitamins, riboflavin and folate
- Contains iron, calcium, protein
- High in fiber
What are the health benefits of flax seeds?
- Loaded with heart healthy omega-3 fatty acids
- High in fiber and protein
- Good source of vitamins and minerals such as thiamine, copper, molybdenum, magnesium, phosphorus
- May help lower blood pressure and LDL (bad) cholesterol
How do you make banana flax seed muffins?
- Whisk dry ingredients in a large bowl.
- Whisk wet ingredients in another large bowl.
- Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients. Gently fold to combine.
- Distribute batter into muffin cups.
- Optional: top with sliced banana and sprinkle some brown sugar. Or mix in some nuts or chocolate chips.
- Bake and enjoy!
Baking tips
- The riper the banana, the stronger the banana flavour and the more sweet it’ll be. Don’t be afraid to use those bananas that are so ripe, they’re brownish black. Those are the best for baking!
- When you mix the dry ingredients with the wet ingredients, gently fold it together until just combined. Over mixing will lead to a less fluffy muffin.
For more healthy breakfast recipes, check out:
- Strawberry yogurt pancakes
- Mini cauliflower pancakes
- Healthy banana flax seed muffins
- Whole wheat banana pancakes
- Carrot quinoa waffles
Healthy Banana Flax Seed Muffins
Ingredients
- 1 and 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
- 1/2 cup flax seed meal
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- Pinch of nutmeg
- 3 ripe bananas about 1 and 1/4 cup mashed
- 1/4 cup and 2 tablespoons brown sugar
- 1/2 cup yogurt
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 large egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 385 °F or 196 °C.
- In a large bowl, whisk together whole wheat flour, flax seed meal, baking powder, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg.
- In another large bowl, mash bananas. Then whisk together brown sugar, yogurt, olive oil, egg and vanilla extract.
- Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and gently fold to combine.
- Distribute batter into silicone muffin cups or lined muffin pans.
- Optional: top with a sliced banana and sprinkle with brown sugar.
- Bake for 20 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Remove from the oven and let cool.
