With just a handful of nutritious ingredients, you can bake up super easy Banana-Oatmeal Muffins to share with the kids. Bonus: These store so well in the fridge for days!
Banana Oatmeal Muffins
Almost every week, I make a batch of healthy muffins for kids to have on hand for easy breakfasts, snacks, and lunches. I love that they can sit in the fridge and still taste great a few days later—and that they’re packed with enough nutrition that they’re a good quick meal option. My kids (like many, I’m sure!) enjoy muffins, but just putting a few chocolate chips on top transforms them into something they’re SUPER excited to eat.
They are an easy breakfast recipe for kids that also works as a toddler snack or even a Cold Lunch Idea for Kids.
To make these muffins we blend up whole grain oats with Greek yogurt or milk, eggs, bananas, and a few pantry staples. You pour the batter from the blender right into the muffin pan so the method is seriously doable…even if you have only one free hand!
The combination delivers protein, fiber, and potassium—as well as some of the fats toddlers need to grow—in an easy to eat format. (My Protein Banana Muffins are great for that, too.)
We like to eat these muffins cold right out of the fridge, but you can also serve them slightly warm. You can dice them up as needed for younger kids.
Table of Contents
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Ingredients You Need
To make this banana oatmeal muffin recipe you’ll need the following ingredients on hand. Most of them are pantry staples, so you might have some already.
- Rolled oats: I use oats here since they blend into a flour and add fiber and complex carbohydrates to make a satisfying muffin.
- Super ripe bananas: These muffins will have the best flavor if you use ripe bananas with some brown spots, as the brown spots indicate natural sweetness.
- Plain Greek yogurt (or milk): You can use either option and have similar results. The muffins will have slightly more protein with Greek yogurt.
- Eggs: Eggs add structure to the banana muffins and help the batter hold together nicely.
- Maple syrup: You can add maple syrup or honey to sweeten these muffins. To make without added sugars, omit this and add 2 tablespoons milk to make up the liquid amount.
- Vanilla extract: A little vanilla adds nice flavor to these oatmeal muffins.
- Cinnamon: This pairs so nicely with the flavor of the ripe bananas.
- Baking soda: This is key to the muffins baking through and rising, so be sure yours is fresh.
TIP: You can use either Greek yogurt or milk in these muffins. Yogurt will make for slightly flatter muffins, but they will taste the same.
Step-by-Step Instructions
Here’s a look at the process of how to make these banana oatmeal muffins. Scroll down to the bottom of the post for the full information.
- Place the oats into a food processor or blender to make a coarse flour. Add the rest of the ingredients except the chocolate chips, if using.
- Blend until very smooth, stopping to scrape down the sides of the blender if needed.
- Divide among muffin cups and top with chocolate chips if using.
- Bake. Transfer to a wire rack to cool.
TIP: Use bananas with a lot of brown spots for the best natural sweetness and flavor. You know, those ones that have been sitting on the counter ignored all week and need to be used up!
Frequently Asked Questions
You can try using honey if you prefer.
You can make these in a food processor if you prefer. Or to make them by hand, you’ll need to start with store-bought oat flour, mash the bananas with a fork or potato masher until super smooth, and stir everything together in a bowl. I prefer the texture of these when made in a blender or food processor—it’s smoother and more uniform.
I love making flourless muffins with homemade oat flour because they are so easy and have the added benefits of fiber and complex carbohydrates. Just choose gluten-free oats if needed. The oats, which get ground in the food processor or blender, bake up with the banana to create very moist and tender muffins —which are delicious and also easy for toddlers to eat.
These muffins can store in the fridge in an airtight container for 3-5 days. Or in the freezer in a zip top freezer bag for up to 3 months. Thaw in the fridge or at room temperature.
Mini Banana Muffins
To make these Banana Oatmeal Muffins as mini muffins, grease a mini muffin tin and pour the batter about ¾ of the way full in each muffin cup. Bake for 12-14 minutes or until a cake tester inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean. Follow the rest of the instructions in the recipe below.
(You can also try my Banana Yogurt Muffins and my Sugar-Free Banana Muffins.)
How to Store
These muffins can store in the fridge in an airtight container for 3-5 days. Or, freeze the muffins in the freezer in a zip-top freezer bag for up to 3 months. Thaw in the fridge or at room temperature.
Best Tips for Success
- For mini muffins, bake for 12-14 minutes or until a cake tester inserted into the centers comes out clean.
- Dairy-free: Use plain nondairy milk.
- For the best flavor and natural sweetness, use very ripe bananas with a lot of brown spots.
- To make these without a blender, use store-bought oat flour, mash the banana very smooth, and mix together in a mixing bowl.
- You can use either Greek yogurt or milk in these muffins. Yogurt will make for slightly flatter muffins, but they will taste the same.
- Add a few chocolate chips to the tops of each muffin if desired.
- Try a pumpkin version in my Pumpkin Oatmeal Muffins.
Related Recipes
I’d love to hear your feedback on this recipe if you try it so please comment below!
Banana Oatmeal Muffins (SO Good!)
Ingredients
- 2 cups rolled oats
- 2 cups sliced bananas (about 2 medium, very ripe)
- 6 ounces milk (or plain whole-milk Greek yogurt)
- 1/3 cup maple syrup
- 2 eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 cup chocolate chips (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F and grease 10 cups of a standard-size muffin tin.
- Place the oats into a food processor or blender. Grind for about 30 seconds or until they resemble a coarse flour.
- Add the rest of the ingredients except the chocolate chips, if using.
- Blend until very smooth, stopping to scrape down the sides of the blender if needed.
- Divide among 10 muffin cups. You want each cup to be about ¾ full. Top with chocolate chips if using.
- Bake for 20-22 minutes or until firm to the touch and lightly golden brown around the edges. Let cool in the pan for 5-10 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack (or just tilt a bit in the pan to let air flow underneath) to cool.
- Serve warm, at room temperature, or chilled.
Video
Notes
- These muffins can store in the fridge in an airtight container for 3-5 days or in the freezer in a zip-top freezer bag for up to 3 months. Thaw in the fridge or at room temperature.
- Mini muffins: Use a mini muffin pan bake for 12-14 minutes or until a cake tester inserted into the centers comes out clean.
- Dairy-free: Use nondairy milk.
- To make without a blender: Use store-bought oat flour instead of rolled oats, mash the banana very smooth, and mix together in a mixing bowl.
- You can use either Greek yogurt or milk in these muffins. Yogurt will make for slightly flatter muffins, but they will taste the same.
- Add a few chocolate chips to the tops of each muffin if desired.
- Serve cold or slightly warmed. Dice up for younger eaters as needed.
Nutrition
This post was originally posted on July 19, 2019.
these are so yummy and my 2.5 year old loves to help put the ingredients into the blender!
Hello! I wanted to thank you for this recipe. I threw together something that I based on this and it came out really yummy so I wanted to share my variation. I used three bananas because that’s how many bananas I wanted to use up lol. I used organic quick cooking steel cut oats because that’s what I had on hand. I did not blend anything up, I just mushed and mixed it all together. And I was too lazy for a muffin tin so I just threw it in a baking dish. I also threw in some chia seeds because you have a similar recipe that called for chia seeds and I thought hey that’d be good. It came out chewy and yummy like a cake/bar type thing. It did not come out. very sweet which I liked, but some people might like to up the maple syrup a bit. The kids enjoyed it and thought they were eating a dessert. Win!
We have all forgotten ingredients on occasion!! : )
Glad they still turned out.
Made these and 20 min was too long. They were incredibly dry even though I made a 1.5 batch (bc I had 3 bananas) and filled the cups pretty high. They still had a good flavor and were sooo easy to make. Next time I’ll probably add chopped strawberries or raspberry halves to the batter to make sure there’s some extra moisture. AND I’ll start at 17 minutes probably. I imagine 17/18 min is the sweet spot for my oven. Willing to try again!!
Omg. This is embarrassing. I didn’t add milk/yogurt.
Excuse me while I go die of embarrassment. I tried to delete my comment but can’t. Feel free to delete it all!!!!!
We have all forgotten ingredients on occasion!! : )
Glad they still turned out.
Yet another excellent recipe from Amy. Every day my child is assigned to bring his preschool class snack, I turn to Amy’s capable recipes and whatever produce I have in my fridge or counter. These came together the morning of, an hour before class started using up a few dead bananas in the process. I made a double batch, putting chocolate chips on one (delicious) and skipping them for the second batch (subtle but also delicious). Such a school-friendly snack with no nuts and not loaded with sugar. I’ve eaten like three already today too, but given what’s inside them I don’t feel bad about it at all.
Hello! Just made these with coconut milk and less than 1/4 cup syrup (because that’s all I had) and chocolate chips. They turned out so goooood! My 4 year old daughter loved them! Thank you so much.
I have to blame the baker – ME. i thought I followed this recipe but oh well. Ended up with a very nice BREAD PUDDING texture and all
So, I will soak it in Bourbon and create a cream sauce, freeze and have a treat for Christmas or New Years. Wish I knew the chemistry of my efforts. so for a bread pudding 4 stars and less kcalories too.!! I wonder what the banana bread would have tasted in stars. ! MiMi
We just tried these. Not super sweet. The kids loved them!
My family loves these muffins so much that my husband has started buying extra bananas at the grocery store, then walking into the kitchen every other week to say “Huh…some of these bananas are turning brown. Must be time to make some muffins?”
I did follow the instructions perfectly, but the muffins turned out uncooked at centre despite the tops being browned well. I used muffin liners and baked at 375F for 25min in a fan-assisted oven. Any suggestions?
The most likely explanation for that is the baking soda wasn’t fresh or active. So maybe check that before you bake with it again?
These are DELICIOUS.
Not too sweet and perfectly moist. The whole family loves them! I doubled the recipe and put half in the fridge and half in the freezer for later.
Not: the batter will be soupy, especially if using milk.
Your muffins are truly a lifesaver for me! My 3 year old suddenly wants to eat the minute he wakes up in the morning and having these muffins prepped and just pulling one out of the fridge in the morning before he wakes up has made our mornings so much easier! He loves a bunch of your muffin recipes but this one is by far his favorite! Thank you!
This has become a staple in our home and a weekly thing. Just love how easy they are to make and are healthy too. Definitely not limited to our toddler 🙂
Made these for the kiddo I nanny and he loved them and so did I.
Decided to make some for myself tonight. I forgot to add the milk. Didn’t remember until they were already in the oven 😂
Hope they come out ok.
Thank you for sharing this delicious recipe.
Love love love these for my toddler! I have made them several times and love the convenience of freezing them, they defrost/reheat so well. I recommend this and several other recipes to anyone that is looking for snack inspiration. They are so yummy